Stovetop Hot Chocolate

It takes just six minutes and three ingredients to make this rich and creamy homemade stovetop hot chocolate recipe.

A cup of stovetop hot chocolate.

I’ll never forget the first time I had homemade, real, hot chocolate, made on the stove and not with a mix. Although we made our own mix from scratch (and it was delicious) there was just something about that extra chocolaty decadence of classic hot chocolate, with that little extra bit of cocoa lingering for the last sip that had me hooked.

A while back the folks from Domino Sugar contacted me to ask if I’d like to feature Domino Sugar on Southern Plate. They asked if I’d use one of their recipes on their handy dandy recipe site as well. I had planned on bringing y’all homemade hot cocoa for a while now but I usually make it without a recipe and had yet to take the time to measure everything out. Lo and behold, Domino did that for me so why mess with perfection? After you make this a time or two with their best hot chocolate recipe, you’ll likely settle into just eyeballing it as I do.

Either way you go, though, you just can’t beat a cup of this easy homemade hot chocolate! When I say easy, I mean it. All you need is cocoa powder, whole milk, white sugar, and vanilla as an optional extra. 5 minutes of stovetop cooking later and you’ll be topping your hot cocoa with mini marshmallows and taking a sip. It’s that quick and easy.

Special thanks to Domino for sending me a gift card to gather up all of the supplies I’d need for this post, including some Domino Sugar in their new little canister! Be sure to check out their recipe website for plenty of yummy holiday recipes, including mixes and printable tags.

Labeled ingredients for stovetop hot chocolate.

Recipe Ingredients

  • Cocoa powder
  • Whole milk
  • Sugar

Vanilla extract and a mini marshmallow topping are optional but don’t try telling that to my kids!

How to Make Stovetop Hot Chocolate

Add sugar to saucepot.

First, add the sugar to the saucepot.

Add cocoa powder to saucepot.

Then add your cocoa powder.

Add 1/2 cup of whole milk to saucepot.

Pour in 1/2 cup of whole milk.

Mix ingredients together.

Stirry, stirry!

Close-up of ingredients mixed together to resemble a paste.

It will look kinda like a paste.

Bring ingredients to a boil.

Stirring constantly, bring it to a boil.

Remove saucepot from heat and add in remaining milk.

Remove the saucepot from the heat and pour in the remaining milk.

Stir that up well and then place to saucepot back on the stovetop, set to medium heat.

Place saucepot back on heat and add vanilla.

Pour in a little vanilla extract if you’d like.

Continue stirring until heated through

Continue stirring over medium heat until heated through.

Be careful and ensure it doesn’t come to a boil again.

Pour stovetop hot chocolate into cups.

Once it is heated through, pour it into cups.

Cup of stovetop hot chocolate.

Now you can keep things plain and simple…

Add mini marshmallows to hot chocolate if desired.

Or you can add mini marshmallows…

Glass of stovetop hot chocolate.

And a peppermint candy cane stir stick.

Enjoy!

Storage

It’s best to serve the hot chocolate immediately. But just adjust the measurements to match the number of servings you wish to make. However, if you do have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container (like a mason jar) for up to 3 days and reheat them on the stovetop until heated through.

Recipe Notes

  • To enhance the chocolate flavor, feel free to add a pinch of salt to your hot cocoa.
  • Garnish your creamy homemade hot chocolate however you like:
  • You can use any milk in this recipe including dairy-free varieties like almond milk and coconut milk.
  • Here are some fun stovetop hot chocolate variations. When you add the vanilla extract, also add:
    • 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon (then serve with a cinnamon stick).
    • 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract to make peppermint hot chocolate (serve with a peppermint candy cane over the holidays).
    • 1 to 2 tablespoons of powdered instant coffee. 
    • 1/16 teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper.

Here are more delicious drinks to make for your family soon:

Snowman Soup With Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

Red Velvet Hot Chocolate

Gingerbread Spiced Coffee

Mocha Coffee Floats

Sugar-Free Pumpkin Spice Latte at Home

Glass of stovetop hot chocolate.

Old Fashioned Stovetop Hot Chocolate

It takes just six minutes and three ingredients to make this rich and creamy homemade stovetop hot chocolate recipe.
Prep Time: 1 minute
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 6 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate, hotchocolate
Servings: 6
Calories: 323kcal

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 4.5 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Instructions

  • In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, cocoa, and 1/2 cup of milk.
    1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 4.5 cups whole milk
  • Stir constantly over medium heat until the hot chocolate mixture comes to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.
  • Remove from heat and add the remaining milk. Then return to medium heat and stir in vanilla if desired. Stir until heated through.
    1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional), 4.5 cups whole milk
  • Serve hot with mini marshmallows.

Nutrition

Calories: 323kcal
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104 Comments

  1. I love cocoa with marshmallows on top and I add vanilla. I also dipped my toast in it as a little girl while watching Captain Kangaroo. Oh the childhood memories this recipe stirs up.

  2. Thanks so much for posting this recipe for homemade hot chocolate….I have totally burned out on the store-bought packets and mixes. Have been dreaming of my mother’s homemade “hot cocoa”, and she didn’t use a recipe, so now I can make my own. Bless you!

  3. Hi! Someone in my Facebook group shared this site with us so I came to take a look. I’m definitely enjoying the information.

  4. Once again a FANTASTIC recipe from you!! I cant thank you enough! We made this and took it with us to go see some Christmas lights ! Our friends RAVED about it! And are still talking about it! I replaced one cup of milk with heavy cream since I had it. Then added my homemade marshmallows! Today Im making your Divinity! Ive never had it before but It looks Divine! 😉

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