Hot Chocolate with Chocolate Chips

This hot chocolate with chocolate chips recipe so easy to make and much loved by the entire family. When it comes to hot chocolate, homemade is the best (if not the only) option. If you’re looking for a delicious slow-cooker hot chocolate recipe made with real ingredients, (nothing coming out of packets) this one’s for you! If you enjoy this beverage you’ll have to check out my Mexican hot chocolate coffee recipe next.

This recipe is very simple to make. Simply throw in all the ingredients into the slow cooker and stir every once in a while.

The result is a heavenly hot beverage that is not too sweet and very chocolate-y.

Whenever I make this hot chocolate recipe, the holiday rush just seems to melt away. I forget about the dishes, the gifts that haven’t been wrapped, the lights that I’ve already hung up that have a few dead ones…

The siren song of this decadent, and luxurious cup of hot chocolate is just too hard to resist.

I know the extra calories from the chocolate and whipped cream isn’t good for our waistlines but I only make this once a year so it’s ok, right?

Ingredients needed

Now on to our ingredients. It is made of the most delicious ingredients, here’s the full list to make your own decadent batch of hot chocolate:

Chocolate chips

Chocolate chips are the star in this recipe. You can use either milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips. Milk chocolate chips are little chunks of chocolate formed from sugar, cacao butter, cacao solids, and milk. 

Milk chocolate chips have a rich, sweet, chocolatey flavor. They are usually melted into a rich sauce or baked into cookies, brownies, bread, or cakes. 

We’re using milk chocolate chips because they provide the perfect balance of sweet, smooth and creamy to our hot chocolate beverage. However, if you’re a dark chocolate or semi-sweet type, you can use either.

Milk

Using milk as our base liquid makes our hot chocolate extra creamy and flavorful. I prefer whole milk or 2% milk, but feel free to sub any low-fat milk. It is important to consider though that the velvety texture comes from the fat in milk.

When choosing a non-dairy milk substitute, oat milk results in a creamy and smooth hot chocolate while a good plant-based option for a nutella-like hot chocolate is hazelnut milk.

We’re setting the slow cooker to low so that all of the ingredients heat up together. The slow-cooking evenly melts and distributes the chocolate in the milk resulting in a creamy and rich flavor. The milk also helps tone down the intense sweetness from the chocolate.

Half and Half

Half and half is simply a mixture of equal parts whole milk and heavy cream. Its taste is not sweet since it contains no sweeteners and like cream, it’s rarely consumed on its own. It has a higher fat content than milk (but lower than heavy cream) providing even more richness and velvety goodness to our hot chocolate.

Sweetened Condensed Milk

Sweetened condensed milk is cow’s milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). This thickened cow’s milk is high in sugar and contains protein and fat. This will add extra sweetness to the hot chocolate.

Vanilla extract

This is just to add a hint of vanilla flavor to the decadent beverage.

How to make it

Simply add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker and stir. Then cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours making sure to stir every hour. It will be ready when the chocolate has completely melted and all of the ingredients are well combined.

What are the best chocolate chips for hot chocolate?

The answer to this question will vary depending on who is asked. I’ve made this recipe several times. I’ve used milk chocolate chips like the recipe states and I’ve also used semi-sweet chocolate chips.

My kids 100% prefer their hot chocolate with milk chocolate chips while I prefer mine with semi-sweet chips. I will say that both versions are absolutely delicious though.

Variations

While the condensed milk and half and half make it extra indulgent, this recipe is very adaptable. You can change it according to your liking. The ultimate goal is to make the best-tasting hot chocolate for you! For us, it’s one that’s definitely sweet but not too sweet.

What can I add to hot chocolate?

Many toppings and garnishes can be added to hot chocolate such as marshmallows, caramel sauce and ground cinnamon. However, since it’s Christmas time we’re giving it fancy holiday trimmings by topping it with whipped cream, crushed red and green mints and a candy cane. Doesn’t it look beautiful?

Homemade hot chocolate with chocolate chips

Who’s ready to get warm and toasty? I hope you try this slow-cooker hot chocolate recipe of ours! We’re almost positive you’re gonna be bookmarking this recipe immediately after a sip!  Let me know what you think in the comments below. I’d also love to hear about your favorite hot chocolate recipes.

Thanks for visiting!