Nothing is better than giving your loved ones a delicious homemade hot chocolate mix that tastes 100x better than store-bought. It’s super easy to make this 3-ingredient hot cocoa mix at home, and decorate it with some ribbons or wrapping paper. People won’t even be able to tell it’s diy hot cocoa mix!

Here’s how to make homemade hot chocolate mix for gifts or drinking at home!

What is in Hot Cocoa Mix?

Our childhood favorite hot cocoa mix is actually mostly sugar, if you didn’t know! Just look at the ingredient list of any hot cocoa mix packet (Swiss Miss, Ghirardelli’s, etc.), and the first ingredient is sugar. Followed by milk, then last is cocoa powder. Isn’t that wild?

I guess that’s why it tastes so good, kids wouldn’t like healthy hot cocoa mix, haha. But besides the insane sugar level, hot cocoa mix is really made up of just 3 ingredients: cocoa powder, milk powder, and sugar!

Sometimes the tastiest things are simple!

How to Make Hot Cocoa from Mix

Are you team milk or team water? Growing up, I loved using milk instead of water to make instant hot cocoa; it just tastes creamier and fuller. Although there is a time and place for water-based hot cocoa, too.

With this homemade hot cocoa mix, you’ll be able to use either milk or water, and they’ll both taste good. Just add a heaping spoonful or two to your cup, then add your liquid of choice. Give it a good stir, top with your desired garnish, and enjoy!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It’s insanely easy to make homemade hot cocoa mix.
• Save so much money by buying hot cocoa mix from the store.
• This makes the perfect last-minute gift for friends and family.
• Get creative and make artisanal hot cocoa mixes with different flavors!

Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix: What You’ll Need

Equipment

• A mason jar (for storage)

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup milk powder
• ⅓ cup powdered sugar

Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix Recipe

1. Measure Ingredients: Measure out ingredients ahead of time so they’re ready to mix. Since all the ingredients are powders, it’s easier to scoop out than pour out (it’ll fly everywhere).
2. Mix Powders: In a mason jar or liddable container, add all the ingredients and seal the lid.
3. Seal and Store: Once you properly seal the lid, shake your container until all the powders incorporate and there are no visible streaks of any ingredient.
4. Decorate: If gifting, decorate with a label, ribbon, sticker, or other cute packaging!
5. Gift or Enjoy!

How to Store Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

The crux of keeping any ingredient fresh is oxygen deprivation. Meaning, you want to keep a tight seal on your jar or container, which helps keep spices, coffee, matcha, cookies, and hot cocoa mix fresh!

You’ll want to store this dry cocoa mix in a jar or container that has an airtight lid. For example, mason jars, weck jars, vacuum canisters, and jars with clamp lids all work. Second, you’ll want to store this in a dark and cool place, like a cupboard or drawer. This prevents any spoilage or discoloration and ensures fresh, delicious hot cocoa every time.

Airtight jars are also often good-looking, so you can easily store, seal, package, and give away this homemade cocoa mix.

How to Use Hot Cocoa Mix

The perfect cup of cocoa with this mix is to use 2-3 tbsp with 3/4 cup of hot water or milk. It will be perfectly chocolatey and sweet, with a nice creaminess (especially with fattier milk). It won’t be as sweet as the storebought versions (my preference), so if you’d like it sweeter, feel free to add more!

Beyond making a great cup of hot chocolate with hot cocoa mix, you can make a variety of things! First, you can make brownies from hot cocoa mix, but I recommend adding more cocoa powder or melted chocolate to your batter. The mix is not enough to give you fudgy brownies, but you’ll get a nice creamy flavor!

You can also make cookies with hot cocoa mix, which I think is the better baked good to make from them! They’re perfectly chocolatey, milky, and buttery. And if your mix has dried marshmallows, you’ll get that satisfying crunch in the cookie.

How to Make Bulk Hot Cocoa Mix

If you want to make large quantities of this homemade hot chocolate mix, multiply the recipe by 3. Triple the recipe would mean 1 cup of cocoa powder, 1 cup of powdered sugar, and 3 cups of powdered milk. 9 times would be 3 cups of cocoa and sugar each, and 9 cups of powdered milk. Nice, huh?

For large quantities, I recommend mixing the ingredients in a blender or stand mixer (with a cover). You won’t be able (or rather, you won’t want to) shake the powders individually, and it’s more efficient to batch them.

Once mixed, you can scoop or portion out the hot cocoa mix into individual jars or store it in a large airtight container for household use.

Tips for the Best Hot Cocoa Mix

• Use Good Quality Cocoa Powder: Have you ever had stale cocoa powder? It does not taste good lol… It tastes really flat and bland, and won’t give you a nice chocolatey flavor! Make sure the cocoa is in date, and use a good quality one!
• Use Good Quality Milk Powder: Similarly, bad quality milk powder can also taste bland or cooked, which does not taste good in cocoa! Also, fat is flavor, so look for powdered milk that is made from at least 2% milk.
• Adjust Sweetness: This recipe makes a lightly sweet cocoa, so if you’d like it sweeter, add double the amount of sugar this recipe calls for. My rule is that you can always add, but you can never take away, so start small, then scale up.
• Add Toppings: You can add so many fun toppings to homemade hot cocoa mix! Try crushed up peppermint candy, festive sprinkles, dehydrated mini marshmallows, crushed toffee, chopped up chocolate, etc. You can’t go wrong!
• Mix Thoroughly: No one likes uneven cocoa where it’s milkier or sweeter than usual. Make sure all your powders are evenly mixed and that you don’t have hidden, unmixed powder in your batch.

Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix Without Dry Milk

Is powdered milk really necessary in hot cocoa mix? Milk powder makes the resulting hot cocoa creamy, so without it, you’ll have to supplement it by using a fattier milk. So, if you don’t have milk powder, you can still make homemade hot chocolate mix by using just cocoa powder and powdered sugar.

You essentially make a really strong hot cocoa mix that is better for mixing with milk than water. To get a creamy flavor, use whole milk or 2% milk with some evaporated milk. You can even use half and half!

Variations

As mentioned, you can get really creative with homemade hot cocoa mix and add all your favorite toppings and flavors. Here are some variations that you can try if you want to gift something a little more special than plain cocoa mix:

Dark Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix: Technically, the cocoa powder used for milk and dark chocolate is the same, so if you want a dark chocolate flavor, chop up a dark chocolate bar and add it to the cocoa mix!

Protein Hot Cocoa Mix: Add a scoop of chocolate protein powder per serving.

Pumpkin Spice Hot Cocoa Mix: Add a half cup of pumpkin pie spice for every triple batch.

Dairy-Free Hot Cocoa Mix: Swap milk powder for oat, coconut, soy, or almond milk powder.

Peppermint Hot Cocoa Mix: Add crushed candy canes to your mix, or gift the mix with a little bottle of peppermint extract!

White Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix: Swap the cocoa powder for finely chopped white chocolate. Avoid using baking chips as they melt unevenly.

Mexican Hot Cocoa Mix: Add 1/4 cup of chili powder and 1/4 cup of cinnamon powder per triple batch.

Sugar-Free Hot Cocoa Mix: Omit the powdered sugar or replace it with a sugar-free dry sweetener.

Vegan Hot Cocoa Mix: Follow the dairy-free hot cocoa mix instructions!

Frequently Asked Questions

Does hot cocoa mix expire?

Technically, hot cocoa mix does expire; however, if it’s sealed or kept really well, it has an insanely long shelf life. In a cool, dry environment, your hot cocoa mix can last 2-3 years, but once opened, you should probably consume it within 6 months for the best flavor.

How to tell hot cocoa mix is bad?

Always check for discoloration, an off-smell, or mold if you’re unsure your hot cocoa mix is still good. If it smells or looks funny, best to toss and start fresh.

Other Hot Chocolate Recipes to Try

If you’re a hot chocolate lover (like me and many), then you’re probably interested in amazing hot chocolate recipes. Beyond instant hot cocoa mix, here are some hot cocoa recipes you need to try next:

• Tiramisu Hot Chocolate
• Whipped Hot Chocolate
• Bone Broth Hot Chocolate
• Earl Grey Hot Chocolate
• Matcha White Hot Chocolate