Have you ever added spice to chocolate? Spicy hot chocolate is an ancient Aztec drink, but these days it’s become acquainted with Mexican hot chocolate.

The former is sweet, creamy, and slightly cinnamony, and must be made with Ibarra or Abuelita! Any cup made with either is an easy hallmark of authentic Mexican hot chocolate. The best part is that it’s super easy to make!

Here’s how to make a delicious cup of Mexican style hot chocolate at home!

Why You’ll Love This Mexican Hot Chocolate Drink Recipe

• It’s a fun and easy recipe from a different culture!
• Make a delicious drink using Mexican chocolate for hot chocolate!
• Try a fun flavor combination that might be your new favorite.
• A simple, step-by-step recipe for delicious hot cocoa every time.

What is Mexican Hot Chocolate?

Mexican hot chocolate is hot chocolate made with cinnamon, vanilla, Mexican chocolate tablets, and milk. It’s super comforting and practically all my Mexican friends’ nostalgic childhood beverage. Like most hot chocolate recipes, it’s sweet with a light hint of cocoa. But unlike those, Mexican hot cocoa has a nice tinge of spice from the cinnamon.

You might have heard of spicy hot chocolate or Mexican spiced chocolate, which is made with either chili powder or steeped peppers. However, that’s not the traditional hot chocolate in Mexico, which is made with cinnamon. Spiced cocoa is more of a fusion of Aztec chocolate with Mexican hot chocolate. Aztec chocolate is known as the “Food of the Gods,” made with cocoa, chili, and cinnamon. (Verna R. The history and science of chocolate).

You can definitely add it, though, which is what I do in this recipe!

What Kind of Pepper for Mexican Hot Chocolate? For the spiced version, you want to use Guajillo or Ancho peppers, rather than chili powder or cayenne. They add a sweeter, smokier, and slightly savory flavor that just pairs better with chocolate. Because they’re still in pepper form, you’ll get a richer and deeper flavor.

Ibarra vs. Abuelita

These Mexican hot chocolate brands are the two behemoths that everyone uses for their hot chocolate. Ibarra and Abuelita are Mexican hot chocolate tablet brands. Essentially, they are hot chocolate starters (similar to chicken bouillon cubes or curry cubes). The Ibarra chocolate is made from sugar, cocoa paste, soy lecithin, and cinnamon, and concentrated bricks of flavor.

While most people I know use Abuelita (heartwarmingly translated to grandma in English), many have started to veer towards Ibarra. The reason? Abuelita was bought by Nestlé in 1995.

Currently, Ibarra is still Mexican-owned and made in Mexico, so there’s a lot of pride and drive to support a locally owned business. Ibarra is also made with more real ingredients, so it feels slightly healthier.

But to this day, many still love Abuelita because it’s what their parents or family used to make hot chocolate growing up. And it’s so hard to beat nostalgia. I’ve had both and prefer Ibarra. Abuelita has an artificial chocolate taste that I don’t like, and it’s insanely sweet.

What Does Mexican Hot Chocolate Taste Like?

Without chili, Mexican cocoa tastes like a good, rich hot cocoa made from chocolate, but better. The vanilla and cinnamon enhance the chocolate and make it more interesting to drink. The spices aren’t intense or bold, but you can taste the difference! But the chili makes the whole thing even more yummy!!!

When you add chili pepper, it opens up the cocoa aroma and balances out the sweetness. It’s not a super spicy beverage, and the chili adds more of a small kick than anything. To me, it also makes it taste slightly savory, which is different but also fun.

Honestly, depending on who makes the cocoa, it can taste slightly different. You can have more vanilla, cinnamon, and chili (if any), and they’ll give the chocolate a slightly different flavor. But generally, it’s freaking delicious.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Recipe: What You’ll Need

Equipment:

• a small to medium-sized pot

Ingredients:

• ¼ piece Ibarra chocolate tablet
• 1 piece semisweet chocolate (optional)
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup evaporated milk (the secret ingredient for a super creamy hot chocolate)
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• ½ tsp vanilla paste or extract
• 1 dried Guajillo pepper
• 1 scoop marshmallow fluff or whipped cream (garnish)
• A dash of chili powder (garnish)

How to Make Mexican Hot Chocolate

1. Add Ingredients. Add Ibarra chocolate, semisweet chocolate (for more cocoa flavor), cinnamon, vanilla, milk, evaporated milk, and Guajillo pepper into a small or medium-sized pot.
2. Heat Mixture. Heat the mixture on low to medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it starts simmering. Then, continue heating until all the chocolate has melted completely and the hot cocoa is smooth. Taste and adjust the flavors if necessary (more chocolate, vanilla, pepper, etc.).
3. Strain. Turn off and remove from heat. Then remove the pepper and cinnamon stick. Let it cool slightly before serving.
4. You can transfer it to a heatproof pitcher or measuring cup for easy pouring. You could also use a ladle.
5. Serve and Garnish. Serve the Mexican spicy hot chocolate in mugs, then garnish with a dollop of marshmallow fluff or whipped cream. Add a dash of chili powder on top for a nice presentation!
6. Mix and Enjoy!

Tips for the Best Spicy Hot Chocolate

• Cut Pepper for Best Flavor: The spiciest part of a chili is the seeds, so cut open the pepper before adding it to your pot for more spice. The spicy flavor will be more intense and present!
• Add Cocoa Powder for More Chocolate: For more chocolate flavor, add a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder. Adding more chocolate tablets would make it way sweeter. This way, you can adjust the chocolate intensity without adding more sugar.
• Add a Pinch of Salt: To cut the sweetness, add a small pinch of salt. This will go really nicely with the chili and give you a nice, balanced cup of Mexican spiced hot chocolate.
• Make it Fresh: If you’re looking for a way to make this slightly healthier, skip the chocolate tablet. Instead, use dark chocolate and a sweetener, or use cocoa powder. The chocolate tablets are convenient but loaded with sugar (each quarter piece has 17g of sugar!) So, making them with the individual ingredients helps control the sugar level.

Other Ways to Make Mexican Hot Chocolate

As mentioned in the previous section, you can make this with or without Mexican chocolate tablets, which you can easily replicate at home with some pantry staples. For the variations listed next, you’ll want to use 2 sticks of cinnamon instead of just one to make up for the flavor:

• With Chocolate: Use 2 squares of chocolate (roughly 33g or a little less than a 1/4 cup). Add a little sweetener if you use dark chocolate.
• With Cocoa Powder: Use 2 tbsp of cocoa powder and some sweetener.
• Using Cocoa Mix: Use 2-3 tbsp of hot chocolate mix. You might want to supplement with an extra tablespoon of cocoa powder or add some real chocolate into the mix.
• Using Chocolate Syrup: Use 1 tbsp of chocolate syrup.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a Mexican hot chocolate mix?

If Ibarra and Abuelita can make hot chocolate tablets, you bet they can make Mexican hot cocoa mix, too. Normally, at the Mexican grocery store, I see the tablets in stock the most. The mix is usually on the shelves right next to the tablets, but it might be stocked less frequently than the latter. You can always follow a Mexican cocoa mix recipe, too!

What makes Mexican hot chocolate different?

It’s spiced with cinnamon and sometimes chili! It’s also usually a little less sweet than American hot chocolate and creamier as well. Although I personally think it’s just as sweet, but has extra flavor to make it seem like it’s less sweet. Sometimes there’s also extra ingredients like nutmeg or piloncillo.

What is the difference between hot chocolate and champurrado?

Champurrado is a thicker hot chocolate made with corn flour (masa harina), which gives it a subtle corn flavor. Hot chocolate is usually thinner and sweeter. You could think of champurrado as a type of hot chocolate.

Other Hot Chocolate Recipes to Try

Spice and chocolate work well together, eh? It’s kind of an unlikely pairing, but it just works. Plus, you’ll never have boring hot chocolate again! If you like this Mexican hot chocolate recipe, then you have to try these ones next:

• Earl Grey Hot Chocolate
• Thai Tea Hot Chocolate
• Chai Hot Chocolate
• Whipped Hot Chocolate
• Chocolate Horchata