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This Mexican Hot Chocolate made with 100% unsweetened cocoa powder, cinnamon and a hint of chili will warm you up from the inside out!
Three words: MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE.
If it’s cold outside, if it’s winter, if it’s snowing, if it’s between the months of December and February, then there’s one thing I know for certain – it’s Mexican Hot Chocolate season!
I’m not usually someone who makes hot chocolate at home. I’ve always preferred to eat my dessert rather than drink it. For example:
- milk shakes – no, thank you. unless I can eat it with a spoon, in which case I’d rather just get regular ice cream.
- dessert cocktails – nope. except for eggnog. that’s stuff is delicious. and totally acceptable without alcohol so it doesn’t really count as a cocktail.
- even smoothies that taste too much like dessert is a no-go for me.
I’m totally weird about it, I know. But Mexican hot chocolate? That’s a different story and it’s all thanks to this recipe.
This isn’t your regular cup of hot chocolate. The ones made from those packets that you mix with hot water? No. Never again.
Ingredients in Mexican Hot Chocolate
This Mexican hot chocolate is made with real milk, 100% unsweetened cocoa powder, vanilla extract, cinnamon, chili powder, and a little bittersweet chocolate to make the whole thing a bit creamier and smoother. I also added a pinch of cayenne pepper to give it a little spicy end note, but that’s totally optional.
And of course, marshmallows. Always marshmallows.
The best toppings for Mexican hot chocolate
- marshmallows (my personal favorite!)
- chocolate shavings
- sea salt
- cinnamon sticks
- a pinch of cayenne or chili powder
- cajeta (aka Mexican caramel)
- dulce de leche
While I enjoy drinking this Mexican hot chocolate on it’s own, I’ve been loving eating it with a little marranito, the Mexican gingerbread pigs recipe I shared last week. The combo of the molasses in the marranitos and the spices in this hot chocolate are absolutely DIVINE.
Just imagine getting all cozy on the couch, your favorite Christmas movie is on TV, the Christmas tree is lit, the fireplace is burning and you’ve got this Mexican hot chocolate in one hand and a little gingerbread pig in the other.
Life is good.
I hope you like this recipe as much as I do! Happy holidays!
For more Mexican Christmas recipes, take a look at 12 Mexican Christmas Food Recipes to Make This Year!
More holiday recipes you’ll love
- Champurrado
- Mexican Bunuelos
- Chocolate Tamales
- Mexican Ponche
- Easy Pumpkin Empanadas
- Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies
- Mexican Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Mexican Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
For the hot chocolate
- 2 cups milk (I used 2%)
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne (optional – you can omit this if you don’t want it too spicy)
- 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate
Optional toppings
- marshmallows, chocolate shavings, cinnamon stick for stirring
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add milk, cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, chili powder, cayenne pepper (if desired).
- Mix together with a whisk, add the bittersweet chocolate and heat until the chocolate has completely melted and the mixture is hot, but not boiling.
- Divide hot chocolate into 2 mugs and serve with marshmallows, chocolate shavings and a cinnamon stick.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Just made this and it’s amazing. Reminds me of the movie Chocolat and how the Mayans added chili to their hot chocolate. Best idea ever! Absolutely addictive. I already know that it will be a big hit with our friends. I did the cayenne pepper and chili mixture and it really is perfect.
This is really good, thanks for the recipe. I just made it in my crockpot, 16 cups of milk, for eight people.
Delicious chocolate flavor with hint of cinnamon and pepper that doesn’t overwhelm
This is so good! I’ve made Mexican iced coffee before and liked it, but I think this is even better. I only had 1% milk so I used 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of heavy cream and it still turned out perfect.
Best hot chocolate we’ve ever had!!!
I wonder how it would turn out if I used Dutch cocoa powder and no bittersweet chocolate (don’t have it on hand at the moment)? The chocolate flavor would be more intense than regular cocoa but not quite as much as with cocoa+ bittersweet (original recipe).
Looking forward to trying this! I had drinking chocolate in Santa Fe once but chose milk chocolate over dark and it was extremely rich. Probably too rich. And there was no spice to it. I want to try authentic mexican hot chocolate now 😀
Definitely not going back to cocoa mix. I tried the “no sugar added” swiss miss last year, hoping for better ingredients. True it didn’t have sugar; it had *aspartame*. No thanks…I may not want hot chocolate often but making it yourself is too easy to get prepackaged stuff.
Add a shot of tequila to mom and dad’s mugs and thank me later.
I bet kahlua, whiskey, or vanilla/marshmallow flavored vodka or rum would probably go better with the spices and flavors than tequila. Just a suggestion for others who may want to spike their hot chocolate 😀
I used about 1/2 the amount of chili powder and no bittersweet chocolate or cayenne. It was delicious. Just what I was looking for.
I’ve tried a few spicy hot chocolate recipe’s over the years, but this one was the best by far. I added the chilli and cayenne, initially thought it might be too spicy for my taste, but it wasn’t, it was perfect. I had some left over whipped cream so used it as a topping and served with pan de muerto, divine.
It was great, but my friend does not like hot chocolate at all.
No no no. NOT chili powder. You’re needing cayenne!!