This frozen hot chocolate recipe is easily made in 5 minutes in your blender! It’s an icy homemade drink made with cocoa powder, milk, whipped cream and ice.
We love this frozen beverage recipe for a summer treat, but other ways we enjoy hot cocoa year-round include white hot chocolate and snickerdoodle hot chocolate!
Table of Contents
A Quick and Easy Summer Treat
This frozen hot chocolate combines the rich flavor of homemade hot chocolate with the coolness of a frozen dessert and is the perfect way to enjoy the classic comfort of hot chocolate in a chilled and creamy form.
This easy treat contains only 5 ingredients and simply involves blending milk, ready-made cocoa powder, vanilla, and ice until smooth. It can then be topped with homemade whipped cream and mini chocolate chips for added indulgence. It’s fun and comes together with nothing more than a blender and smile!
It’s a no-fuss refreshing summer treat that has the classic taste that everyone loves and can be customized with different flavors and toppings! Serve cold hot chocolate at your next pool party or backyard BBQ and enjoy this rich chocolatey classic all year round!
What is Frozen Hot Chocolate?
Whether you’ve traveled to the famous Serendipity restaurant in NYC to enjoy one, or you’ve picked one up at your local Dunkin’ Donuts or Starbucks, frozen hot chocolate is a real treat no matter what!
There is no one right way to make this delicious treat, but I’ll always have a soft spot for anything homemade! It’s made by tweaking your favorite hot cocoa recipe by using cold milk instead of hot! When we blend it with ice cubes, it goes from cold hot cocoa to chilled, almost slushy-like, and it’s amazing!
It’s not thick and creamy like my Chick-fil-A peppermint milkshake. It’s thinner, and icier almost like a chocolate popsicle if you’ve ever had one.
How to Make Frozen Hot Chocolate
All you need are a few ingredients and a blender to make this frozen treat!
- Blend: Add the milk, cocoa, ice, and vanilla to a high-power blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour: Grab 2 glasses and pour the beverage evenly into each one.
- Stir: Into both glasses, stir 1-2 Tablespoons of whipped cream to create the foam effect on top.
- Top: Top with remaining whipped cream and garnish with a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips. Serve immediately with a straw, and enjoy!
A Fun Twist!
Pour the chocolate mix into popsicle molds and pop them into the freezer for a delicious summer treat for the kids!
Variations
- To deepen the chocolate flavor, use chocolate milk instead of white milk.
- For a thicker richer texture, stick with whole milk.
- If you want more of a milkshake consistency add a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
- The sweetness comes from the hot cocoa mix, but feel free to add a couple of tablespoons of sugar if you prefer it even sweeter.
- Swap the mini chocolate chips for chocolate curls, dark chocolate shavings, or mini marshmallows.
- Drizzle caramel sauce, or hot fudge for a beautiful finish!
- For a mint chocolate flavor, add some of the mint extract you have leftover from making this shamrock shake!
Recipe FAQs
There is usually dairy in most conventional hot cocoa packets, so first thing’s first, you want to find a dairy-free hot cocoa mix. You could also make this recipe by using a double boiler or microwave to melt chocolate chips and add that to the blender instead. Then use chocolate or vanilla-flavored almond milk, oat milk, or coconut milk.
Technically you can, but it will be very thin and watery and not as rich. The ice cubes will only contribute to that, especially as they melt. I have never tried it with water, if you decide to, let me know what you think.
The blender is mostly to crush the ice, so you can make this drink without one. Vigorously whisk all ingredients except the ice in a pot or bowl. We’re using cold milk so the cocoa mix will take longer to dissolve. Add ice cubes to the glasses and pour the milk overtop. Then top with whipped cream!
The amazing thing about this frozen drink is it can be kept frozen as is, in popsicle molds or an airtight container and then blended back up again when ready to enjoy!
More Frozen Beverages
- Coke Float – An old fashioned treat that never disappoints!
- Disney Dole Whip Recipe – A popular Disney copycat.
- Homemade Butterbeer – A creamy butterscotch flavored float.
- Frozen Strawberry Lemonade – Perfectly sweet and tangy.
- Root Beer Float – Made with 2 ingredients in 5 minutes.
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Frozen Hot Chocolate Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 6-8 Tablespoons hot cocoa powder , just the powder, more if desired
- 1 1/2-2 cups ice , more as needed
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract , optional
- ½ cup whipped cream
For serving: mini chocolate chips or chocolate shavings
Instructions
- In a high power blender, blend milk, cocoa powder, ice, and vanilla, if desired, until smooth.
- Pour into 2 glasses. Top with 1 to 2 Tablespoons whipped cream. Stir the whipped cream into the top of the drink. Add more whipped cream on top.
- Sprinkle mini chocolate chips over the top and add a straw. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Use chocolate milk if you’d prefer double chocolate flavor. You could also use a chocolate almond or coconut milk.
- For an extra rich flavor use whole milk or add a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- If you’d like this drink sweeter, add a Tablespoon or two of sugar.
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: 5 Ingredients Or Less, American, Beverages, Chocolate, Desserts, Frozen Desserts, Gluten-Free, Kid-Friendly, No-Bake, Nut-Free, Vegetarian
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
Love this for a warm weather treat! It’s like a smoothie and hot chocolate combined!
Yes, exactly! So glad you loved it :)
Delicious! My kids love when I make this!