Healthy Chocolate Milk Recipe
Easy homemade chocolate milk in under 5 minutes (no syrup needed)
Do you ever get a craving for chocolate milk? Of course, you do! (who doesn’t, right?)
This healthy chocolate milk recipe is an amazing treat to satisfy all your chocoholic cravings. And the good news is that you only need a few ingredients and it’s easy adapt it to your dietary needs or preferences.
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Why I love this homemade chocolate milk
How this recipe came to be
Of course, I didn’t invent the recipe for making chocolate milk from unsweetened cocoa powder, but this is a recipe that is very dear to my heart.
In fact, it’s a beverage that I’m so proud of that when I created my first blog (a lifestyle blog in Spanish), the first post was about this recipe.
It was also one of the first things I made for myself before moving out of my parents’ house about 20 years ago.
Over the years, I’ve tweaked the recipe to ensure the best possible result.
The reason I’ve always loved making chocolate milk from Dutch cocoa powder is that I often get a strong desire for chocolate, but at the same time, I’m conscious of how much sugar I consume, especially when it’s close to bedtime.
This recipe has always been the perfect solution for me. It tastes wonderful hot and also great when it’s cold.
While I don’t make this recipe every day, whenever I do make it, I’m always reminded of how much I enjoy it.
With so many other drink options available, I sometimes forget about this classic favorite…
But every time I indulge in a warm or cold cup of chocolate milk made with this recipe, I’m left feeling so satisfied and content that I always think to myself, “why don’t I do this more often?”.
As you can see, I’m quite in love with this super easy recipe, and I hope you enjoy it too!
What you’ll need
Ingredient alternatives and variations
- You are welcome to use your preferred sweetener: sugar, swerve, coconut sugar… whatever you like best!
My personal favorites ways to sweeten chocolate milk are:- Homemade vanilla infused honey (alternatively, vanilla extract also goes great)
- Dates syrup
- Yacon syrup
- Xylitol
- Maple syrup
- Feel free to use your preferred type of milk: regular milk, soy milk or nut milk like almond milk, oat milk, cashew milk, coconut milk… all are allowed!
Actually, this is our go-to recipe to make chocolate flavor milk with any kind of milk (my kids don’t like dairy free milk unless it has chocolate flavor).
- As a hardcore chocolate lover, I personally find this chocolate milk also tastes great without even if you don’t add any sweetener.
I recommend making it at least once unsweetened as a healthy hot chocolate! (and if you miss some sweetness, you can always top with marshmallows afterwards).
Instructions
Time needed: 2 minutes
How to make healthy chocolate milk with pure cocoa powder
- Make chocolate “syrup”
Put the pure cocoa powder in a mug or glass. Combine with honey (or preferred sweetener) and a small amount of water (to make it easier to “dissolve” the cocoa). Stir carefully with a spoon until everything is a homogenous paste.
- Add milk
Add hot or cold milk and enjoy!
Tips
The only key is to thoroughly mix the cocoa powder with the water and honey to create a smooth cocoa “syrup”.
If you notice any lumps after about 30 seconds of stirring, simply add a small amount of milk and stir until the clumps disappear.
Then, you can add the rest of the milk to enjoy your chocolate milk.
FAQs about chocolate milk
Cocoa powder naturally contains caffeine. A teaspoon of cocoa powder (5 gr.) has around 10-12 mg of caffeine (8 oz. cup of coffee usually has 80-100 mg caffeine).
Chocolate milk is considered healthy because it’s a good source of magnesium, protein and calcium. However, since most store-bought options contain a great amount of added sugar, it’s better to make your own chocolate milk.
Chocolate was known since at least 350 BCE, but the origin of chocolate milk is not so clear.
The Natural History Museum in Britain credits Sir Hans Sloane, an Irish botanist who spent some time in Jamaica in the early 1700s.
He described the cocoa drink that the local people him as ‘nauseous’, but that mixing it with some milk made it more palatable.
He then introduced the recipe to Europe.
However, according to historian James Delbourgo, people in Jamaica already brewed “a hot beverag from shavings of freshly harvested cacao, boiled with milk and cinnamon” as soon as at least 1494.
Homemade Chocolate Milk Recipe
Print RecipeEquipment
- Mug or glass
Ingredients
- 1-2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (use 2-3 tsp. if you love dark chocolate)
- 1-2 tsp. honey or sweetener of choice
- 1 Tbsp. water
- 1 Cup milk of choice
Instructions
- Make a chocolate contrate by combining the cocoa powder, sweetener and water with a spoon (you can do this directly in the cup or glass you’ll be drinking from).Mix carefully until there are no lumps of cocoa left. You'll end up with a sort of chocolate syrup (that smells amazing btw).
- Add milk (hot or warm depending on your mood).
- Get creative and decorate if desired! Some classics are marshmallows for hot cocoa, ice cream over cold chocolate milk and whipped cream for both options.
Notes
- You may also skip the sweetener altogether
- If you have chocolate syrup, you can skip step 1 (I recommend my homemade sugar-free chocolate syrup)
- You can serve this chocolate milk both iced or hot.
Nutrition
I hope you enjoy this healthy and comforting chocolate milk!
Have fun with this recipe and customize it to make it yours! Happy drinking! 🙂
For more healthy recipes for chocolate drinks, check:
I love this cocoa milk making it exactly as you explain here. Just so yummy and healthy! The trick to blend cocoa powder works great. Thank you!