Most people would agree that processed hot cocoa from the store is not a healthy choice. However, don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater!
A cup of healthy hot cocoa made with fresh raw milk is a soothing and very healthy treat on a cold evening in front of the fire or watching a movie.
In this video and recipe below, I show you a healthy hot chocolate recipe to make and enjoy that avoids the GMO sugar, artificial flavors and other additives in commercial hot cocoa mixes.
This can be an occasional addition to the kids’ lunchbox on cold days too. Just put in a thermos and it stays nice and warm until lunchtime!
Homemade Hot Cocoa How-to Video
The key to making the best homemade hot chocolate is retaining all the probiotics and enzymes in the raw grassfed milk. Using a digital food thermometer to ensure the milk is hot but not hot enough to destroy these nutrients is key!
Each 8 oz serving in this recipe has 12 g of unrefined sugar compared with 18 g or more of refined sugar (usually GMO) in one envelope of hot cocoa mix from the store!
I recommend using cocoa powder and not cacao powder for this recipe. The reason is that raw cacao is very high in anti-nutrients like phytic acid and lectins. Cocoa powder is roasted as traditionally practiced. Hence, it is much lower in these substances which can trigger gastric distress in some people and block the nutrient absorption.
If you would prefer a hot cocoa recipe that is caffeine-free, this recipe for white hot chocolate is delicious!
Homemade Hot Cocoa Recipe
Healthy and homemade hot chocolate recipe that retains all of the enzymes and probiotics in grassfed milk and uses the best whole sweeteners and the low anti-nutrient cocoa.
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk preferably raw and grassfed
- 2 Tbl evaporated cane sugar preferably organic
- 1 Tbl cocoa powder heaping, preferably organic
- 1 tsp chocolate extract
- sprinkle cinnamon freshly ground is best
Instructions
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Warm milk on the stovetop to 117 F. Use a food thermometer or a clean finger to judge the temperature (when it feels hot but doesn't burn, it's about 117F so enzymes and probiotics remain intact).
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Turn off the heat but leave the pan on the burner.
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Quickly whisk in sucanat, cocoa or carob powder and chocolate extract. Add optional cinnamon if desired.
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Pour into mugs and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Substitute carob powder if a caffeine free hot cocoa is desired.
Use store bought or homemade coconut milk for a dairy free version!
Substitute the cane sugar with organic coconut sugar or dark maple syrup if desired.
If you love marshmallows in your hot chocolate, this recipe for homemade marshmallows is a good one to try.
I make something similar to this also. I use honey as a sweetener instead of sucanat or rapadura. I also omit the chocolate extract because I can’t find it where I live. It tastes really good without it, but I like the taste of carob. Great post!
I make hot cocoa with coconut cream (D-roy brand) and raw honey and raw cocoa powder. I don’t heat until hot because I don’t want to kill the raw honey enzymes. It’s yummy and perfect for those who are dairy free (like us.)
Tina
A few months ago I mixed equal parts sucanat and organic raw cacao powder and mixed some of that with milk. It was warm then so I drank it cold. It keeps well in the pantry (the sucanata/cacao, not the milk!) so I have my “chocolate milk mix!” It was delicious. I don’t like to drink milk plain so doing this, or making raw ice cream are the ways I get my milk usually.
Interestingly, I had some people jump all over me for offering my then 1-year-old HERBAL TEA (which of course contains no caffeine…) because “children shouldn’t drink tea!” Yet they had no issues with their children eating store-bought chocolate milk and Honey Nut Cheerios. Yeah, I’m the crazy one, all right.
I can’t believe someone jumped on your for tea! We live in Germany. In my girl’s kindergarten, they serve them warm kinder-tea (unsweetened), water with gas or filtered water. Nothing else. My girls love the tea!
Hi Sarah, thanks for the video!
I also hit raw milk just to the point where it is only warm, not hot. Since it is cold here in Ontario now, my kids ask for it all the time in the morning. I usually make hot cocoa with organic cocoa powder, but will try the carob and chocolate extract combination!
Mmmm, this is definitely the perfect treat this time of year. Don’t forget to add egg yolks for even more creaminess and nutrition. 😉
(Love the redesign, by the way. It looks great!)
I’m up in ch-ch-chilly Minnesota and this sounds p-p-perfect right about now!
The recipe looks delish. I also wonder how it would be with a bit of blackstrap molasses. The taste would be a bit different, I expect, and the molasses would impart some minerals. And using cream and egg yolk — now we’re talking nutrient-dense! All great ideas.
Love the new look of your site, Sarah.
Hi Tara, you are wise to be leery of extracts. The one I use is from Flavorganics and has agave in it, but since we do not use it in our home as a sweetener and we do not drink fruit juice (except fresh squeezed on occasion), a bit of fructose from this is not a problem. I used to use a chocolate extract from Williams Sonoma that was fantastic and did not have agave in it, but haven’t been able to find it recently.
I’ve also done this, although I haven’t tried carob powder yet. I use raw organic cacao powder that is very dark and delicious. Though I’m not sure of the caffeine in it? What brand of good extract do you use? I’m always a little leery of the extracts.
Hi Kel, I use raw egg yolks too sometimes! Haven’t tried the cream though. WIll have to give that a go this weekend. It’s going to be really cold here this weekend!
Love the new site Sarah!!!
I also use organic cocoa powder like Marina, but you’ve got me wanting to try the carob powder. I also add in raw egg yolks for even more nutrition and cream if I have it. 🙂
Kel
Kelly, do you have a recipe posted with cocoa powder? I’ve been searching for a healthy alternative for hot chocolate, but also one that could be stored as a powder and stored.