We're bringing in chilly nights this time of year with pumpkin spice hot chocolate! A creamy and decadent, yet super easy, chocolate chip based hot cocoa made with real pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and topped with a pumpkin spice whipped cream. It's the perfect sweet treat for a cozy night in this season, one indulgent sip will have you hooked!
We are finally ending this exceptionally hot First Summer, and I can't think of a better way to celebrate that than making pumpkin hot chocolate on a 56 degree morning.
Can I turn on the fireplace? Not yet, this is only Faux Fall, darlin'. But the pumpkin spice has officially hit the shelves, and I am ready with this hot cocoa.
This post may contain Affiliate Links. Please see my Full Disclosure Policy for more details.
Jump to:
Easy, Decadent Pumpkin Spice Hot Cocoa
The pumpkin spice latte craze may have died down, but let's migrate it from pumpkin spice lattes to cocoa.
Homemade hot cocoa is so easy to whip up, honey, and with so many of y'all in my newsletter saying hot chocolate is your favorite cold-weather drink...well, I couldn't help but oblige!
I have the easiest, creamiest pumpkin spice hot chocolate recipe ever. It's made with semi sweet chocolate chips, canned pumpkin puree, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice whisked together in whole milk on the stove top, then topped with a homemade pumpkin spice whipped cream.
This all comes together in just 10 minutes and we only need a handful of fall-favorite ingredients.
Ingredients Needed for this Creamy Hot Chocolate
Full ingredients, measurements, and printable instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate - I find milk chocolate just to be too sweet and not 'chocolate-y' enough in hot chocolate, so I use semi sweet or dark chocolate. Use chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate bars, they have a strong chocolate flavor.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice - this is a combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, all spice, and cloves. It's actually what gives us that 'pumpkin spice flavor', since pumpkin actually doesn't have much flavor at all.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk - sweet and creamy and will smoothly incorporate into our hot cocoa without having to worry about dissolving anything.
- Canned Pumpkin Puree - don't use pumpkin pie filling, it's a product made with its own sweeteners, mix-ins, and spices.
- Whole Milk - the whole milk gives that richness and creaminess, skim just doesn't give the same mouthfeel!
- Kosher Salt
- Vanilla Extract
- Heavy Whipping Cream - you'll need this to be cold, y'all. Straight from the back of the fridge!
- Powdered Sugar - it whips into the cream a lot easier, so it's less likely to be gritty!
How to Make Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate
Step 1 | Pour the milk into a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk in the sweetened condensed milk, pumpkin puree, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Let simmer for about 10 minutes to really incorporate that pumpkin flavor.
Step 2 | While that's going, make your whipped cream in a medium mixing bowl with the powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Use hand mixer to whip the cream to stiff peaks.
Step 3 | Turn the heat to low and add in the chocolate chips, whisking to help melt them down and thicken the mixture.
Step 4 | Pour your hot chocolate into a mug and top with whipped cream. Sprinkle on more pumpkin spice or shaved chocolate curls.
Variations and Pro Tips
- Pumpkin White Hot Chocolate - swap the chocolate chips for white chocolate chips instead!
- Make it a creamy plant based hot cocoa - make it dairy-free with soy milk , coconut milk, almond milk, or oat milk.
- Bourbon Pumpkin Hot Chocolate - Add a splash of bourbon for the adults, it is SO delicious.
- Slow cooker for a Big Batch - this CAN be doubled or tripled and made in the slow cooker, but you'll be adding the chocolate chips into it an hour or two into heating up the milk mixture.
Storage and Reheating
Keep the hot cocoa in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-5 days. Rewarm on the stove top in a saucepan over medium low heat until warmed through or in the microwave until hot.
Equipment
- Small Pot
- Whisk
- Electric Hand Mixer - for the whipped cream
- Some Mugs
Recipes to Use Up that Leftover Pumpkin
Craving more cozy recipes? Sign up for the Sweet Tea & Thyme newsletter, save this recipe with the Pin button. If you whip it up, tag me (@sweet_tea_thyme on IG/@sweetteaandthyme on TikTok) and don’t forget to leave a star rating and note below, it helps more than you know, friend.
Pumpkin Spice Hot Cocoa
Ingredients
- 4 cups whole milk, dairy or dairy-free
- 6 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- ¼ cup canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Pumpkin Spice Whipped Cream
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream, cold
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, a heaping tablespoon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
Make Pumpkin Spice Hot Cocoa
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the pumpkin puree, milk, sweetened condensed milk, and pumpkin spice. Stir occasionally and let heat until it comes to a gentle simmer, do not boil.4 cups whole milk, 6 ounces sweetened condensed milk, ¼ cup canned pumpkin puree, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- While it's simmering, make the whipped cream (instructions below).
- Once the milk mixture is at simmer, turn the heat to low and slowly whisk in the chocolate chips until they're completely melted into the hot chocolate.½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Pour the pumpkin spice hot chocolate into mugs and top with dollops of the pumpkin spice whipped cream.
Make the Pumpkin Spice Whipped Cream
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together all of the whipped cream (or use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed) for about 4 minutes, until the cream is thick and sticks up in 'stiff peaks' when you lift the whisk out of the bowl.½ cup heavy whipping cream, 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Recipe Notes
Variations and Pro Tips
- Pumpkin White Hot Chocolate - swap the chocolate chips for white chocolate chips instead! They will be sweeter so use 4 ounces of the condensed milk, you can always add more if it's not sweet enough for ya!
- Make it a creamy plant based hot cocoa - make it dairy-free with soy milk , coconut milk, almond milk, or oat milk.
- Bourbon Pumpkin Hot Chocolate - Add a splash of bourbon for the adults, it is SO delicious.
- Slow cooker for a Big Batch - this CAN be doubled or tripled and made in the slow cooker, but you'll be adding the chocolate chips into it an hour or two into heating up the milk mixture.
Leave a Reply