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No milk? No problem! I’ll explain to you how to make hot cocoa with water quickly and easily to satisfy your chocolate cravings.
Hot Chocolate with Water
One thing I have learned through thousands of comments on this site is that when you are just about to make a recipe, you notice you run out of a certain ingredient. I get it; it happens to me all the time! That's why you are probably here: you want hot cocoa, you have no milk!
This hot cocoa with water is a simple fix for satisfying your cravings when you run out of milk. You can even make hot cocoa without cocoa powder or chocolate milk with my recipe for Nutella hot chocolate when all you have around is Nutella and milk.
Can You Make Hot Cocoa Without Milk?
Yes! While it won’t be as creamy and rich as classic hot chocolate, you can use water instead of milk to indulge yourself with a mug of delicious warm cocoa.
Ingredients
To make hot cocoa with water that tastes great, you’ll need unsweetened cocoa powder, sugar, water, a pinch of salt to enhance the flavor, and vanilla extract for ultimate deliciousness.
How to Make Hot Cocoa with Water
Take a look at my tips to get the best results:
- Combine hot cocoa, sugar, hot water, and salt in a saucepan and cook until it simmers. Add 4 cups of water and stir until combined. Make sure it doesn't boil.
- Add vanilla extract to make this hot cocoa flavorful. It’s essential, so don't skip it!
- Serve the hot cocoa in mugs and enjoy with caramel sauce, whipped cream, marshmallows, sprinkles, or your favorite hot cocoa toppings.
More Ways to Make Hot Chocolate
I'm always finding delicious ways to make hot cocoa. One to love is my 3-ingredient protein hot chocolate, this crockpot hot chocolate with chocolate milk, this raspberry hot chocolate for special occasions, and this holiday-favorite pumpkin spice hot cocoa.
Hot Chocolate with Water (Cocoa Powder)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup hot water
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the cocoa powder, sugar, ⅓ cup hot water, and salt.
- Cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and bring to a simmer.
- Reduce heat, and stir in the water, making sure it doesn't boil.
- Remove the hot cocoa from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Pour into mugs and serve immediately with your favorite toppings.
Louis Katz says
I haven’t tried this yet, because I make sure to keep milk around, but I love the concept! I always load mine up with cocoa powder, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, orange extract, and half a 70% Lindt bar. Using water instead of milk might lighten up my recipe in a good way!
Lane says
Question- Can you store what you have leftover in the frig and heat it up later?
Laura Fuentes says
Absolutely! The cocoa tends to settle so make sure to stir it well during heating. Enjoy!
J. Sue says
Came across your recipe because I had a hankering for hot chocolate, but didn’t have milk on hand. I made 1 serving, instead of 4, followed your instructions, and my hot chocolate was delicious. Thank you for sharing!
Kyle says
I tried making this hot cocoa with water, and it turned out surprisingly rich and comforting—perfect for a quick, cozy drink without any milk.
Cris says
So glad I found this recipe! I had all the ingredients and it was delicious!
Sophie says
This is really wonderful during this winter storm, I enjoyed it, thanks for sharing