Recipe

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Use this recipe to make a rich and delicious protein hot chocolate anytime you crave a healthy, warm drink!

Use your favorite whey or plant-based protein powder to get the perfect consistency of your protein hot chocolate.

two mugs of protein powder hot chocolate

Hot Chocolate with Protein Powder

This protein hot chocolate is my go-to hot cocoa when I want something warm and need to get more protein into my day. I’ve made it many times with both whey protein and plant-based protein and below, I’ll share my tips for each.

You’ll love that it’s only made with 3 simple ingredients. Among this cinnamon hot chocolate and a pumpkin spice hot chocolate that rivals that of Sbux, this is one of my favs to sip on during the winter.

Ingredients

The amounts are in the printable recipe card, but first, a few helpful notes on the ingredients:

Milk: the creamier (and the higher the fat percentage) the milk, the thicker (less watery) the cocoa you'll get. Some plant-based milks, like oat milk and cashew milk, yield a creamier hot cocoa; while almond and rice milk make the drink thinner.
Chocolate protein powder: use your favorite! Plant-based protein powders yield a thicker and sometimes grainier texture than whey.
Sweetener: optional. You can add maple syrup, honey, or 1 stevia packet. Some protein powders don't need it.

How to Make Protein Hot Chocolate with Protein

Making this protein-rich drink at home is easy. That said, there are some tips in each step to get the best texture and avoid clumps. They are:

Dissolve the protein powder in the liquid in a large bowl using a whisk before heating it up to eliminate powdery clumps. If the mixture is really thick, a common issue with some plant-based powders, add more milk. If you're making a single serving, use a shaker bottle.
Warm it up while you stir with a whisk to prevent clumps, hot spots, and burning the bottom.
Serve into a mug or to-go cup and top it with marshmallows, whipped cream, and more hot cocoa toppings.

Keeping Hot Cocoa from Getting Clumpy

I’ve found that the key to preventing protein clumps is to dissolve the powder before heating it up and using a whisk to stir it while it heats up in the pot. Most protein powders mix just fine in cold milk, so you should be fine!

Healthy Protein Hot Chocolate (20g protein)

two transparent mug of protein hot chocolate with marshmallows

Servings: 2

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 5

Total Time: 10

Use this recipe to make a rich and delicious protein hot chocolate anytime you crave a healthy, warm drink!

5 from 24 votes

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Ingredients

3 cups milk, any
2 scoops chocolate protein powder
1 tablespoon maple syrup or 2 packets of stevia, optional
Toppings: marshmallows or whipped cream

Instructions

Prep:

In a medium bowl, use a whisk to dissolve the protein powder with the milk until there are no visible lumps. Add the maple syrup (or Stevia) if using, and stir to combine. Try it for sweetness since all protein powders vary in sweetness. Once mixed, adjust the thickness of the liquid by adding up to ½ cup of additional milk.

Warm it up:

In a medium saucepan, warm up the chocolate liquid, stirring constantly with a whisk, until the hot chocolate is hot but not boiling.

Serve:

Pour the hot cocoa into two cups and top with marshmallows or whipped cream.

Notes

Make this a single serving protein hot chocolate by mixing 1 scoop of protein powder and 1 ½ to 1 ¾ cups of milk in a shaker bottle. Add 1 ½ teaspoons of maple syrup to make it sweeter and then warm it up.