Strawberry Hot Chocolate Recipe

Few drinks compare to a mug of rich, luscious hot chocolate, especially in the winter months. Hot chocolate is a classic treat, bringing back childhood memories of warming up after a day of playing in the snow, or simply cozying up on the couch in front of the fire. And while it's incredible on its own, hot chocolate can also be enhanced with the addition of other flavors. Enter: strawberry hot chocolate.

"This strawberry hot chocolate recipe takes a childhood classic and kicks it up a notch," says food photographer Petar Marshall. "By adding fresh strawberries, it's elevated to a whole new level, creating a beverage both kids and adults will love."

Whether you make this drink as a fun addition to your Valentine's Day menu, or on any other day, it'll be sure to please. And best of all? You'll only need four easy-to-find ingredients to pull off making it from scratch.

Are you ready to dive in on making this fruity and delicious, strawberry hot chocolate? Start by grabbing all of your ingredients. For this recipe, you'll need four simple items. Head to the store to grab unsweetened cocoa powder, white sugar, strawberries, and whole milk. To add a garnish on top, you may also want giant or mini marshmallows and festive sprinkles. 

"Be sure the strawberries are fresh and ripe," says Marshall. "Ripe strawberries will add the best flavor to the strawberry hot chocolate."

This recipe utilizes real, fresh strawberries for great flavor. You'll want to prep the strawberries ahead of time for best results.

Start by washing the strawberries and removing the stems. Then, place the strawberries in a food processor with ¼ cup of milk. "Continue to pulse and puree the strawberries until they're very smooth," says Marshall. "The added milk will help with this process." Puree the strawberries for at least 2 minutes before setting them aside while you prepare the rest of the mixture.

The base of this hot chocolate is made of unsweetened cocoa powder and white sugar. Add the cocoa powder and white sugar into a saucepan and use a whisk to combine the two together. 

Next up, add 1 cup of milk, and whisk the mixture until completely smooth. "Be sure the mixture is free of any large clumps from the cocoa powder before moving on to the next step," says Marshall.

With the cocoa powder, sugar, and milk mixed together, it's time to heat the hot chocolate mixture. Place the saucepan on your stovetop. Turn the heat to medium-high and allow it to warm up. Whisk in the prepared strawberry puree mixture and allow the drink to come to a boil. Stir the mixture constantly while heating it. "Heating the mixture allows the flavors of the strawberry and chocolate to come together," says Marshall. 

Once the strawberry hot chocolate is done, serve it in mugs. Garnish the drink with a giant marshmallow or mini marshmallows, along with sprinkles.