My chocolate milk with cocoa powder recipe is easy and delicious! By making this old fashioned drink at home with just 3 ingredients, can decide how much sugar and unsweetened cocoa powder you want to add, allowing you to make the drink as decadent or as healthy as you want. You can even tweak the recipe to make a sugar free or vegan version, too. Although this recipe has an important step because you have to dissolve the cocoa powder in milk, it’s not hard at all. If you want to learn how make the best chocolate milk at home with ingredients you probably already have on hand, keep reading!

Why Use Cocoa Powder to Make Chocolate Milk?

Can You Make Chocolate Milk Without Syrup or Drink Powder?

If you wanted to make chocolate milk, you would probably add chocolate syrup or chocolate milk powder to a glass of milk and then stir. While everyone remembers Hershey’s syrup and Nesquik powder from their childhood, you can make homemade chocolate milk with even more basic ingredients.

Although it’s very old fashioned, making chocolate milk with cocoa powder is a tried-and-true way to make a delicious drink.

Advantages to Using a Chocolate Milk with Cocoa Powder Recipe

There are many reasons why using cocoa powder to make chocolate milk is better than using syrup or drink powder:

It’s cheaper – Unsweetened cocoa powder and sugar are relatively inexpensive, so each glass of chocolate milk costs just a few cents
It’s always available – Most people with well-stocked pantries always have unsweetened cocoa powder on hand. It’s used in a lot of recipes like chocolate cake, brownies, chocolate gravy, and many others.
It’s shelf-stable – Unlike chocolate syrup that should be refrigerated after opening, cocoa powder can be kept at room temperature for an extended period of time, making it easy to always have on hand. Since it doesn’t go back easily, you can make a glass of chocolate milk whenever you want.
It gives you more control over the recipe – Chocolate syrup and drink powders have both chocolate and sweetener included, so there isn’t much you can do if you prefer chocolate milk with more chocolate or less sugar. However, since unsweetened cocoa powder is pure chocolate, you can adjust the ingredients and make the drink exactly how you want it.
It’s healthier – This cocoa powder based recipe has wholesome, old fashioned ingredients–no chemicals or preservatives.

Even though there are a lot of reasons why making chocolate milk with cocoa powder is a good idea, it does require a bit of knowledge on how to cook with unsweetened cocoa powder.

Why Doesn’t Cocoa Powder Dissolve in Milk?

Although you are probably excited to make homemade chocolate milk with cocoa powder, you will be disappointed if you add a spoonful of cocoa powder to cold milk: no matter how much you stir, cocoa powder won’t dissolve into the milk.

Cocoa powder hydrophobic, so it does not like to mix with liquid because the fat in the cocoa powder, just like the oil in a salad dressing, does not like to mix with other liquids.

How To Dissolve Cocoa Powder in Milk

To overcome this tendency, you have to:

Mix the cocoa powder into a warm liquid
Use a relatively small amount of liquid

Alternatively, you could also blend the milk, cocoa powder, and sugar together, but the finished product is still a bit gritty. If you want your homemade chocolate milk to be as smooth as possible, dissolving the cocoa powder in a bit of warm milk or water–along with the sugar or other sweetener–is key.

How to Make Chocolate Milk with Cocoa Powder at Home

Learning how to make chocolate milk with cocoa powder is easy. Once you learn the steps, you can make homemade chocolate milk whenever you want; in addition, you can tweak the recipe to suit your tastes.

Measure Out the Milk

The first step is measuring out the milk. Although you need 1 cup of milk for an 8 oz glass, you have to divide the milk into two:

2 tablespoons (or perhaps a bit more) to mix with the cocoa powder and sugar

the rest of the milk, kept chilled

This is because you are going to dissolve the cocoa powder and sugar in 2 tablespoons of warm milk, then add in the rest of the milk.

I used 2.5 teaspoons of sugar and 2.5 teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa, so just under 2 tablespoons of dry ingredients: that is why I used 2 tablespoons of warm milk to dissolve the powders.

Likewise, if you use more / less dry ingredients, adjust the “mix-in” quantity of milk accordingly. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t use less than 1 or 2 tablespoons of milk to dissolve the dry ingredients–but if you use a 1.5 tablespoons of both sugar and milk, I would definitely recommend using 3 tablespoons of milk for mixing in the dry powders.

Once again, this recipe is flexible.

What Kind of Milk Should I Use?

Although I recommend using whole milk, you can use 2%, 1%, or even skim. You can also use a vegan milk such as almond, rice, or coconut.

Remember, the fat in cocoa powder does not like to mix with liquid, so it doesn’t matter if your “milk” is dairy or non-dairy, full fat or skim: you still need to set aside a small amount to dissolve the unsweetened cocoa powder.

Choose Your Sweetener

White sugar is the most common sweetener in old fashioned chocolate milk, but since you are basically making your own homemade chocolate milk powder, you can use whatever sweetener you want, even if it is not in powder form.

If you want to maintain the old fashioned flavor, I recommend using sweetener such as:

White sugar
Brown sugar
Molasses
Honey

Molasses and honey are liquid, but they will still dissolve better if added to a warm liquid. So, add the molasses or honey to the small bit of milk at the same time that you add the unsweetened cocoa powder.

Adjust the Sweetness

Cooking at home gives you control over the recipe, and this chocolate milk with cocoa powder recipe is no exception. Many people find chocolate syrup and storebought chocolate milk mixes to be too sweet, so this recipe is a good way to cut down on the sweetness.

For one 8 oz glass of chocolate milk, I recommend using 2 – 3 teaspoons of white sugar (if that is the sweetener you choose to add). If you have never made this before, I suggest going in the middle of the range: 2.5 teaspoons.

After making this once, you can decide exactly how sweet you want your chocolate milk to be.

Measure Out the Cocoa Powder

Once again, this recipe is very flexible, so you can tweak your homemade chocolate milk to your personal tastes.

For one 8 oz glass of chocolate milk, I recommend using 2 – 3 teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa powder. If you have never made this before, I suggest going in the middle of the range: 2.5 teaspoons.

Over time you can experiment and figure out how chocolatey you want your drink to be.

Dissolve Cocoa Powder in Milk

As explained previously, dissolving cocoa powder in milk is a bit tricky. The key is to heat up a small amount of milk (or even water) to dissolve the dry powders. I used a microwave since it’s the easiest way to make this recipe, but you could use the stove as well.

Although you do not have to heat up the milk before adding the cocoa powder or sugar, I suggest heating the milk for 15 seconds before adding the dry ingredients, putting the glass back into the microwave for another 15 seconds, then stirring. By adding the dry ingredients to slightly warm milk, it will be a bit easier to dissolve them.

However, if you forget to warm up the milk and add the unsweetened cocoa powder and sugar to cold milk, just put the glass into the microwave for 15 seconds, stir, heat for another 15 seconds, then stir again–it’s not ideal, but it won’t ruin the recipe.

Mix

After dissolving the cocoa powder and sugar in a small amount of milk, let it cool down before adding the cold milk. 5-10 minutes, maybe 15, should be enough.

Once the cold milk is added, stir to combine.

*NOTE: If the chocolate milk sits for a while, the cocoa powder may start to cling to the sides of the glass. Simply use a spoon to scrape the sides of the glass to reincorporate the cocoa powder.

Chill

Now that everything is combined, chill the chocolate milk in the refrigerator. 15 minutes should be enough time.

Enjoy!

A tall, gold glass of old fashioned chocolate milk is a great after school treat for kids, as well as an amazing after work pick-me-up for adults.

Recipe Review

Appearance: 10 / 10

This looked like a classic, old fashioned glass of chocolate milk, and it was just the shade of brown that you would expect. It looked great!

Taste: 10 / 10

As expected, this homemade chocolate milk was amazing! It tasted fresh and had the perfect amount of chocolate and sugar–and very importantly, it wasn’t too sweet. Honestly, it was the best chocolate milk I had ever had.

Texture: 10 / 10

The cocoa powder and sugar dissolved completely, this the chocolate milk was nice and smooth.

Ease: 9 / 10

This chocolate milk with cocoa powder recipe is easy: all you need is 3 ingredients and about the same amount of cook time. However, since dissolving cocoa powder in milk can be a bit tricky, I rated this recipe a 9 / 10 instead of 10 / 10. But, if you follow my directions, this recipe is not hard at all.

Possible Changes to the Recipe

Sugar Free Chocolate Milk

A lot of people are trying to reduce their sugar intake or at least use all natural sweeteners. Instead of white or brown sugar, some other possible sweeteners are:

Honey
Molasses
Stevia
Monk fruit sweetener
Agave nectar
Date syrup

Honestly, the possibilities are endless, so if you experiment with different sweeteners, let me know how your drink turned out!

Vegan Chocolate Milk

If you are wondering if it’s possible to make vegan chocolate milk at home, the answer is yes! Possible non-dairy milks to consider using are:

Almond milk
Rice milk
Coconut milk
Soy milk

Remember, cocoa powder is always hydrophobic no matter the liquid, so it doesn’t matter if you are using cow, goat, almond, or coconut milk–or even water–you still have to heat a small amount of the liquid to dissolve the cocoa powder and sugar before adding the rest.

Dark Chocolate Milk

Some people love the slight bitterness and reduced sweetness of dark chocolate. Since this recipe can be adjusted to personal tastes, you might want to try adding more cocoa powder / less sugar.

I have never made dark chocolate milk, but my guess is that 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder and 2 teaspoons of sugar would be a good starting point.

A Bit of Vanilla / A Pinch of Salt

Although I honestly think it’s a bit overkill since this recipe is great as-is, you might want to consider adding:

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
a small pinch of salt (perhaps 1/16 teaspoon…a very, very small amount)

Some other recipes online for homemade chocolate milk recommend adding these, so you might want to think about it–but like I said, I think the recipe is perfect with just 3 basic ingredients.

Other Chocolate Recipes

If you’re a chocoholic, you’ll love these other recipes, too:

4-Ingredient Chocolate Dump Cake – This is probably the best easy chocolate cake recipe.

Sweetened Condensed Milk Fudge Recipe – This microwave fudge is perfect for the holidays.

How to Make Chocolate Milk with Cocoa Powder Recipe