This is quite possibly the easiest and cheapest and best option for Chocolate Milk. I am talking BEST chocolate milk I have had. Granted, I have only ever had the stuff from the grocery store. But its WAAAAYYYYY better than that. 🙂 If you want to have the powder on hand to make a glass of chocolate milk whenever you crave one, be sure to check out my Chocolate Milk Powder or Chocolate Syrup recipe.
Homemade Chocolate Milk
Not only is it only four ingredients, but you can customize the ingredients to fit your diet!
- milk
- cocoa powder
- confectioners sugar
- vanilla
I like to use whole milk, good quality cocoa powder, organic confectioners sugar, and the best quality vanilla I can find. As I mentioned, these are also really fantastic alternatives to this recipe should you want to store ready-made powder ➡️ Chocolate Milk Powder or make your own Chocolate Syrup.
How to Make Chocolate Milk
There are a few easy ways to make homemade chocolate milk. The recipe below utilizes a blender, but you could also just stir the ingredients by hand. Another method would be to add all the ingredients to a jar that you have a lid for. Add ingredients, place lid on top, and then shake shake shake!
Is Chocolate Milk Good for You?
This is a loaded question, really. Chocolate milk has the same benefits of unsweetened milk, including calcium, vitamin D, and potassium (just to name a few). However, the added sugar is what makes chocolate milk more of a dessert to have once in a while than a drink to have every day. It contains up to two times the sugar of unsweetened cow’s milk.
Is Chocolate Milk Healthy for Kids?
Just like with adults, children should drink chocolate milk in moderation. One glass of chocolate milk is more than half the recommended daily sugar intake for kids. So, it’s a great treat, just like going out for ice cream, but a treat that kids and adults should enjoy once in a while.
How to Make Chocolate Milk for Your Diet
Want all organic? Simply choose organic ingredients! Need dairy-free? Try almond milk. Want gluten free? Try raw sugar, natural dark cocoa powder (not cocoa mixes), and pure vanilla extract. If you want sugar free try replacing the sugar with liquid Stevia. Here is a great post from Deliciously Organic that can help you determine what works best for you!
You could also use lower-fat milk when you make chocolate milk. Another healthier option would be to make your own milk with chocolate syrup so you know exactly how much chocolate you are adding. Any way you pour it, chocolate milk is definitely a refreshing treat that can be enjoyed when the craving hits!
What else can you add to Homemade Chocolate Milk?
Some folks like to add a little cinnamon (I tried this and didn’t like it) or nutmeg. Others have added about a tablespoon of butter to the blender while mixing.
Want it thicker? Try adding a teaspoon for cornstarch before blending.
Make it a Chocolate Milkshake by adding vanilla ice cream!
Looking for More of the Best Chocolate Milk Recipes?
As mentioned earlier, making your own chocolate milk is probably your best bet when it comes to making it fit your nutritional needs. My homemade chocolate syrup recipe can be added to milk in your desired amount. The same goes for my chocolate milk powder. With no preservatives, you know exactly what is going in the powder and you can tweak it as you see fit.
Homemade Chocolate Milk
Ingredients
- 3 cups milk, we prefer whole
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Pour milk into blender. Add in cocoa, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla. Blend all ingredients until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds.
- Serve and enjoy!
- This will last about one week covered in the fridge. (Or the life of the milk)
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
UPDATE:
I made another version of Homemade Chocolate Milk that utilizes homemade chocolate syrup. This is a richer version, should you want an extra chocolate punch!
I made using 4 cups of milk, 8 teaspoons of powdered sugar, 8 teaspoons of cocoa and one teaspoon of vanilla extract. It was barely sweet, almost so that I couldn’t taste the sugar. I added about two more tablespoons of sugar, and then my hubby loved it.
Can this chocolate milk also be made into hot chocolate?
I suppose that yes, you could. If you do use hot milk be VERY careful if using a blender though!
I made this today for my boys, it was delicious! It dissolved very well, which is rare for chocolate milk mixes (even store bought). I doubled the sugar tho, cause it was too chocolaty for my clan, and it made it perfect. Thank you for sharing it!
I loved this recipe! The store was all out of chocolate milk, and I decided to give this a try. Glad I did! Not going back to store bought stuff again! So easy and fast to make! Although I had to almost double the sugar to make it taste somewhat more similar to what I buy at the store, as I’m used to that kind of sweetness. My only concern was that cocoa powder is a bit grainy, so consistency isn’t as smooth as what you get at the store. Going to have to try to create a chocolate syrup instead, but that would involve boiling and MUCH more time to prepare.
Just made this, and definitely making again! Very good and cheaper than buying it from the supermarket!
I hated it for the following reasons:
– Wasn’t sweet enough (needed additional tablespoon of sugar)
– Tasted like cocoa milk rather than chocolate (blended)
– Tastes like there’s a hint of coffee mixed into it, for some reason. There’s no coffee after-taste, however.
Not sure your reasons for hating it have anything to do with the recipe.
This chocolate milk is really good and it’s weird this is white foam on the top of it though
I am trying to lose weight eating low carb, so I put a cup of cashew milk (thicker and creamer than almond or coconut, and with fewer carbs, practically none), one heaping teaspoon cocoa powder (I have experimented with many, like Droste best so far–am still experimenting with Dutch processed vs not, there is a difference) 3 packets of Stevia, and dash of pure vanilla, and mix with immersion stick blender, it is great. Do you have any ideas of how to make it even better?
If you microwave a small amount of milk and add the cocoa and sugar to that and mix it into a paste like substance you can just add the milk to that and stir. Makes it so you do not have to dirty the blender. I did this 2 cups instead of 3.
I read a lot of the comments here before deciding to make it, and I almost didn’t because so many people said they didn’t like it or had to change the proportions to get something they did like. Ultimately, though, I thought it was worth a try because this is such a reputable blog…
Like many others, I need more sugar to get a taste that replicated store-bought chocolate milk. I actually had to go up to SIX Tbsp powdered sugar to mask the cocoa powder taste — until then, it just tasted so powdery The other drawback for me was that since I don’t have a blender, I used my food processor (with the knife blade) and even though the 3 cups milk didn’t reach the “liquid fill” line, it made a huge mess which was a pain to clean up.
I imagine the brand of the cocoa powder is really important here. I’m not sure what else would account for the difference. I’ll probably look around for a different chocolate milk recipe or just stick with my usual Java syrup/milk combo. Gorgeous photos, though!
Tali- the point is NOT to replicate the syrupy store bought chocolate milk. The point is to make a natural homemade version that is chocolatey and a little sweet. In the homemade version you can control ingredients. It would be impossible for me to create a recipe that tastes perfect to everyone.
The goal in recipe sharing is to create a solid baseline and people can tweak it to meet their needs. Some want more sugar, some want less, some want none! If you are looking for a homemade recipe to replicate the store bought version then yes, you will want to look elsewhere. Thanks.
I was craving for chocolate milk so I made this without looking at the negative comments below, well no regrets because it was absolutely delicious! I blended 2 cups of low fat milk, added one banana and cocoa powder to taste with no sugar added. I used Hershey’s cocoa powder, and liked how it isn’t too sweet like commercial brands. Cheers!
Glad you enjoyed it!