The Best Frozen Hot Chocolate Recipe

Frozen hot chocolate is the perfect refreshing treat on a hot summer day! It tastes like a combination of the best chocolate milk and a chocolate milkshake, making it the perfect drink when you want something sweet to cool down with!

When I was at Holiday World a couple of weeks ago, I tried their frozen hot chocolate based on a recommendation from another blog post somewhere. It was okay but just okay.

Honestly, I’ve struggled to find a good hot chocolate period so a frozen hot chocolate just seemed like a pipe dream.

Since I couldn’t find one that I loved anywhere else, I decided it was time to try to come up with a recipe on my own instead.

And you guys, this frozen hot chocolate is it. It’s rich, refreshing, and absolutely delicious.

Plus, it’s SO simple to make! Way simpler than something like hot chocolate bombs or even this chocolate cake shake (both are delicious though if you ever want to try them out!) I made it for my princess party, and it was one of the most popular princess party ideas of the entire event!

Plus, it doesn’t hurt that it works really well doubling for an Elsa (from Frozen) treat. It’d be perfect after playing some of these tiring Frozen games.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Super simple – like I already mentioned, this recipe couldn’t be easier to make. It’s literally just putting things in a blender and blending.
• Rich chocolately flavor – the problem with so many hot chocolates and especially frozen hot chocolate recipes is that they taste watered down or diluted. Not this recipe, it is full of rich chocolate flavor, just like if you were enjoying a milkshake with real chocolate ice cream.
• Make ahead recipe – I’ve included tips for making this ahead of time at the end of this post but just know it’s totally doable unlike so many milkshakes and other frozen treats.

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

• Hot chocolate mix – this is key because it adds a good amount of the flavor to the frozen hot chocolate. Use something that you know makes good tasting hot chocolate! I personally have used a number of different things but most recently for my princess party I used Ghirardelli double chocolate, and it was delicious!
• Whipped cream – my preference is to use spray whipped cream to top my drinks, but you could definitely use fresh whipped cream, Cool Whip, or even leave it out completely.
• Ice – make sure you have as close to five cups as possible for the right consistency of the drink AND so that you don’t use too much and accidentally water down the flavor with ice. While you may be tempted to just toss in some ice and blend, there’s a reason it’s measured out in the recipe.
• Heavy whipping cream – you could replace the milk and heavy cream with half and half if you have that on hand, but it’s better with the combo of both cream and milk!
• Milk + chocolate syrup – if you don’t have both of these on hand and do have actual chocolate milk, you can substitute the milk and chocolate syrup with chocolate milk instead.
• The best frozen hot chocolate recipe! The perfect cold summer drink! – if you’re out of powdered sugar, you could replace it with regular granulated sugar. The powdered sugar mixes better with the other ingredients, however, so it’s still the preferred choice!

How to Make Frozen Hot Chocolate

Honestly, I feel a little silly even typing these instructions out but here goes anyway!

Put all of your ingredients into the blender, making sure to follow my tip on the ice in the ingredient notes above (it’s important).

Pulse the blender until all of the ingredients are well blended but don’t let it run forever – you still want it to have a bit of consistency like a milkshake, not totally smooth like a smoothie.

Pour into four glasses equally, top with whipped cream, and sprinkles (if desired).

Serve with a fun straw to make it feel even more fancy!

That’s it, seriously. Easiest summer drink you’ll make over and over again.

Expert Tips

Make the drink ahead of time (don’t add the whipped cream) and freeze if you need to. Take it out of the freezer and allow it to thaw at room temperature if you have a bit more time or outside (when it’s hot) if you need it to thaw quickly. It tastes just as good after thawed as it does when you serve it immediately.  

Fill cups to about ¾ full (rather than all the way full) to leave room for a heavy spraying of whipped cream. The whipped cream and frozen hot chocolate together are a fantastic combination!

Recipe FAQs

More Fun Drinks

If you like this frozen hot chocolate recipe, you have to try these other delicious party drinks!

• Strawberry mojito mocktail – this kid-friendly mojito mocktail is great for baby showers, birthday parties, or just a hot summer day!
• Cotton candy drink – combine a delicious strawberry drink with the fun surprise of glitter filled cotton candy, and you have a real party stopper!
• Halloween punch – this delicious Halloween punch combines a couple of different flavors plus sherbet and gummy worms for a a spooktacularly festive drink!
• Holiday punch – is there anything better than a delicious sherbet holiday punch? This recipe is everything you want in a party drink!
• Strawberry mocktail – this citrus infused strawberry drink is so good, it was featured on Clinton Kelly’s website!