A hot chocolate bar is a build-your-own hot cocoa station that is perfect for weddings, Christmas parties, birthdays, and more! Guests will love creating their own gourmet hot cocoa from a selection of tasty mix-ins and toppings! It's as entertaining as it is delicious and so easy to set up!
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If you love planning parties, check out my hot dog bar, burger bar, and taco bar, too! They are perfect for just about any celebration!
DIY Hot Cocoa Bar For Parties
A hot chocolate bar is a build-your-own hot cocoa station where people can customize their hot chocolate drink to their heart's desire! It makes a fun addition to winter weddings, kids' birthdays, and Christmas celebrations (I've even set one up for after trick-or-treating)!
You can use these hot cocoa bar ideas as your own, or use them as inspiration and add your own twist! As long as the hot chocolate is tasty, it's hard to mess up!
🥘 Ingredients
Channel your favorite Starbucks drink or experiment with different flavor combinations to make an epic custom cocoa bar. These ingredients are suggestions; you can customize your hot chocolate station to suit your tastes!
Hot Chocolate
- Hot Cocoa Powder - 4 ½ cups of hot cocoa powder. See my hot cocoa powder recipe, or use your own!
- Milk - 18 cups of whole milk
Mix-Ins
- Caramel Sauce - My homemade toffee sauce is also excellent in warm drinks like cocoa!
- Flavored Syrups - Hazelnut and vanilla are popular choices, as is peppermint around the holidays!
- Hot Cocoa Bombs - These balls of chocolatey hot cocoa goodness melt into an instant gourmet hot chocolate. Hot cocoa spoons work, too!
- Bailey's Irish Cream (optional) - Or Kahlua for an optional alcohol choice for adults who want to partake!
Toppings
- Marshmallows - Mini marshmallows are classic, but kids love the fruity-colored ones!
- Candy Canes - I like offering whole candy canes for stirring (plus they are cute in pictures) and crushed candy canes for sprinkling on top!
- Coarse Sea Salt - A sprinkle of sea salt balances the sweetness!
- Coarse Sugar - Add a sweet crunch to the top of your hot chocolate!
- Chocolate Chips - Milk chocolate, white chocolate, caramel, and any other flavors you like! You can offer an assortment or stick to one kind.
- Crushed Nuts - Perfect for adding crunch to the top of your whipped cream topping!
- Sprinkles - Always fun and easy to customize to fit any theme!
- Cinnamon - Cinnamon is a must-have for those fall and Christmas-inspired flavor combinations. Ground cinnamon and cinnamon sticks work well.
- Whipped Cream - Who can resist topping their hot chocolate with a fluffy swirl of whipped cream? Homemade whipped cream is even better!
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
📖 Variations
Think of your favorite chocolate flavor combinations and try to recreate them with mix-ins, toppings, spices, syrups, and more! Here are some popular choices (measurements are for 12 servings, scale as needed):
- Pumpkin Spice Hot Cocoa- Traditional or white chocolate hot cocoa with 1 ½ tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice per 18 cups of liquid. Optional: mix 1 ½ cups of canned pumpkin puree into the cocoa for a true pumpkin hot chocolate! Top with whip and a sprinkle of pumpkin spice.
- Caramel Hot Cocoa- Add 1 cup of caramel sauce to 18 cups of hot chocolate and stir. Top each mug with whipped cream, butterscotch chips, and an extra drizzle of caramel. (Try coarse sea salt instead for a sea salt and caramel experience!)
- Christmas (Peppermint) Hot Cocoa- Add 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract to 18 cups of hot cocoa. Top with whipped cream, crushed candy canes (or red & green sprinkles), and a whole candy cane in the mug as garnish.
- Colored Hot Cocoa - White chocolate hot chocolate and a few drops of food coloring go a long way! This kid-favorite hot chocolate can be made red or green for Christmas, pink, blue, orange - you name it! (Using black cocoa powder in your hot chocolate makes a spooky black hot chocolate perfect for Halloween)!
🔪 Instructions
Here's how to set up a hot chocolate bar for any occasion! You will need a large space like a countertop or table, as well as ramekins and containers, mugs or disposable coffee cups, serving utensils, and a crockpot to keep the cocoa warm.
This is written for 18 servings of hot chocolate but can easily be scaled up or down as needed!
Make The Hot Chocolate
Step 1: Mix the hot chocolate powder and milk. Stir together 4 ½ cups (387 grams) of hot cocoa powder and 18 cups of milk in a crockpot. Use hot milk for instant hot cocoa, or heat in the crockpot on low for 2-3 hours or high for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Keep set to warm for serving.
Assemble Your Hot Chocolate Bar
Step 2: Set out cups. At the head of your hot cocoa station, put mugs or disposable coffee cups where guests can easily access them.
Step 3: Arrange the fixings. Arrange the mix-ins and toppings in an organized way that is pleasing to the eye (caramel sauce, cinnamon, hot cocoa bombs, flavored syrups, flavored syrups, whipped cream, mini marshmallows, candy canes, nuts, sprinkles, chocolate chips, coarse sugar, and coarse sea salt).
Step 4: Add labels and utensils. Use labels where needed to help guests navigate your hot cocoa bar. Include spoons or coffee stirrers for people to mix with.
Step 5: Enjoy. Let everyone enjoy creating their own tasty hot chocolate concoctions!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- 18 cups of milk is 1.125 gallons. One gallon of milk makes 16 cups of hot cocoa or 16 servings.
- Try serving a few options outside classic hot chocolate so guests can experiment with different flavor combinations. White chocolate hot chocolate and Mexican hot chocolate are always crowd favorites!
- Many of the mix-ins and toppings for hot chocolate taste fabulous in coffee! Consider offering coffee for the adults alongside your hot cocoa.
- Hot cocoa spoons are wooden spoons coated with chocolate and sometimes other mix-ins that melt when you stir. You can make them at home and add them to your cocoa bar, or wrap them in cellophane for cute, on-theme goody bags!
🥡 Storing
Leftover hot chocolate can be kept in a container with a lid in the fridge for 3-5 days. Follow the storing recommendations on the package of the individual ingredients for leftover mix-ins and toppings.
>>>>See all of my recipes here<<<<
❓ How To Keep Hot Chocolate Warm For A Party
Cold hot chocolate is no fun. Luckily, there are a few easy and convenient ways to keep your cocoa hot throughout the party! I usually serve from a crockpot or Instant Pot set to warm.
You can also keep the cocoa in a coffee carafe with a warming plate (many coffee makers include an option to keep the warming plate on). Otherwise, your best bet is to use a large, insulated thermal carafe.
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📖 Recipe Card
Hot Chocolate Bar
Ingredients
Hot Chocolate
- 4 ½ cups hot cocoa powder (1 batch of my hot cocoa powder recipe or your preferred brand )
- 18 cups milk (whole milk is best, or water)
Mix-Ins
- caramel sauce (or toffee sauce)
- cinnamon (ground or whole sticks)
- hot cocoa bombs (or hot cocoa spoons)
- flavored syrups (vanilla, hazelnut, peppermint, etc)
- Bailey's Irish Cream (or Kahlua- optional for adults only)
Toppings
- whipped cream
- mini marshmallows
- candy canes (whole and/or crushed)
- nuts (crushed)
- sprinkles
- chocolate chips (milk chocolate, white chocolate, or other flavors)
- coarse sugar
- coarse sea salt
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
Make The Hot Chocolate
- Stir together 4 ½ cups hot cocoa powder and 18 cups milk in a crockpot. Use hot milk for instant hot cocoa, or heat in the crockpot on low for 2-3 hours or high for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Keep set to warm for serving.
Assemble Your Hot Chocolate Bar
- At the head of your hot cocoa station put mugs or disposable coffee cups where guests can easily access them.
- Arrange the mix-ins and toppings in an organized way that is pleasing to the eye (caramel sauce, cinnamon, hot cocoa bombs, flavored syrups, flavored syrups, whipped cream, mini marshmallows, candy canes, nuts, sprinkles, chocolate chips, coarse sugar, and coarse sea salt).
- Use labels where needed to help guests navigate your hot cocoa bar. Include spoons or coffee stirrers for people to mix with.
- Let everyone enjoy creating their own tasty hot chocolate concoctions!
Notes
- 18 cups of milk is 1.125 gallons. One gallon of milk makes 16 cups of hot cocoa or 16 servings.
- Try serving a few options outside classic hot chocolate so guests can experiment with different flavor combinations. White chocolate hot chocolate and Mexican hot chocolate are always crowd favorites!
- Many of the mix-ins and toppings for hot chocolate taste fabulous in coffee! Consider offering coffee for the adults alongside your hot cocoa.
- Hot cocoa spoons are wooden spoons coated with chocolate and sometimes other mix-ins that melt when you stir. You can make them at home and add them to your cocoa bar, or wrap them in cellophane for cute, on-theme goody bags!
- Leftover hot chocolate can be kept in a container with a lid in the fridge for 3-5 days. Follow the storing recommendations on the package of the individual ingredients for leftover mix-ins and toppings.
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