Chocolate-covered berries are the ultimate in romantic sweets, but who said you need someone special to feel the love!? Don’t wait for a date to bring you chocolates. Instead, treat yourself to a little self-love with this smooth and sensationally rich Strawberry White Chocolate Cocoa!
![Medieval glass mug, filled with delicious strawberry white hot chocolate and topped with strawberry-flavored whipped cream.](https://combinegoodflavors.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/strawberry-white-chocolate-cocoaD75_8839-scaled.jpg)
White chocolate and strawberry is an iconic pairing because they balance sweet, creamy, tart, and fruit flavors. Now imagine if you could enjoy this indulgent treat as a drink! You will love this recipe because:
- Scratch-Made Sensation - Every bit of this sumptuous recipe is beautifully homemade with so much ease that anyone can make it!
- Affordable Elegance - Everyone loves a recipe with simple ingredients, and all five of these easy ingredients are inexpensive, easy to find, and downright delicious!
- Special Treat - If you want to impress your special someone with something decadent, romantic, and absolutely gorgeous, forget the flowers and try this amazing fruity hot chocolate!
- Young and Old Agree - No matter your age the silky, fruity flavor of this delicious Strawberry White Chocolate Cocoa will make your taste buds sing with joy!
🥘 Ingredients
Whole Milk - Fresh and mildly sweet whole milk is the perfect dairy for warm and comforting cocoa! Slowly warming the milk brings out its natural sweetness and brings it to the perfect temperature for making milk foam.
If you’re avoiding dairy, you can swap the whole milk for lactose-free milk or plant-based milk. However, if you opt to use plant-based milk, look for a “barista-quality” product because it will have more fat, which gives it a better texture.
White Chocolate Chips - White chocolate is a chocolate product made from cocoa butter, dairy, and sugar. It contains no cocoa solids and has a distinctly different flavor and color than dark and milk chocolate. The taste of white chocolate is sweet, creamy, and almost vanilla-like. Since this variety of chocolate contains no cocoa solids, it is caffeine-free, so drinking this strawberry white hot chocolate before bed won’t keep you up all night!
White chocolate chips are the perfect way to introduce some lush cocoa flavor to this recipe. Use a quality brand of chocolate for the best flavor, and if you cannot find chips, try a chopped white chocolate bar.
Vanilla Extract - This common flavoring adds smooth, woody, and sweet flavors to everything it touches! Adding a hint of vanilla to the white chocolate makes it taste sugary, light, and silky smooth. If you’re out of vanilla, don’t worry. Instead, trade this flavor extract for almond, strawberry, or hazelnut extract.
Strawberry Syrup - Strawberry syrup brings fruity sweetness to this light and lovely hot chocolate. Strawberry syrup can easily be found in-store or online, but the best version of this ingredient is homemade! Try this easy recipe for strawberry simple syrup to make your own deliciously fruity syrup at home! It’s simple to make and store, so you can use it over and over again!
Homemade Strawberry-Flavored Whipped Cream - A perfect hot cocoa is not complete until it’s topped with whipped cream, but this delicious drink takes it one step further by using a delectable strawberry-flavored whipped cream as the garnish!
You can find flavored whipped creams at some major grocery stores, but the easiest way to get this airy ingredient is to make it from scratch! Try this super simple recipe for the perfect strawberry-flavored whipped cream for the ideal homemade fruity garnish!
See the recipe card for quantities.
🔪 Instructions
Step One: Warm the milk, chocolate, and vanilla extract until the chocolate is melted and fully mixed.
Step Two: Add the strawberry syrup and whisk until combined.
Step Three: Gently froth the milk and pour the strawberry white hot chocolate into a glass.
Step Four: Garnish with homemade strawberry-flavored whipped cream and enjoy!
🍓 Variations
Vegan Strawberry White Chocolate Cocoa - Swap the milk for non-dairy milk and use a vegan sweetener when making the yummy strawberry syrup. You can use coconut non-dairy whipped dessert and swirl in some of the strawberry syrup as a creamy vegan topping.
Extra Berry - If you can’t get enough strawberries, try adding an extra sweet touch by dusting the finished drink with some ground dehydrated strawberries and a couple slices of fresh strawberries.
Zebra Strawberry White Chocolate - Stripe some fun into this tasty drink by using half dark chocolate and half white chocolate. This makes for a nice balance of bitter and sweet flavors to meld with the yummy strawberry syrup and whipped cream!
If you love strawberries as much as I do, here are more great strawberry recipes for you to try!
- Strawberry Spritz Cocktail
- Strawberry Milk
- Strawberry Milkshake with Vanilla Ice Cream
- Quick Strawberry Cream
- Strawberry Simple Syrup
- Strawberry Popsicles
- Strawberry Cobbler
- Strawberry Whipped Cream
- No-bake Strawberry Cheesecake
- Strawberry Sponge Cake
- Strawberry Daiquiri
- Strawberry Cupcakes with Ricotta
- Strawberry Moscow Mule
🍽 Equipment
Milk Frother - A handheld milk frother can be used to whip up a nice foam to finish this drink with some great texture!
Serving Glass - This strawberry cocoa deserves a beautiful glass. Use a pair of lovely heat-proof mugs to show off the great color of this beautiful beverage.
🙋🏻 FAQ
This drink is naturally gluten, nut, and soy-free, but it is made with dairy and strawberries, which can irritate some allergy sufferers. You can trade the dairy for non-dairy alternatives as needed.
If you’re eating a low or no-sugar diet, you can make some changes to make this drink suit your needs! Trade the white chocolate chips for a sugar-free variation and make the homemade strawberry syrup using a sugar-free sweetener, like monk fruit, stevia, or erythritol. Use that same sugar-free strawberry syrup to make the lovely strawberry-flavored whipped cream and you will have the perfect sugar-free rendition of this hot drink!
If you make this recipe, let me know how you liked it by ★★★★★ star rating it and leaving a comment below. This would be awesome! You can also sign up for our Newsletter or follow me on Pinterest or Instagram and share your creation with me. Just tag me @combinegoodflavors and hashtag #combinegoodflavors, so I don't miss it.
📖 Recipe
Strawberry Hot Chocolate
Equipment
- Saucepan small
- Serving cup
Ingredients
- 1 cup Whole Milk or a plant-based alternative
- 1 cup White chocolate chips
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ⅛ cup Strawberry syrup homemade or storebought
Instructions
- Place 1 cup Whole Milk in a small saucepan with 1 cup White chocolate chips and ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract.1 cup Whole Milk, 1 cup White chocolate chips, ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
- Heat slowly and dissolve the white chocolate chips in the hot milk.
- Add ⅛ cup Strawberry syrup.⅛ cup Strawberry syrup
- Whisk until the milk is well combined with the white chocolate and the strawberry simple syrup.
- Froth with a milk frother before you pour the hot strawberry white chocolate into a drinking glass.
- Garnish with some Homemade strawberry-flavored whipped cream.Homemade strawberry-flavored whipped cream
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
⛑️ Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
For further information, check Safe Food Handling - FDA.
Alexandra
Strawberry and white chocolate is one of my all time favourite flavour combinations, so I was excited to try this recipe! It is simple and so delicious - I’ll be enjoying it whilst watching Christmas movies over the holiday season for sure 🙂
Nora
That sounds wonderful! I love hot cocoa and Christmas movies too! The perfect pairing! 🎄
Sunrita Dutta
This is such a tasty break from normal hot chocolate. So delicious and comforting.
Nora
Thank you, Sunrita!
Jacqueline Debono
What a yummy hot chocolate recipe. I love white chocolate more than dark chocolate so this drink is perfect for me!
Nora
I am so glad to hear that! Thank you, Jacqueline!
Jerika
YUM! Super love this Strawberry White Chocolate Cocoa! I love the creaminess of it and the combination of flavors. An addition to my favorites of comfort food. Thanks!:)
Nora
Thank you so much, Jerika!
Lathiya
I can't get one reason to not try this delicious recipe. My kids will love this strawberry white chocolate cocoa for sure.
Nora
Thank you, Lathiya! Let me know how they liked it!