This recipe was sponsored by Sprouts Farmers Market. All thoughts and ideas are my own.
This recipe for pumpkin spice hot chocolate is the perfect warm fall to winter beverage without a ton of sugar!
I love a good glass of hot chocolate… but my blood sugars often spike afterwards. This pumpkin spice hot chocolate recipe is made in your crock-pot (or other slow cooker) and has less than half the sugar of traditional hot chocolate recipes!
How to make low sugar hot chocolate
I wish I had some super secret way to reveal to you how to make lower sugar pumpkin spice hot chocolate. But, it’s actually pretty simple. You just cut back on the amount of sugar you add in. Most hot chocolates are super duper sweet and honestly just don’t need that much sugar.
Now, I did go a step further with this recipe and switched to coconut cream and unsweetened almond milk (instead of sweetened condensed milk and whole milk) to cut back even more. Still just as creamy and delicious, just not as sweet.
What makes this recipe healthy hot chocolate?
My pumpkin spice hot chocolate not only tastes great, but it’s also got a decent amount of fiber (4g/cup) and you get a good amount of vitamin-A from the pumpkin, and calcium from the almond milk. (Most almond milks are fortified with calcium.)
How to make hot chocolate for a crowd
You could easily make this recipe on the stovetop but it’s super easy to do in your crockpot as well if you’re having family over for a gathering or celebration.
How to make crockpot hot chocolate
I recommend cooking crockpot hot chocolate on the low setting. You don’t want to risk anything burning on the bottom of the crock-pot, which could happen if you use the high setting.
Is it different than slow cooker hot chocolate?
Crock-pot is a very popular brand of slow cooker. Any brand of slow cooker should work for this recipe. If your slow cooker is smaller than 6 quarts, make sure to adjust the recipe accordingly.
The best pumpkin spice hot chocolate recipe
By using two cans of pumpkin puree in this recipe, not only are we upping the fiber content, but it also makes it a bit thicker and satisfying! Truly making this the best pumpkin spice hot chocolate recipe you’ll find! And since we use all dairy-free ingredients, it’s perfect for the non-dairy people in your life, too.
Easy crockpot hot chocolate with cocoa powder
Most hot chocolate recipes you’ll see will add some form of chocolate chips or white chocolate chips, again adding a lot of extra sugar. In the recipe below, we only need unsweetened cocoa powder to get that delicious chocolate flavor for our pumpkin spice hot chocolate. I get mine from the Sprouts Bulk department. I love how I can find both seasonal fall products and year-round staples at super affordable prices at Sprouts. (And, inspite of the pumpkin shortage happening this year, my Sprouts has had some in stock every time I’ve gone!)
How to keep your hot cocoa warm
The best way to keep your hot chocolate warm is to simply leave it in your slow cooker. If it has a “warm” setting you can leave it on that but since this is a liquid it shouldn’t even need that. It will stay warm in the cooker for 2-3 hours with the lid on and the slow cooker turned off.
In the mood for another warm fall beverage? Make sure to try my Low Sugar Caramel Brûlée Latte!
Low Sugar Crock-Pot Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate
Equipment
- Slow cooker
Ingredients
- 2 15 fl oz. cans Sprouts brand coconut cream
- 1/2 gallon unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 2 15 oz. cans pumpkin puree
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup Dutch process cocoa powder available in the Sprouts bulk foods department
- 2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- Whipped cream for topping optional
Instructions
- Add all of your ingredients to the bowl of 6qt slow cooker. Whisk everything together until week combined.
- Turn the slow cooker to low and continue to heat for at least 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.
- Once thoroughly warmed through, serve into 8 fl oz. portions and top with whipped cream and extra cinnamon if desired.
One Response
Made it this weekend and it was delicious! I cut the recipe in half as there is only two of us and it still worked perfectly. The leftovers reheated great as well. Thanks!!