Pumpkin White Hot Chocolate

It’s time to pull out the scarves and sweaters and grab a mug full of your new favorite hot drink! This Pumpkin White Hot Chocolate is a sweet, decadent treat that’ll make any day a little bit cozier!

We love warm drinks in the Fall and Winter even though it hardly ever gets super cold where we live. Southern Californians are notorious for putting on thick sweaters and boots whenever the temperature drops below 70F (but really, who can blame us when there are so many cute sweaters out there?), and we have to admit that we’ve been known to do the same at times. Even better is when we decide to use slightly less-hot weather as a reason to make hot chocolate. There’s just something about drinking a hot and tasty treat out of a big mug that makes everything better. 

Many people don’t believe that white chocolate should be grouped in with its milk and dark chocolate cousins, but we think there’s a time and a place for white chocolate. And that time and place is here, right now, with this sweet pumpkin drink. The white chocolate provides a delicate sweetness to this drink and lets the pumpkin flavor and color shine. The spices add just the right amount of Fall punch to this recipe, and the salt is absolutely necessary because it provides the perfect balance to the sweet ingredients.

For more drinks, both hot and cold, check out our other recipes here.

Ingredients for this Pumpkin White Hot Chocolate

This recipe comes together pretty quickly and isn’t too hard to make. Here is what you’ll need for it:

• 4 cups whole milk – the richness of the whole milk helps amplify the flavor, but the fat in whole milk also helps keep the hot chocolate from breaking or being more watery.
• 8 oz white chocolate, chopped – we tried both white chocolate chips and white chocolate bars and preferred the latter. It seemed to melt in with the milk best and didn’t leave an oily residue the way that the chips did.
• 15 oz can pumpkin puree – make sure your pumpkin puree can has no added sugar and is simply pureed pumpkin.
• 2 tsp vanilla extract – as with all desserts, vanilla helps round out and deepen the flavors.
• 3/4 tsp salt – we very strongly believe in adding some salt to your desserts. This recipe is no different. If you’re afraid of adding this much salt, you can start with ½ tsp and then add more, if you want more.
• ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice – store bought or homemade works fine.
• Freshly grated nutmeg – freshly ground nutmeg is always better than pre-ground. It has a much more robust flavor and really is delicious in this drink, but if you don’t have fresh, you can use ground or add more pumpkin pie spice instead.
• 1 tbsp maple syrup (optional) – the maple syrup adds a nice additional Fall flavor, but if you taste the hot chocolate and think it’s sweet enough with the white chocolate, then you can leave this out.
• Whipped cream – we make our own by whipping 1 cup of heavy cream with 2 tsp of granulated sugar (if you want it sweeter, add another tsp of sugar), but store-bought is totally fine.

To Make this Tasty Treat

All you need to make this delicious drink is a pot, a whisk, and a few minutes of your time.

In a large pot over medium-low heat, whisk the milk and pumpkin puree together so that the puree blends with the milk. Be careful not to let the milk boil or it’ll scald, and no one wants scalded milk!

Once the milk and pumpkin mixture is warmed through (this should take about 3 to 4 minutes), add the chopped white chocolate, spices, and salt and whisk until the white chocolate has fully melted into the milk mixture and the spices have flavored the drink. Add the vanilla and stir until fully combined. If you want to boost the sweetness and nuttiness of the hot chocolate, you can add 1 tbsp of maple syrup. We like it both with and without the maple syrup, so it’s up to you!

Some of the pumpkin may settle as the drink cools, so you’ll want to give it a stir before drinking. If you want a smoother texture, you can strain it before serving.

Serve hot with an optional dollop of whipped cream.