Red Velvet Hot Chocolate is the perfect drink for cold and spooky nights! This Halloween hot chocolate recipe has a not-too-sweet chocolate flavor, blood-red color, and a frightfully rich and creamy texture.

Skull-shaped mug full of red velvet hot chocolate with witch finger cookies scattered around the base.
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🩸 A Bloody Delicious Halloween Hot Chocolate Recipe

Looking for a unique drink to warm up your Halloween night? Try our red velvet hot chocolate recipe. This tasty twist on regular hot cocoa combines the rich flavor of chocolate with a hint of cream cheese, all decked out in a striking deep red color. It’s perfect for dunking Witch Finger Cookies, sipping while handing out candy, or enjoying at a Halloween party.

So grab your cauldron (or saucepan), round up the ingredients, and let’s stir up some Halloween magic that’s sure to have everyone asking for seconds!

Hand dipping a witch finger cookie into a mug of red velvet hot chocolate.

What Makes this Red Velvet Flavored?

To me, the signature characteristics of red velvet cake are the buttermilk, and light cocoa flavor of the cake. Without the buttermilk in the batter it’s just a boring, not-very-chocolatey cake, so as I was developing this recipe, I wanted to find a way to incorporate that uniquely tangy dairy flavor into the drink.

Rather than using actual buttermilk (because that sounded iffy) I blended a little cream cheese into the milk before heating it. Voila! Adding cream cheese makes it thicker and richer, and gives it a flavor that calls to mind not only red velvet cake, but also the signature cream cheese frosting.

The cream cheese isn’t overwhelming—I only use 3 oz for 20 oz of milk—so it’s more of a subtle background note. But it does add a wonderful texture and just a hint of cream cheese flavor that blends nicely with the semi-sweet chocolate. The hot chocolate’s flavor is complex and not too sweet, perfect for enjoying in small sips throughout the night.

Table of Contents

🧾 What You’ll Need

Overhead shot of ingredients needed to make red velvet hot chocolate.

Ingredients

Here’s what you need to know as you gather your ingredients. (Links are affiliate links and I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.)

  • Chocolate: I recommend using semi-sweet chocolate bars, chopped into small pieces. You could also use good-quality chocolate chips. A good rule of thumb is, since this chocolate provides all the flavor, you should use chocolate you enjoy eating. Using old, waxy, or cheap chocolate will lead to disappointing results.
  • Milk: Any fat percentage will work, but I like to make this with 2%, which makes it rich enough without being too rich.
  • Cream cheese: Cream cheese provides a subtle “tangy” flavor that replicates real red velvet flavor. Not a fan? Swap in some heavy cream. It won’t have the same taste, but will add a bit of fat that makes the drink more rich.
  • Brown sugar: Adds a note of caramelized sweetness to the drink.
  • Vanilla and salt: Both of these additions are subtle, but they add depth of flavor and shouldn’t be skipped.
  • Red food coloring: If you want a spooky blood-red color, you’ll need to use red food coloring. I use and recommend Americolor Super Red gel food coloring. If you’re only interested in the flavor and not the color, you can skip the coloring.
Small skull-shaped glasses filled with red velvet hot chocolate, with one in the foreground spilled to the side.

Equipment

  • Blender: I recommend a stick blender to easily blend the milk and cream cheese, but you can use a standard blender (or even a whisk and some elbow grease!) if that’s what you have.
  • Saucepan: A medium (2-3 quart) saucepan is perfect for this recipe.
  • Whisk:An absolute must to evenly disperse the chocolate as it melts.
  • Skull mugs: Optional but very fun! Here are some skull mugs similar to the ones used in the post.
Hand holding a witch finger cookie dipped into red velvet hot chocolate.
PAIR THIS HOT CHOCOLATE WITH WITCH FINGER COOKIES TO REALLY TAKE THEM OVER THE TOP.

Ready to Make These?

  1. Get the recipe below 👇👇
  2. Scroll below the recipe for step-by-step photos
  3. Read important Tips and more

Leave a Review!

If you make this recipe, let us know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on the recipe below, and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram @elabau, or use #sugarhero on IG!

Clear skull-shaped mug full of red velvet hot chocolate.

Red Velvet Hot Chocolate

5 from 7 votes
Red Velvet Hot Chocolate is the perfect drink for cold and spooky nights! This Halloween hot chocolate recipe has a not-too-sweet chocolate flavor, bold blood-red color, and a frightfully rich and creamy texture.
This recipe is quite rich, so we estimate it will yield 4 small (6 oz, or ¾ cup) mugs of hot chocolate.
Prep10 minutes
Cook10 minutes
Total20 minutes
Yields4 servings

Ingredients

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Instructions 

  • Place the milk and cream cheese in a blender and blend them together until smooth. If you have a stick blender, you can just place them in a saucepan and blend them together right in the pan.
  • Pour the milk-cream cheese mixture into a medium saucepan, and add the chocolate, vanilla, brown sugar, and salt.
  • Place the pan over medium heat and warm the milk, whisking occasionally, until the chocolate is completely melted and your mixture is smooth.
  • Whisk in the red food coloring, adding more until you get a color you like. Serve hot!
  • Red Velvet Hot Chocolate can be made several days in advance and kept in the refrigerator until ready to use. Reheat it in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove, and whisk well until it's shiny and smooth.

Recipe Notes

If you’d like a sweeter hot chocolate (or a brighter red color) you can substitute milk chocolate for some or all of the dark chocolate, or replace some of the dark chocolate with white chocolate.

Measuring Tips

Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.

Want to learn more about baking measurements and conversion?

Nutrition

Calories: 413kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 276mg | Potassium: 515mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 596IU | Calcium: 238mg | Iron: 3mg
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📸 Photo Tutorial: How to Make Red Velvet Hot Chocolate

Making this hot chocolate is wickedly easy – here’s how it’s done!

Blend the Milk and Cream Cheese

  1. Combine 2 1/2 cups of milk and 3 oz of room temperature cream cheese in a blender. (Or, if you have an immersion blender, place them right in your medium saucepan.)
  2. Blend them together until smooth and completely incorporated.

Add the Other Ingredients

  1. Add 6 oz chopped semi-sweet chocolate, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 2 TBSP brown sugar, and 1/4 tsp salt to the saucepan.
  2. Place the pan over medium heat and warm the milk, whisking occasionally, until the chocolate is completely melted and your mixture is smooth.

Color and Serve!

  1. Add a generous squirt of red gel food coloring. I recommend adding a little at a time, whisking in between, until you get a color you like. Be aware that it will require more food coloring than you’d think to get a bright red.
  2. Serve while it’s still hot – in skull mugs if you’ve got ’em!

💡 Tips for Success

Here are some helpful tips for making red velvet hot chocolate:

  • Use high-quality chocolate for the best flavor.
  • Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature so it’s easy to blend, and blend or whisk it with the milk until it’s very smooth.
  • If you prefer a richer drink, use whole milk instead of low-fat milk.
  • If you find the hot chocolate too thick, thin it out with a little more milk.
  • To achieve the perfect blood-red color, you’ll need to use a concentrated food coloring, like gel color or powdered food coloring, and you’ll need to use a lot of it! (I used Americolor Super Red for mine.) If you don’t want to use so much coloring — understandable! — you can skip it or use less, just know that you’ll have more of a brown or burgundy beverage.
  • If making for a crowd, keep it warm in a slow cooker set to low heat, stirring occasionally.
  • The key to great red velvet hot chocolate is balancing the chocolate flavor with the subtle tang of cream cheese, so feel free to adjust the ingredients to suit your taste preferences.
Clear mug full of red velvet hot chocolate with a spoon sticking out of the top.

💀 Serving Suggestions

When it comes to serving your red velvet hot chocolate for Halloween, there are plenty of fun and easy ways to make it extra festive.

  • One simple idea is to use Halloween-themed mugs or cups, like these skull mugs I used. You could also wrap plain mugs with Halloween-themed ribbon, or add stickers for a quick decoration.
  • For toppings, consider adding a swirl of whipped cream and then sprinkling it with black or orange sprinkles.
  • For a more dramatic look, try drizzling some red syrup (like strawberry or raspberry) over the whipped cream to create a “bloody” effect.
  • Another fun idea is to use ghost-shaped marshmallows or cut regular marshmallows into ghost shapes.
  • Finally, if you’re serving to adults, you could even rim the mug with red sugar to mimic the look of a cocktail glass.

Meet Elizabeth!

Hi, I’m Elizabeth โ€” a trained pastry chef, cookbook author, video instructor, and your new Baking BFF! I’m going to teach you everything you need to know to be a sugar hero. โค๏ธ

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29 Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing the recipe! I made this for a Halloween dessert battle last night when we played FoodFu. It was delicious! One of the judges said it was the best hot chocolate he’s ever had! I did modify the hot chocolate slightly and added a half shot of Almendrado right before serving. It was a bit of a challenge to make this in the 45 minutes the FoodFu game allows but I got it done!!!! If you haven’t played FoodFu (it’s a free app in the iTunes store) you have to try it!

    1. Thanks Lisa! So glad that you loved it, and your modification sounds delicious. I haven’t heard of FoodFu but I’ll have to check it out–sounds fun!

  2. The witch finger recipe is so cool. I pinned it so I can make them for my Halloween party next year. Thanks for the recipe.

  3. This is the best thing I’ve ever seen! I’m totally doing this next year… or maybe for Christmas haha.

  4. I just made the bloody chocolate (so bloody yummy!) but I need some help. I tried blending the cream cheese in the milk but it was still so lumpy and I had to end up straining what I could. Is there something I’m missing to make this better? What can I do better for next time?

    1. Hi Samantha, I’m sorry to hear it didn’t blend well for you! Did you use a regular blender or a stick blender? Were the ingredients at room temperature? What cream cheese did you use? I always use full fat cream cheese (as opposed to light or nonfat) because sometimes the light varieties have weird binding ingredients that make them behave differently. Next time you might try blending them in a different order–maybe start with the cream cheese and add a little bit of milk, gradually adding more milk as the cream cheese loosens up until you have a cream cheesy liquid. (Ugh, that sounds kind of gross, right?!) I hope you’ll let me know how your next batch works out!

    1. Good luck Cheryl! I’m actually going to film a video on how to make these, but it won’t be up for a few weeks probably. Feel free to shoot me an email if you have any questions. And I got the shot glasses at a Dollar Tree. It was like 3 for a dollar, can’t beat that! ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Do you mean the hot chocolate or the cookie dough? The cookie dough does for sure! The hot chocolate I haven’t tried. I don’t see why not…if it separates while defrosting you can blend it together with a stick blender and heat it back up. Sorry to not be able to say for sure, but please let me know how it goes if you give it a try!

    1. Hi Amy, Believe it or not, I got them from the Dollar Tree! I bought them a few years ago but actually saw them there again this year. I think I’ve also seen similar at seasonal Halloween stores like the Spirit stores.