I’m not a huge fan of hot coffee drinks, but I do love a warm cup of hot chocolate, especially when it’s cold and drizzly outside. I mean, is there anything better than a cup of cocoa topped with whip cream when you’re curled up with a blanket and a good book? I don’t think so. So, if you see my driving through Starbucks or Dutch Bros in the evening on a rainy day, there’s a pretty good chance that’s what I’m ordering.
But, if you’re just ordering the classic hot chocolate, you’re missing out! There are a lot of delicious secret menu hot chocolate drinks that you might love – and once you find your favorite, you can easily recreate it at home with similar ingredients.
Next time you’re driving though for that sweet, creamy hot cocoa with whip (always get the whip), come back to this list and try something new. You might just find your new favorite.
17 Starbucks Hot Chocolate Drinks:
Let’s start with the hot chocolate drinks that are actually on the menu. Keep scrolling for the secret menu drinks created by Starbucks lovers who appreciate their hot chocolate just as much as we do.
1. Starbucks Hot Chocolate:
The classic, original recipe uses steamed milk with chocolate syrups. It’s topped with their vanilla whip cream and usually chocolate drizzle as well. Their classic cocoa used to also have a dash of vanilla syrup in it, but that’s been removed on the ingredient list. You can always ask your barista to add it back in.
2. Starbucks Peppermint Hot Chocolate:
I love their seasonal peppermint drinks! My local Starbucks ran out of peppermint pretty early in the season, which made me sad – until I remembered that I can make it at home quickly using just three ingredients. Find the recipe here. But, if your location has it in stock, the peppermint hot chocolate is a delicious minty chocolate cocoa. Know that the peppermint syrup does add to the sugar content of your drink. They will use 4 pumps of mocha sauce and 4 pumps of peppermint syrup in a grande size. If you’d like to get the flavor with less sugar, ask for half of both.
3. Starbucks White Hot Chocolate:
Yup, white chocolate cocoa is actually on the menu! They just swap out that chocolate syrup for white chocolate sauce. I used to be a fan of dark chocolate, but this past year I’ve really developed a taste for white chocolate and this white cocoa is so good.
4. Starbucks Peppermint White Hot Chocolate:
Yup, add that peppermint syrup to your white hot chocolate or a combo that is so good. It has a lighter taste than the chocolate version, and it brings out the peppermint flavor more. Easy to recreate at home using white chocolate sauce and peppermint syrup. You can ask for half syrups to reduce the pumps from 4 of each to 2 of each in a grande.
5. Starbucks Kids Cocoa:
You can order a kid sized cocoa for your little one that is heated to a lower temperature for easy drinking. But, I will say you should always try it first before handing it to your kiddo, because a barista in a hurry could easily overheat it. We’ve had one that was too hot for our kids and I’m glad we sipped it first. Get a kids cocoa in any of the flavors on this list, too.
Starbucks Secret Menu Hot Chocolate:
Ready to try something new? For these drinks, you may need to give the barista a little help with the ingredients and expect that there will be additional charges for some of these. The typical grande size uses 4 pumps of the chocolate sauce and if another syrup is added, there will be 4 pumps of that syrup as well. This is very sweet and loaded with sugar. You can get a great tasting drink with half of those amounts, so these recipes reflect that change. If you don’t think this is sweet or flavorful enough, you can up the pumps, but more than likely, you’ll think this is plenty.
6. Starbucks Cinnamon Bun Hot Chocolate:
Love your cinnamon dolce lattes? Want to add that to chocolate? As for a cinnamon hot chocolate with the following ingredients for a grande size:
- Grande hot chocolate with…
- 2 pumps mocha syrup
- 2 pumps cinnamon dolce latte syrup
- Milk of choice
- Add whip
- Top with cinnamon dolce topping
7. Starbucks Tuxedo Hot Chocolate:
Don’t want to choose between white or milk chocolate? Add them both! Here’s what to ask for:
- Grande hot chocolate with…
- 2 pumps mocha syrup
- 2 pumps white chocolate sauce
- Milk of choice
- Add whip
- Add chocolate drizzle if you like!
8. Starbucks Toasted White Hot Chocolate:
When Stabucks unveiled the toasted white mocha sauce, I was very excited. They’ve removed the toasted vanilla that used to be my favorite, but toasted white mocha has a little bit of a toasted marshmallow flavor and I love it. If this one isn’t featured on the menu anymore, then you can still recreate it if they have the syrup.
- Grande hot chocolate with…
- 4 pumps toasted white mocha sauce
- Milk of choice
- Top with whip
- The original drink had seasonal toppings, so you can ask what they have in stock
9. Starbucks Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate:
Do you love salted caramel mochas? Then this is going to be your jam. You can get a similar flavor profile with this recipe:
- Grande hot chocolate with…
- 2 pumps toffee nut syrup
- 2 pumps mocha sauce
- Milk of choice
- Top with whip
- Ask for caramel drizzle and a dash of salt on top. If they don’t have the salt, you can add it yourself.
10. Starbucks Hazelnut Hot Chocolate:
Are you a fan of Nutella? Well, you can recreate that with this drink using their new hazelnut syrup! Here’s how you can order it:
- Grande hot chocolate with…
- 2 pumps hazelnut syrup
- 2 pumps mocha sauce
- Milk of choice
- Top with whip
- Add chocolate drizzle
11. Starbucks Caramel Hot Chocolate:
Fans of the Dutch Bros Caramelizer will rejoice with this combo. Caramel and chocolate together make a beautiful pair. It’s so easy to get a similar flavor with your hot cocoa. Here’s how to order :
- Grande hot chocolate with…
- 2 pumps caramel sauce
- 2 pumps mocha sauce
- Milk of choice
- Top with whip
- Drizzle with chocolate and caramel sauces (or ask for just one in case they charge individually)
12. Starbucks Caramel White Hot Chocolate:
If you love the caramel white mocha that has taken TikTok by storm – and I recreated it in this post – you can get that flavor with this hot drink, too! Here’s how to order:
- Grande hot chocolate with…
- 2 pumps caramel sauce
- 2 pumps white mocha sauce
- Milk of choice
- Top with whip
- Top with caramel drizzle
Good news! This drink has been added to their menu for 2024! You should be able to order it by name. It will come with 4 pumps of each sauce though, so you might want to ask for half syrups.
13. Starbucks S’Mores Hot Chocolate:
I’ve seen several versions of this one popping up on the internet, so it’s definitely something you can tweak to your preferences. Here’s one way to order it:
- Grande hot chocolate with…
- 2 pumps mocha sauce
- 1 pump vanilla syrup
- 2 pumps chestnut praline or toffee nut (whichever is in stock)
- Milk of choice
- Top with whip
- Top with mocha drizzle
Another variation that could be delicious is 2 pumps mocha sauce with 2 pumps toasted white chocolate sauce!
14. Starbucks Caramel Brulee Hot Chocolate:
Yup, you can use that delicious caramel brulee sauce in your cocoa, so long as it is still in stock! Here’s how you can order this toasty, delicious take on the caramel cocoa:
- Grande hot chocolate with…
- 2 pumps caramel brulee sauce
- 2 pumps mocha sauce
- Milk of choice
- Top with whip
- Top with caramel brulee topping (if in stock)
If the caramel brulee sauce is out of stock, check out my post on how to recreate it at home!
15. Starbucks Mexican Hot Chocolate:
If you’re new to the Mexican mocha or Mexican hot chocolate, it’s a delicious pairing of chocolate and cinnamon. I even have a version of it here on the site. Check out the recipe here. To recreate this with a hot cocoa, try out this recipe:
- Grande hot chocolate with…
- 2 pumps white chocolate sauce
- 2 pumps mocha sauce
- 2 pumps cinnamon dolce syrup
- Milk of choice
- Top with whip
- Top with cinnamon dolce topping
16. Starbucks Strawberry Hot Chocolate:
Are chocolate covered strawberries your favorite treat? I am obsessed with them. You can get that flavor profile here by incorporating their strawberry puree. Here’s what you can ask for:
- Grande hot chocolate
- Add strawberry puree
- Milk of choice
- Top with whip
- Top with chocolate drizzle
For a delicious strawberry mocha recipe, check out this post!
17. Starbucks Snickerdoodle Hot Chocolate:
Snickerdoodles might be one of my favorite cookies. Of course, I’ll always be a die-hard chocolate chip cookie fan, too, but the snickerdoodle is a solid choice. Recreate the flavors with this drink:
- Grande hot chocolate with…
- 2 pumps cinnamon dolce syrup
- 2 pumps white chocolate sauce
- Milk of choice
- Top with whip
- Top with cinnamon dolce topping
More Starbucks Drinks To Try:
Still looking for that perfect drink idea you can’t wait to try? Here are some more posts you might like:
- Easy strawberry cold foam iced coffee recipe (Starbucks Valentine’s Day copycat)
- Cinnamon caramel cream cold brew – Starbucks copycat recipe
- 16 holiday Starbucks drinks and copycat recipes
- 23 delicious Starbucks frappuccinos including secret menu drinks
There’s even more where that came from! I hope you find something delicious.
Get roasted,
A
