The Best Hot Chocolate K-Cups for the Money (2024)

1. 1. Maud’s Kosher Assorted Flavor Hot Chocolate K-Cups, 48-Count
2. 2. Happy Belly Yummy Hot Chocolate K-Cups, 24-Count
3. 3. Swiss Miss Recyclable Chocolate Hot K-Cups, 28-Count
4. 4. Grove Square Kosher Certified Hot Chocolate K-Cups, 24-Count
5. 5. Pingo Gluten Free Hot Chocolate K-Cups, 100-Count
6. 6. Starbucks Medium Roast Hot Chocolate K-Cups, 60-Count
7. 7. Victor Allen’s Coffee Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa K-Cups, 42 Count
8. 8. Grove Square Caffeine Free Hot Dark Chocolate K-Cups, 24-Count
9. 9. Dunkin’ Donuts Creamy Hot Chocolate K-Cups, 24-Count
10. 10. Tootsie Roll Junior Mints Caffeinated Hot Chocolate K-Cups, 24-Count

Each of the 48 hot chocolate K-cups in this pack are made using recyclable plastic. The company goes a step further by producing the K-cups in a solar-powered facility. Of course, avid hot chocolate lovers will appreciate the many different flavors that include hazelnut cream, cinnamon churro and chocolate coconut.

Each box of these hot chocolate K-cups includes 24 pods packed with rich cocoa powder. The taste is comparable to the Starbucks brand cocoa. These pods are compatible with both 1.0 and 2.0 K-Cup brewers

You'll get 28 pods of this popular hot cocoa, each holding the perfect amount for one serving. You can also order them in larger packs or in flavors like peppermint. Each serving has 60 calories, but there's a reduced calorie version that has only 40.

An adorable penguin decorates that tops of these hot chocolate K-cups. Each cup is made using real cocoa for a bold flavor. The ingredients are Kosher and contain no gluten for those following a gluten-free diet. If you enjoy a spin on your hot chocolate, you can skip the milk chocolate and go for the cookies and cream, caramel overload or candy ca...

Buying Guide

It’s never been easier to make a cup of hot cocoa — especially if you have a Keurig coffee maker. You can buy pods filled with hot cocoa mix. Simply slide the cup in just as you would a coffee pod, stick the cup on the tray and press the buttons to get the serving size for your cup.

But if you’ve ever used instant cocoa mix, you know the flavor can vary widely from one brand to another. The desired taste is usually rich and creamy, but that traditional taste requires milk, and K-Cups operate with water. So some manufacturers incorporate milk into the powder to achieve that same taste by just adding water.

Milk chocolate is the typical taste associated with hot cocoa, but there are many other flavor options as well. Salted caramel is particularly popular. You can also find reduced-calorie cocoas, but K-Cup cocoa is usually fairly low in calories from the start. Some consumers add creamer, milk or flavored syrups to their hot cocoa for that extra flavor injection.

• Before putting the K-Cup in the brewer, shake it up to make sure the powder inside is mixed well. This will also help break up any clumps.
• There are concerns about the eco-friendliness of K-Cups, but many manufacturers pack their ingredients into recyclable plastic cups now. You simply need to peel the top off, clean the internal contents out and toss it in the recycle bin.
• Hot cocoa can clog up the internal workings of your Keurig. For best results, run one cycle of only water into a coffee cup after each cup of cocoa you make.
• One thing you can’t get with K-Cup cocoa is the tiny marshmallows that come in some instant cocoa packets. But there’s nothing stopping you from loading your cup full of marshmallows or whipped cream after you’ve made your cup.
• Low-calorie versions of K-Cup cocoa are available. One of the best things about K-Cup cocoa is that it typically has fewer calories than its counterpart in packet form.
• Although hot cocoa isn’t coffee, it’s important to note that chocolate does have some caffeine. So if you need decaffeinated hot cocoa, you’ll have to narrow your search to that.
• K-Cups are packaged in a box, with multi-box sets available if you want to buy in bulk.

The consumption of chocolate is believed to have originated with liquid cocoa. Archaeologists have found traces of chocolate in pottery that belonged to the Olmec civilization in Southern Mexico. This dates it back to 1700 BCE. Experts believe the Olmec civilization roasted fruit from the cacao tree and ground it down to mix with water for a beverage.

But the cocoa at that time wouldn’t have been sweet. As the popularity of cocoa beverages spread, it was often brewed with chilies and corn. It was the Spanish who came up with the idea of adding sugar and cinnamon to the beverage to sweeten things up a bit.