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The best hot chocolate K-Cups to warm you up this winter

If you have a Keurig, then try these hot cocoa options

Amber Sayer
By
Hot chocolate with marshmallows
Carolyn Christine / Unsplash

Keurig devices and other single-serve coffee machines offer coffee lovers a simple and convenient way to brew up the perfect amount of coffee to fill your insulated travel mug on your way out the door. You don’t have to be a coffee aficionado to enjoy these easy-to-use coffee machines.

When you want a quick treat and don’t feel like whipping up hot chocolate from scratch, there are plenty of delicious hot chocolate K-Cups that let you quickly brew up the hot cocoa you enjoyed as a child. No matter who wants to make a tasty treat on a cold day, try popping one of our picks for the best hot chocolate K-Cups into your coffee machine and enjoy the deep chocolate aroma and flavor of a warm mug of cocoa.

Box of Nestle hot chocolate Keurig-compatible K-Cups.
Nestle

Nestle is a name that is synonymous with chocolate. And Nestle has produced its own hot chocolate K-Cup: Carnation Rich and Creamy hot chocolate Keurig-compatible K-Cup capsule pods. When you’re looking for your cup of hot cocoa to truly conjure up the delightful memories of enjoying a mug when you were a child, turn to a classic like the Nestle Carnation rich and creamy hot chocolate pods. These hot cocoa pods are essentially the exact same, classic hot cocoa mix that Nestle has used in its packaged mix for decades, but it’s now in grown-up, convenient, K-Cup packaging so you can have your cocoa at the touch of a button.

Maud's Dark Hot Chocolate Loco Hot Cocoa Pods.
Maude's Gourmet Coffee

Maud’s dark hot chocolate Loco Hot Cocoa pods

We like the deeper, darker hot cocoa flavor of Maud’s dark hot chocolate Loco Hot Cocoa pods. Moreover, for people with allergy concerns, this is a gluten-free, dairy-free hot chocolate. The product is all-natural, which means it’s a great option for those on special diets. Maud’s also prioritizes the environment and sustainability, manufacturing these hot chocolate K-Cups right in California using 100% solar energy, and the pods are 100% recyclable, so you don’t have to worry about the pods ending up in a landfill. Due to the dark chocolate, Maud’s dark hot chocolate Loco Hot Cocoa pods are slightly less sweet than some other brands, but just as chocolatey.

Image of the tops of K-Cups variety pack for Two Rivers hot cocoa.
Two Rivers Coffee

Two Rivers chocolate hot cocoa pods variety sampler pack

The Two Rivers chocolate hot cocoa pods variety sampler pack offers true variety when it comes to the flavors and brands you get to enjoy in the sampler. No two sampler packs are the same, but you get 40 cocoa pods, including options from a number of different brands like Pingo, Brooklyn Beans, Junior Mints, Cold Stone Creamery, Tootsie Rool, and more. The sheer variety of different flavors and brands in this pack is what makes it a fun way to discover new favorites to enjoy on a cold winter day. Our personal favorite was the Brooklyn Beans Peanut Butter Cocoa.

Box of Swiss Miss milk chocolate K-Cups
Swiss Miss

Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate hot cocoa Keurig single-serve K-Cup pods

We continue our list of the best hot chocolate pods for your Keurig with another nostalgic classic, the Swiss Miss milk chocolate hot cocoa Keurig single-serve K-Cup pods taste exactly like the Swiss Miss hot chocolate packets you used to love as a kid. The hot chocolate K-Cups from Swiss Miss brew up a steaming mug of super smooth and creamy hot cocoa that will bring back memories, but the flavor is a little light, so you might want to doctor it up with some marshmallows because as we all know, marshmallows in a cup of hot cocoa make everything better.

Box of Amazon brand hot cocoa K-Cups
Amazon

Amazon brand Happy Belly Milk Chocolate flavored hot cocoa pods

The Amazon Brand Happy Belly milk chocolate hot cocoa pods taste exactly like a cup of hot chocolate from Starbucks, but without the high price tag that usually comes along with a beverage from Starbucks, which is a good thing. We liked how creamy the resulting hot cocoa tasted but overall the chocolate flavor from these pods is a little light, so if you’re looking for a hot chocolate that has a somewhat more sweet and mild flavor than some other brands that are on the market, the Happy Belly milk chocolate flavored hot chocolate pods would be a good pick for you.

Box of Mountain High salted caramel hot chocolate K-Cups
Mountain High

Mountain High All-Natural Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate single-serve cups

For those of you who love salted caramel hot chocolate, the Mountain High all-natural salted caramel hot chocolate single-serve cups offer everything that you love about the flavor of sweet, silky salted caramel drizzled in your mug of cocoa in the convenience of a K cup. Our favorite thing about the Mountain High hot chocolates (they make milk chocolate and dark chocolate as well) is that there are no artificial sweeteners, a surprising rarity when it comes to packaged hot cocoa. The only ingredients that are in this delicious brew are sugar, non-fat milk, cocoa, salt, and natural salted caramel flavoring.

Box of Tootsie brand hot cocoa K-Cups
Tootsie Roll

Tootsie Roll Candy-Flavored Cocoa hot chocolate pods 

The Tootsie Roll candy-flavored cocoa hot chocolate pods are arguably some of the most fun spins on classic hot chocolate mixes available. Each cup of hot chocolate is creamy, velvety, and has a nostalgic candy-inspired flavor, including Tootsie Rolls, Junior Mints, Charleston Chew, and Sugar Babies. The hot chocolate pods brew up a full-bodied mug of chocolatey cocoa with a clearly distinct aroma of the candy itself. The Sugar Babies hot cocoa has notes of caramel while the Junior Mints has a refreshing zing of mint. And if you’re allergy-conscious, the Tootsie Roll candy-flavored cocoa hot chocolate pods are gluten-free.

6 top views of Pingo hot chocolate K-Cups
Two Rivers Coffee

Pingo Hot Chocolate pods for Keurig K-Cup brewers variety pack

The most unique flavors of hot chocolate that we sampled for this list were found in the Pingo hot chocolate pods for the Keurig K-Cup brewers variety pack. This 40-pack offers six flavors of gourmet hot cocoa: Blackout Dark Chocolate, Cookies and Cream, Milk Chocolate, Candy Cane, Caramel Overload, and Peanut Butter Cookie. This is a great variety pack of hot cocoa K-Cups for those who like a sweeter drink. Aside from the Blackout Dark Chocolate, which has some better notes, these flavored cocoas are delightfully dessert-y and sweet. The texture is creamy and smooth and they also smell divine.

Dunkin' Hot Chocolate kKCups
Dunkin'

Dunkin’ hot cocoa K-Cup pods

America might run on Dunkin’ coffee, but its hot cocoa is a big seller as well, and now, it’s available in recyclable K-Cup pods for your home brewer. If you’re getting a craving for Dunkin’, just pop one of these into your Keurig and you’ll have a mug of steaming, rich and creamy hot cocoa without having to go through the drive-through. The Dunkin’ pods taste very much like the hot chocolate you get at the stores, but if you want to get that full coffee shop experience, add some marshmallows or even some whipped cream. Sadly, if you want a donut to dunk into your cocoa, you’re going to have to go out and get one, donuts are not included in the K-Cup pack.

Editors' Recommendations

Amber Sayer
Amber Sayer
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Amber Sayer is a fitness, nutrition, and wellness writer and editor, and was previously a Fitness Editor at Byrdie. She…
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