Sweet and salty in one delicious hot chocolate. It’s topped off with homemade whipped cream (so easy to make at home) and a drizzle of caramel sauce.

Recipe Highlights
- Hot chocolate made sweet and salty with salted caramel sauce and chocolate syrup. The drink comes together in minutes by combining the sauce, syrup, and milk.
- The salted caramel sauce and chocolate syrup can be homemade or store-bought. I recommend getting store-bought salted caramel sauce it’s not the easiest sauce to make, but definitely use homemade chocolate syrup since it’s quick and simple to make your own.
- The drink is topped off with fluffy whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce. With a handheld milk frother, whipped cream is made in seconds.
Want to make more drinks with caramel sauce? Try my Salted Caramel Latte, Salted Caramel Mocha Latte, and Salted Caramel Cold Brew with Cold Foam.
Ingredient Notes

- Chocolate syrup
Store-bought or homemade chocolate syrup can be used. It’s the base for hot chocolate and you can use it to make mocha drinks too. - Sea salt caramel sauce
One sauce I don’t like to make from scratch is caramel sauce since it’s tricky to get it just right. Store-bought is what I recommend for this recipe. - Milk
Whole milk will make the hot chocolate the creamiest but you can use any milk you like. - Heavy cream
This is for the whipped cream topping. - Sugar
Use granulated white sugar to add to the heavy cream to sweeten the whipped cream topping.
Step-by-Step Instructions

For full ingredients and instructions, scroll down to the recipe.
- Make whipped cream topping.
Sugar and heavy cream are whipped together using a handheld milk frother. Fluffy whipped cream is made in seconds. - Combine milk, chocolate syrup, and caramel sauce in a saucepan and stir on low heat.
- Assemble drink.
Pour salted caramel hot chocolate into a mug. Use a spoon to scoop up the whipped cream into the drink. Drizzle on salted caramel sauce.
Photo Credit: amazon.com
Expert Tips
- Homemade chocolate syrup can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. Once the syrups are made, it’s just a matter of heating up and combining the milk and the syrups.
- The whipped cream can be made as stiff or soft as you like by adjusting the time you whisk. If you want a more pourable whipped cream with soft peaks that will stir into the drink easier, whisk until it thickens slightly. Make sure to move the handheld milk frother up and down to get air into the cream.
- Whipped cream can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Stir it a little since it may have deflated a bit.
- To make the drink more decadent, pour the hot chocolate into a French press and pump the plunger up and down until it doubles in volume. It’ll create a nice frothy hot chocolate.
Questions You May Have
Yes, there’s caffeine in chocolate so there’s caffeine in the drink but it’s not a lot.
Any kind of milk that you prefer can be used.
Yup, just add two pinches of sea salt with the caramel sauce.

Related
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Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate
INGREDIENTS
Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ cup chocolate syrup
- 1 tablespoon salted caramel sauce
Whipped Cream Topping
- ⅓ cupe heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salted caramel sauce
INSTRUCTIONS
- Make whipped cream topping.Sugar and heavy cream are whipped together using a handheld milk frother. Fluffy whipped cream is made in seconds.
- Combine milk, chocolate syrup, and caramel sauce in a saucepan and stir on low heat.
- Assemble drink.Pour salted caramel hot chocolate into a mug. Use a spoon to scoop up the whipped cream into the drink. Drizzle on salted caramel sauce.
EQUIPMENT
NOTES
- To use caramel sauce instead of salted caramel sauce, just add two pinches of sea salt into the saucepan with the other ingredients.
- Homemade chocolate syrup can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. Once the syrups are made, it’s just a matter of heating up and combining the milk and the syrups.
- The whipped cream can be made as stiff or soft as you like by adjusting the time you whisk. If you want a more pourable whipped cream with soft peaks that will stir into the drink easier, whisk until it thickens slightly. Make sure to move the handheld milk frother up and down to get air into the cream.
- Whipped cream can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Stir it a little since it may have deflated a bit.
- To make the drink more decadent, pour the hot chocolate into a French press and pump the plunger up and down until it doubles in volume. It’ll create a nice frothy hot chocolate.