11 Add-Ins For An Even Better Starbucks Hot Chocolate

Hot chocolate may bring to mind snow sledding expeditions and ski lodges, or holiday gatherings with family. No matter what you imagine, it probably brings a smile. The coffee giant, Starbucks, has its own version of this sweet, comforting beverage, and like most drinks on the menu, there are plenty of add-ins you can order to make it even better.

Before choosing how you'll customize your hot chocolate, it's helpful to know how Starbucks makes its hot chocolate and exactly what the base drink includes: steamed 2% milk with mocha sauce melted in. Short, 8 ounce drips have two pumps of mocha, and then it goes up one pump each as you move from tall to grade to venti. For topping, you'll get a dollop of whipped cream and then a swirl of mocha drizzle.

It's a world away from classic boxed hot cocoa mixes, and your barista will always use milk, rather than water, to make the hot chocolate. It's rich, tasty beverage, that as Dunkin' beat for who makes the better hot chocolate. If you want to take your chocolatey drink to the next level, check out these Starbucks-exclusive add-ins.

Starbucks hot chocolate is quite a bit different from the hot chocolate you get from powdered mix. Rather than having a smooth milk chocolate flavor, Starbucks uses mocha. As a result, the hot chocolate has much more of a dark chocolate flavor to it. Those who enjoy very dark chocolate will find the Starbucks beverage to be decadent and enjoyable, but those who prefer something closer to milk chocolate may think it tastes far too bitter. In these instances, we recommend adding white chocolate mocha to upgrade your hot chocolate.

Like the mocha sauce already in hot chocolate, white chocolate mocha is a thick and creamy sauce. It can dramatically change the consistency of a drink if too heavy-handed, so we recommend proceeding with some caution. There are two easy ways to add white chocolate mocha to your hot chocolate. The first is substituting half your pumps of regular mocha for white chocolate mocha. Alternatively, you could replace all of the mocha pumps for white chocolate mocha. If you choose to go halfway, you'll have something called a tuxedo hot chocolate, a fun secret menu name given to a hot chocolate that uses both dark and white chocolate. When you replace the mocha completely, your hot chocolate will have a much sweeter flavor. So, we find that if you're fully replacing the white mocha, it might be beneficial to do one fewer pump.

One of the more underrated flavors used to customize drinks is the vanilla bean powder. This powder is typically used in Vanilla Bean Creme Frappuccino or Café Vanilla Frappuccino. Outside of that, there are few drinks on the standard menu that use it as one of the primary ingredients. However, we've started to see its popularity grow, and when it comes to hot chocolate, we understand why.

Since it is a powder and takes a little bit more finesse to integrate into a drink, you'll definitely want to keep that in mind for the amount of powder that you order. For a tall, ask for one scoop of the vanilla bean powder. For grande, you could probably go up to two scoops, but it might be best to reserve it at one scoop. However, a venti would do with two scoops no problem. Even when made by the most skilled barista, you might find that some powder settles to the bottom of the cup, so give it a quick stir or swirl before taking a sip.

Vanilla bean powder isn't the only powdered flavoring agent Starbucks has in its repertoire. Sweet cherry powder and a cherry crunch drink topping hit the scene as part of the new Starbucks spring 2025 menu. It's mostly marketed as a sweet cream addition to chai, but that is far from the only drink you could add the cherry powder to. We've seen Starbucks has also recommended matcha and even shaken espresso as a complement to the sweet cherry powder and cold foam. That said, just because Starbucks is using the sweet cherry powder as a flavoring for cold foam, doesn't mean you can't use it in other ways — like, for example, in hot chocolate.

Like the vanilla bean powder, you'll need to take care with how much powder you order for your drink. Add too much, and you'll probably have a grainy texture. The sweet cherry powder has a very strong taste, so we don't recommend ordering a tall or grande with the powder. Instead, go the whole nine yards and get a venti hot chocolate with one scoop of the sweet cherry powder. With a venti, you can be sure that the flavor gets mixed in without too much taste or texture distraction.

Not much goes better with chocolate than caramel flavor, so when it comes to simple syrup additions, you can do no wrong with this basic. After all, caramel syrup and mocha sauce together sound like the perfect sweet and buttery chocolate bar. Since the Starbucks hot chocolate already has a fair amount of mocha pumps in it, there are a few ways you can go about the addition of caramel to be sure your flavoring doesn't venture into overly sweetened territory. You can replace pumps of mocha with caramel syrup — possibly just 1/3 of those pumps to begin for a more subtle caramel flavor. Or you could replace half of the mocha pumps with caramel. If you choose to do it this way, the caramel and mocha will play in equal measure with each other. Of course, you could always go for the syrup ratio to be more heavily caramel than mocha — it's really up to you!

If you're worried the runnier caramel syrup would thin out your drink too much, consider using the dark caramel sauce instead. This swap will not impact the texture, since it is a sauce like the mocha. Caramel syrup, on the other hand, does run the risk of creating a thinner drink.

Nutella, anyone? If you love this chocolatey spread and want to make it into a liquid dream, then consider adding hazelnut syrup to your hot chocolate. Since mocha has some reminiscent flavors of coffee, the hazelnut plays especially well here with its partially sweet and richly nutty flavor.

There's not quite as much need to be careful with hazelnut here. Since hazelnut can be more of a delicate flavor, adding the hazelnut on top of the mocha won't cause too much of a sugary concoction or texture issue. We recommend starting with two pumps in a tall, three in a grande, and four in a venti, in addition to the mocha already in the drink — though of course you can always go lighter or heavier.

If you're craving a French vanilla hot chocolate taste, and since Starbucks doesn't have a French vanilla flavor, you can split your hazelnut addition between vanilla and hazelnut to get something close. This little hack is popular among baristas, but it seems split on whether baristas will know what you're asking for if you just call it "French vanilla," so be sure to specify your syrup additions.

You might assume that peppermint syrup is only an option during the winter months, but it's actually available year-round. This means that in addition to ordering your peppermint mocha in the dead of summer, you can also order a peppermint hot chocolate for one of the more refreshing hot chocolates out there.

Unlike other syrups that may have a mild flavor, peppermint is a different story. Here, you won't need to worry about texture changes, but the minty syrup is a strong addition, so you'll want to approach it very carefully. For a tall hot chocolate, we recommend stopping at one pump of peppermint syrup. That might even be too much for your taste, so if you are ordering a peppermint hot chocolate, consider going for a grande or venti instead. A venti will be just fine with two pumps of peppermint, and a grande is ideal with one.

So far we've discussed syrups, sauces, and powders to customize your hot chocolate, but what about a change in milk? Of course, plenty of people who avoid dairy will swap out the 2% for a non-dairy milk substitute, but regardless of your lactose intolerance (or lack there of), give Starbuck's vanilla sweet cream a try. It even comes in a non-dairy version!

The regular version of the vanilla sweet cream takes the dairy used to make vanilla sweet cream cold foam, but instead of being chilled, the barista will steam it and froth it for your hot chocolate. It provides an ultra-rich flavor and makes for a velvety Starbucks hot chocolate. The non-dairy vanilla sweet cream uses mostly soy milk, with a bit of oat milk mixed in. It's a sweet and decadent experience, and definitely not for someone who isn't looking for a rich drink. This is the kind of hot chocolate you drink slowly, hopefully with a great book in hand. You'll see just how powerfully switching your milks will change the whole feel of your hot chocolate.

Some additions are more for looks than anything else, but while this one sure will add to the visual appeal of your drink, it also adds a touch of flavor. We're talking about the add-in of a caramel drizzle. Though popular for ice drinks, it doesn't mix in very well. However, when it comes to hot drinks, the caramel has a chance to melt right into the hot chocolate.

There are two ways you can request caramel drizzle: on the top of your whipped cream or as a lining in the cup. As a topping to whipped cream, it will take a little longer for the caramel flavor to join the chocolate, since it will only be able to melt after the whipped cream does (or unless you stir it in). But, if you order it as a lining to the cup, it can melt in quite quickly and saturate your entire beverage.

Of course, caramel drizzle isn't the only topping you can get for your hot chocolate. We also like cookie crumble as a way to accentuate the chocolate element. Normally, you'll find this as an addition to a Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino. It used to be a topping to the Chocolate Cookie Crumble Crème Frappuccino, one of the drinks Starbucks had us say goodbye to.

The cookie crumble is a mixture of sugar, flour, and a slew of other ingredients that (more or less) create Oreo cookie crumbles. It won't add a whole lot of flavor, but the crunch will be there as a little sweet treat mixed into every sip. For a bit of crunch, this is a fun add. If you'r already a fan of milk and cookies, we're betting this could become a new favorite addition that makes your hot chocolate even more dessert-forward than before.

One of our favorite parts of seasonal menus at Starbucks is the new flavors and additions to the menu. It gives customers ideas for more ways to customize drinks, even in small ways. As part of pistachio season, the nutty drinks get an addition of salted brown butter cookie flavored topping, often just called salted brown-buttery topping. Like the cookie crumble, this topping is more of a texture element, but we find the bursts of flavor are even more substantial. This topping is mostly sugar with salt and added flavoring.

With these crunchy bits, it would be worthwhile to add some pistachio sauce to your hot chocolate. You'll want to incorporate it the same way you would with white chocolate mocha: in replacement of some of the mocha sauce pumps, rather than in addition to the mocha pumps. The pistachio sauce is thick, so too much will create an overly-thick texture.

Sometimes, it can be tough to remember if a particular Starbucks drink has a topping. We have a simple trick for you: If a drink has whipped cream, there's a chance there's also a topping. Take the hot chocolate as an example — it comes with mocha drizzle, but if you want to change it up, consider cinnamon dolce sprinkles instead.

Your hot chocolate will also have whipped cream, so it's the perfect place for cinnamon dolce sprinkles. This topping is more simple than some of the others and is a mixture of cinnamon and sugar with salt and butter, among other flavors. Thanks to the butter, the topping has a smooth feel.

Since this topping will largely stay lodged in the whipped cream, it'll likely feel like the whipped cream has been flavored more than if something were added to the drink. Though, of course, as the whipped cream melts, the sprinkles will gradually mix in. The granules are much smaller than with the other cookie toppings, and therefore there is far less of a texture change. This is great for those who don't want to be startled by chunks of cookie when drinking their hot chocolate.