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December 5, 2018

Instant Pot Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate

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Instant Pot Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate–the Instant Pot is a perfect vessel to heat hot chocolate and keep it warm. This version is a twist on a classic. It has notes of salted caramel and it’s just a dream! Perfect for holiday merriment! 

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Get the SLOW COOKER version of the recipe here

Instant Pot Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate

I’ve been making this hot chocolate in the slow cooker for a few years now.  When I got my 8 quart Instant Pot last week and needed to bring a large amount of hot chocolate to a party I thought it was the perfect time to make this recipe in the Instant Pot.

You don’t use the pressure cook function for this recipe. You can heat the milk in a few different ways. You can use the saute function, just make sure to whisk often. You can also use the slow cook function on high which doesn’t require whisking. Or you can even use the yogurt function to bring the hot chocolate to a proper temperature.

After the milk is heated and the chocolate chips are melted well you’ll whisk the mixture really well. Then you can just keep the hot chocolate on the keep warm setting. This will keep your hot chocolate warm but not too hot. The perfect temperature to serve and enjoy.

I love this dreamy hot chocolate and will take it over a piece of chocolate cake! It is so delicious. Try it out this season!

More Christmas recipes you’ll love…

Cinnamon Candied Almonds

Hot chocolate jars for neighbor gifts

Dark Chocolate Peanut Clusters

2 Ingredient Fudge

What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?

To make Instant Pot Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate I used my 8 quart Instant Pot Duo*.  You can also use your 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly.  It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.

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Instant Pot Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate


★★★★★

4.7 from 6 reviews

  • Author: Karen Petersen
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 12 servings 1x
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Description

The Instant Pot is a perfect vessel to heat hot chocolate and keep it warm. This version is a twist on a classic. It has notes of salted caramel and it’s just a dream! Perfect for holiday merriment! 


Ingredients

Scale
  • 12 cups of milk (I’ve used skim to whole)
  • 1 (14 oz) can Eagle Brand caramel flavored sweetened condensed milk or an equal amount of caramel ice cream topping (I’ve also just used regular sweetened condensed milk and it has been great)
  • 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips (I like the Costco brand)
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp sea salt

Instructions

  1. Pour all ingredients into the Instant Pot and stir.
  2. There are 3 different methods to heating your hot chocolate.
    1. Saute: The fastest is the saute method. Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. You’ll need to whisk often until the chocolate is melted and incorporated so it doesn’t burn.
    2. Slow Cook: If you have more time you can put the Instant Pot on the slow cook function on the highest setting. Check back every 30 minutes and whisk until it is heated and all the chocolate is melted. This will take about 1 1/2 hours.
    3. Yogurt: If you have a yogurt button on your Instant Pot you can use that. Cover your pot and secure the lid. Touch the yogurt button and then adjust to Boil. This method takes about 40 minutes. Halfway through the cycle (20 minutes) open the pot and whisk. Then put the lid back on. Once the timer beeps indicating the boil cycle is done remove the lid and whisk the contents of the pot.
  3. Whisk very thoroughly. Turn Instant Pot to the keep warm setting. Serve hot chocolate in mugs with marshmallows and whipped cream.
  4. If there are leftovers you can pour the hot chocolate into a pitcher with a lid and store in the refrigerator. Each time before drinking, stir with a whisk.

Notes

I used my 8 quart Instant Pot Duo*.  You can also use your 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.

  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Instant Pot

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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

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37 Comments Filed Under: All Recipes, Desserts, Instant Pot Tagged With: christmas

Recommendations

Comments

  1. Jeff Winett says

    December 13, 2022 at 7:39 pm

    I HAVE to make this….”yesterday” :). Please PLEASE give me a hint where to buy the caramel flavored condensed milk. I am getting nowhere. I do make Dulce de Leche regularly in my I.P., and it is a very thick, deeply browned caramel….if you suggest, I could pressure cook the condensed milk much less, so it would be caramel flavored, but still pourable. Anyway, I’m obsessed, and hope to hear back on this. Healthy and happy holidays to you and your family.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 14, 2022 at 11:10 am

      I didn’t realize that the caramel condensed milk is no longer made! So I would just use caramel ice cream topping (look by the ice cream section of the grocery store, I buy smuckers I think) or you can just use regular sweetened condensed milk. Both are so amazing!

      Reply
  2. Paul says

    December 13, 2022 at 7:26 pm

    Hi Karen
    Thanks for all your recipes for the instant pot. It’s only because of you that I have one and use it so frequently.
    I was unclear on one ingredient for the salted caramel hot chocolate. The caramel flavored sweetened condensed milk is not available here. Are you saying to use 14oz of caramel topping instead of the regular condensed milk or in addition to the condensed milk? Thank you.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 14, 2022 at 11:11 am

      Yes that is what I meant! So use 14 ounces of caramel ice cream topping (like smuckers). It’s so great!

      Reply
  3. Shay A. says

    December 9, 2022 at 5:43 pm

    This is the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had. I made it for me and my husband because we weren’t feeling good and thought that it sounded like a nice drink to make us feel better and lift our spirits.. OMG. Spirits lifted!! Thanks for sharing!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 10, 2022 at 10:49 pm

      It really is the BEST

      Reply
  4. Debbie Kotelnicki says

    December 8, 2021 at 9:32 pm

    You have vanilla listed in the ingredients but then it’s crossed off and ✔️. Is the vanilla actually used? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 9, 2021 at 1:21 pm

      Yes vanilla is used. It isn’t supposed to be crossed off. That is just a function of the recipe card where people can click on ingredient and cross it off after they use it. Make sense?

      Reply
  5. Gene Maloziec says

    December 28, 2020 at 9:20 pm

    Great recipe Karen. I wanted to make a keto version for my wife. I could not find unsweetened condensed milk and did not find sugar free caramel ice cream topping in our store (I made this on a whim), so I substituted unsweetened pudding that come in a four pack. I also used unsweetened chocolate chips. Added 2-3 T of skinny caramel coffee flavoring. Followed the Saute method on medium and everyone raved about the results. I tinker with a lot of your recipes to satisfy her gluten free sugarless meals.
    Thanks

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 28, 2020 at 9:42 pm

      wow you are a nice husband!

      Reply
  6. Cheryl says

    December 28, 2020 at 3:49 pm

    Could Cacao chocolate chips be used in place of the semi sweet chocolate chips?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 28, 2020 at 8:49 pm

      Yes that would be great I think!

      Reply
  7. Dawn says

    December 23, 2020 at 8:04 pm

    How does regular condensed milk turn into taste of caramel? I can’t find caramel flavored condensed milk. I like to follow a recipe to the T.

    Thank you, Dawn

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 28, 2020 at 9:14 pm

      use the caramel ice cream topping…it is so good!

      Reply
      • Pixybrat says

        December 8, 2021 at 7:44 pm

        Cans of condensed milk can also be cooked ( unopened) in a slow cooker until it turns into caramel. You can find recipes on Google. Turns out into real caramel… Yummy.

        ★★★★★

        Reply
    • Julie says

      December 15, 2022 at 11:24 am

      I was in your shoes yesterday. I did a search and found:
      bakinghow.com/make-caramel-from-condensed
      I used the slow cooker method and set it before going to bed last night. This morning I removed it from the crockpot (after 9 hours) and BOY … love it!!!

      Reply
  8. Cal says

    November 30, 2020 at 5:10 pm

    Im having trouble using the yogurt setting. I hit yogurt button until boil setting shows; however, instead of 40 minutes the cycle ends in around 10 minutes and milk is still cold. Any suggestions?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 1, 2020 at 6:17 pm

      That is so weird. I wish I could be there to figure it out. It’s hard for me to troubleshoot when I can’t “see” what’s going on. Have you ever used your pot to make yogurt before and did the boil setting work?

      Reply
  9. Allison says

    March 13, 2020 at 10:15 am

    Has anyone tried this with alternative milk—in particular, soy milk?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      March 13, 2020 at 1:33 pm

      I haven’t, but I think it would be fine.

      Reply
      • Eva Kortness says

        December 20, 2020 at 11:31 am

        what about almond milk?

        ★★★★★

        Reply
        • Karen says

          December 21, 2020 at 3:24 pm

          Sure, sounds great!

          Reply
  10. Angela says

    January 24, 2020 at 4:34 pm

    Is the lis on for the slow cook method?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      January 25, 2020 at 10:08 pm

      yes 🙂

      Reply
  11. Caitlyn says

    January 18, 2020 at 2:38 pm

    Do you have a standard hot cocoa recipe? I love the idea of this one, but I have family members who don’t like salted caramel.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      January 18, 2020 at 6:28 pm

      No but I should! I will come up with one 🙂

      Reply
  12. Brenna Sherwood says

    December 11, 2019 at 10:31 am

    About how long does the sauté method take to prepare?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 11, 2019 at 1:52 pm

      Hi Brenna, I would say about 15 minutes

      Reply
      • Brenna Sherwood says

        December 11, 2019 at 2:16 pm

        Thank you!

        Reply
  13. Lori Sari says

    December 7, 2019 at 1:50 pm

    I made the slow cooker version last year, and I couldn’t find the caramel condensed milk, so I pressure cooked a can of regular condensed milk to make dulce de leche! It was delicious!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 9, 2019 at 3:37 pm

      Yum Yum! Sounds so good!

      Reply
  14. Joni says

    December 7, 2019 at 12:39 pm

    Can I split this in half? It seems like too much for my family and I’m not making it for a party.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 9, 2019 at 3:38 pm

      Yes you can easily do that. The only annoying part is using half a can of sweetened condensed milk.

      Reply
      • Emily Stevens says

        March 13, 2020 at 12:35 pm

        Use the other half of the can of sweetened condensed milk when you make your instant pot greek yogurt!

        Reply
        • Karen says

          March 13, 2020 at 1:35 pm

          Good idea 🙂

          Reply
  15. Christina in SW FL says

    December 22, 2018 at 7:17 pm

    Looks good. I’ll have to stick to a more practical way to make it for one person.

    ★★★

    Reply
    • Simona says

      November 15, 2020 at 10:16 am

      Why would you leave a three star review, when you haven’t even tried the recipe??

      Reply

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Hi, I’m Karen. I know that dinner time can be less than relaxing. Busy schedules and cranky kids and a hundred other things can lead to weariness when it comes to putting dinner on the table. I can help! I make homemade, family-friendly slow cooker and Instant Pot dinners and share the recipes with you.

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