Mexican Champurrado and tamales is the best combination in the world!
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This rich Mexican hot chocolate is made for las posadas and Christmas time.
I have seen different versions, but there is none better than my mom’s recipe.
During one of her visits, I asked her to teach me her recipe. To my surprise, she agreed. She’s even in the video!
Table of Contents
More Mexican Drink Recipes:
🥣 Instructions
- Add 5 or more cups of water and a cinnamon stick to a large stock pot or a large saucepan.
- Bring to a boil and simmer at medium heat for a few minutes.
You start by making cinnamon tea in a large stock pot. There is no way around it. You must use whole cinnamon.
None of the ground stuff. You can’t make it quick. You gotta use the stick.
Sure, you can find this hot drink in Mexican grocery stores but it’s so much less expensive to make it at home.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips:
- Did you know if you put a lid on a stock pot the water will come to boil more quickly YES!
- Be sure to make this in a large stock pot. It will be the pot you serve everyone from. Unless you transfer it to a hot beverage dispenser.
🌽 Masa Harina
Don’t confuse this with regular hot chocolate. The biggest difference: Masa harina! That’s what will create a thick drink and gives it its unique flavors.
Masa harina is a type of corn flour used in many Mexican recipes like corn tortillas, sopes, masa for tamales.
That’s why this drink is so often had with tamales. You can always find masa harina on Amazon.
Very Important! You CAN’T substitute masa harina for corn flour. Accept no substitute. If they don’t use masa harina corn dough, it is not Mexican champurrado.
- For those of you in Mexico, you can buy a small amount of fresh corn masa from the tortillería for just a few pesos.
- Here in the United States, the best way is to make your own as we are doing here, or you can buy fresh masa at a local Mexican restaurant.
It’s seriously easy to make the masa harina mixture. Masa harina and water. That’s it!
I love this picture of my mom’s experienced hand covered with masa and all. We made gorditas that day and had leftover masa dough.
My mother is old school. She makes the masa mixture by hand. That’s the way she was taught, and that’s what she’ll do.
- Add water to the masa to a medium bowl.
- Mix thoroughly to get out all the lumps.
You can do this in the blender, with a hand mixer, or like my mom, by hand. I won’t lie. Doing this by hand does get messy.
😃 Mexican Joke for the Holiday Season:
- Question: What state makes the best tortillas, tamales, and champurrado?
- Answer: Masa-chew-sets 🙂
Back to our cinnamon tea…
Do you see the color? It’s an auburn brown color and smells incredible. It’s not a sin. It’s cinnamon. 🙂
Don’t worry about this drink getting too cold. It retains its heat because of its thick consistency and perfect for the winter months.
That’s another reason why you need to let it rest for a few minutes before serving. You do not want to burn anyone’s tongue.
- Add the masa mixture to the cinnamon tea.
- Then, add a little water to the container.
- Just enough to get any remaining masa mixture and add that to the pot as well.
- Stir with a wire whisk.
Don’t stop stirring, or it will form lumps. No Lumpy Dumpty. Or your champurrado will have a great fall.
Atole vs. Champurrado
This really depends where you are from in Mexico. People will use the terms interchangeably. However, typically …
- Atole de Chocolate (chocolate atole) – atoles are thickened with corn starch.
- Mexican Champurrado is thickened with masa. And the thicker consistency is essential for this delicious recipe.
Are you an Abuelita or Ibarra fan? There is a lot of controversy about these Mexican chocolate tablets. The debate rages on throughout Mexico and beyond. Truth is, Abuelita is not made in Mexico. Ibarra is true Mexican chocolate.
That said, I like Abuelita better. I was raised on it, and I can’t abandon the traditions that I know and love.
🍫 Make Your Own Mexican Chocolate:
- Use 1 bar of dark chocolate
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- A drop of almond extract for every ounce of chocolate
- 4 cups of milk go into the pot.
- Continue stirring.
Traditionally, this Mexican chocolate drink was not made with milk. Many people (myself included) prefer a creamy texture. Try it without the milk, and let me know what you think.
🥛 Types of Milk to Use:
You can use skim milk, whole milk, or 2% milk. If you are following a particular diet, you can also use soy milk, coconut milk, goat milk, or almond milk.
- Add sugar to the hot water.
- Continue stirring until it fully dissolves.
- Taste it. Add more sugar if needed. If it’s too sweet, add more milk.
Sugah. Sugah. No honey, honey.
Substitutions and Additions
Instead of sugar, some people will make the cinnamon tea with piloncillo. Or consider making it with dark brown sugar. There are also different ways to level up this hot Mexican drink. Some will add star anise, anise seed, or orange peel for extra flavor. I say, whatever works!
🫔 Mexican Tamales
Warm up this Christmas season with this cold-weather drink. Enjoy Mexican champurrado with yummy tamales or Mexican sweet bread. One sip and you’ll be in chocolate heaven!
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Mexican Champurrado
Ingredients
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 8 cups of water
- 1 cup of masa harina corn flour
- 1 Mexican Chocolate tablet 6.5 ounces
- 4 cups milk
- 1 cup of sugar
Instructions
- Place 6 cups of water in a large stock pot along with the cinnamon stick.
- Bring to a boil.
- Let simmer for 5 minutes.
- In the meantime, in a medium bowl, add the remaining 2 cups water and mix with the masa harina.
- You can use a blender or a hand mixer to dissolve any clumps.
- Add the masa mixture to the stock pot with the cinnamon tea.
- Stir constantly.
- Add the Mexican chocolate tablet to the stock pot.
- Melt the chocolate while stirring. About 3 minutes.
- Add the milk and sugar.
- Stir constantly.
- After about 8 minutes, the mixture will begin to thicken.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Maggie Unzueta is the writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer, videographer, and creator of In Mama Maggie's Kitchen. She has been developing easy and authentic Mexican food, Mexican-inspired recipes, and traveling tips since 2010. From family recipes to her extensive travels throughout Mexico, she brings traditional Mexican flavors from South of the Border and into your kitchen. Maggie has been featured in notable culinary websites and other media outlets. For more details, check out her About page.
We call it champorado in the Philippines and it’s one of our fave snacks. We just add milk and sugar. Yum!
Sounds amazing too! Hope you try this recipe
Haha it was fun knowing about your mother. I could relate to her somehow.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed this authentic Champurrado recipe that brings family memories, this and traditions are a big part of what makes food special, don’t you think?
My mom used to make this all the time. Brings back so many memories. Looks so good!
Hope you try it!
Hello! I really want to try this and the Atole, but it’s just me and my husband. Will either of them keep in the fridge and reheat well? Conversely can either be made in a crockpot to take to a party?
Yes, the champurrado will last up to 4 days in the fridge. Or freeze it to make it last longer. Never tried making it in a crockpot.
Yum! That looks amazing! I love chocolate and cinnamon!
So easy and delicious
This sounds delicious! I have never had Mexican chocolate before. I bet it is perfect to warm up on a cold winter’s day!
It’s so delicious. Hope you try it!
That is no ordinary hot chocolate. It has body and Mexican chocolate and cinnamon and it sounds great for the holidays or any day.
Yes! Champurrado is definitely not an ordinary hot chocolate. The combination of Mexican chocolate, cinnamon, and masa harina gives it a unique and delicious flavor that’s perfect for any occasion, especially during the holidays.
Holy moly! That is the best-sounding thing I’ve ever seen! I have to make this. I love all those flavors.
Thank you! Champurrado is definitely a delicious and unique recipe that is worth trying.
Can’t wait to try this chocolate drink. Never heard of it before but it sounds delicious! And your joke on Massachusetts is too cute!
Hope you try it! It’s delicious
This is my first time having Champurrado! It’s delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Glad you liked it Capri!
This reminds me of my childhood, thanks for sharing!
Hope you try it!
Perfect recipe for the holidays! Thank you!
Thank you! Hope you try it
We are in the UK, my daughter came home from school telling me she made a Mexican spicy hot chocolate at school and she didn’t know what it was called but wanted to make it for me. So we found your site and just made it. It was lovely thank you!
So glad you enjoyed this!
I cannot wait to try this recipe with the holidays coming up thank you for sharing
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It was so easy and took little time. Best of all it came out just like my Amas (Grandma’s) Delicious ? good memories.
Awww… That makes me so happy to hear. Glad you liked the champurrado.
Hi, I’m not clear on When do u add the chocolate and how much. . I’m not mexican but love mexican foods and traditions, love champurado, I always wondered how it’s made, I will definately try making this along with your beef tamales recipe. Thanks for sharing!
After you add the masa, stir constantly. It will begin to thicken. Once it starts to thicken, add the chocolate, milk, and sugar. More stirring. Once it’s starts to thicken AGAIN, it’s ready. The beef tamales recipe is my grandma’s recipe. This champurrado recipe is my mom’s. Hope you enjoy my family’s recipes!!
Looks delish! My daughter loves hot cocoa, might have to give this a try!
Oh, I’m pretty sure that your daughter will love a cup of champurrado. 🙂
I’m not sure I have ever had this before but sounds so delicious! Love that it is nice and thick too! Yum
Yes, champurrado is thick and delicious. 🙂
This drink looks so warm and toasty! I’d happily sip this all winter long.
I wish I could drink Champurrado all year long. lol. It’s one of those Mexican recipes that only pops out during Christmas.
Sounds delicious and heartwarming. I will definitely give it a try this winter!
Yes! Champurrado is like a big hug during the winter.
This looks delicious and I would love to try it! I didn’t think it would take as short of time, so it definitely seems manageable! Thanks for the thorough step-by-step!
-Jennifer
https://maunelegacy.com
So glad you liked this champurrado recipe. It’s not hard at all. Hope you try it.