Champurrado is a warm and thick drink made with masa, Mexican chocolate, cinnamon, piloncillo and milk. It’s Mexico’s favorite drink to have during cold & cozy nights and it’ll be yours soon too.
***This post was originally published on Dec 2015. It has been updated to be more helpful.
Did you know that when Mexican Hot Chocolate and Atole met they had a baby and that’s how Champurrado was born! True story ☺️.
What’s champurrado made of?
This warm, creamy and milky drink is made with masa, Mexican chocolate, piloncillo (or brown sugar) and cinnamon. It’s a very simple and authentic drink that will keep you warm once you have a steaming mug of Champurrado.
History on Mexican Champurrado
This is one of the oldest drinks in Mexico and it goes back to pre-Hispanic times. The Aztecs, who made the most of corn and prepared various dishes and drinks, including our beloved Atole.
The Aztecs used to make it for ceremonies and rituals!
These days, you’ll find people selling Champurrado on the streets or in small bakeries throughout Mexico. Even in the U.S. you’ll see it sold by street vendors and restaurants, specially during the holidays in December.
Champurrado is a thick drink that warms you up down to your bones!
Ingredients
These ingredients are to make a small batch of our drink. If you would like to make more, just double the ingredients!
- ½ cup masa (100 grams) – the one you use to make tamales. If you can’t find already made masa, you can use ½ cup of maseca (corn flour).
- Chocolate tablets: 1 Abuelita or Ibarra Chocolate tablet – 90 grams tablet
- Sweetener: Piloncillo – half of the piloncillo (see note below). Also, if you can’t find piloncillo, you may replace it with ½ cup of dark brown sugar and 1 tablespoon molasses.
- Spices: 1 Cinnamon stick
- Milk – Use whole milk or 2%. Even almond milk will work to keep it dairy free.
- Optional: vanilla extract
Top Tip: The Piloncillo is very hard so to cut in half easily, place it in microwave for about 30 seconds to soften it up a little bit then cut with a knife.
***Make sure to scroll all the way down to the recipe card to get the full ingredient list and written recipe.
How To Make Champurrado
- Start by mixing the masa in one cup of water in a blender. Puree until a smooth consistency and set aside.
Variation
If you’re using masa harina (maseca) toast it in a skillet on medium heat until light golden brown. Then add it to the water and blend just as step 1 above.
2) In a medium pot or large saucepan, add one cup of water, the cinnamon stick and piloncillo. Bring it to a soft rolling boil until the piloncillo melts. About 5 minutes.
This is what it looks like when the piloncillo has melted:
3) Add the milk and mix with whisk or molinillo. At this point you can remove the cinnamon stick if you like or leave it longer to continue adding flavor. I leave mine all the way to the end 😉
4) Once the milk is hot (but before it starts to boil), add the chocolate and whisk until it’s all dissolved. Stirring the mixture often so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pot.
5) Once this mixture is hot, pour the masa & water mixture and continue to whisk constantly.
6) Lower the heat and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes (the masa has to cook) or until you reach a dense consistency. Add a little more milk if you desire a more liquidy consistency. Keep whisking often to prevent it from boiling over.
Serve hot and enjoy. Buen Provecho!
FAQs
Piloncillo is unrefined whole cane sugar that is sold in blocks. In Mexico is known by this name but in the rest of the Latin American countries is known by Panela.
Atole, also known as Atol, is made with water, piloncillo and masa (corn flour). It does not contain any chocolate. When you add Mexican chocolate, that’s when it becomes Champurrado!
How to Store
Make sure the leftover champurrado has cool down before storing in the fridge.
- Fridge: Place in an airtight container or jar. It’s best if consumed within 3 days.
- To reheat: If having on the second day and it has become too thick, just add a little more water or milk when heating it up. That should bring it right back to the correct texture.
Serving Suggestions
This Mexican hot drink goes with many recipes or just by itself. Here are a few perfect ideas to try it with:
Gotta try it!
If you’ve never tried Champurrado before, then now is the time to taste it! You’ll be surprised by how delicious it is, even better than regular coffee or hot chocolate.
Buen provecho!
Enjoy…
More Hot Drinks
I hope you like this recipe! Share it, or leave a rating and comment below. For questions that need an answer right away, please contact me and I’ll get back to you asap. Gracias!!!! xx, Ana
Print Recipe:
Champurrado
Ingredients
- ½ cup prepared masa (100 grams) or ½ Maseca
- 2 cups water divided
- 1 Abuelita or Ibarra Chocolate tablet 90 grams tablet
- 3.5 oz Piloncillo half of the piloncillo (see note #2)
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 4 cups whole milk or 2% or even almond milk to keep it dairy free.
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract optional
Instructions
- In a blender, add one cup of water and the masa. Puree until a smooth consistency and set aside.
- If you're using maseca, toast it in a skillet on medium heat until light golden brown. Then add it to the water and blend just as step 1 above.
- In a medium size saucepan, add one cup of water, one cinnamon stick and piloncillo. Bring it to a soft rolling boil until the piloncillo melts. About 5 minutes. (See note #1)
- Add the milk and whisk. Once the milk is hot, add the chocolate and whisk until it's all dissolved. Move the mixture often so that it does not stick to the bottom of the saucepan.
- Once this mixture is hot, add the masa & water mixture and whisk constantly.
- Cook for about 10 minutes (the masa has too cook) or until you reach a dense consistency. Add a little more milk if you desire a more liquidy consistency. Keep whisking often to prevent it from boiling over.
- Serve hot and enjoy. Buen Provecho!
Muy Delish Notes:
Add Your Own Private Notes
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Nutrition
The nutritional information and US conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data. If this is important to you, please verify with your favourite nutrition calculator and/or unit conversion tool.
Can I use 90g of powdered/granulated Mexican chocolate like Abuelita mix that isn’t in a puck form? I have a Mexican hot chocolate mix that has similar ingredients. And can I substitute the piloncillo with any other type of sugar (brown, turbinado, granulated)? I’d like to try this recipe but have these other things on hand all the time. Thank you.
This was delicious! Reminds me of the one my mom used to make.
Thank you, Cecilia! so happy it reminds of your moms recipe.
Enjoyed this very much!
Easy to understand, I have all the ingredients to make this Champurado!
Happy Holidays
Do you use cream or can milk I had some yesterday & it was VL.C.ery Creamy
Thank you for all these great recipes. Totally reminds me of grandma’s.
Merry Christmas ♡
Awesome recipe. It turned out perfect! ? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I just attempted this recipe and the nada water mixture just clumped up and never settles after whisking constantly. Is the mixture suppose to be more like a paste. That’s how mine was. What did I do wrong?
Hi Lisette, did you mix the masa in a blender before adding it to the pot? That’s my only guess since it should not clump up after it has been mixed into a thick liquid first. It could also be that your milk mixture wasn’t hot enough before you poured the masa mixture? Sorry it didn’t workout for you. 🙁
With a little clove and salt, gives good contrast.
I toasted a couple peices of anise with my masa then threw them out before adding the masa to my blender gave it a great taste this is a very simple tasty recipe thank you for sharing it!!!My mother in law loves when I spoil her with it when the weather is cooler.
Oh I love the addition of the anise too…great idea Natalie. I’m delighted that you liked it. Thanks so much for the feedback and for making it! Stay well 🙂
Do the cooking times change if I’m making recipe for 5 gallons?
Hi Christopher! Sorry for the late reply! The cooking times do not change after you reach the boiling part for 5 gallons but just make sure you use it’s heated it the same way as a smaller portion.
Enjoy!
Ana
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Fast and easy! Just like mom used to make. I think she may have added a few drops of anise extract way back when, but this recipe is definitely authentic! The fact that you can modify the quantity by up to X3 is very considerate.
SO warm and comforting. Love the chocolate and cinnamon together
I’ve never heard of champurrado before! This is such a warm comforting drink, filled with such a delicious range of flavours. I will be having this regularly during the colder months. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I am in love with this recipe. With the nights getting cooler it is the perfect warm drink. Thanks for sharing!!
This is a dessert and a drink! Love it!
Oh wow! My kids really loved this! I will definitely make it more often!
Que rica la receta del champurrado! Asi la hacia mi mama!
Thank you so much Monica for the feedback!