Who says you can’t have chocolate for breakfast? Warm up with a bowl of hot cocoa oats topped with homemade marshmallows.

Once it was decided to make homemade marshmallows, it only seemed natural to combine them with my staple breakfast food: oats. While I generally think of oatmeal as a weekday food and treat myself to either eggs or pancakes on the weekend, these hot cocoa oats are the perfect lazy Sunday morning treat.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. You can read my disclosure at the bottom of this website. 

So a few weekends ago I woke up to find light pouring into our apartment and new it was the perfect morning to make these oats. After all, winter in New England isn’t always the best for taking pictures of food so you have to take advantage of sunny days. As I was getting out of bed to turn the stove on, Bry reminded me that these are supposed to be hot chocolate oats so they should be a least a little sweet. . .he’s still saying how my almond cherry oats were good but would be even better with more sweetness. I’m happy to report that these oats are a good compromise between a healthy dietitian-approved breakfast and a classically sweet mug of hot chocolate.

To get the full chocolate flavor, these oats are cooked in hot cocoa. So to start, place unsweetened vanilla almond milk (any milk or milk alternative will work) in a medium saucepan and bring to a low boil. Stir in 4 tsp of your favorite hot chocolate mix (the nutrition stats will differ depending on what brand you use). I used Silly Cow Chocolate Truffle Hot Cocoa mix, which contains just three ingredients: natural cane sugar, Dutch processed cocoa, and natural marshmallow flavoring. What I love about this mix is it’s deep chocolate flavor without being overly sweet. Since there isn’t any salt in Silly Cow mix, I added a pinch of salt to the oats, but check your hot cocoa label first.

Once you have a pot of hot cocoa boiling, add in original rolled oats, reduce to a simmer and cook 5-7 minutes or until it reaches your desired consistency. Remember to stir occasionally.

For topping, Bry wanted the full hot cocoa experience, so he added a few of my homemade marshmallows on top. I can’t handle that much sweetness in the morning, so I went with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt, which, besides adding some protein, provided the perfect tartness to balance out the chocolate. Both the marshmallows and the Greek yogurt will add a creamy factor, so you can’t go wrong either way!

While these do taste like hot chocolate, the first thing that came to both mine and Bry’s minds was Cocoa Pebbles, especially once the marshmallows started melting, giving these oats an almost milk-like taste. Serious childhood memories being brought back with these oats 😉

So here’s a toast to eating chocolate for breakfast!

Print Recipe

Hot Cocoa Oats

Who says you can’t have chocolate for breakfast? Warm up with a bowl of hot cocoa oats topped with homemade marshmallows.

Total Time10 mins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Chocolate, Healthy, Oatmeal

Servings: 2

Author: The Healthy Toast

Ingredients

• 2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 4 tsp hot cocoa mix I used Silly Cow Chocolate Truffle mix
• 1 cup rolled oats
• Pinch salt

Toppings

• Homemade marshmallows
• Plain Greek yogurt

Instructions

• In a medium saucepan, bring almond milk to a low boil.
• Stir in hot cocoa mix
• Add in oats and pinch of salt (optional). Reduce to a simmer, cook 5-7 minutes or until oats are cooked to your desired consistency
• Divide oats into 2 bowls and add desired toppings. Bry prefers marshmallows for the classic hot chocolate taste, but I like adding a dollop of plain Greek yogurt to balance out the sweetness - up to you!

While our friend Brandon bought us Silly Cow Truffle Hot Chocolate from Whole Foods, you can also find it on Amazon (along with many other delicious flavors)!