Champurrado de Agua
If you like thick chocolate drinks, then you’ll love champurrado. This traditional champurrado de agua is made without milk, the ancient way. Dairy-free champurrado de agua is a delicious way to warm up on a cool night when you’re craving the cozy flavor of Mexican chocolate.
What is Champurrado
Champurrado is a Mexican drink traditionally made with chocolate, piloncillo, cinnamon, and thickened with corn masa (nixtamalized corn flour).
It is an ancient drink that predates the arrival of the Spanish to Mexico. And as you may already know, chocolate played an important role in Aztec rituals and ceremonies.
Though champurrado is a drink fit for special occasions, it’s still easy enough to make as an everyday drink.
In Mexico we love to prepare and drink champurrado during the cooler months of the year, many of which fall during the holiday season, starting in October for Dia de Los Muertos and continuing through February for Dia de La Candelaria.
Why You’ll Love My Recipe
• This Mexican drink recipe is very easy to make.
• Chocolate lovers will love the strong chocolate flavor.
• Homemade champurrado is cheaper than going to the fancy coffee shop.
• A cozy drink perfect for the whole family to enjoy as dessert or snack with pan dulce.
Champurrado de Agua (Champurrado Without Milk)
This version is made with water instead of milk, which is actually the most traditional way of preparing champurrado. It’s naturally dairy-free, lighter than milk-based champurrado, but still rich and thick thanks to the corn masa.
Champurrado Isn’t Mexican Hot Chocolate!
Something I keep seeing over and over online is people referring to champurrado as “Mexican hot chocolate“. This is incorrect!!!
Champurrado is not Mexican hot chocolate!
Yes, champurrado uses chocolate and it is indeed a hot Mexican drink, but the two are not made the same.
Unfortunately it’s people unfamiliar with authentic Mexican cuisine making this error. To them I say: please take the time to learn the correct name of the foods you are talking about. Errors like this are how we end up with the fake, wannabe Mexican food that’s nothing like the real thing.
Ok, rant over. Phew!
Traditional Champurrado de Agua Ingredients
Mexican Chocolate Tablets: You can find these at your local Hispanic food store or the Latin food aisle at your grocery store. The most popular brands are Ibarra and Abuelita. Use your favorite or what you can find.
Piloncillo: This is the traditional Mexican brown sugar that tastes like molasses. It’s unrefined sugar and can be found in different size cones or loose like regular refined brown sugar with a touch of molasses taste. You can get it in cones or in bags like granulated sugar.
Canela: Mexican cinnamon is Ceylon cinnamon but if you can’t find it use regular cinnamon.
Water: We’ll only use water for this traditional champurrado recipe.
Masa Harina: The corn masa flour is used to thicken the chocolate drink. Don’t worry your champurrado won’t taste like a tortilla. Traditionally fresh masa is used but for convenience my recipe uses regular masa harina.
Salt: Optional, salt is used to help accentuate the flavors.
Vanilla Extract: Use the best quality one you have to give your champurrado another level of delicious flavor.
Nancy’s Tips
• Adjust The Sweetness: My recipe doesn’t use a lot of piloncillo because I don’t like drinks to be too sweet, but please feel free to add more to your liking.
• Do Not Use masa harina for tamales, your champurrado will be lumpy!
• Vanilla Extract: Don’t skip it to add extra flavor to the drink.
How to Serve Champurrado de Agua
Champurrado is served warm and you can enjoy it on it’s own or with a piece of your favorite pan dulce, like a concha, concha muerto or a puerquito cookie. This can be either breakfast or dessert.
Mexicans also like to drink champurrado for breakfast or for dinner with their favorite tamales.
What Does Champurrado Taste Like
The strongest taste is chocolate followed sweet notes of cinnamon and vanilla. The sweetness from the piloncillo is similar to that of molasses. It’s such a delicious flavor!
You don’t taste the corn masa, it’s very subtle because the strongest flavor is the taste of chocolate. The masa serves to make champurrado a thick and hearty drink.
How to Store and Reheat
First allow the champurrado to come to room temperature before storing in an airtight container. Place in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
You can also freeze champurrado in freezer safe containers or bags for up to 3 months.
To reheat you can do so on the stove top for about 8 minutes or until your desired temperature. In the microwave it can be reheated in for 2 minutes or so.
More Hot Mexican Drinks to Try
- Chocolate Caliente with Abuelita Chocolate
- Guava Atole
- Strawberry Atole
- Champurrado with Milk
Gracias
I’m so happy you stopped by. If you have any questions or want to let me know how you liked this recipe, do leave a comment. Muchas gracias, I appreciate you!
Champurrado Without Milk
Video
Ingredients
- ⅔ cups masa harina
- 1.5 cups water
- two 6.35oz Mexican chocolate tablets disks, I used Ibarra
- ¼ cup grated piloncillo* adjust to taste
- 1 whole ceylon cinnamon stick or regular cinnamon stick
- pinch sea salt optional, but adds flavor
- 5 cups water
- ½ to 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a small bowl, cix the masa harina with 1 1/2 cups of water. Stir until well combined and there aren’t any lumps, then set aside.
- In a medium pot add the chocolate, piloncillo, salt, cinnamon and water. Simmer under low heat until the chocolate breaks down. Stir to help break up and dissolve the chocolate quicker. Simmer for 10 mutes over low heat.
- Place a fine sieve over the pot and pour in the masa mixture. Use the spoon to help it flow through. Discard any bits left over.
- Stir and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until it thicken to your desired consistency the raw masa taste disappears.
- Remove the cinnamon stick and discard. Then pour in the vanilla extract. Mix well and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Serve along side some pan dulce, tamales or as a morning drink or dessert. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes & Pro Tips
- The calories and nutritional information will be different based on the chocolate brand you use. Please only use this as a guide.
- For the masa harina make sure to use the kind for tortillas, NOT the tamales kind. The tortillas masa is finer and tamales grainer. You want the finer.
- If you don’t have piloncillo use brown sugar.
Nutrition
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Nancy Lopez is a Mexican-born food writer and author of Mexican Tamales Made Meatless. Raised in the U.S. and now living in Southern Mexico, she creates authentic vegan and vegetarian Mexican recipes rooted in tradition and tested for real home kitchens.Read more…
