For the past month I’ve been on the lookout for Eggnog at the grocery store. My husband and I are complete addicts! I swear I can usually find it stocked in stores by October, but this year I have yet to find ANY! Jeff and I were bemoaning this fact when I told him I was going to make it from scratch. He cringed. He cringed because I’ve tried making homemade eggnog before, and to say it didn’t turn out great would be putting it nicely :-). (The raw egg recipes, as authentic as they may be, are just not for me!)This time though, I was determined to succeed! And thank heaven I decided not to give up, because the result was liquid gold! Seriously, this homemade eggnog is good enough for the biggest eggnog snob. It’s thick, sweet, creamy and smooth, with the perfect eggnog flavor. It doesn’t contain alcohol, which is also non-traditional, but we are non-alcohol drinkers at my house, and I wanted an eggnog recipe my kids can enjoy too. I’ll definitely be making this every year–and I even got Jeff’s approval to do so!
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- ground cinnamon , for topping
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Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a medium bowl until light and creamy.
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In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the cream, milk, nutmeg and salt. Stir often until mixture reaches a bare simmer. Add a big spoonful of the hot milk to the egg mixture, whisking vigorously. Repeat, adding a big spoonful at a time, to temper the eggs. Once all of the hot milk has been added to the eggs, pour the mixture back into the saucepan on the stove. Whisk constantly, until the mixture is slightly thickened, just a few minutes (or until it reaches about 160 degrees F on a thermometer).
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Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
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Pour the eggnog into a pitcher or other container and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled. It will thicken as it cools. If you want a thinner, completely smooth consistency, I like to add the entire mixture to a blender with 1 or 2 tablespoons of milk and blend until smooth.
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Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon, and fresh whipped cream, if desired.
Try my other favorite Eggnog inspired recipes:
Lady of Perpetual Chaos says
We love eggnog but I’ve been hesitant to make a homemade version because of the raw egg. I’ll have to give this a try!
shanon says
I do use the raw eggs, because I go out and collect them that morning! I buy raw milk from a local dairy to go with it. Unfortunately, I have to use completely ‘dead’ overheated ultra pasteurized cream 🙁 Oh well. I just use less of it and more milk than recipes call for.
I wouldn’t use raw eggs if they came from a store though.
margotgn says
We make homemade Irish Cream every holiday season. It actually kicks off the season for us on done random Saturday morning. I do use raw eggs in it. Maybe it’s my farm upbringing but raw eggs don’t bother me at all although I know all the warnings. I’m 55, from a large extensive daily of raw cookie dough eaters and don’t know of anyone who has ever gotten sick. It’s hard to be a believer. A rare steak makes me much more anxious!
kimberly holly says
Yum ,homemade Irish cream sounds so good. I never use raw eggs ,only because my little boy is allergic to eggs and im afraid he might happen to get into stuff. He has gotten into the fridge at night and decided to make a cake. We caught him before he ate thE “pudding” mix and eggs but still ended up in the ER just by handling raw eggs. He was one big welp . So if anyone has a child with bad allergies (our son has to get shots twice a week) be careful with raw eggs.
But man I tell you homemade Irish cream sounds delish!
nicolthepickle says
I made this. So amazingly delicious. Thank you for the recipe. Off to make it for the second time.
Lauren Allen says
Thanks for you comment! So happy you liked it! Homemade Eggnog is the best!
Cheryl says
This looks amazing and can’t wait to try! Can someone tell me if this recipe can be doubled? I would love to put it in a punch bowl for a party!
Lauren Allen says
Hi Cheryl, you could definitely double the recipe! Enjoy!
jasmine says
Can any kind of milk be used (whole milk, 2%, skim)?
Lauren Allen says
Yep–I used 1% –whole milk would obviously make it even creamier and yummier 🙂
Karen says
We love egg nog and the stores do not stock it after the holidays so I went online to find a recipe and came across yours and decided to dive in and go for it. We I did not have heavy cream and used half/half instead and I was not disappointed. We are happy… happy… happy… we can have eggnog anytime of year now!
Thanks. Karen
Suzie Adams says
I made this for our family on thanksgiving. Everyone loved it, now I’m making this for the neighbors . Can’t get enough taste so good!
Lauren Allen says
Yum!! I’m glad you liked it!! Nothing quite like homemade nog 🙂
Rebecca K says
I will be making this for my boyfriend for his birthday this week and cannot wait to try it out! Do you remember about how many ounces or cups it makes?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Rebecca, sounds like fun! It makes about 3 1/2 cups!
Jessie says
I’d like to make this for a party of about 15 people. When you say “serves 4,” how large are the servings? I’m afraid of having WAY TOO MUCH eggnog if I quadruple the recipe.
Lauren Allen says
Hi Jessie, it makes about 3 1/2 cups of eggnog! Hope you love it!
Jeanette says
I can’t wait to make this! My boyfriend and I moved to the Czech Republic last month for his job, and there is NO EGGNOG HERE!!! I drink it every Christmas and I think i’d become a scrooge without it. Thank you for sharing your successful recipes online. It’s people like you that make it possible for me to have home anywhere. =]! Happy Holidays!
Lauren Allen says
Thanks for your sweet comment! I would die without eggnog too! haha Hope you guys love it!
Katie says
So I am dying to make this recipe! I have about a cup of milk and 3 cups of heavy cream…do you think if I flipped the amount for the milk/cream it would still taste like eggnog…or a giant cup of cream?
Thanks!
Lauren Allen says
Hi Katie–I would suggest just watering down the cream a little bit–use your 1 cup of milk. Then measure out 1.5 cups of heavy cream. Add 1/2 cup of water to the cream to make 2 cups. That should work great!
Jennifer says
I’ve never had eggnog except from a carton- didn’t like it. But I’ve been wanting to try it homemade bcz it seems so festive :). This recipe is perfect. I love it! Thank you for sharing.
Tracy says
If you pour the eggnog over peppermint ice cream, it makes a nice treat that even my non eggnog children like. If you want to make it like a punch, put the ice cream in the punch bowl and pour the eggnog over it, then pour Sprite over it. Candy cane stir sticks make it a little more festive.
nicolthepickle says
This is now my go to eggnogg recipe. I love it. Sometimes I add a little rum extract to it. Thank you.
Off to make it again right now.
nicolthepickle says
Ha, so I commented here before. Well it’s still good.
Lynna says
I have been looking for a recipe because my daughter is lactose intolerant. We’ve been able to find cream, milks, cheese, yogurt, and whipping cream, but no eggnog. I made your recipe tonight, and it’s fantastic. I tried some before it was completely cool, and loved it. I have a feeling I’ll be making lots of it this year. Thank you for sharing!
Amanda West says
I made this for a Christmas party last night. It’s perfect. Even one of my guests who hates eggnog decided to try a shot glass of it since everyone else raved about it and ended up filling an entire cup up with it. She actually said it tastes really good. I added just a touch of bourbon before chilling it. Thank you for this recipe. I have a feeling I will be making this multiple times this Christmas season.
Lauren Allen says
Hi Amanda, I’m so happy everyone at your party loved it! It’s so yummy, I feel like I can’t go back to store-bought now! Thanks for coming back to comment 🙂
Joy says
Pretty good recipie. My kids loved their egg milk lol I refridgerated it overnight, it was really thick. So I thinned it out with milk and it was still great!
Brenda Bynum says
I am ready to make that eggnog for the new year
LORRAINE BOUSCAYROL says
HI to all I did your recipe and is great!!
We did one like your recipe and then we did one with a little rum on it and it was a great hit on our party!!
Thank you so much!!
Julie says
I wish the consistency wasn’t like chowder! The taste is good, but I don’t know why the texture is thick and lumpy. I must have stood over the stove whisking like crazy for a good 40 minutes. Any advice?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Julie, It shouldn’t have taken anywhere near 40 minutes to cook. After you add the tempered eggs it should thicken slightly within just a few minutes, and it thickens even more after it cools. If you want a super smooth consistency I would suggest letting it cool, then add a few tablespoons of milk and pour it all into a blender. Blend for a few seconds and it should be perfectly smooth.
Virgie says
Hi, I tried this recipe but mine didn’t thicken. It’s been in the refrigerator for about 3hrs now and still hasn’t thickened up. Will it maybe take like overnight to get it thick? Or should I just scratch it and start over?
Lauren Allen says
Next time, make sure to cook it in step 2 until you see the mixture thicken slightly.