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You wont believe how easy and DELICIOUS homemade Eggnog is, and this recipe really is the best! Thick and creamy with the perfect mild flavor and hint of nutmeg. You'll never buy store-bought eggnog again!
Eggnog
I absolutely love eggnog! I have nothing against store-bought eggnog–we have it all the time in our fridge this time of year–but this homemade eggnog recipe is truly what dreams are made of! If you've ever thought you didn't like it, you just have to try it made from scratch.
Several years ago I sought out to make homemade eggnog. My first attempt was not a success and left my husband cringing. Let's just say that the completely “raw egg” method of making eggnog is just not for me.
I pressed forward, determined to succeed, and ended up loving this recipe from Cuisine at Home. I used ground nutmeg instead of fresh, because I always have ground on hand. I also ignored their ice-water bath suggestion and just refrigerated it instead.
The end result was liquid gold, and it's become our family's favorite eggnog recipe ever since! Seriously, this homemade recipe will “WOW” even the biggest eggnog snob! For a fun flavor twist, try my Pumpkin Spice Eggnog recipe!
This eggnog recipe is thick, sweet, creamy and smooth, with the perfect flavor. It doesn't contain alcohol (if you'd like to add some, read on for my suggestions), but we are non-alcohol drinkers at my house, and I wanted an eggnog recipe my kids can enjoy too.
How to make eggnog:
Start by whisking the egg yolk and sugar together in a small bowl. Then, in a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine cream, milk, salt, and nutmeg and stir the mixture until it just reaches a simmer. Next temper the eggs by adding small spoonfuls of the hot mixture to the egg mixture.
Stir each spoonful and once most of the hot mixture has been added, add the entire mixture back to the saucepan. Continue cooking and whisking for just another minute or two until it barely thickens. It will continue to thicken as it cools. Then remove it from the heat and add the vanilla. Refrigerate the eggnog mixture until chilled.
We like to serve it with a some whipped cream and an extra little dash of cinnamon and nutmeg on top.
What type of alcohol goes in eggnog?
If you would like to add alcohol to your eggnog, choose a drink with a high alcohol concentration to help counterbalance the sweetness of the eggnog. Common choices of alcohol to add to eggnog include brandy, rum, bourbon or whisky.
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Homemade Eggnog
Ingredients
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ground cinnamon, , for topping
- alcohol, optional, see note
Instructions
- Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a medium bowl until light and creamy.
- 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 most of the hot milk has been added to the eggs, pour the mixture back into the saucepan on the stove.
- Whisk constantly for a minute or so, until the mixture is just slightly thickened (or until it reaches about 160 degrees F on a thermometer). It will thicken more as it cools.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, and alcohol*, if using.
- Pour the eggnog through a fine mesh strainer 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, you can add the entire mixture to a blender with 1 or 2 tablespoons of milk and blend until smooth.
- Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg, and fresh whipped cream, if desired.
- Store homemade eggnog in the fridge for up to one week.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
This is my second time making this and it is so good! I made homemade whip cream with it and it literally tastes like ice cream!!
Can I ask how you made whipped cream from
This? Wouldn’t the added milk and ingredients to the cream make the eggnog not able to whip up into a fluffy whip cream? Ty! 🙂 I’d love to learn
She made whipped cream to accompany the drink.
You add the whipped cream to top it off at the end when your put it in your glass.
If you’d like eggnog flavored whipped cream you can add eggnog syrup or extract instead of vanilla to your whipping cream
Ummm, it’s exactly the same recipe for an ice cream base that NYT Cooking uses. Unfrozen nutmeg ice cream.
That’s because the custard for homemade ice cream is the same as the custard for egg nog, pudding, custard pie.
I made this eggnog for Christmas Eve. It is out of this world delicious!
Oh. My. Word. So delicious and so easy! As others have said…I’ll never buy eggnog again! Thank you so much for sharing!
Oh wow!!!! This is awesome!!!! My husband loved it!!
Can you cut down the sugar?. I’m not a fan of sweet egg nog.
This recipe is awesome! I just can’t get enough of it. It’s better than the store bought kind and I don’t have to wait for Christmas to roll around again before I can have it again. It’s perfect!!!
This recipe is awesome!!! I can’t get enough of it. I sometimes male 2 batches of this at the de same time… separately though as I believe doubling all of these ingredients are just too big in volume and each batch prepared comes out just right at the current volume. It’s easy enough to make the batches separately, but at the same time. It comes out perfect and tastes at least as good as the store bought kind….but I feel it’s better and has the same great consistency and even more delicious. They only sell it during the Christmas season and I just can’t wait for a year to pass before I have more.
You can also try using up the leftover whites by whipping them up and adding them to the cooled next-day nog. It creates an ever creamier and frothy mixture that is delicious!
This was so easy to make and so delicious! Thank you!!!
I don’t understand why but my milk curtled after mixing it with the egg. I’ve made custard multiple times which is a similar process and this is never happened before my only guess is that the cinnamon that I added is the problem but I just don’t know.
I think what happened was the milk was too hot and scrambled the egg. Slowly add the hot temp. Temper the eggs without cooking them.
Add a little milk to the eggs at a time (like a splash), just like you would if you were incorporating cornstarch into a hot gravy, and stir before adding the next bunch. You can’t add it all at once. You have to go especially slow if you’re not using whole milk or less heavy cream.
If you’re using rum, when would you add it?
I like to freeze my Spirit. Then I pour EggNog over the Spirit of choice and give it a slight stir. Personally I prefer Cognac but Rum is great also. You want to choose a Spirit with a high proof but does not have to be top shelf. After all the point is to taste the Eggnog and catch a slight or mild buzz right. Also I usually go with 1.5 oz of Spirit to one serving of EggNog. Please please please use a good quality vessel no cheap plastic cups lol. Enjoy!
Can you substitute lactose free milk?
Can you substitute almond milk for whole milk to make eggnog
It will obviously change the taste slightly but that should work!
Does it matter how fatty the milk is? Whole vs. 2%?
Any will work–it will just be creamier with fattier milk. 🙂
I’d say whole is best if you are going for the best flavor. But it will work with 2%. Also if you like your egg nog thinner consistency then I would use 2% milk. Hope this helps!