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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.
Don't miss my Eggnog French Toast!
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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!!
So delicious and surprisingly simple!
This might be a tad too late but I live in Asian country and have always wanted to try eggnog whenever I see them on western shows. However I was always afraid it’ll taste like egg. Does it taste like egg?
No, it tastes more like a custard drink :-)/ Hope you get to try it!
Oh my, that sounds like heaven. Thanks for replying! I’m gonna try making it for Christmas this year (:
Nope! It actually tastes nothing like the eggs inside. It’s better than ice cream! You’ll love it if you try it 🙂
very good
So easy and absolutely delicious!!! I hate wasting, so I whipped the egg whites to “almost” meringue and folded in at the end.
It’s so good! We just made it and I’ll never buy it from the store again. I put it in the fridge for keeping but I actually prefer it warm. I can always heat up a cup in the microwave later right?
I think no, actually. When you cook eggs and milk you get a custard, which usually doesn’t reheat well in the microwave. The heat is too high at certain places, and it cooks the egg at those spots, so you will get little chucks of scrambled egg mixed in with a thinner custard (thinner because some of the egg cooked out).
If you want to reheat I would recommend a small pot on the stove on low, keeping it below 70 C/160 F (just like you do in the recipe when you make it). That’s how it usually is with stuff like this. I haven’t tried it myself for this recipe though. But definitely try a small cup of it in the microwave before you do a whole bunch!
The Best! I cut this recipe in half because I DO NOT NEED to drink the entire recipe by myself! I could, but shouldn’t. Fabulous!
Your recipe looks delicious! In the UK eggnog is not a staple at Christmas but my husband loves Crème Angeles ( custard) on any and all deserts. He is going to love it as the recipes are virtually the same, although I add a small TSP of cornstarch to the egg and sugar as it stabilizes the mixture.
this is fast, easy, and delicious! the hubby and i have drank almost all of it and im going to need to make another batch! i did add more warm spices, but i love them so much that i add them to almost all recipes during the fall and winter. thank you for sharing this recpipe!
This is so good! I substituted Lakanto monkfruit baking sweetener for the sugar and it worked out perfectly. I also did 1/4 cup instead of 1/2 cup because recipes are always too sweet for me. Couldn’t be happier with how this turned out!
We have egg laying hens and have a lot of eggs on hand right now so decided to try this. I did substitute honey since we have bees. I told my mom who is 83 and she told me her mother used to make eggnog all the time. I put some spiced rum in it. So far just taste tested and happy with the results and looking forward to sitting down and enjoying a cup with my neighbor who can’t wait to come sample it. Thanks for the recipe. I’m very proud of my achievement.
How much honey do you substitute for the sugar?!
I cannot wait to try, just wanna use something to substitute the sugar!