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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!!
😃👍 great
This recipe is perfection. I actually made it dairy free using almond milk and dairy free cream and it’s delicious. I live in the Uk and find it hard to find any sort of egg nog so this recipe made my Christmas. ❤️
I followed the basic recipe exactly. I was dismayed by how difficult it was to get the heated (160°) mixture through the fine-mesh strainer. About 40% of the volume stayed in the strainer. I had to mash the strainer with a spoon to get as much liquid as possible through it. The recipe did not yield six cups. Seems like a waste of the material strained out. I can only surmise that I did something wrong, but I have no idea what that could be. Any advice would be appreciated.
Delicious! We drank it hot and it was amazing.
I made it last night and left it to cool. This morning I tried it, and it is fantastic. It’s a little thicker than I expected, but I might have left it on the heat a bit to long. So It’s a custardy eggnog combo. I will definitely use this recipe again, but I’ll double it because this will be gone quickly.
This turned out really thin and never did thicken up. I followed the recipe and my thermometer got to 163°. Not sure what I did wrong. It tasted OK, but seemed to me a waste of ingredients and time. I will stick to store bought, which I love!
Quite nice. Way too sweet though, and not nutmeg-y enough for my taste. Next time I’ll use maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of the sugar and at least double the nutmeg.
I didn’t think I was a fan of eggnog, but this recipe convinced me otherwise! Made it for Christmas to rave reviews. I put a tad less sugar, per personal preference. Keeping this recipe handy this winter! Five stars
We got chicks back in May which all turned out to be girls and now we’re inundated with eggs! I made my first batch of this eggnog for Christmas and it’s the perfect way to use up some eggs as well as being DELICIOUS! I added dark rum and just love it. I’m about to make my second batch, then use some of the nog for eggnog cookies. Can’t wait! Excellent recipe for those who like eggnog!
Excellent recipe. Very easy and the result is a smooth creamy nog.
I made the recipe 1.5 and exactly measured by half.
Did it all by hand. No mixer. Didn’t need to strain.
Thank you for this.
A permanent addition to my holiday recipes.
1st time making eggnog. Everyone I shared it with liked it. I added rum which thinned it out a bit plus melting ice cubes in the drink thinned it out more. I like that is was think and I didn’t find it too sweet.