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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!!
Do you think butterscotch schnapps would go well with this? 🤞🤞
We haven’t tested it with that, but feel free to try it and let us know how it is!
This recipe is EXTREMELY sweet!! Next time, I’ll try half the sugar cause the whole family thought it tasted like sugar milk — the eggnog couldn’t come through because of all the sweetness from the sugar
I tried this recipe because I had some heavy cream about to go bad, and I am never buying egg nog again because of how good this was, only thing I would change next time I make this is using a lot less nutmeg, it was very strong even with only ½ tsp.
This is the most amazing egg nog recipe. Last year I made a batch and we loved it. This year, I doubled the batch and got 2 quarts. My hubby loves it and I find this recipe easy to follow. I love that I can make it all organic, replicating the expensive versions found in high end stores.
I tried this recipe and it tasted great, but it wouldnt go through my strainer and had clumps. I ended up just not straining but then I would get curdled pieces in my mouth when drinking. Any idea what i did wrong?
It sounds like the mixture might have gotten too hot, causing the eggs to curdle. Try whisking constantly over medium heat and make sure to temper the eggs slowly. Also, remove it from the heat as soon as it starts to thicken.
-Stacy
I tried this recipe this week based on it’s high rating, and was not disappointed.
My family loves the Jack Daniels eggnog, but I won’t buy it because it contains bioengineered foods. Having never made eggnog before, I found this recipe straight forward and easy, with minimal ingredients!
I didn’t have whole milk so I used extra HC that I watered down to milk consistency, and followed the recipe precisely. I found once I returned the tempered egg mixture back to the pan it was already at temp, so I poured it into a heat safe glass container and put it in the fridge to chill.
My family ended up sampling it after an hour, before it had cooled completely and it was nice and thick already! The next morning it was so thick it was like drinking pudding, which we liked! The tip on blending/stirring before serving would thin it if desired.
Thanks for sharing! The perfect scratch eggnog!
I will have to see how it freeze dries!!
I have a question: how long will the eggnog keep in the fridge also can you freeze it to serve later
it’s acctually the best egg nog recipe I’ve ever tried
Incredibly delicious! I let my toddler try some (I didn’t add alcohol) and she exclaimed “it tastes like pumpkin pie!!!!” She is right. And when she asked for seconds, I had to say yes because I wanted seconds, too.
I know eggnog is a Christmas beverage but we are totally bringing a batch to Thanksgiving.
My first time to make and drink