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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!!
I don’t think I have ever had homemade eggnog before. I didn’t realize it was this easy to make. Sounds much better than the store bought stuff!
Hi there! In your note about using the blender, so you would do this without putting it through the strainer? That’s what I’m hoping!
Yep! If you use the blender method, you skip the strainer. Just blend the cooled eggnog with a tablespoon or two of milk until it’s smooth, and you’re good to go. Makes it even easier!
Everyone loves this eggnog! As long as you follow the directions accurately, it is so easy and you can easily whip up a batch or a double batch. It tastes delicious, better than any store bought I’ve ever had, and everyone who has tried it loves it. I’ve already made several batches of it since discovering this recipe, and I intend to use this recipe for my family for years to come!
I made this last night and my son absolutely loved the flavor – but said he wished it was a bit thicker. So my question is how do I make it thicker? I created the recipe exactly as printed in the 2x the batch method.
So glad he loved the flavor! For a thicker eggnog, you can cook it just a bit longer to let it thicken more, or use a little more heavy cream and slightly less milk. Chilling it well also helps it thicken up.
I’ve made this recipe 3 times this week. I will never buy store bought again. I find if I whip the eggs with a manual whisk the egg nog is thinner than if the yolks were mixed with an electric mixer…either way it’s a simple delicious recipe
Made 3 years in a row at Xmas! Whole family loves it thank you!
I almost never leave reviews on online recipes and had to for this one. It was absolutely AMAZING!! Most recipes don’t involve tempering the eggs and it was important to me that the recipe I went with included that step for food safety.
I ran out of granulated sugar on Christmas Eve after the stores closed and used powdered sugar/confectioners sugar instead and the eggnog came out perfectly thick. It was 7/8 cup, or 14 Tbsp., of powdered sugar. I was worried about the cornstarch content of the powdered sugar because my tempered egg mixture only reached 165/170 Fahrenheit, and cornstarch thickens around 200 F, but I don’t think it affected the texture negatively at all. I added 1/2 cup Bacardí gold rum.
I am excited to make this next year with nicer vanilla, the original amount of granulated sugar, and 1/4 to 1/2 cup more gold rum to make the perfect at home eggnog!
The stores were all out of eggnog, but no problem! I made this recipe and it really is good! I also finally successfully tempered my homegrown egg yolks (from my flock of chickens). With age I accept that I must be patient with many things. Thank you Lauren for sharing your recipe. I’ll be enjoying this eggnog today for Christmas.
I made the recipe exactly as written, one version spiked with dark rum, and the other sans alcohol. It turned out perfectly. I highly recommend this recipe, which is very easy to follow. It was my first time making eggnog, and I am so pleased with the result. Thanks for this fabulous recipe.
I followed the directions exactly. Didn’t get thick and was very sweet. I have made egg nog before. This is the first time I got thin egg nog.