Eggnog Recipe

This Homemade Eggnog is creamy and perfectly spiced, and easy to make with simple ingredients! You can make it alcoholic or non-alcoholic, depending on your preference. It only takes 10 minutes to make, and there's no need to age it in the fridge. Once you try this recipe, you'll never buy store-bought again.

Looking for more easy holiday recipes? Try my Gingerbread Cookies and Chimney Cakes next!

About This Recipe

Growing up (and honestly still to this day), my absolute favorite part of the holidays was the eggnog. Every year, as soon as the first carton showed up in grocery stores, you know it was getting added to my cart. I love the thick creamy texture and the warm spices. It really tastes so unique and just gets me in the Christmas spirit right away. Kudos to whoever invented this amazing drink!

As an adult, I make my own eggnog now. It's super easy and tastes light years better than store-bought. It's made with simple ingredients like milk, cream, eggs, and cinnamon. You can serve it chilled or warm.

Traditionally, eggnog contains alcohol. But personally, I do not drink alcohol, so I always make mine alcohol free. But I've included alcohol in the recipe ingredients, so you can add it yourself if you like it that way.

Key Ingredients

Egg yolks: Eggnog is essentially a runny custard. We need egg yolks because they add flavor and thicken the drink.

Heavy cream and milk: I love a 3:1 ratio of whole milk to heavy cream. In my opinion, this provides the best flavor and texture. Some people use a combination of milk, half and half, and heavy cream, but that's just silly to me because half and half is just heavy cream and milk, so you don't need half and half.

Sugar: Obviously we will need some sugar to sweeten up the eggnog.

Spices: Dried cloves, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and vanilla extract.

Optional: You can add some rum or bourbon to booze it up.

Instructions

STEP 1: In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy.

STEP 2: In a medium pot, combine the milk, cream, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract. Heat over medium heat and stir often until it reaches a simmer (do not boil).

STEP 3: Slowly add a few spoonfuls of the hot milk mixture to the eggs, whisking constantly. Then pour the egg mixture back into the pot.

STEP 4: Keep whisking and heating over medium heat until the mixture thickens slightly (do not boil), about 5 minutes.

STEP 5: Remove from the heat and strain out the cloves. If desired, add rum or bourbon. Transfer to a storage container like a glass jar, cover, and refrigerate until chilled. The eggnog will get thicker as it chills!

📋 Recipe

Eggnog Recipe

My homemade eggnog recipe is ready in 15 minutes. It's creamy, smooth, and perfectly spiced. It's the absolute best way to get in the Christmas spirit during the holidays!

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Course Drinks

Cuisine American, British

Servings 8 cups

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 6 large egg yolks
• ▢ ¾ cup sugar
• ▢ 3 cups whole milk
• ▢ 1 cup heavy cream
• ▢ 3 dried cloves
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 cup rum or bourbon (optional)

Instructions

 

• In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy, 2 minutes.
• In a medium pot, combine the milk, cream, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract. Heat over medium heat and stir often until it reaches a simmer (do not boil).
• Slowly add a few spoonfuls of the hot milk mixture to the eggs, whisking constantly. Then pour the egg mixture back into the pot.
• Keep whisking and heating over medium heat until the mixture thickens slightly (do not boil), about 5 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and strain out the cloves. If desired, add rum or bourbon. Transfer to a storage container like a glass jar, cover, and refrigerate until chilled. The eggnog will thicken as it chills!
• If it's too thick, feel free to stir in some milk to thin it out. Enjoy!

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.

Did you make this?Let me know how it was!