Easy Dairy Free Eggnog Recipe (Thick and Creamy) (2024)

FAQs

How do you thicken eggnog? ›

To thicken the mixture, add a cornstarch slurry. Thoroughly combine 3 tablespoons cornstarch with 1/4 cup cool water. Add this mixture at the end of cooking the egg yolks, sugar, and rum in the bowl over the simmering water bath. Whisk until thickened then proceed with chilling.

While brandy is the most traditional alcohol to pair with eggnog, according to traditional recipes, you can also use a mixture of dark rum and Cognac. If you like your eggnog with more of a kick you can also add bourbon, but we recommend sticking to rum and Cognac to preserve the 'nog's flavors.

Traditional eggnog is made with eggs, whole milk, and heavy cream, which unfortunately won't work for those who are intolerant to dairy. This non dairy eggnog has all the creaminess and taste of traditional recipes for eggnog, but without the milk and cream!

Making dairy free egg nog is easy, and nobody will be able to tell the difference. All you need to do is swap milk and cream with almond milk and full fat coconut milk. Start by beating the pasture raised egg yolks with 1/3 cup of maple sugar until light and creamy. You can also use maple syrup and it will work fine.

Those egg whites transform what can be a fairly heavy, overly rich drink into something airier and frothier — though no less decadent. If you want to make it thicker or creamier, play with the proportion of whole milk and heavy cream, adding more cream for some extra body and richness.

You can make a similar heavy cream alternative using regular milk and butter. Whole milk has a fat percentage of around 3.5% and is preferable to lower-fat varieties, but you'll still want to use more melted butter than you would with half-and-half. For best results, try mixing ⅔ cup of whole milk with ⅓ cup butter.

Drizzle a little chocolate sauce into the shaker with the eggnog for a chocolate eggnog. Add a splash of vanilla or almond extract, or turn your eggnog into an iced eggnog latte by pouring a shot of espresso into the shaker. Either way, you'll feel the spirit of the holidays!

Eggnog is typically made with rum, brandy or bourbon, and Brown likes to start with a combination of dark rum and cognac. But there's no need to go premium; he recommends using an affordable, high-proof VS cognac. The higher alcohol level will cut through the sweetness of the rest of the ingredients.

For the brandy eggnog, Korbel VS was the brand of choice, and it produced a perfectly balanced drink. This eggnog had a nice sweetness in every sip, which paired admirably with the creamy egg base.

“That's because all of these can compound into a difficult-to-digest situation, requiring digestive enzymes like lactase, sucrase and alcohol dehydrogenase to kick into high gear all at the same time. This could lead to gas, diarrhea, cramping or abdominal pain within 30 minutes to a few hours after drinking.”

Why should you not drink a lot of eggnog? ›

Traditionally made with eggs, cream, milk, and sugar, no one would say that eggnog is a healthy drink. Even a small serving can pack significant amounts of calories, fat, saturated fat, and added sugars. And then there's the fact that homemade eggnog made with raw eggs can be a food-poisoning risk.

“Eggnog is made with 'heavy' ingredients that, eaten in exclusion of anything else, might cause stomach distress,” registered dietitian Barbara Ruhs said. “Cream is full of fat and that takes longer to digest.

Ingredients: MILK, CREAM, SUGAR, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, EGG YOLKS, FAT FREE MILK, NATURAL & ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, GUAR GUM, SALT, CARRAGEENAN, MONO & DIGLYCERIDES, SPICE, YELLOW 5 & 6 AND RED 40.

Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to find lactose free eggnog anywhere, which is why we want to teach you how to make your own! Whether you've never tried eggnog due to being lactose intolerant, or you've had it before, and it made you too sick to try again, this recipe might be perfect for you.

Absolutely! You can freeze eggnog, but it might change the texture slightly when it thaws. The ingredients in eggnog can separate after freezing, so when you thaw it, give it a good stir or shake to remix everything.

Drizzle a little chocolate sauce into the shaker with the eggnog for a chocolate eggnog. Add a splash of vanilla or almond extract, or turn your eggnog into an iced eggnog latte by pouring a shot of espresso into the shaker. Either way, you'll feel the spirit of the holidays!

Because the eggnog thickens the longer you keep it stored in your refrigerator (and it's quite boozy), you can always dilute it by adding more milk just before serving.

You can use an instant read thermometer or candy thermometer to check the liquid for reaching its food-safe temperature. If the egg yolks do curdle a little, it's OK! While not ideal, the eggnog is not ruined. Once you strain the mixture before chilling, this will remove any curdled pieces.

One Stack Exchange user says it's possible for fresh eggnog to be chunky if the milk, egg, and sugar aren't mixed enough during pasteurization. This would cause the cream to separate from the milk during cooling. The cream, which is just milk fat, will appear as solid chunks in your eggnog.