Homemade Non-Alcoholic Eggnog Recipe
Eggs, cream, and spices combine to create this decadent, smooth, yet creamy homemade non-alcoholic eggnog. Enjoy a batch (or many) this holiday season!
Servings Prep Time
12servings 5minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
25-30minutes 6+hours
Servings Prep Time
12servings 5minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
25-30minutes 6+hours
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Combine eggs and sugar in a medium glass bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined.
  2. Transfer to a saucepan and stir in whole milk, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg.
  3. Heat egg mixture over medium-low heat while stirring constantly with a whisk (IMPORTANT! and it does a take a little patience – see notes about stirring) to prevent the milk from scorching or the eggs from scrambling. As the mixture heats up, it will thicken slightly.
  4. When mixture reaches 160 degrees on a candy thermometer, remove from heat and slowly whisk in the heavy whipping cream, salt, and vanilla extract.
  5. Cool slightly before tasting. Add more sugar or spices, if desired, before transferring to an airtight container.
  6. Mixture will continue to thicken as it cools.
  7. Refrigerate overnight or until thoroughly chilled.
  8. Serve in mugs and garnish with whipped cream, cinnamon sticks, or a dash of nutmeg.
Recipe Notes
  • If your eggnog is thicker than you prefer, simply thin it out by adding more whole milk. I recommend adding about 1/4 cup at a time until you reach your preferred thickness.
  • For an adults-only version of eggnog, add some brandy, rum, bourbon or whiskey to taste.
  • NOTE: this non-alcoholic eggnog recipe CAN separate. If it does, just throw it in the blender before serving for a quick pulse to mix it all up OR use an immersion blender to combine everything before serving if it separates.
  • It should be smooth. If it’s not, what might have happened was that either the milk scorched or the eggs scrambled a bit. When heating the mixture, it’s crucial to stir constantly so that both of those things don’t happen. It’s also easy to forget or get busy doing something else while you’re waiting for it to heat up 🙂 When in doubt, stir!
  • ALTERNATIVE METHOD: If you have found your eggnog to be lumpy in the past, you can try this. While we’ve had mixed results with it, and it requires carefully tempering the eggs, it might work better for others. Cook the milk with the spices first then slowly pour it onto the eggs-sugar mixture while stirring constantly. Then put the entire mixture back in the saucepan and heat slowly until it reaches 160 degrees following the recipe.
  • To break up the lumps, try stirring with a whisk as you heat up the eggnog. If that doesn’t work, you can try an immersion blender OR run your eggnog through a strainer/collander to pull the lumps out.