For me, the best eggnog recipes are the ones you make at home. When I was a little girl, mom would make eggnog as a special treat when we had a bounty of eggs (we had a dairy farm and raised our own chickens). I never remember her measuring – she always just threw some milk, eggs, vanilla and sugar in the blender.
Around the holiday season, eggnog seems to start popping up in all the stores, but most commercial eggnogs use high fructose corn syrup and other questionable ingredients. They also seem cloyingly sweet to my palate.
Here's the ingredient list from one popular commercial eggnog:
Milk, Sugar, Cream, Skim Milk, Corn Syrup, Egg Yolks, contains Less than 1% of each of the Following Ingredients: Natural and Artificial Flavors, Water, Spice, Salt, Annatto and Turmeric (Color), Guar Gum, Mono and Diglycerides, Carrageenan.
That's about half the length of the ingredient list on the brand I saw on sale today at the store. Blech.
It's pretty darn easy to make homemade eggnog, so I hope that you'll be inspired to whip up your own batch of this holiday classic.
Rum or rum flavoring is commonly added, but my crew doesn't care for it, so I've left it out of most of the recipes. Use at your discretion. I think a dash of Amaretto would be a nice twist for the chocolate eggnog.
Remember to always heat warm eggnog gently to avoid curdling your eggs.
Always use eggs from a source you know you can trust if you are eating them raw. If in doubt, go for a hot eggnog and heat thoroughly.
#1 – Traditional Eggnog
Adapted from Betty Crocker's New Picture Cookbook (1961)
- 1 egg, well beaten
- 1-2 tablespoons sugar or maple syrup
- 1 cup chilled milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla (homemade vanilla is great if you have it)
- Dash of Nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon rum flavoring or splash of rum, optional
Whisk egg and sugar (or syrup) together. Blend in milk and vanilla. Serve cold in a tall glass sprinkled lightly with nutmeg, if desired. Serve immediately. Makes one serving.
#2 – Hot Eggnog
Adapted from Betty Crocker's New Picture Cookbook (1961)
- 4 eggs, separated
- 1/2 cup sugar or maple syrup, or less, to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Nutmeg, to taste
- 3 tablespoons sugar
In large saucepan blend egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar and salt. Beat in milk until thoroughly blended.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until heated through and bubbles form around the edge. Don't overcook – you'll get egg chunks. Add vanilla.
Beat egg whites until frothy. Gradually beat in 3 tablespoons sugar, a little at a time. Beat until stiff and glossy (think meringue).
To serve, fill cups half full with meringue. Pour hot eggnog over meringue. Sprinkle with nutmeg, if desired. Makes 12 servings.
#3 – Dairy Free Eggnog
Adapted from “Eat Fat, Lose Fat“
- 1 can whole coconut milk (I prefer Thai Kitchen Organic)
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons brandy (optional)
Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until frothy. Makes 2 servings.
#4 – Probiotic Eggnog
- 1 cup plain milk kefir
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 5-7 drops liquid vanilla stevia or 1/8 teaspoon vanilla and sweetener to taste
- 1 egg or egg yolk
Whisk all ingredients together and serve cold. Makes one serving.
The following two recipes resemble a very rich hot chocolate. The first one is less sweet, but I enjoyed them both. When I made the second one up for the boys (with the added whipped cream), they asked how I made the “hot chocolate” taste so good.
#5 – Chocolate Eggnog with Cocoa
- 1 cup milk or 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup cream
- 3 tablespoons cocoa
- 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 small/medium egg
Whisk all ingredients together in a small saucepan. Warm gently on low heat, stirring frequently, until heated through. Makes one serving.
Alternatively, may by served cold by blending all ingredients until well mixed.
#6 – Warm Chocolate Eggnog with Dark Chocolate
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk or 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup cream
- 1 ounce dark chocolate, preferably organic, broken into pieces
- Dash of vanilla
- 1 small/medium egg, beaten
- Dash of nutmeg
- whipped cream, optional
Directions
Place 1/2 cup milk and chocolate pieces into a small sauce pan. Heat gently until chocolate is melted, stirring frequently.
Add the rest of the milk or cream, vanilla and egg. Heat through, serve warm. Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg, if desired. Makes one serving.
For those who are avoiding eggs, an eggless nog recipe that doesn't use instant pudding mix.
#7 – Eggless Eggnog
Adapted from Healthy Vegan Nogs
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- 1 medjool date, pit removed
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon rum extract
- 2 teaspoons chia seeds
- dash of nutmeg
- dash of cinnamon
Directions
Place all ingredients except nutmeg and cinnamon in a high powered blender. Blend well. Let rest ten minutes to allow chia seeds time to gel.
Blend until frothy, pour into serving glass and sprinkle with spices.
White chia seeds are great if you have them, to make a lighter eggless nog, but regular chia will work just fine.
Click here to open 1 page PDF file with all the recipes, ready to print.
Happy nogging! 🙂
More Holiday Recipes
Holiday drinks for you to enjoy:
- Hot Cocoa – From Scratch, Double Chocolate
- Easy, Delicious Wassail Recipe (It Smells Like Christmas!)
- 5 Amazing Spiced Apple Cider Drink Recipes
- Spiced Hot Cocoa mix
- Holiday Kombucha Flavors
Sweets and Treats
- Chocolate chip cookie dough truffles
- Yule Log Cake (Buche de Noel)
- Reindeer Print Cookies
- Cranberry Cookies
- The Best Sugar Cookies
Originally published in 2011, last updated in 2017.
