Homemade Egg Nog Recipe

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This homemade eggnog recipe is perfect to share with your family and friends during all of the holidays!

This homemade eggnog recipe is perfect to share with your family and friends during all of your social engagements during the holidays! #eggnog #homemadeeggnog #vanillaeggnog #eggnogfromscratch

Homemade Egg Nog

Few drinks embody the spirit of Christmas like eggnog. This sweet, milky drink is often found in cartons at your local market in November and December, but did you know that you can whip up some homemade eggnog with only a few ingredients at home? It is a bit more of a commitment than pouring it from a carton, but your 15-minute investment will be well worth the cost.

Learn how to make eggnog from scratch below with just a few simple steps!

–Make some sweet treats to go alongside your eggnog with these Old Fashioned Christmas Cookie Recipes.

Homemade Eggnog Recipe

What You Need:

  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • a small pinch of ground cloves
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla

How to Make Homemade Eggnog:

In a medium bowl, whip the egg yolks and sugar with an electric mixer or Rotary Beaters until the color starts to lighten, and the sugar starts to dissolve.

Homemade Egg Nog

In a medium saucepan, combine milk, heavy cream, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Warm over medium heat until it is just about to boil. (Note: do not let boil). Slowly add the warmed milk mixture to the egg yolk mixture, a fourth cup at a time, stirring after each addition. You want to do this process slowly, so it doesn’t cook the eggs. Return the milk and egg mix to the pan and warm over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the temperature reaches 160 degrees. Do not let this boil, or it will curdle.

Homemade Egg Nog

Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla, and chill in the refrigerator.

Print this Vanilla Eggnog Recipe to add to your Recipe Binder below:

Homemade Eggnog Recipe

Ingredients

  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • a small pinch of ground cloves
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, whip the egg yolks and sugar with an electric mixer or Rotary Beaters until the color starts to lighten, and the sugar starts to dissolve.
  2. In a medium saucepan, combine milk, heavy cream, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Warm over medium heat until it is just about to boil. (Note: do not let boil). Slowly add the warmed milk mixture to the egg yolk mixture, a fourth cup at a time, stirring after each addition. You want to do this process slowly, so it doesn't cook the eggs.
  3. Return the milk and egg mix to the pan and warm over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the temperature reaches 160 degrees. Do not let this boil, or it will curdle.
  4. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla, and chill in the refrigerator.

If you’re looking for a little variation to your eggnog, you can take the egg whites and whip them up with 1 tsp of sugar until stiff peaks form, then fold them into the eggnog mix. Please note that this may not be ideal for everyone, as it does pose a small risk of salmonella. (Farm fresh eggs are best to use in this recipe.)

Now that you’ve got your favorite holiday drink in hand, here are some more posts to get you ready for Christmas!

How to Start Keeping Christmas Simple

Old Fashioned Christmas Decorations

How to Get Organized by Using a Christmas Master Checklist

Simple Christmas Gift Exchange Ideas for the Whole Family

How to Actually Enjoy the Holidays

Talking to Friends and Family About Gifts

Does your family enjoy homemade Egg Nog as a holiday treat?

andreabio

This Homemade Eggnogg Recipe was originally published on Little House Living in December 2013. It has been updated as of December 2019.

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12 Comments

  1. What kind of milk works best/tastes like store bought? Heavy whipping cream is already going in it, so 2%? Or whole makes it taste like the original?

  2. Hi Andrea! Thanks for sharing your recipe! Sounds delicious! My hubby is particular about his eggnog so I will give this a try! Blessings from Bama!

  3. This is not the Egg Nog I grew up with, everything is pretty close but there’s nothing to cook the eggs, we used moonshine or whiskey but shin worked best!

  4. The cooking of the milk and then tempering the eggs and adding them, well, you are basically making Creme Anglaise. Which is delicious…but why go to all that trouble? Blue Bunny makes a MARVELOUS All Natural French Vanilla Bean Ice Cream without all the gunk. It has just eggs, milk, vanilla and vanilla beans. All you have to do is melt it and add your spices and (if you want) booze of choice. Simple and just as delicious!

  5. Our whole family could drink egg nog by the gallon!!! Does this taste like the thick store bought kind? Aweful but that’s the only kind we ever had and we love it!! I’m going to try this for definite!!!!! Thank you!!

  6. Hi Andrea,
    Your Egg Nog would be delicious! Thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and have a very Merry Christmas!
    Miz Helen

  7. Let’s get to the man stuff – age your eggs first using booze. Add 1/4 brandy or whiskey (in volume to the other liquids in total) to each of the eggs (yolks, whites). Let set in fridge for 3 days. Then start making your eggnog per the instructions above. You’ll find the eggnog has a richer, bolder flavor too.