Homemade Eggnog Recipe (2024)

Why buy eggnog when you can make homemade eggnog in under 5 minutes? This easy Amish recipeis versatile…sweeten and season to your liking. {And there’s a cooked eggnog option, too!}

Homemade Eggnog Recipe

As I was planning my editorial calendar for the holiday season, I knew homemade eggnog had to be top on the to-make list. It’s one of Matt’s favorite holiday traditions, yet I had never made it for him because, well….it wasn’t one of my holiday traditions. He grew up enjoying glasses of eggnog alongside snickerdoodle cookies and this was a memory I wanted to bring back for him.

I flipped open my tattered, well-loved cookbook, looked up how to make eggnog and found an old traditional eggnog recipe. 7 eggnog ingredients that I already had in my refrigerator and pantry? No problem. I whipped it up in under 5 minutes, poured a glass for Matt {the official taste tester}. He thought it was amazingly delicious and fell in love with me all over again with just one taste.

End of sweet story, right?

Nope.

How to Make Eggnog Safely

I was originally working on this story about 2 weeks ago and while typing, thought…maybe I should check and see how people deal with the raw eggs in eggnog? I mean, I eat raw eggs in cookie dough all.the.time {don’t send hate mail, please}. But I want to share recipes that are safe for you.

After a quick look at FoodSafety.gov, I knew I needed to rethink the completely raw eggs going in this special, creamy drink.

I’ve studied and tested recipes for the past week and have three options for you.

1. Make the easy eggnog recipe with regular raw eggs. This is NOT recommended by FoodSafety.gov because of the risk of salmonella. That risk is relatively small, but is still there.
2. Make the eggnog recipe with pasteurized eggs. Although this heating process kills any salmonella that might be present, the FDA and USDA still recommend cooking your eggnog. Sigh.
3. Which brings us to the cooked eggnog recipe option. The homemade eggnog is totally safe for you to drink when it is cooked.

I know that there will be some of you who say “Heck with it…I’m making it with raw eggs.” And I know there are some of you who will shout from the rooftops that you should NOT be drinking homemade eggnog that has not been cooked.

So I’ll share with you a quick 5-minute version that you can make using raw, pasteurized eggs….and then I’ll tell you how to make cooked homemade eggnog for the ultimate in food safety. Either way, this is the best

For the Quick Easy Homemade Eggnog Recipe:

Crack the pasteurized eggs into a bowl and whip them with a hand mixer until they are frothy on top and lemon in color. Only about 1-2 minutes. Add the sugar, nutmeg, lemon juice, salt, milk and cream. Beat it again for another 1-2 minutes. And you’re done. Pour yourself a tall glass of this cold eggnog and enjoy every sip.

For a Cooked Eggnog Recipe:

This recipe takes just a little more time but has only 6 ingredients. Do not add the lemon juice to the cooked eggnog. Trust me. It will curdle. Don’t ask me how I know.

Heat the milk and cream in a saucepan over medium heat until it is about 115-120 degrees F. In another bowl, use a hand mixer to beattogether the eggs for 1-2 minutes or until they are lemon in color. Scoop ¾ cup of the heated milk and pour it slowly into the eggs, whisking constantly. This is called “tempering” the eggs. Now pour the egg/milk mixture slowly into the heated milk, whisking constantly. Add the sugar, nutmeg and salt. Heat over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until the temperature reaches 160 degrees F. This is a safe temperature for the eggs. The last step is chilling the eggnog. The cooked version will thicken as it cools, so I recommend drinking the eggnog sooner rather than later. If the cooked eggnog thickens too much, you can add milk (plus a bit more sugar and nutmeg) to get it to the consistency you like.

And that my friends….is all I have learned about eggnog in the past few weeks. It was more of a lesson than I thought I would learn.

But the recipe itself? Matt said it reminds him of his Grandma and that is a priceless reaction for me.

Be sure to read all of the notes to make this eggnog exactly how you like it!
If you love eggnog, try Eggnog Cream Cake!

Can you bake with eggnog?

Yes! Homemade eggnog might have a little bit of a different thickness than store bought milk or store bought eggnog, so a recipe might need a little tweaking. But in general, you can often replace milk with eggnog in baked goods. We’ve also found you can reduce the sugar slightly since eggnog is already sweetened.

What can you make with leftover eggnog?

Try making cheesecake, cinnamon rolls, bread, pancakes, muffins or even coffee cake or pumpkin pie. The possibilities are endless!