This smooth, Creamy Vegan Eggnog Recipe is the perfect Christmas drink for the holiday season! Make this fuss-free Christmas classic in 35 minutes and decorate them with cinnamon sticks and powder.
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The holidays are here and this Vegan Eggnog is a fabulous egg and dairy-free alternative for everyone to enjoy. Traditional eggnog contains egg yolks, dairy, alcohol and spices. However, I have found that not everyone likes the idea of drinking egg yolks so this eggless alternative is designed to deliver the same delicious, warming, flavors without the addition of eggs and dairy products.
You may be wondering how you can achieve the same creamy texture without egg yolks. Well, the secret ingredient is cashews! Soak good-quality cashews in boiling water for 30 minutes and blend until smooth. You will get a delicious, creamy and nutty base for this drink. FYI, cashew nuts form the base of a lot of vegan dishes as it has a lovely adaptable texture. Important notice: This recipe has cashew nuts so please make sure that this is not served to anyone with nut allergies.
This wouldn't be a festive drink without the addition of alcohol! This tasty Christmas drink can be served with Christmas Vegan Cookies, Vegan Pecan Pie, Easy Moist Ginger Cake and more!
Why You Should Try This Recipe
- This delicious creamy vegan eggnog is rich, aromatic and festive.
- I added rum but, you can also add whiskey or brandy. Feel free to add less or more alcohol depending on your preference.
- Alternatively, you can skip the alcohol altogether for an alcohol-free version or if you want to make it kid-friendly.
- This tasty Christmas cocktail can be prepared in 5 minutes!
Creamy Vegan Eggnog Ingredients
- Almond milk: I added almond milk to this creamy vegan eggnog as it works well in desserts but, feel free to use any other plant-based milk of your choice. Some great alternatives include coconut milk and soya milk.
- Cashew nuts (raw): Use good-quality cashew nuts to make the base of the vegan eggnog. Make sure they are raw and not roasted, as blended raw cashews have a perfectly creamy, delicious texture.
- Water: The cashew nuts are soaked in hot water to soften them before blending.
- Agave: Is the sweetener of choice for this recipe.
- Almond extract: Adds a delicious concentrated almond flavor to the eggnog.
- Ground nutmeg: Is a warming spice with sweet and nutty notes.
- Ground cinnamon: Adds a sweet, spicy, and woody flavour to the drink perfect for the festive season.
- Cinnamon sticks: Are used to decorate the eggnog when serving.
- Anise stars: Have a sweet licorice-like flavor.
- Cardamom pods: Add a piney sweet flavor to the drink.
- Rum: Don't forget the alcohol. Afterall, this is the key ingredient to making this drink a punch.
Tips and Substitutions
- Cashews: It is super important to use raw cashew nuts for this creamy vegan eggnog. Using roasted cashew nuts can result in a lumpy cashew paste. You must also make sure the cashews soak in boiling hot water as this is the best way to soften them before blending. If you don't soak them you will have difficulty blending the cashews and you may not get the desired creamy, paste-like texture.
- Alcohol: Add rum, whiskey or brandy to eggnog. Alternatively, you can skip the alcohol altogether.
- Milk: You can use any plant-based milk you like for this recipe. My favorites are almond milk, coconut milk, and soya milk.
How to Make Creamy Vegan Eggnog
- Grab a large bowl and add the raw cashew nuts. Make sure there is still space in the bowl as you will need to add boiling water. Pour ⅓ cup of boiling water into the bowl and leave the cashews to soak and soften for half an hour.
Next, add the cashews to a blender along with the water and grind until you get a smooth puree-like texture. There should not be any more cashew nuts presents.
2. Pour the almond milk or plant-based milk into a saucepan. Then, place the cinnamon stick, anise stars and cardamom pods in the saucepan. You can also add cloves too if you want to make the drink spicier. Next, bring the milk to a boil, cook on low heat for 5 minutes and leave to cool once done.
3. Remove the cinnamon, anise and cardamom from the milk and pour the milk into the blender along with the previously blended cashew paste, almond extract, agave, nutmeg, cinnamon, and rum. Finally, blend everything together for 3-4 minutes at medium speed or until well combined.
TIP: Remember you can swap the rum with whiskey, brandy or skip it altogether for alcohol-free vegan eggnog.
4. Once blended, you will get a moderately thick and aromatic creamy vegan eggnog, with rich festive flavors. Decorate the glasses with ground cinnamon, pour the eggnog into a cup and serve with cinnamon and cinnamon sticks.
TIP: To decorate the cup, add ground cinnamon to a flat plate or bowl. Next, you will need to dip the rim of each cup into a bowl of water which will help the ground cinnamon to stick. Finally, dip each cup into the ground cinnamon to get a beautifully decorated rim and pour in the eggnog.
Recipe FAQs
Eggnog is not traditionally vegan as it contains egg yolks and dairy products such as milk and cream.
Vegan eggnog does not contain eggs or dairy products. It includes blended cashew nuts, plant-based milk and spices like nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom.
To thicken vegan eggnog add more softened, blended cashews nuts to the mixture. Softened, blended cashew nuts have a paste-like texture so this can help to thicken the texture of vegan eggnog. Soften cashew nuts by soaking them in boiling water for 30 minutes before blending.
Yes, cinnamon is added to eggnog. It adds warm and nutty notes to the popular festive drink.
More Festive Drink Recipes
Creamy Vegan Eggnog
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Almond milk unsweetened
- 75 g Cashew nuts raw
- ⅓ cup Water
- 3 tablespoon of Agave
- ½ teaspoon Almond extract
- 1 pinch Ground nutmeg
- 2 pinches + 2 teaspoon for decoration Ground cinnamon
- 1 - 2 for decoration cinnamon sticks
- 2-3 Anise stars
- 4-5 Cardamom pods
- 2 tablespoon Rum optional
Instructions
- Add the raw cashews to a bowl and pour ⅓ cup of boiling water over them. Leave the raw cashews to sit in the water for 3o minutes or until soft. Then grind in a blender until you get a smooth puree without pieces of nuts.
- Pour the almond milk into a saucepan and place the cinnamon stick, anise stars and cardamom pods in the saucepan. Bring to a boil then cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Once it has simmered leave it to cool.
- Remove the cinnamon, anise and cardamom from the milk and pour the milk into a blender. Then add the blended cashews, almond extract, agave, nutmeg, cinnamon, and rum. Blend for 3-4 minutes at medium speed.
- Once blended, you will get a moderately thick and aromatic vegan eggnog, with rich festive flavors. Decorate the glasses with ground cinnamon, pour the eggnog into a cup and serve with cinnamon and cinnamon sticks.
Notes
- Cashews: This recipe requires raw cashew nuts, as roasted nuts can result in a lumpy paste. You must also soak the cashews in boiling hot water, as this is the best way to soften them before blending. If you don't soak them, you will have difficulty blending them, and you may not get the desired creamy, paste-like texture.
- Alcohol: Add rum, whiskey or brandy to eggnog. Alternatively, you can skip the alcohol altogether.
- Milk: You can use any plant-based milk you like for this recipe. My favorites are almond milk, coconut milk, and soya milk.
- Decorate: Add ground cinnamon to a flat plate or bowl to decorate the cup. Next, dip the rim of each cup into a bowl of water, which will help the ground cinnamon stick. Finally, dip each cup into the ground cinnamon to get a beautifully decorated rim and pour in the eggnog.
Kim Abbage
This was so tasty and so easy to make given it was my first time making egg nog from scratch.
Jen Sim
Glad you enjoyed it!
Lilly
This vegan eggnog is the best!! It has the perfect traditional flavor and rich creamy texture! My family loved it and had no idea it was vegan until I told them! 🙂
Erique
Eggnog is one of my favorite holiday treats and this vegan version is amazing. I will be making this egg nog recipe for holidays to come!
Stephanie
Such a creamy delicious drink. I'm so glad to have found an eggnog recipe without the egg. Thank you so much!
Kate
I am not normally a fan of eggnog because I can't stand the eggy smell so you can imagine my delight when I came across this egg-free version! My whole family loved it!
Robin
I always on the look out for healthier versions of classics I love and this vegan eggnog was surprisingly good.
Tamara
This eggnog was perfect for my sister in law who is vegan. We made it together when she came over. We’ll definitely be making it again!
Jessica
A good friend of mine recently had to stop eating dairy and LOVES eggnog. I made this for her holiday party and she almost cried it was so good. Thank you!
Crystal DaCruz
I actually prefer this vegan eggnog to regular eggnog!I love that the recipe calls for cashew milk, and the spices worked really well for this drink! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Chenée
This eggnog is so yummy! I made it as a vegan option for our holiday get-together and it was gone so quick!
Jazz
I love how easy it was to follow your instructions because I was a little intimidated at making eggnog vegan at first. My whole family enjoyed this, including my dad, who could not believe it wasn't traditional eggnog!
Britney Brown-Chamberlain
I'm not vegan but I gave this recipe a try because I wanted to do a dairy free version this year and this recipe was absolutely delicious! Super creamy and smooth! I'll be keeping this recipe in the rotation for sure!