Here’s how to make the best thick, smooth, creamy vegan eggnog recipe at home, with absolutely no eggs or dairy required!
Why you’ll love this vegan eggnog recipe
Tastes like the classic. This completely dairy free eggnog is the perfect recipe for Christmas or the holidays. One sip of the sweet and spicy beverage, and you’ll want to drink it all year long.
High protein. Just one large serving provides over 10 grams of protein!
Low calorie. The single serving recipe is under 100 calories. It can also be sugar free, gluten free, nut free, cholesterol free, low fat, low carb, and keto friendly.
No heavy cream. Unlike traditional eggnog, today’s vegan version is made without cream, and even non vegans may appreciate that there are no raw eggs.
Also be sure to try these Vegan Snickerdoodles
What does eggnog taste like?
Many people will tell you that the traditionally smooth holiday spiced drink tastes like creamy custard or melted ice cream (umm, yes please).
Others say it tastes like Christmas in a glass, with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. The typical non vegan version is normally made with milk, sugar, heavy cream, whipped egg whites, and egg yolks.
You can actually buy vegan eggnog at the grocery store these days. Look for brands such as Elmhurt, Califa Farms, Silk, Almond Breeze, or Trader Joe’s.
However, even store bought vegan eggnog brands can be high in calories and sugar, and I often find them to taste a little too sweet. For example, Trader Joe’s almond nog or oatmilk nog are nice treats on occasion, but with 22 grams of sugar in just one cup, they are not exactly healthy.
Enjoy eggnog along with a plate of Vegan Christmas Cookies
Step by step recipe video
Dairy free eggnog ingredients
The recipe calls for nondairy milk, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, sweetener of choice, silken tofu, a pinch of salt, and pure vanilla extract.
Use your favorite vegan milk, such as almond milk, soymilk, or oat milk. Or go with canned coconut milk or nondairy creamer for a super thick, milkshake like taste.
Be sure to buy pure vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla flavoring. And do not forget the pinch of salt, which brings out the sweetness and compliments the spices.
I love pure maple syrup here. Something about the flavor of maple just works so well when paired with holiday spices. Feel free to choose regular sugar, agave, or a sugar free alternative like monk fruit or stevia.
Look for soft tofu in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. Mori-Nu also makes a shelf stable silken tofu that works well for this recipe.
Vegan eggnog with no tofu
To whip up a soy free eggnog, simply go with an equal amount (half a cup) of any of the following options instead:
- Vegan vanilla ice cream, Greek nondairy yogurt, or Coconut Ice Cream.
- Raw Thai coconut meat
- Ripe avocado – this option will turn the drink slightly green but it is surprisingly tasty.
- Banana, if you love the idea of banana flavored eggnog
- Baked sweet potato puree (Here’s How To Cook Sweet Potatoes)
- Or you can substitute two thirds cup raw cashews or macadamia nuts (soaked for six to eight hours, then drained and patted dry)
How to make vegan eggnog at home
This healthy eggnog recipe is incredibly easy.
It makes one large serving. To yield a larger amount or serve an entire family or dinner guests, you may double or triple the recipe.
- Start by combining all of the ingredients in a blender or with an immersion blender. I like to use a personal size blender like a Magic Bullet, which allows me to put it in the dishwasher for quick cleanup afterwards.
- Process until thick and smooth. Taste, then add more spices if you wish.
- If you want to spike the homemade eggnog, add a few drops of rum extract or a very small splash of brandy, rum, Cognac, or bourbon.
- Dust with an optional shake of additional ground cinnamon to garnish.
- Drink cold, or heat in the microwave or on the stovetop for a hot beverage.
It’s especially delicious for breakfast with Baked Apple Cider Donuts or Tofu Scramble Recipe.
Vegan Eggnog
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dairy free milk of choice (120g)
- 1/2 cup canned coconut milk or additional dairy free milk (120g)
- 1/2 cup silken tofu (100g) (or one of the soy free options listed above)
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (2g)
- 3 – 4 tbsp pure maple syrup or sweetener of choice (60g)
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/16 tsp ground cloves
- optional splash brandy or rum
Instructions
- If using a sweetened milk, you may wish to use less sweetener.
- 1. Add all vegan eggnog ingredients to a blender.
- 2. Blend until thick and smooth.
- 3. Taste, then add more spices and sweetness to taste, if desired.
- 4. Enjoy cold in a glass. Or warm up in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove top until hot.
Notes
Vegan Holiday Recipes
Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
or these Chocolate Snowball Cookies
What a great recipe! I’d been planning to try a different one that I came across that uses avocados, but they can be so expensive! This might just do the trick 🙂
Thanks, as always!
You could still add some avocado to this recipe to make it extra creamy!
I don’t like eggnog or tofu, but I’m totally game to try it!! I have tofu in the fridge to make your cheesecake and yet there it still sits. Thinking I’ll make the shake for breakfast for my 4 girls. WE LOVE ALL YOUR STUFF KATIE!! Seriously, almost everyday we have a CCK recipe 🙂 Thank you for what you do, I tell everyone about your sight!
Oh, I am so excited to try this! Eggnog was one of my top five things about Christmas when I was kid. But now I’m mostly egg-free/ lactose intolerant so the traditional kind isn’t really an option. Thanks!! 🙂
I’ve never had eggnog before, but there’s a first time for everything. May just have to be this year! 🙂
I’ve never been a big fan of eggnog but this recipe might make me a convert 🙂 Eggnog sounds much tastier without the raw egg!
Oh my, I love eggnog, but always feel just a little yucky after downing my entire glass. What a fantastic solution! Eggnog for breakfast please!
For old music, I’m all about the classic carols right now! Dean Martin, please sing me your Christmas tunes (thank you Pandora!)
Quick question- if you heated it, would the tofu cook and be a scrambled tofu texture? Or does blending it with everything else prevent this?
No, the tofu wouldn’t scramble.
It didn’t scramble when I heated it :).
Mine became thicker when I heated it, but I liked the thicker texture, more like real eggnog! I just stirred it before drinking and it was good. I also felt it became sweeter when I heated it.
This looks super tasty! I’m soy-free and appreciate the substitutions (the cashew one sounds especially good to me).
As it’s December, I’m on the holiday-tune mix, so my oldies consist of Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Marilyn Monroe & Nat King Cole.
Im so in love with eggnog but now that Im eating healthy and clean, I cant justify drinking the unhealthy store bought versions. Thank you for this! I, too, will be drinking eggnog in the summer …basically all year. 🙂
This looks great! I don’t usually like the Silk eggnog that much but I will definitely try this with some rum over the holidays!
Wow – this looks and sounds amazing!! Thank you so much for this, we are spending xmas with the in laws and i want to make some recipes that will be yummy but healthy – this one is definitely going on my recipe list!
My grandma always said “You have to have a little Nog in it”. That meant bourbon! She made ridiculously rich & tasty homemade egg nog, and even us kids got a little taste of the “nog”! Now that I’m vegan, I’ll have to try your version, with a little nog of course!
Also, the Bare Naked Ladies song “Brian Wilson” is now stuck in my head, thanks! 😉
i have been a huge fan of the beach boys and brian wilson forever! it’s funny – brian wilson actually walks around the park right by my parents house twice a day EVERYDAY, and no one even notices or cares. it’s like there’s a living john lennon just strolling around, and people just assume he’s some old nut…
Go ahead and enjoy the Beach Boys in December!!
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beach_Boys'_Christmas_Album#section_2
I’ve been searching all over for a good “eggless” eggnog…I’m not vegan and I don’t have any allergies (in fact, I eat eggs all the time and love them!), but the whole “raw egg” deal makes me a little uneasy. Plus, so many of the brands of eggnog at the grocery store are made with HFCS and all sorts of other highly processed ingredients…Fine for a once-in-a-while treat but not if you would like to drink eggnog daily throughout the holiday season! 😉 I finally discovered Silk Nog, which tastes delicious and has a relatively short ingredient list, but I’ll have to try your version as well! Thanks, Katie!
Cool idea!