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This vegan eggnog is thick, creamy, loaded with real nutmeg, and not even close to the tooth-melting sweetness of the carton stuff. It's just raw cashews, maple syrup and warm holiday spices blitzed in a blender, with about 4 minutes of actual work. Serve it ice-cold, warm it up on the stove, or let Grandma spike it. No eggs, no cream, and no cows getting dragged into your holiday party.
Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
Naturally gluten-free as written. If you swap in oat milk for the water or spike it with whiskey, make sure those are certified gluten-free, as not all are.
Boiling water is doing the fast-soak work here, so there's no overnight cashew soak to plan around.
You're blending these to smithereens anyway, so buy the bag of broken cashew pieces instead of perfect whole ones. Same result, less money.
Coconut whipped cream and a shot of whiskey are optional add-ons, not part of the base. Underneath, this is just cashews, spices, and a little maple syrup.
Saffron is in there for color only, and ⅛ teaspoon of turmeric does the same job for a fraction of the fuss. Both are optional anyway.
Remember you can always add more sweetener, but never really take it away. I wrote this recipe to be lightly sweetened.
The longer your cashews soak, the better texture you'll achieve. If you can, prep your nuts early and give them a good soak before blending!
Freshly grated nutmeg adds a way more intense and aromatic flavor compared to the store-bought, pre-ground stuff.
Oodles more tips, step-by-step recipe photos, info on weird ingredients, and FAQs are all still here. I just tucked 'em out of the way so you can start cooking sooner.
I don't drink, but there's been more than one Christmas when my wife and older daughter quietly slipped rum into the eggnog while prepping candied yams and our vegan green bean casserole. By the time the oven timer went off, they were weird and giggly and I was the only one who could find the potholders.
So take it from the sober guy: it slaps just as hard without the booze. Pour it next to a slice of vegan yule log or a plate of vegan hazelnut truffles. Grab your blender, m'deary. The nog awaits.
This is SOOOOO good and I'm going to keep some of this in my fridge all fall/winter from now on! Using it in chai tea lattes and coffee lattes and it's amazing.
Jump to:
- Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
- Why you'll adore this dairy-free eggnog
- Vegan eggnog ingredients
- Other holiday nogs to make
- How to make vegan eggnog
- What to serve with eggnog
- Top tips
- Recipe FAQs
- You'll also love these vegan Christmas recipes:
- Creamy Vegan Eggnog Recipe (That's Secretly Dairy-Free)
Why you'll adore this dairy-free eggnog
🌰 Thick, Creamy and Soy-Free: Blended cashews and a little coconut oil give you that rich, spoon-coating eggnog texture without a single carton of soy milk or a raw egg in sight.
⏱ Barely Any Work: About 4 minutes of actual effort. Boil water, soak, blend, done. If you can make a smoothie without setting your kitchen on fire, you can make this.
🎄 Holiday Party Approved: It's naturally gluten-free, kid-friendly as written, and happy to take a splash of rum for the grown-ups, so it fits right in with the rest of your vegan Christmas recipes and gluten-free vegan recipes.
Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like every one of my vegan recipes, this nog got blended, chilled and sipped by recipe testers around the globe, a few of whom definitely "tested" it with whiskey.
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Vegan eggnog ingredients
Cashews
My vegan nacho cheese is proof that raw cashews are the greatest gift Santa ever slid down a chimney with. Go for raw cashew pieces, since they hydrate faster than whole ones, and use a high-speed blender so the nog comes out totally smooth.
Don't use roasted or salted cashews here, unless you want to make old Saint Nick collapse sobbing into the comforting arms of Old Man Winter. Got pine nuts left over from my blue corn pancakes? They make a delicious nog too.
Coconut milk (optional)
Want it even richer? Soak the cashews in hot full-fat coconut milk instead of water. Hate coconut with your whole heart? Unsweetened almond, oat or soy milk work too.
Maple syrup
Maple syrup gives this vegan eggnog a soft caramel-y sweetness. Coconut sugar and palm sugar (the same one I use for Malaysian klepon) are great swaps. Agave works too, but it's sweeter, so start with a little less.
The spices
Nutmeg is the main event in eggnog, not a background whisper like in my vegan apple fritters. Use a fresh jar, or better yet, grate a whole nutmeg right before blending. Vietnamese cinnamon and a pinch of ground cloves round it out.
The saffron (or a tiny pinch of turmeric) is just for that pale, eggy color. Got fresh turmeric left over from nasi kunyit? A paper-thin slice is plenty. You want the nog off-white, not the liquid lovechild of Bart Simpson and Big Bird.
Vanilla
Use a good vanilla extract or half as much vanilla powder, the same speckly stuff I use in vegan panna cotta. Artificial vanilla? Ew. It'll make your eggnog smell like an over-perfumed 13-year-old at her bat mitzvah. For Jolly Old Saint Nick's sake, please don't.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
Other holiday nogs to make
Mexican vegan rompope
Swap the cashews for soaked blanched almonds (the same ones I use for vegan ricotta). Rompope is traditionally heavier on egg yolks, so go a little heavier on the saffron or turmeric for that deep golden color.
Vegan coquito
Coquito is Puerto Rico's coconut-forward Christmas nog. Soak the cashews in thick, fatty coconut cream instead of water, the good stuff from my kem chuoi, not the gloopy sweetened "cream of coconut" from airport-bar piña coladas.
Quebec-style lait de poule
Canadian eggnog usually gets an extra pinch of cloves and is served warm, often with whiskey or bourbon, because the land of Dudley Do-Right is cold as heck. Follow the warming step below and wrap your hands around the mug.
How to make vegan eggnog
Traditional eggnog made with raw eggs? Steer clear of the pissed-off glare of Mrs. Claus and follow the step-by-step photos below instead. Or scroll down to the recipe card if you already know your way around a blender.
Step One
Don't Egg-nore the Holiday Cheer:
Place the cashews in a heat-safe bowl and cover them with the boiling water. Let them rehydrate for 15 minutes. For a richer eggnog, soak them in an equal amount of heated full-fat coconut milk instead.
Step Two
Noggy by Nature:
Add the cashews and their soaking liquid to a blender, along with the coconut oil, molasses, maple syrup, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, saffron or turmeric (if using) and salt.
Blend on high speed for 90 seconds, until creamy and completely smooth. If you are serving it cold, chill the eggnog for at least 1 hour.
Step Three
The Nog of Eternal Stench:
Want it warm? Pour the eggnog into a saucepan and warm it gently over low heat, whisking occasionally, until heated through. Do not let it boil.
Step Four
Nogturnal Animals:
Pour the eggnog into mugs or glasses. Add whiskey or rum and vegan whipped cream if you like, then finish with a cinnamon stick and an extra sprinkle of nutmeg.
What to serve with eggnog
Leaving a mug out for the old man who breaks into your house through the chimney? He's leaving coal if you don't hook m'boy up with some vegan Christmas cookies piped with vegan royal icing. But imagine being Santa for a sec. That's cookie number 4,000 tonight. You aren't Cookie Monster.
So mix it up. Vegan gingerbread donuts and maple glazed vegan pumpkin donuts are both ridiculous with a cold glass of nog, and a warm slab of vegan cinnamon babka or vegan chocolate babka makes Christmas morning feel like a fancy bakery. Got espresso? Pour a shot in the bottom of a mug and top it with hot eggnog for an eggnog latte.
Top tips
- Sweeten at the End: The recipe is lightly sweet on purpose. Taste it after blending and stir in more maple syrup a little at a time, because you can always add sugar but you can't fish it back out.
- Use a Real Blender: A high-speed blender is what makes cashews turn into smooth, grit-free nog. If yours is an ancient relic from a cursed tomb, blend longer and strain it through a fine mesh strainer.
- Soak Whole Cashews Longer: Pieces are ready in 15 minutes. Whole cashews need the full soak (or an extra 5-10 minutes) or you'll get a sandy nog.
Recipe FAQs
🧊 In the Fridge: Keep it in an airtight container or mason jar for up to 2 days if you just blended it. If you warmed it on the stove first, it keeps for up to 4 days.
❄️ In the Freezer: Nah. It gets weird, and it takes 4 minutes to make a fresh batch, which is way less annoying than thawing and re-blending a frostbitten nog from last Christmas.
🔥 Reheating: Warm it gently in a saucepan over low heat, whisking, until steaming. Don't let it boil.
Yep. Blanched almonds or macadamia nuts give you a similar creamy texture. For a nut-free version, use full-fat coconut milk or a thick oat milk instead of the cashews and water.
Totally. Warm it in a saucepan over low heat, whisking occasionally, until it's hot but not boiling. That's also how they do it in Quebec.
Sure thing. Add 1 ounce of rum, whiskey or bourbon per serving and adjust to taste. Check the bottle on barnivore.com first, since a lot of booze is filtered with animal products.
They are close cousins. Rompope is the Mexican version of eggnog, traditionally made with egg yolks, milk, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla, and often spiked with rum. This cashew-based vegan eggnog brings the same creamy cinnamon and vanilla vibe with zero eggs, and it stays booze-free unless you add 1 ounce of whiskey or rum per serving.
You'll also love these vegan Christmas recipes:
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Creamy Vegan Eggnog Recipe (That's Secretly Dairy-Free)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 3 ¼ cups boiling water
- 2 tablespoons refined coconut oil
- ½ teaspoon molasses
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or ½ teaspoon vanilla powder
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 6 threads saffron or ⅛ teaspoon turmeric (optional for color)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
Optional for Serving:
- 1 ounce whiskey or rum per serving (100% optional)
- Coconut whipped cream
- Cinnamon sticks
- Additional nutmeg to garnish
Instructions
- Place the cashews in a bowl. Add boiling water and Allow the cashews to rehydrate in the water for 15 minutes. Optionally, for a richer eggnog, you can soak the cashews in an equal amount of heated full-fat coconut milk.
- Once cool, add the cashew and their soaking water to a blender, along with the coconut oil, molasses, maple syrup, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric or saffron (if using), and salt.
- Blend on high speed for 90 seconds until it is creamy and completely smooth. If serving cold, chill the eggnog for at least 1 hour.
- If you would like to serve the eggnog warm, transfer the mixture to a saucepan. Warm gently over low heat, stirring occasionally with a whisk, until heated through. Do not boil.
- Whether serving hot or cold, pour into mugs and add whiskey or rum, and vegan whipped cream if using. Add a cinnamon stick and sprinkle with additional nutmeg before serving.
Notes
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Jade says
This is SOOOOO good and I'm going to keep some of this in my fridge all fall/winter from now on! Using it in chai tea lattes and coffee lattes and it's amazing.
Adam Sobel says
So glad you loved it, Jade ❤️
Peg Nemoff says
I have tried a few different recipes, but Chef Adam's was by far the best non-dairy eggnog I have ever made. Thank you for creating this delicious concoction!