Luscious and incredibly delicious, expect this homemade paleo and keto eggnog to vary little (if at all!) from the traditional holiday classic!
Homemade Paleo & Keto Eggnog
Ultra Luscious!
To kick off the holiday cheer I’ve got one of my favorites: a ridiculously creamy and velvety sugar-free keto eggnog.
If you’re anything like me, its taste will be enough to swoon you back to Christmas past. And definitely not in an Ebenezer Scrooge sort of way!
Fact is, this custard-based drink is thought to be around since the late 1600s (!!). And whether you enjoy it warm or chilled, spiked or virgin, creamy or frothy, this keto recipe will cover all your bases.
Oh, and just 2g net carbs peeps! (I still can’t believe this lol!).
The Sweetener
You’ve got plenty of options for this sugar free eggnog. You can use allulose (my favorite because no aftertaste and zero GI, just be sure to add 30% more as it’s less sweet!), erythritol (the one with the least cooling aftertaste imo is Lakanto) and xylitol (non-corn though to avoid tummy troubles!).
*Because allulose is 70% as sweet as sugar, you need to add 30% more (simply multiply the amount of sweetener in recipes by 1.3!).
And if using xylitol, make sure to be careful if you have a pup around the house, as it’s highly toxic to the little guys! 🐕
The ‘Milk’
You’ve got a couple options here. Arguably the best (i.e. the traditional version) is the heavy whipping cream version (HWC). But the coconut milk one is killer too, you just need to take care of a few details.
For the HWC version you can do a 1:1 ratio of cream to nut-based milk (macadamia and almond work great!), adjusting with a little more milk after chilling until desired consistency is reached.
Meanwhile, for the coconut version use 1 1/3 cup of full-fat coconut milk. With roughly an even ratio of the solids and liquids from the can. Just keep in mind that this version is slightly more prone to scrambling, so you’ll want to add in the warm coconut milk veeeery slowly as to not scramble the eggs! And (very important!), but sure to remove it from heat before it begins to simmer.
The Spices
Freshly grated nutmeg is truly ideal here. You may have noticed this, but nutmeg looses its kick very fast. So the pre-ground version will never compare.
And also ideal are cinnamon sticks. But you can get away with subbing here for 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
The Booze
Totally optional… but then again, highly suggested! I recommend you either go for a dark rum or a bourbon. Both nil carbs and great pairings.
Fun fact: when eggnog made it’s travel across the Atlantic to the colonies, rum was a cost-effective substitute to the other heavily-taxed liquors. But during the American Revolutionary War, the supply of rum dried out, and bourbon began to be used as a substitute. So both rum and bourbon are the traditional alcohols of choice.
Though if keto, know your limits as booze can hit you way harder. I use 2/3 cup here, but anywhere from half to one cup will work great. Or just pour to taste.
The Method
There are many (many!) ways to make eggnog. With the traditional being raw and cured…! But given that that takes roughly two weeks, I decided to go for the cooked route.
Fact is you’re essentially making a custard, with the yolks acting as the thickeners. So you’ll be whisking the egg yolks with the sweetener until light and fluffy. Followed by tempering in the ‘milks’, i.e. adding them veeeery slowly as to not scramble the eggs! And then cooking the mixture for roughly 10 minutes until it just begins to simmer. Very simple, yet awesome results.
And in terms of the eggs, if you’re ever to splurge on free-range or organic eggs this is it. At least in my opinion, you really can taste the difference here. Unsurprisingly perhaps, as the yolks take center stage.
Oh, and I opted out of the folded egg whites at the end. Even though it’s the traditional way, I’m just not that fond of the added frothiness. I simply like my eggnog thick and creamy, like most commercial varieties out there. But if that’s your thing, go for it: right before serving, beat your egg whites until soft peaks form and fold them into the eggnog. Just note that if you have leftovers, the egg whites will separate.
And… the video story!
Homemade Paleo & Keto Eggnog
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsweetened nut milk macadamia or almond
- 2 cups heavy cream or coconut milk*
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg freshly grated, plus more for garnish
- 6 egg yolks
- 1/2-3/4 cup xylitol allulose or erythritol (I use 1/2 cup)*
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2-1 cup dark rum or bourbon to taste
Instructions
- Please see recipe video for deets and tricks!
- Add nut milk, heavy cream, cinnamon and nutmeg to a medium saucepan and simmer for about 8-10 to infuse. Remove from heat and set aside while you prepare the yolks.
- Add egg yolks and sweetener to a large bowl and, using a whisk or an electric mixer (easier), beat them until light, fluffy, and most of the sweetener has dissolved (if using erythritol, some granules will remain).
- Gradually temper the hot mixture into the egg and sugar mixture. Tempering means adding the hot milks (very!) little by little to your egg mixture while whisking constantly, so your eggs don't curdle.
- Return everything to the saucepan, and cook over medium/low heat for roughly 8-10 minutes, or until your mixture reaches 160°F/70°C and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and sieve onto a medium mixing bowl. Stir in vanilla and liquor of choice, to taste. Cover and transfer to the refrigerator to chill.
- Your eggnog will continue to thicken while chilling. So give it a good stir right before serving, and feel free to thin it out with a little nut milk until desired consistency is reached.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Got some leftover eggnog? Why not whip up our bulletproof eggnog latte. And if you’re a cheesecake fan, our no-bake keto eggnog cheesecake-for-1 comes highly recommended.
I had to heat it to 180 F to get it to thicken and coat the back of a spoon. Waiting til morning to try it chilled.
I just wanted to say that even though we’re not eating keto for xmas, we’re still making this rockstar of an eggnog! Albeit with regular sugar…. oops!
Merry Christmas Paola!! And thank you for all your fabulous recipes!
My only regret is that I didn’t make a double batch, because the one I made yesterday is nearly gone and so I’m being ‘forced’ to whip up a second batch for Christmas! Thank you so much for the eggnog and the orange cranberry muffins (perhaps my favorite muffin recipe ever). YOU ARE A STAR!
I finally got around to making this last night and I’m sipping it as we speak! WOW!! This stuff is comparable to the commercial varieties, but 100000000 million times better!!! Now I know what people rave about in the fb groups. THANK YOU!!!
Hi, I really want to make this.. but I’m not quite sure how 2g net carbs was humanly possible seeing as 1/2 cup of swerve has 96g of carbs. Total net carbs for this recipe exactly actually comes out to 13.9g for 1/8th of the recipe. Ironically if you remove all sweetners from the recipe it comes to 2.1g for 1/8th of the recipe.
Just wondering where the disconnect is, I got so excited when I saw the 2g and was pretty disappointed to learn the truth :(.
I’d like to correct myself, the version without a sugar substitute is 1.9g net carbs not 2.1.
Hi Nicole! Swerve is a sugar alcohol and most people just don’t count it as a carb, as it passes undigested through most peeps’ digestive tracks… other than that it seems that we agree that without the sugar alcohol it is 1.9g net carbs for 1/8th of the recipe? I’m not sure what the disagreement is here sorry? We do our best to provide accurate nutrition info, particularly as we’re also on the keto diet so we’re DEF not about deceiving fellow ketonians 😉 xo Paola
Thanks so much for the response, like I said I got so excited about this. My recipe macro calculator takes fiber into effect but not sugar alcohols and that would be my disconnect. So in effect I could be making sweet things as much as I want with swerve, which is exciting. Learn something new everyday. Thank you!
Thanks for this – I, too, was disappointed when I logged my intake into MFP and saw how many carbs it credited me! eek!
I did not know that Swerve (sugar alcohol) passes undigested through our digestive tracts – can you same GAME CHANGER?!?!
By the way, THANK YOU FOR THIS SITE! You are my go-to for new recipes (I try to make something new every weekend). There have been more than a few “this can’t be keto” experiences (like this eggnog). I’ve been sticking to some of the more basic recipes, but hope to try my hand at some of the more in-depth ones during the holiday break.
I got 8 carbs using truvia @1/2 cub serving . Its 64 carbs for the 4 cups . Did you take your total servings of sweetner and divide it by 8 ?
This is the best recipe EVER!! I have made this 3 times in 7 days…and it won over people who prefer sugar versions…Thank you so very much!!
How am I JUST seeing this?! THANK YOU Kay! So glad you loved the eggnog! And yup, I fed this eggnog to friends at Thanksgiving and they were total converts ;)! xo Paola
I made this last weekend and it was amazing! But I need to make it again but need to substitute dark rum for rum extract. Can you tell me how much?
Hi Lisa! SO glad you loved it! I cannot tell you exactly how much as rum extracts vary A LOT! I would suggest adding little by little (maybe even starting at 1/4 teaspoon, I usually do this) until you get the rum kick you want. Hope this helps! xo Paola
I am big big big fan of eggnog! I can drink it all year long, recentlybi started me to diet and was so happy to find this recipe.
Unfortunately I didn’t have any xylitol or dwarves on hand, my grocery stores didn’t have it either so I made it with Splenda and that was big mistake 🙁 we still finished that bottle but the aftertaste was horrible.
I decided to give it a second chance and found xylitol (xylosweet) in neighborhood health store. This time I made this eggnog with xylitol. What a difference it was! That was my first time to use xylitol and I’m so happy I bought it!
Eggnog tastes wonderful!!!! It’s still hot and I know I have to wait for it chill 🙂
Thank you so much for that recipe!
So glad you loved it Gosia! And I get you on the stevia, as when I did a test run with it I also got that horrid after taste….! GLAD you found xylitol though, it really does work great here! xo and thanks for reporting back! 🙂 Paola
Would this be better made the day before or day of? Also, I have some real vanilla pods, could/should I sub those in for extract? Thanks!
Hi Steven, you want to make this the day before so it chills in the fridge overnight. And yes on the vanilla pods! Just be sure to halve it, scrape up the seeds, and add them in along with the cinnamon stick. xo! Paola
OMG!!! This is so fabulous! Had a whole batch in 2 days… as a nightly treat and in my bulletproof chai the next morning…DELICIOUS!! If I wanted to thicken up a bit and serve more like a traditional custard, could i add xantham gum ? at what point to I add and how much??
Hi Stephanie! Glad you loved it (and YUP, it’s SO good with coffee!!). To make more of a custard I would actually just up the egg yolks (2-3 more?). You could always thin it out a bit if it comes out too thick. I’m not sure if xanthin gum would work perfectly (I’m thinking it would give it more of a slimy feel!). Hope this helps! xo Paola
I’m excited to try this! – Which milk do you think works better with this: macadamia nut or almond?
Ok! Yay! My middle kid LOVES eggnog but when he looked at the label on the store variety, he put it back on the shelf. He is 17 years old and has recently become VERY health conscious. I’m going to make this for him and SURPRISE him. Thanks SO MUCH for the recipe!!!
I just have to tell you this is amazing!!! So glad there are people like you who know how to make Keto easier with recipes like these.
Hi. Can you please let me know how much xylitol in grams should I use? Because 5g of xylitol is about 4g of carbs! 🙁 it means that 1/2 cup it’s going to be around 50g which is more than 40g of carbs.. I’m confused as I never used it before.. Thank you very much. 🙂 x
Hi Klaudie
Xylitol is a sugar alcohol, very much like Swerve (though a slightly higher GI). So unless you eat a truck load, most people just subtract the sugar alcohols from the carb count.
1 tablespoon xylitol = 16g. We used 1/2 cup = 8 tablespoons = 128g
Hope this helps!
xo Paola
If I eliminate the booze do I substitute with something else?
Hi Marlaine! No need to substitute with anything if you don’t want to (more store-bought varieties are virgin after all!). But some readers have been successful with rum extract in case you still want the taste 😉 xo Paola
Can I use monk fruit sweetener instead of the xylitol or swerve? Also, how long would you say this could be kept for? I really don’t think there will be any left after a day, but i’m just curious!
Hi Morgan! If by monk fruit you mean Lakanto, then yes absolutely! Generally anything that is 1-to-1 to sugar will work great. In terms of how long it keeps I would say no more than 3-4 days (adding alcohol helps preserve longer). xo! Paola
I would like to say I am one of those people that loves eggnog anytime of the year, I am on a low carb diet and lifestyle and when I saw how many carbs were in store bought eggnog I thought for sure that was it no more for me. Well I came across your recipe made a double batch and it is great. Gotta watch I don’t make myself sick on it. Lol
Hi Norm! So glad you liked it!! Tbh I’ve been indulging on eggnog a bit (WAY!) too much myself! :-S! xo! Paola
This looks great! I don’t do recipes where egg whites have to beaten and folded in later, so thank you for this! The best tasting spiked eggnog for me is to use brandy.
This eggnog is LIFE!! THANK YOU, you really did make our holidays!
So happy you enjoyed it guys! Happy holidays!
I was wondering what do you do with the cinnamon stick? You say add it to the sauce pan so do you cook it and remove it or does it dissolve or do you use ground cinnamon.
Thanks Kim
Hi Kim! I’m sorry your comment went to spam! No the cinnamon stick does not dissolve, you remove it in the part were it says that you sieve out the mixture before cooling. xo Paola
AWESOME Jennifer! So glad you guys loved this one too! xo Paola
One of the BEST eggnogs my bf and I have had. Thank you for another stellar recipe!
AWESOME Jennifer! So glad you guys loved this one too! xo Paola
Can you use Stevie for sweetner
Hi Scott! Technically yes, you can use stevia. But tbh I didn’t find the results to be as good… so I would suggest either sticking to Swerve or xylitol for this one. xo Paola
Looks delicious 😋
Can I use stevia instead of the other sweeteners? Thank you!
Hi Klaudie! Technically yes, you can use stevia. But tbh I didn’t find the results to be as good… so I would suggest either sticking to Swerve or xylitol for this one. xo Paola
Hello I just made this 🙂 what is the amount for each serving? I was assuming 8 oz of nog but I can’t find where it says for sure. Thanks
Hi Tiffany! Serving size is roughly 2/3 cup. I just divided the whole batch by 8 when serving. Volume measurement depends on how much alcohol you added though (if any)… But total carbs for the virgin eggnog are 16g. xo Paola
Just made this — warm and with rum, sipping it now. Wanted you to know how amazing it is!
A question — above you say two net carbs per serving (2/3 cup) but here, above, you’ve said 16g. Would you clarify, please?
Hi Lois! So glad you loved it!
Correct, its 2g net per 2/3 cup. The 16 g I was referring to in the comment above was for the entire batch.
xo! Paola
Hello! I would love to try this but I don’t drink alcohol. Would the recipe be okay without or do I need to add more almond milk to keep the consistency the same?
Hi Janae! As stated, alcohol is totally optional! It does help to thicken it slightly more in the fridge, but you will still end up with a nice and thick eggnog. A reader wrote on social media that she subbed in with rum extract rather than actual rum to still get that nice taste 😉 xo! Paola
Would making this with coconut milk totally ruin it? I’d like to make this to share with my husband, but he’s allergic to almonds.
Hi Kendray! I wasn’t a huge fan of the coconut milk version… too much fat? The texture wasn’t silky smooth… Can your husband go for any other nut milks? Say macadamia? Or even cashew?
I used Macadamia milk! Yumm!
Awesome!! Thank you so much for reporting back Sara! You’re the second reader to report back on macadamia nut, I MUST try it! 😉 xo Paola
What a DELICIOUS eggnog recipe!! Fed it to my flatmates and one could believe it was keto lol! It was just so thick and creamy wowza! thnx a bunch made my week!
Glad you loved it Sofia! xo! Paola
This recipe looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it!
Any idea how long could leftovers could safely be stored in the fridge for? I don’t want to make too much and have it go to waste. Thanks!
Hi Danica!
Thank you! 😉 And THANK YOU for reminding me to add the storage time! It keeps well in the fridge for 3-4 days.
xo Paola
Hello! I was wondering if the recipe could be halved? No offense, but I would like to whip up a trial batch…
thnx
Hi Stan! Hahaha no offense taken, I do the same with new recipes 😉
Yes you can go ahead and halve it. I don’t suggest going lower than that as it get’s a bit hard to beat the custard etc… and things never come out quite right. But technically you could even do a 1 yolk ratio.
xo Paola
Hi Paola! I felt compelled to report back because we tried it this morning and it was excellent! We made half a batch last night and had a bit this morning with coffee and WOW! It was much better than any store bought version we’ve ever had.
We used xylitol to sweeten and did use more nutmeg than the recipe called for, but it wasn’t freshly ground. And we also used rum extract. Though for Thanksgiving we’ll get all the fancy stuff. Thanks- Stan
Yes! I just made a half recipe! Delicious!
MY GAWWWD looks delicious!
May I also ask where you bought the glass? It’s beautiful!
Hi Vic! Thanks!
The glass is from Pottery Barn 😉