Traditional Christmas Eggnog
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Christmas eggnog – Simple, velvety, and rich. Eggnog is a traditional Christmas beverage.

What is eggnog?
While the combination of eggs, milk, and sweet spices to make a beverage might sound a little strange to novice cooks. Eggnog is a delicious, creamy, and potent holiday drink.
What does eggnog taste like?
Christmas eggnog is a holiday tradition that tastes like home and family!
The flavor can be best described as creamy, custardy, rich, and milk-like, with a hint of sweetness.
The taste of eggnog is deep and creamy due to the combination of milk and eggs, which are the main ingredients.
Its flavor is a bit like melted ice cream, spiced with nutmeg and cinnamon. If you like milk with a hint of vanilla taste, you will like eggnog.
Eggnog will satisfy your wintertime cravings with a hint of nutmeg and sweet cinnamon notes. It’s like liquid Christmas!

What is eggnog made of?
Just say no to store-bought eggnog this holiday season!
Instead, use this homemade recipe with egg yolks, condensed milk, coconut cream, and spices.
You’ll love how easy it is to prepare and how delicious it is to sip.

What alcohol goes in eggnog?
You can make spiked eggnog with alcohol classics brandy, whiskey, bourbon, rum, or cognac like Hennessy.
Do you have to add alcohol?
Not at all! You could keep the alcohol omitted altogether for an all-family kid-friendly version of Christmas eggnog.

How do you make eggnog?
Christmas eggnog is a traditional drink served during the Christmas season.
It’s a mixture of eggs, milk, and cream, spiced with ground nutmeg and garnished with a cinnamon stick and freshly grated nutmeg.
It’s the perfect drink for Christmas parties with friends and family.
If you’re planning to make eggnog at home, all you have to do is follow these easy step-by-step instructions!

Kitchen equipment for Christmas eggnog
- Instant Pot electric pressure cooker
- Instant Pot Ace Plus blender
- 3 qt stainless steel bowl or Instant Pot pot-in-pot
- Whisk
- Digital liquid thermometer
Shop my kitchenware!
Instant Pot Duo Nova | Instant Pot Ace Plus blender | Amazon stainless steel bowl | Instant Pot 3qt. inner pot | KitchenAid whisk | Amazon similar digital thermometer | The Pioneer Woman measuring bowls | Pyrex measuring glass | Kate Aspen heart-shaped measuring spoons | Anthropologie wooden spoon | Anthropologie dish cloths | Target dish towel | Amazon similar stemless wine glass | Target similar Hearth And Hand cloth napkin | Amazon large ice cube trays |

Ingredients for Christmas eggnog
- 3 cups of water
- 2 egg yolks
- 12 oz evaporated milk (1 can)
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk (1 can)
- 14 oz cream of coconut
- ½ a cup of water
- ¼ teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- ½ a teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
- ½ a cup of rum (optional)

Instructions for traditional Christmas eggnog
- To make a batch of delicious soul food eggnog, you’ll use your Instant Pot as a double boiler.
- Open the Instant Pot lid and pour the water inside the stainless-steel inner pot.
- Then set your stainless-steel bowl or Instant Pot pot-in-pot inside the inner pot with 3 cups of water. Make sure the bowl-in-pot floats on the water inside the inner pot. You can stick a wooden spoon in between the inner pot and the bowl so that the bowl stays stable and in place while afloat.
- Then, turn the Instant Pot on using the sauté setting for 20 minutes (although you’ll likely not use all of this time, I like to allow extra for the sauté to heat up).
- Pour the egg yolks and evaporated milk into the empty bowl-in-pot (or pot-in-pot) and whisk the ingredients until the egg mixture is blended, thick, and reaches 160 degrees F.
- Use the thermometer to know when the temperature reaches 160 degrees, turn off the Instant Pot, and pour the mixture into a blender.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the blender (condensed milk, cream of coconut, ½ a cup of water, ground nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and optional rum).
- Pulse for a minute or less until well blended.
- Place the finished eggnog in an airtight container in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours and shake well before serving.
- Pour homemade Christmas eggnog over ice, and optionally garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon or a cinnamon stick, and serve & enjoy!

How do you serve eggnog?
Beautiful glass tumblers are traditionally used to serve eggnog.
Pour it into a large cocktail glass – with or without the rocks!
Although Christmas eggnog with ice cubes gives the drink an aromatic touch!
Keeping eggnog chilled will increase its refreshing quality, but it can diminish the nog’s richness if you let the ice melt in it.
Here are a few soul food favorites to serve with eggnog:
Christmas eggnog FAQS
Do you cook the eggs?
You don’t cook eggs for an eggnog recipe.
In this recipe, you heat the raw egg yolks in a mixture of evaporated milk and then whisk until the temperature of this milk mixture reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
How do you store it?
Homemade eggnog is best served fresh and consumed as soon as possible after it’s made.
However, you can help it last a little longer by storing it in an airtight sealed container in the refrigerator.
How long does homemade eggnog last?
If you store homemade Christmas eggnog in the refrigerator, the drink will last between 2-3 days.

Is eggnog served hot or cold?
Most people prefer to serve Christmas eggnog cold. Probably because it should be refrigerated.
Did you enjoy this traditional Christmas eggnog recipe?
Have you had it?
Would you make it?
Comment below and lemme know.
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Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot electric pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 2 egg yolks
- 12 oz evaporated milk 1 can
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk 1 can
- 14 oz cream of coconut
- ½ cup water
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup rum optional
Instructions
- To make a batch of delicious soul food eggnog, you’ll use your Instant Pot as a double boiler.
- Open the Instant Po lid and pour the water inside the stainless-steel inner pot.
- Then set your stainless-steel bowl or Instant Pot pot-in-pot inside the inner pot with 3 cups of water. Make sure the bowl-in-pot floats on the water inside the inner pot. You can stick a wooden spoon in between the inner pot and the bowl so that the bowl stays stable and in place while afloat.
- Then, turn the Instant Pot on using the sauté setting for 20 minutes (although you’ll likely not use all of this time, I like to allow extra for the sauté to heat up).
- Pour the egg yolks and evaporated milk into the empty bowl-in-pot (or pot-in-pot) and whisk the ingredients until the mixture is blended, thick, and reaches 160 degrees F.
- Use the thermometer to know when the temperature reaches 160 degrees, turn off the Instant Pot, and pour the mixture into a blender.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the blender (condensed milk, cream of coconut, ½ a cup of water, ground nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and optional rum).
- Pulse for a minute or less until well blended.
- Place the finished eggnog in an airtight container in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours and shake well before serving.
- Pour homemade Christmas eggnog over ice, and optionally garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon or a cinnamon stick, and serve & enjoy!
Video
Notes

This sounds so good. I’ve never made eggnog, but I’m trying this recipe for Christmas!
I hope this recipe becomes a Christmas tradition for your family. Enjoy!