Glass of Coconut Milk Eggnog surrounded by blue and red holiday decorations.
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I think for a lot of families, ours included, holiday celebrations center around food. There is a whole push right now to not tie your emotions to food and to view food as only fuel, but I personally feel like that’s a load of baloney. I think ignoring the emotional component of food is just as unhealthy as downing three boxes of Twinkies after a bad day at work. Food is inherently emotional. And ignoring that is just setting yourself up for an unhealthy relationship with food.

That being said, I’m a bit bummed that I’m going to be missing some of my favorite foods this holiday season. And that’s a perfectly healthy emotion. I have a lot of things to be thankful for (oh gosh, so many things), but all those blessings don’t negate the fact that I’m bummed that I won’t be eating my Mama’s world-famous chocolate chip cookies this year.

Two glasses of Coconut Milk Egg Nog in front of a bottle of the drink. They are surrounded by blue and red holiday decorations.
Hand cracking an egg into a blender

Thankfully, there are a few ways I can tweak and adjust some of my holiday favorites and still get to eat them. A great example of this is my dairy-free coconut milk eggnog! I know it’s early still, but I’ve already whipped up my first batch and, holy (no) cow, is it amazing!

There are two methods for making homemade coconut milk eggnog —the cooked way and the raw way. The raw way is super easy, quick, and traditional, but it also means you are straight up drinking raw egg yolks. It doesn’t bother me (and never has– I have a very clear memory of my Dad shaking up an entire gallon of raw eggnog in the kitchen at Christmas), especially because I know our eggs came from chickens living a clean and healthy life. But if it does irk you, there are lots of recipes out there for cooked eggnog—mostly they just involve slowly heating the mixture until it’s just warm enough to pasteurize the eggs, but not so much that you get scrambled eggs.

Two glasses of Coconut Milk Egg Nog surrounded by white, blue, and red holiday decorations.

I have a half-gallon-sized Mason jar of this stuff just hanging out in my fridge for whenever I get a hankering for eggnog (or want to use eggnog in a holiday recipe, which happens all the time). I’ll probably still pick up some “regular” nog for my holiday guests, because while this stuff is incredibly delicious, it still tastes like coconut. That’s not a problem for a coconut-lover like me, but it’s not exactly traditional.

Enjoy!

 

 

Glass of Coconut Milk Eggnog surrounded by blue and red holiday decorations.

Coconut Milk Eggnog

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

Coconut Milk Eggnog is a dairy-free version of the classic Christmas drink that uses creamy, thick, and rich coconut milk.

Ingredients

  • 1 14-ounce can full fat coconut milk
  • 2 cups light coconut milk (either from the can or a carton)
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Extra nutmeg for serving

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients in the basin of a blender. Blend on high until well-combined and frothy. Chill until cold, then serve topped with nutmeg (and maybe with a splash of rum or bourbon for the adults).
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 221Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 92mgSodium: 17mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 0gSugar: 12gProtein: 3g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.

© Cassie Johnston
Cuisine: General / Category: Drinks

Cassie is a holistic nutritionist, cookbook author, and all-around food lover. She grew up cooking dinner with her parents every evening, and her passion for home cooking has been strong ever since. Cassie is the author of two published cookbooks (Cooking with Greek Yogurt and Chia, Quinoa, Kale, Oh My!) and dozens of recipes published in major magazines and newspapers. Cassie has been sharing her award-winning recipes on Wholefully since 2010. She loves dark chocolate, homegrown tomatoes, motorsports, and anything that sparkles. She lives in Indiana with her family on a small homestead.

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19 Comments

  2. I’ve been allergic to dairy and soy for a long time. Bought an ice cream maker so I could have coconut ice cream while everyone else was eating eating the store-bought kind. 2 tips: Make you own chocolate chips with coconut oil and cocoa. That way you can control the sweetness. Also, I’ve found that lemon pepper takes away the need for cheese in a dish. It doesn’t taste like cheese, it just makes it so that you don’t miss the cheese in a dish.

    Reply

  3. This looks incredible! I too have gone dairy free, amongst other things, so finding options without feeling deprived or left out is always so great! Thank you and keep them coming!!! 😀

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  4. I just want to say that as someone who has never liked eggnog, I made this tonight and I thought it was awesome! Definitely a crowd pleaser!

    Reply

  5. Ppssssttt! I have something to confess – I’ve NEVER tried eggnog. I know, right? It’s crazy! But that’s cause I grew up in the Southeast Asian region where it’s pretty uncommon. Still, your photos are GORGEOUS – I really mean it too. Colour schemes, spot on. And you make everything look so tasty. Really admire your creations, they’re beautiful. And now I’m so tempted to give eggnog a try, haha!

    Thanks so much for the recipe, and devoting yourself to sharing your work with the world. 🙂

    Reply

  7. I know it’s hard to give up dairy. I’m vegan, so I don’t eat any dairy, meat, or animal products whatsoever. Thankfully I can have soy products, or the choices would be slim. I, too, found it astounding how many things have milk in them that you wouldn’t expect! Like, Fun-Yuns. Or almost every single kind of candy.

    But just think about how you’re not contributing to the horrible dairy cow industry. Maybe that will make you feel better about not imbibing? Imagine having to have your child taken away from you at birth so that you could produce milk for other people instead of your baby. Being that your a mother who is currently giving up everything for your young’un, maybe that will help frame the loss of dairy products for you?

    Reply

  8. THANK YOU! I was feeling sad about missing out on eggnog this year (what with the whole no-raw-eggs-during-pregnancy thing), so I’ll have to try this!

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  10. Looks great! I’m definitely on the hunt for a dairy-and-junk-free eggnog recipe this year. It’s TOTALLY crazy how many products have soy in them! First realized it when a friend found out she was allergic…then, when I started cutting it out of my diet, I noticed it even more. For example, lots of tea and chocolate brands add soy lecithin.

    On the bright side, there are bound to be recipes out there that recreate your favorites! And dairy is pretty easy to replace in a recipe. I use either ghee, coconut oil, or palm shortening in place of butter. And for milk, I think that homemade almond milk is the best replacement (if you don’t want the slight coconut taste from coconut milk). 🙂

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