If you love the flavor of eggnog, but need to avoid dairy and eggs, this easy recipe is for you! It’s made with a surprising ingredient to keep it nut-free.
How to Make Vegan Eggnog
To make vegan eggnog, all you need to do is blend a few ingredients together. I like to add hemp seeds to make a “hemp milk” as the base, but you can start with any non-dairy milk you like and leave those out if you prefer. The addition of hemp does add a little plant-based protein to the drink, though!
How to Thicken Vegan Eggnog
Traditional eggnog is thickened with eggs, but for this vegan recipe I used a white Hannah sweet potato instead. Using the white potato keeps the coloring authentic, but I’m sure an orange sweet potato would work just as well if that’s what you can find.
This recipe was actually inspired by one of the members in our Facebook community. Thank you, Karen, for sharing your idea of adding sweet potato to the drink! I’ve used sweet potato as the base for “buttercream” cake frosting in my cookbooks, but I hadn’t thought to add it to a drink, other than a smoothie, before.
Eggnog Without Alcohol
This recipe is non-alcoholic, but you are welcome to add in whatever you like. I would serve it with a bottle of spiced rum or bourbon on the side for a holiday party.
You can actually give this drink a hint of bourbon flavor by using barrel-aged maple syrup or bourbon vanilla extract (or both!). I’ve seen both of these items available at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods recently, so be sure to keep an eye out!
If you love cream in your coffee, this eggnog is a festive addition, too! I’m so impressed by how smoothly it blends into coffee, so I think I might work on a sweet potato coffee creamer next.
Vegan Eggnog (Nut-free!)
Ingredients
- 2 cups water (or non-dairy milk)
- 2 tablespoons hemp hearts (you can leave this out if using milk)
- 6 tablespoons white sweet potato , steamed and mashed
- 3 to 4 tablespoons maple syrup , barrel-aged for extra bourbon flavor
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Combine the water or milk, hemp hearts (if using), sweet potato, 3 tablespoons of maple syrup, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Taste the drink and add another tablespoon of maple syrup if you'd like it to be sweeter. (Keep in mind that sweetness is muted when chilled, so it won't taste quite as sweet when you serve it cold.)
- You can serve the eggnog right away, if you'd like to, but I like to chill it for 1 to 2 hours before serving. Add alcohol if you like. Leftover eggnog can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. (It makes a great coffee creamer!)
Nutrition
Per cup: Calories: 211, Fat: 6g, Carbohydrates: 30g, Fiber: 1g, Protein: 6g
Recipe Notes:
- You can use dates to sweeten this drink instead of maple syrup. I typically 1 large squishy date to replace each tablespoon of maple syrup, but when dates are on the smaller side you might want to use 2 instead. You can always taste the blended mixture as you go!
- This recipe is easily adaptable. If you like more spice, or want to use a different nut or seed instead of the hemp hearts, go for it!
As always, please leave a comment below if you try something different. We can all learn from your experience!
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Reader Feedback: Do you love eggnog? Let me know if I’m missing out on any other holiday drinks! My dairy-free hot chocolate and easy chai latte are my other two go-to drinks when the weather cools down.
I made this last night and it is absolutely delicious!!
This recipe was amazing! I wanted mine a bit creamier so I used about a cup of steamed sweet potato and upped the nutmeg. Otherwise this was great!! Super simple!
is there an alternative to bananas in the buckwheat pancake recipe?
Maybe pumpkin puree or applesauce?
Has anyone tried this heated up? I am always looking for a good hot drink!!!!
This is yummy! I blended in some ripe avocado to thicken it up. Thanks for the great recipe again!
Desperately seeking a vegan creamer without a bunch of junk in it. Would love it if the sweet potato creamer works out! Wonder if this would work with iced coffee?
Absolutely!! I add it to my cold brew and it takes kinda like a very creamy dirty chai.
This was amazing! I was super skeptical, but it almost tastes and feels like the real thing! Thank you!
Wow, this taste amazing! I can honestly say I prefer this over traditional eggnog. I did add a little more sweet potato because I wanted it extra creamy. Delicious!
This was so good! Ive made it a few times, and find I prefer vanilla soymilk in place of the hemp milk. But the flavor is spot on! This is going into the regular Christmas rotation!
This is amazing! And so easy!! I doubled the vanilla and spices. Also went a little heavy on the sweet potato. It was thick and delicious.
Worked brilliantly!! Super tasty!! I added a couple more Tbsp of sweet potato to make it a little thicker. Otherwise, perfect!
Wow, I am so impressed- our family tradition includes eggnog when decorating our tree! I went WFPB a year ago and don’t really have the taste any longer for the milk, sugar, eggs, artificial flavors etc. I decided to test this recipe last night, before the kids come home for Christmas. OMG this was really delicious! I admit I was skeptical about the potato in a drink?! But no one would ever know! I used a regular red potato instead of sweet, because that is what I had, then added just a little date paste along with the maple syrup. Oh I am looking forward to sharing this with my family next week! Thank you!
Oh and I added a little chia to thicken a little more….