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Irish cream is the perfect treat. With its creamy texture, sweetness, comforting notes of coffee, chocolate, and vanilla, and soul-soothing warmth of Irish whiskey, it’s a true grown-up indulgence.
Today I’m sharing a veganized recipe for Irish cream. This cream liqueur traditionally contains Irish whiskey, dairy cream, a sweetener, and flavouring ingredients like coffee, cocoa, and vanilla. A lot of homemade recipes use sweetened condensed milk and skip any added sugar.
To make vegan Irish cream, you’ll need homemade cashew milk (recipe below), canned coconut milk, Irish whiskey, sweetener (I used granulated sugar), a touch of cocoa, instant coffee, and pure vanilla. A blend of homemade cashew milk and coconut milk makes for a creamy, neutral base that won’t immediately announce itself as either COCONUT or CASHEW – just dairy-free creamy goodness.
Add all the ingredients to your blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy. After blending, allow the flavours to mix for at least a few hours before serving (overnight is best!)
This Irish cream isn’t SUPER sweet. If you want to use it as a boozy compliment to coffee, you might prefer it a little sweeter. For more of a coffee liqueur, double the amount of instant coffee in the recipe. For something more chocolatey, add a touch more cocoa. If you prefer something lighter, sub the canned coconut milk for almond milk or coconut milk from a carton. This recipe is about 12% alcohol, add more whiskey if you prefer something stronger.
This dairy-free liqueur is perfect for sipping this St. Patrick’s Day (but really, any holiday is a great time to drink Irish cream!) Serve it on the rocks, add it to coffee or hot chocolate, or use it in homemade frosting.
It hasn’t been long enough for me to have any definite suggestions for shelf life, but the alcohol and sugar in this recipe should give it a lengthy expiration date. From experience I know it’s perfectly fine at room temperature for at least 3+ days. In the fridge it will last for 2 weeks or longer. Many recipes made with real cream claim to be good for up to 2 months when refrigerated!
When chilled, the coconut fat forms a layer on top of the liqueur. Give the bottle a good shake before serving or spoon the layer from the liqueur and discard it. Either way, be sure to shake before serving! Enjoy!
PS: I used Barnivore to make sure my whiskey of choice was vegan. They’ve also got a phone app you can use when you hit the liquor store!
Vegan Irish Cream Liqueur (Homemade Baileys)
Prep
Total
Yield 3 cups
Making your own Homemade VEGAN Baileys is super easy! All you need is 7 ingredients, 15 minutes, and a blender. This sweet Irish cream is perfect for sipping this St. Patrick’s Day. Makes 3 1/3 cups of 12% alcohol liqueur.
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups homemade cashew milk
- 1 cup Jameson Whiskey (or your favourite Irish whiskey)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup canned coconut milk
- 1 ½ tsp cocoa
- ¾ tsp pure vanilla
- ¼ tsp instant coffee
Homemade Cashew Milk
- 1 cup raw cashews (soaked for 4+ hours or simmered for 3 minutes)
- 3 cups water
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- Pinch sea salt
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy.
- Pour into sterilized bottles and seal. Allow the flavours time to marry for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight) to enjoy it's fullest taste.
- Shake before serving.
Homemade Cashew Milk
- Combine all ingredients in a blander and blend on high until smooth and creamy.
Notes
Shake before serving.
Storage: It hasn’t been long enough for me to have any definite suggestions for shelf life but the alcohol and sugar in this recipe should give it a lengthy expiration date. From experience I know it’s perfectly fine at room temperature for at least 3+ days. In the fridge it will last for a good 2 weeks or longer. Many recipes made with real cream claim to be good for up to 2 months when refrigerated!
When chilled the coconut cream fat forms a layer on top of the liqueur. Give the bottle a good shake before serving or spoon the layer from the liqueur and discard it.
Courses Drinks, Alcohol
Cuisine Vegan
Smooth….very smooth…a delicious beverage for the holiday season.
Cheers to you, I love vegan!
Thank you Cheryl!!
just made this for my flat white cocktail and it its delicous. my only gripe is tjat i would like it to be a wee bit thicker. any suggestions? im tbinking agar agar but not sure on quantities. g
Hi Deek! I’m not sure! I haven’t used agar agar before. I was checking out some other recipes and it looks like you’d want to use quite a small amount. Something like 0.5-2% agar agar should result in a fluid gel. So probably even less than that! Maybe start with as little as 1/2 tsp? I’m sorry if this isn’t helpful at all!
I think if you cook the coconut milk for a few minutes it will be creamier than uncooked. like when you’re making coconut milk ice cream. 🙂
Oh! Thanks for that tip, that’s a great idea!
As an alternative to agar agar, you could try any neutral or mild flavoured syrup, such as light agave nectar, or even maple syrup. I’ve just made my first batch, which was a blend of 3 or 4 recipes/ideas that I got from various websites. It turned out a bit too chocolaty for my liking, so I’ll just reduce the proportion of cocao in my next batch…
I am making my second batch. I followed other reviewers suggestions and heated the cashew/ coconut cream added some agar agar. I found that the cashews settled to the bottom of my coffee cup so I put the finished product through my milk nut bags. Lots of people are getting this for Christmas
Thanks for the recipe notes Nancy!