Recipe: Homemade Christmas Vegan Baileys Alternative

We’re officially on the run-up to Christmas now and I am starting to stock up with festive food and drink for the big day. Hopefully, the regulations will slacken off a touch towards the end of the year to allow us all to spend Christmas with our friends and family and one of the things my family do is enjoy a festive drink or two over the period.

I have been Vegan since January 2019 and I have found many fabulous recipes and products to help support my plant based eating lifestyle but one of the things I haven’t yet found a good replacement for is Baileys! Nothing says Christmas like a glass of chilled, creamy, boozy Baileys – am I right?

There are products out there that claim to be a dairy-free version of my favourite Irish Cream tipple however I have not yet found one that I really like the taste and texture of, so I thought to myself surely it can’t be that hard to make it myself? In my research, I came across this super simple recipe originally from the Simple Vegan Blog which I have tried and have found that it produces a satisfying creamy Christmas vegan alternative to Baileys.

The recipe is also super adaptable – don’t have coconut milk? Try almond milk. Don’t have agave syrup? Replace it with maple syrup. You can really test out many versions of this recipe until you find the one which hits the spot.

Ingredients

• 75ml your favourite Vegan Irish whiskey
• 50ml of coffee (I used an espresso straight from my bean to cup machine)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 400ml coconut milk (or other plant milk)
• 4 tbs agave syrup (or other plant syrup).

Instructions

1. Throw all of your ingredients into a blender and blend (or use a whisk) until smooth.
2. Pour into suitable bottle and store in the refrigerator
3. Be sure to shake well before using.

Serving Ideas

There are lots of great ways to use your vegan Baileys alternative, here are my top 5 favourite ways to serve it!

1. Spike your hot chocolate by adding your vegan Baileys to your hot chocolate mix. Serve with Add a drizzle of chocolate sauce, a swirl of plant-based cream or a cookie for maximum indulgence.
2. Whip up a Baileys martini. Mix 2 fluid ounces (59 mL) of your Baileys alternative with .25 fluid ounces (7.4 mL) vodka. Shake with ice cubes in a cocktail shaker, then strain it into a chilled martini glass.
3. Boost your post-Christmas dinner coffee with a splash of your vegan Baileys to make the best Irish coffee ever.
4. Pour a generous serving of your vegan Baileys over ice cream to make a fabulously festive sauce. You could also make yourself a milkshake by combining 1 cup (240 ml) of ice cream with 2 fluid ounces (59 mL) of Baileys and .5 cups (120 ml) of milk and blend in your blender or milkshake maker.
5. Impress your guests with a tropical twist from a B-52 shooter. Pour 0.5 fluid ounces (15 mL) of Kahlua, then .5 fluid ounces (15 mL) of your homemade vegan Baileys, then .5 fluid ounces (15 mL) of Triple Sec (orange liqueur) to create a triple-decker combination of coffee, cream, and citrus flavours.