15 Excellent Ways To Use Up Your Leftover Eggnog

There's nothing that quite captures the holiday season like a glass of eggnog (spiked or not). With its warm, seasonally-appropriate spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and clove, this custardy and often-alcohol-laced drink has become a staple of holiday parties. Its origins can be traced back to medieval posset in Britain, where it was enjoyed by aristocrats, but eggnog as we know it today came to America in the 1700s. Even George Washington had a personal recipe for the egg-and-milk-based cocktail, which was popular thanks to the ample livestock in the new world.

These days, you aren't limited to creating the drink yourself at home; commercial versions exist in just about every form imaginable, including vegan and lactose-free versions, and come in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic varieties. While the drink is just as delicious when you're relaxing at home as when you're at a party, you may find yourself with way more than you need, especially if you've tried taste-testing different brands of eggnog to find your favorite. Luckily, there are lots of tasty ways to repurpose your leftover eggnog and we have 15 excellent ideas for you.

Eggnog arguably has no better second home (the first being in your glass) than your breakfast. The eggs and milk that make up the bulk of the drink are the ideal ingredients to use in your holiday morning pancakes to give them a warm sweetness and add some serious fluffiness. 

Use your leftover eggnog in place of milk or buttermilk in your favorite pancake recipe — just make sure the eggnog is made with real eggs. Those eggs in the mixture give your pancakes a bit of extra moisture and help bind the mixture while allowing air bubbles to form when cooked; these air bubbles are the key to fluffy pancakes. The extra fat in eggnog compared to milk provides richness to the pancakes as well, making them feel and taste more decadent — perfect for a holiday breakfast. You don't even have to make them from scratch since eggnog and Bisquick make for amazing pancakes.

Because eggnog is already sweet, it is up to your sweet tooth level whether to give your pancakes a dusting of powdered sugar and maybe serve them alongside fruit. Or, you could even top them with eggnog syrup. 

That's right, we said eggnog syrup. If you thought putting eggnog inside your pancakes was the only way to give your short stack the holiday treatment, you'll love this option for taking things up a notch. Eggnog syrup is best made with real maple syrup and eggnog that you actually like to drink since the flavors aren't diluted but instead amplified. With just a little bit of heat, eggnog and maple syrup combine to make a luxurious creamy topping that's just as well suited to your pancakes as to your bowl of ice cream. 

To make the sauce extra velvety, add butter to the mixture while it's heating in the saucepan, and then drizzle it over your pancakes while it's still warm. Without the butter, it's also a great addition to your coffee in place of cream and sweetener, giving you a little holiday boost without buying any specialty syrups. 

Pancakes aren't the only breakfast food that gets a leg up with leftover eggnog. French toast, typically coated with a custardy mix of egg and milk before being cooked, is the ideal candidate for a drink made with eggs and milk. Not all commercial eggnogs have the same amount of egg (and some have very little), so you still need to add an egg to your French toast liquid to get that necessary coating. The extra egg and the thickness of the milk and cream create a coating that sticks to your bread beautifully, preventing bare spots, while the sugar in the mix helps make for beautiful caramelized edges. 

To save time, you can soak your bread overnight so it's ready to cook the next morning or even make an overnight eggnog French toast casserole to serve to your holiday guests — just substitute your leftover eggnog in place of milk and a couple of your eggs. It's an easy dish that's sure to impress on Christmas morning...or anytime!

If you're trying to create a holiday dessert worthy of centerpiece status, look no further than using your leftover eggnog in a festive cake that is sure to impress even the most hard-to-please relative. Just as with pancakes, making a cake with eggnog is as simple as substituting the holiday favorite in place of your milk and some of your eggs in your favorite vanilla cake recipe. Or, to make things even easier, add it directly to a boxed cake mix. Add some of those warm, characteristic spices to help punch up the eggnog flavor either way, and consider adding brandy, bourbon, or rum to give the cake that spiked eggnog feeling that's perfect for the adults.

If your family is all about pie instead of cake during the holidays, you can't go wrong with an eggnog pie or cheesecake. Whether you'd like to make a baked version that treats the eggnog as a base for custard or a no-bake pie with instant pudding mix and whipped cream to help stabilize the mixture atop a graham cracker crust, you can't go wrong with eggnog pie. Or put in the extra effort and make a baked cheesecake where the eggnog is mixed with cream cheese, flour, sugar, eggs, and spices and baked to creamy perfection. 

While many of the ideas for leftover eggnog thus far have relied on both the dairy and eggs in the drink as key ingredients for their application, using it in a smoothie or shake can be done with virtually any variety; this also includes vegan versions made with plant-based milk and without eggs. While you can certainly make a milkshake or smoothie that tastes like eggnog without actually adding eggnog to the mix, using it helps reduce the number of steps for either drink (and uses up those leftovers).

For a shake, simply blend eggnog with your favorite vanilla ice cream and a splash of brandy, rum, or bourbon, then top it with whipped cream and freshly grated nutmeg. For a smoothie, which is a great option for leftover plant-based eggnogs, mix the drink with your favorite dairy or plant-based yogurt, a frozen banana, coconut oil, and a few coconut flakes. 

Whether mixed with maple syrup or not, eggnog is a great way to add creamy sweetness to your coffee. If you're an iced coffee lover, there's arguably no better use for your leftover eggnog than to freeze some into ice cubes that will slowly melt into your drink, adding flavor rather than diluting it like traditional ice cubes. Because your ice cubes won't melt immediately in the already cold coffee, you'll want to prepare your cup as usual (if perhaps a bit strong). Then, as the ice cubes melt, you'll get even more of the creamy sweetness (and a bit of holiday spice) from the drink. 

Eggnog ice cubes are also great in your coffee-based smoothies and shakes, or you can freeze them in larger molds with a popsicle stick for a festive frozen treat. If you'll be eating them like popsicles, you can even experiment with adding mix-ins like mini chocolate chips, crushed peppermint candy, coconut, or chopped nuts. 

Not every use for leftover eggnog has to be by the cupfuls to be effective — sometimes just a splash is enough. Take oatmeal, for instance. This humble but delicious warm breakfast staple is perfect for cold winter days when you're most likely to find yourself with leftover eggnog in your fridge. It's also the type of dish that often welcomes the addition of sugar and dairy. Enter: eggnog. 

Adding a splash of eggnog to your hot bowl of oatmeal is a great way to introduce a sweet creaminess to your holiday season morning routine. Because the liquid is thicker than milk, your oatmeal will stay rich and hearty while benefitting from the sweetness and warm spices. It also has the added benefit of cooling down a piping bowl of oatmeal, making it the perfect temperature for you and Goldilocks. You can even make a baked eggnog oatmeal for a festive yet portable option.

Just because eggnog is sweet doesn't mean that it can't have a place in your holiday dinner side dishes. No, we're not suggesting you add it to your gravy, but certain dishes can really benefit from just a splash. Take mashed sweet potatoes as a prime example. Using eggnog instead of milk or cream in the dish lends it the much-desired creaminess. It also adds the perfect touch of sweetness and spices that puts it somewhere between traditional mashed sweet potatoes and a sweet potato souffle. Balance the sweetness with the addition of herbs for an unexpected side dish that will complement foods on both ends of the flavor spectrum. 

Perhaps needless to say, this addition is best suited to non-alcoholic eggnog varieties as no one wants to get a buzz from their mashed sweet potatoes or experience the somewhat astringent flavor of bourbon or rum with their root vegetables. Or so we assume. 

The eggnog latte has become a signature holiday drink at coffee chains, both big and small, and for good reason! Warmed or steamed eggnog has enough creaminess to help cut through the bitterness of espresso, while its sweetness and warm spices help bring out the natural sweetness in the roasted espresso beans. It's the perfect way to get your holiday eggnog flavors with a boost of caffeine, whether you're cooking an early-morning holiday breakfast or just trying to stay awake to wrap gifts late into the evening. The best part is that you don't have to go to your local coffee shop to get one — making one at home is the perfect use for your leftover eggnog.

To keep your latte from being too thick, combine your eggnog with a bit of reduced-fat milk and gently warm it in a saucepan or steaming pitcher before adding it to your brewed espresso. For the true latte experience, use a milk frother to create a foam on top and dust it with freshly-grated nutmeg. You won't miss the coffee shop at all.

Because spiked eggnog with bourbon, brandy, or rum is a holiday favorite itself, it's likely you've never thought of adding it to other popular cocktails in place of milk, but that's a perfect use for leftover eggnog. Somewhat akin to a boozy iced eggnog latte, making an eggnog White Russian is as simple as mixing your favorite coffee liqueur (like Kahlúa) with a bit of vanilla vodka and your creamy leftover eggnog and serving it over ice. What could possibly make a better after-dinner cocktail than that? 

An eggnog martini is certainly a contender. Instead of the coffee liqueur for your over-ice White Russian, an eggnog martini mixes eggnog with amaretto liqueur and vanilla vodka. Simply shake the mix with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain it into a chilled martini glass. Let's just say it's the way James Bond prefers to drink his eggnog. Okay, maybe not, but it should be.

If looking at a recipe for an ice cream base and the ingredients on your carton of leftover eggnog have you feeling like you're seeing double, it's for good reason. The ingredients are nearly identical, making eggnog ice cream an excellent use for your leftovers. Depending on your eggnog's egg and cream content, serving up bowls of eggnog ice cream is as simple as adding it to an ice cream maker and letting it churn away. As we've established, however, not all eggnog is created equal, and not everyone has an ice cream maker at home. Fear not! This frozen treat is still within your reach. 

For an easy, no-churn eggnog ice cream, add a bit of sweetened condensed milk and heavy whipping cream to a mixture of eggnog and added spices like nutmeg, vanilla, and cinnamon, then whisk it until stiff peaks form. Pour the mixture into a pan and freeze it overnight. This version even works for thinner eggnogs, thanks to the added bulk from the whipping cream and condensed milk. What could be simpler? 

If adding eggnog directly to your baked goods isn't to your taste, but you'd still like a bit of that flavor on your desserts, you can't go wrong with using some in icing or frosting for your cookies, cupcakes, and more. First, let's establish the difference between icing and frosting. In very basic terms, frosting is typically lighter and fluffier, while icing is typically thinner and more like a glaze. Both are delicious, and both are a great way to use leftover eggnog. 

To make eggnog frosting, substitute eggnog for some of the milk in your favorite buttercream recipe. Using eggnog in place of all the milk could make your frosting too thick to spread, so experiment with the proportions; add a bit of nutmeg to really bring out the flavor. For eggnog icing, bring your leftover eggnog, butter, and sugar to a boil, then remove from the heat and whisk in some powdered sugar until it reaches your preferred consistency. 

The best holiday gifts are homemade, and nothing beats the portability of homemade confections like fudge and truffles. While you may be more accustomed to holiday versions that use chocolate and peppermint, eggnog is the perfect base for delicious holiday treats you can package up and give as gifts to your family, friends, and coworkers. To make eggnog fudge, you just need to heat it with butter, powdered sugar, and your choice of spices and extracts (try rum extract for a spiked eggnog flavor), then pour it into a pan and let it cool in the refrigerator. It's that simple!

The truffles start the exact same way, but instead of pouring the mixture as-is into a pan, add marshmallow cream and white chocolate chips. Then, you can cool the mixture slightly before rolling it into balls and refrigerating them. Once they're chilled, dip them into melted white, milk, or dark chocolate and allow the truffles to harden before boxing them up as gifts. 

Pudding can be a bit divisive. Should it be served warm or cold? Is it too one-dimensional to stand on its own as a dessert? Does it remind you too much of elementary school packed lunches to be truly enjoyable? No matter your perceived stance on pudding, eggnog pudding is definitely worth a try during the holiday season. The eggnog is combined with egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt for a super easy stovetop pudding. Just heat it while stirring it constantly until it's thick, then transfer it to a bowl and apply plastic wrap directly to the top to avoid the formation of skin, then refrigerate.

The nutmeg and other spices from your leftover eggnog give the pudding a bit more dimension than your standard vanilla Jell-O pudding cup or instant pudding. An optional splash of bourbon as it cooks makes all comparisons to the pudding of your childhood nothing more than a fading memory. Top it with homemade whipped cream and a sprinkling of chopped roasted nuts for a decidedly adult dessert worthy of the holiday season.

Egg yolks, sugar, and heavy cream are not just the base ingredients for ice cream and eggnog but also for the ever-impressive crème brûlée. A creamy, custardy French dessert with a beautifully crunchy topping made by brûléeing sugar with a kitchen torch or broiler, crème brûlée is always a crowd-pleaser. Take it up a notch for the holidays by substituting a heavy, traditional eggnog for some of the heavy cream and eggs for an eggnog crème brûlée, complete with a splash of bourbon or rum and a sprinkling of spices. 

While a traditional crème brûlée isn't the best use for your leftover plant-based eggnog, the addition of full-fat coconut milk and a little cornstarch help make for a vegan custard that can be brûléed all the same. Top it with festive decorations for a holiday dessert that will leave your guests begging for more.