This Warm Vanilla Custard Drink is a comforting caffeine-free drinkable custard that’s perfect for an easy breakfast or tasty treat! Kids and adults alike will love it.
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I’ve been making this warm vanilla custard drink since my college years. It’s a great swap for coffee and hot chocolate drinks, while still being warm and cozy.
We love it as a quick breakfast (after all, it does contain eggs!), a warm-me-up drink or just to wind down with before bedtime.
The best part is that it’s quick and easy to make using just a few ingredients that you likely already have on hand. And you can enjoy it anytime because it’s not packed with caffeine. It’s hard to find warm drinks that check all of those boxes!
One more thing. If you have a stick hand blender it makes mixing up this drinking custard super easy! I just put the egg mixture into the cup that comes with the blender (you could use a wide-mouth glass jar too) and then add the milk to that. It’s much less hassle than pulling out my big blender every time.
Vanilla Custard Drink Ingredients
- Milk. We used regular milk, but any milk should work.
- Sugar. Adjust the amount based on your preferences.
- Eggs. Makes the drink extra creamy.
- Salt. This helps bring all of the flavors together.
- Vanilla. I use regular vanilla extract, but vanilla bean paste can be subbed.
- Ground Nutmeg. Adds a nice cozy flavor!
How to Make a Warm Vanilla Custard Drink
STEP 1: Heat the sugar and milk in a small pan until it simmers and comes to a boil.
STEP 2: In the meantime, blend the salt, vanilla, and eggs.
STEP 3: Once the milk begins to bubble, immediately remove it from the heat and a little to the egg mixture.
STEP 4: Pour in the rest of the milk and blend well.
STEP 5: Serve in two mugs and top with a dash of nutmeg.
Helpful Tips and Variations
- Raw Egg Concerns. Bringing the milk and sugar to a boil, then adding the eggs, allows them to “cook” enough that they are no longer raw. This process is also known as tempering eggs. Adding just a little milk cooks the eggs just enough that they do not scramble. If you do get a few little chunks of egg, just run the drink through a mesh strainer before serving.
- Maple Syrup. Can be used in place of sugar and will add a nice extra hint of flavor.
- Dairy Free. Make this dairy-free by using non-dairy milk.
Other recipes that you’ll enjoy:
Drinkable Warm Vanilla Custard
Ingredients
- 2 c. milk
- ¼ c. sugar (or more or less to taste)
- 2 eggs
- pinch of salt
- ⅛ tsp. vanilla
- ground nutmeg
Instructions
- In a small pan, heat the milk and sugar just until it starts to simmer and come to a boil. (see Notes below)
- In the meantime, blend the eggs, salt and vanilla.
- Once the milk mixture starts to bubble, remove it from the heat and add a small amount of the milk to the egg mixture. Blend immediately. (see Notes below)
- Add the rest of the milk to the egg mixture and blend well.
- Pour the warm custard into two mugs and sprinkle with nutmeg.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Heating: Bringing this just to a boil essentially “cooks” the egg enough that it isn’t considered raw any longer.
- Adding the Milk: If you add all the milk at once, sometimes the egg will cook too much and you’ll end up with little chunks of cooked egg in your custard, which obviously isn’t so great. 🙂
- Maple Syrup: If you prefer to use maple syrup instead of sugar, you may. It adds an extra hint of delicious flavor!
Karen D.
Delicious! I made it twice with almond milk and it’s awesome, thanks!
Lydia Beiler
So glad that you are enjoying this drink, Karen! Thanks for taking the time to let me know. It always makes my day hearing that people are enjoying the recipes that I share.
Sarah
Made a half recipe, low carb version with 3/4 cup almond milk, 1/4 cup half n half & Pyure sweetener (1/2 tbsp). Nice alternative to hot chocolate or coffee in the evening. The immersion blender made it nice and foamy too. Great for a quick warm drink! Thank you!
Lydia Beiler
I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed it so much, Sarah, and also love how you adjusted it to fit your own preferences.
Jill
I’ve made this recipe twice now and really like it. Easy to adjust for more people as well. The second time I cut the sugar back to 1 tbsp per cup of milk because I had found it too sweet the first time around.
ThriftyFrugalMom
So glad you enjoyed it, Jill! And as I get used to eating fewer sweets I find that I’m cutting back on the sugar too.
Wendy O'Neal
I’ve made this drink a few times…mostly when I want something warm in the evening. Love that it’s caffeine free because I can’t do caffeine after lunch.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Yes, the caffeine free part is super nice!
Christina
What a warm, comforting drink! It’s perfect for cold, winter days.
Erin Ison
Have you tried this recipe with almond or soy milk before? I am looking for a dairy-free recipe for my husband to enjoy!
ThriftyFrugalMom
I haven’t tried it, but I have a cousin who can’t have dairy and has made this with non-dairy milk and loved it. So I think you should be fine!