It’s a lame Monday morning with 1 hour less sleep than usual and you’re probably thinking about this weekend.
So let’s talk St. Patrick’s Day. :)
It’s on Saturday. Fun will be had. Drinks will be consumed and parades will be watched. And we’ll probably be missing a lot more than 1 measly hour of sleep. Consider today your sleep deprivation training for the 17th.
Picture with me if you will, a thick and creamy homemade Baileys Irish Cream, free of any glycerol monostearate, dairy cream, refined sugars, maltodextrin, artificial flavours, modified milk ingredients, and colour.
I have no idea what I just typed.
Using just 5 natural ingredients, this homemade Baileys has a light hint of coconut and espresso. It’s vegan, but you’d never know it.
I also never would’ve guessed that Jameson Irish Whiskey would be vegan either. Who needs Guinness when you have this bad boy?
Last year, when I was putting together one of my vegan recipe round-ups, I came across Janessa’s submission for her vegan Baileys Irish cream. I suddenly realized that a homemade version didn’t look so difficult after all. I filed the idea away for later and finally got around to trying out my own version last week.
Coconut milk provided the ultra creamy texture. I “cooked down” the coconut milk with some Sucanat (or use brown sugar), until it thickened, for about 10 minutes.
During my first trial, I cooked it down too long and discovered how to make vegan condensed milk!!
Check out how thick and creamy this is after about 20 minutes, cooking down 2 cans of full fat coconut milk and 1/2 cup of Sucanat. I’ll have to use this in a baking recipe…it’s crazy delicious.
I decided that I didn’t want it that concentrated for the Baileys, so I bottled up the first attempt and went back to the drawing board. This time, I only boiled it for about 9-10 minutes, instead of 20. It was perfect..slightly thick, but not overly so. I removed it from the heat and stirred in the rest of the ingredients.
Like this homemade espresso. ZING!!! Can you tell I drank espresso all weekend long? You can use coffee too, but I wanted it bold.
Let’s just say that I didn’t feel the effects of the time change at all…..wheeeeeee.
However, my hands may be a bit jittery.
With a pinch of salt and a hefty dose of Jameson, it was complete..and incredibly easy to make! My batch made about 3.5-4 cups, as shown below. The actual yield is unknown because there was a lot of sampling going on!
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Homemade Baileys Irish Cream, made vegan.
Yield
3.5 to 4 cups
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Ultra creamy and delicious, this vegan Baileys will knock your socks off. And not just because it’s strong!
Inspired by Janessa.
Ingredients
- 1 can light coconut milk
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup Sucanat (or brown sugar should work)
- 3/4 cup strong espresso or coffee, or to taste
- 3/4-1 cup Jameson Irish Whiskey, or to taste
- pinch of salt
Directions
- In a medium or large pot, add the cans of coconut milk and whisk. Now whisk in the sugar. Bring to a low boil, stirring frequently. Simmer for about 8-10 minutes, while stirring frequently, until it cooks down and thickens slightly.
- Remove from heat and stir in the espresso or coffee. Don’t have a coffee maker? Just buy a cup from the coffee shop and use that. Add in espresso/coffee to taste.
- Add a pinch of salt and finally the Jameson, to taste. I added about 3/4 + 2 tbsp of whiskey and it was strong, but so is the original! Make it as strong or weak as you prefer.
- Store in sealed jars and serve over ice, with coffee or tea, or in baked goods. The whiskey and espresso settles to the bottom of the jar slightly, so give it a good stir before using. I’m not positive how long this keeps in the fridge, but it’s been good in our fridge for a couple days now and I expect it to last 4-5 days. Well, not technically…!
Tip:
I’m thrilled with how this turned out. It’s very strong, but then again, the original Baileys is as well and I wanted it to be as close to the original as possible.
You can serve it over ice…
Add a shot to coffee or tea…
or even bake with it…yessss.
Now I just have to find a way to sneak my Baileys into the pub…
This was very tasty, but I would liken it way more to a Mudslide than Bailey’s. Still very good. thanks for the idea!
I’ve been meaning to make this for a while, and it is absolutely lovely!
This is awesome and I totally want to use this in a cake! However, sad part is that although I’m vegan, I’m also mildy allergic to coconut (sucks) so I was wondering what you though about using regular soy milk? You can also buy soy milk for coffee that is already pretty thick to start off, so maybe that’s an option?
Anyway, just wondering if there was a specific reason behind the use of coconut milk and if you though substituting for soy milk would work.
Hey Storie, I used full-fat coconut milk because it’s super thick and creamy. I’m not sure how soy milk would turn out. If you cook it down longer it might work – let me know if you try it out!
I loved the idea and the recipe is easy. But I don’t drink alcohol. And this has whiskey? I don’t even know how to spell whiskey?? Please let me know if there are recipes like this one, but with no alcohol. Thank you.
It’s not for me.
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Thank-you! Thank-you! Thank-you! Who knew dairy-free Bailey’s would be soooo easy?! Mmm, my Sunday brunches are back. It is seriously delicious. I am not missing out on the “real” thing in the least (how can so many mysterious ingredients actually be called the ‘real’ thing?!). I will never go back. Much gratitude!
I am excited to see this tasty treat veganized! But I am curious about using coconut milk; is there any taste of coconut?
Thanks for the wonderful recipe! I’m severely allergic to dairy & have missed being able to have Bailey’s, mudslides, etc… I’ll definitely be trying this recipe!
Just made this! Added cinnamon and vanilla and it’s amazing. Thanks!
How long did this last in your fridge? Could I ship it across the country? I’m very excited to try this!
Has anyone tried this? I just read two pages of how yummy the recipe looks! Haha I agree but I wonder if anyone has actually tried it? Is it as good as it looks?
I included this recipe in my Christmas cocktail post today!
sunshineandpearls.com/2013/12/sipping-saturday.html
Hey Angela,
Going to make this for Christmas this year, but do you think it would work with coconut sugar instead of sucanat?
Hi Jen, I can’t see why it wouldn’t!
So… any way this could be made with a regular plant based milk (soy, almond) instead of coconut?? I HATE coconut…
Hi, Do you seperate the liquid from the cream from the coconut can?
Nope, just add the whole can! :)
I’m trying to stay sugar-free as much as possible. What other sweetener would you suggest? I know honey isn’t vegan but maybe it could work???
I would have never thought of making this at home! And I never thought about the fact that Bailey’s is full of “junk” – duh (not that I drink it all that often, but anyway). Your version sounds amazing, I have to try it (and that condensed milk, wow)!
I doubled the batch because I’m bottling some up for gifts. I also mixed a couple tablespoons of chocolate chips in the coffee before adding to the coconut milk. I love the subtle chocolate taste. My family has always used Canadian Mist in their Bailey’s (not very Irish, no, but we think it tastes smoother in Bailey’s… we drink our Jameson neat!), so that’s what I used in my batch. Delicious!!!! I can’t wait to hear what my friends and family think. I can’t compare it to the real thing (I went vegan WAY before I turned 21), but still so good.
Made this for the holidays. Very good. Took my palette a few sips to adjust to the taste, but it was great. Had made baileys before in my pre-plantbased days, with a recipe using cream and raw egg… makes me shudder now. Love finding unique plantbased versions like this.
Have a great holiday. We will, tipping back from baileys tonight on Christmas Eve!
Hey Aaron, So glad you are enjoying it! I made some today too. :) I agree about the flavour taking a moment to get used to, but once the taste buds adjust it’s quite lovely in its own right! Merry Christmas to you all!