Your Guide to Festive Vegan Cocktails & 7 Recipes to Make This Weekend!
Craving creamy cocktails but following a dairy-free diet? Fulfill your desire for indulgence and follow our easy guide to making vegan cocktails, including all the alternatives you need plus pitfalls to watch out for. Choose from our list of seven vegan creamy cocktails to make this weekend or save for the holidays!
Easy Swaps to Make Your Cocktails Vegan
Sugar: Snow white sugar is achieved by processing it with bone char or ‘natural
carbon’. To avoid this use beet or organic sugar with a vegan stamp.
Egg white: If a drink calls for egg whites, aquafaba is a game changer. This liquid is
what’s left over from a can of chickpeas, so don’t ditch it after making hummus! You’ll
need 40g of aquafaba to equal an egg white. Keep it chilled and whip it with a dash of
simple syrup. We guarantee no chickpea flavor will reach your cocktails!
Milk and creams: When a recipe calls for milk or cream, choose your favorite nut or
plant-based milk. Coconut cream makes a perfect cream substitute but remember it
does alter the taste profile. For the whipped cream, separate the fatty cream part of the
coconut cream and chill it before whipping.
7 Easy Vegan Creamy Cocktail Recipes
White Russian
This easy three-ingredient White Russian cocktail is arguably one of the best coffee cocktails you can serve. It’s made so quickly with just vodka, coffee liqueur, and heavy cream. For a vegan option, swap out the heavy cream for creamy oat milk so all of your guests can enjoy this indulgent yet delicious after-dinner drink.
Makes 1 drink
Ingredients
- 2 Oz SKYY Vodka
- 1 Oz Coffee liqueur
- 1 Glug of dairy-free heavy cream
- Maraschino cherry to garnish
- Ice
Instructions
- Fill a rocks glass with ice cubes
- Add the vodka and coffee liqueur
- Pour over a splash of heavy cream
- Serve with a swizzle stick and pop a cherry on top
Grasshopper
This minty dessert cocktail is as retro as they come and was super popular in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. So famed, it made a special place on the International Bartender Association's (IBA) list of official cocktails. The Grasshopper is simple to pull off at a moment’s notice with just three ingredients: crème de menthe, crème de cacao, and heavy cream. Ditch the cream and use coconut milk or blitz in the blender with a scoop of your favorite vegan gelato for a dairy-free alternative.
Ingredients
- 0.75 Oz Crème de cacao
- 0.75 Oz Crème de menthe (green)
- 0.75 Oz dairy-free Heavy cream
- Chocolate shavings to garnish
- Ice
Instructions
- Prepare a frosted martini glass by chilling it in the freezer for about an hour
- Add a dash of either crème de cacao or crème de menthe to one plate, and chocolate shavings to another
- Dip the rim of the martini glass into the liqueur and then into the chocolate and set aside
- Add cracked ice to a cocktail shaker, followed by crème de menthe, crème de cacao, and cream
- Shake it up (until you feel you might get frostbite on your hands)
- Strain into the frosted chocolate-rimmed martini glass and serve
Dirty Banana
The Dirty Banana cocktail is a true island-style 90s cocktail that hails from Jamaica, made with
creamy rum, banana, and a coffee kick! To make one bung ½ cup of crushed ice in a blender with 1½ oz Caribbean Trois Rivières White Rum, ¾ oz coffee liqueur, and ¾ oz banana liqueur. Blitz it up with a chopped banana (the riper the better) and 2 oz of creamy plant-based milk. Pour into a hurricane or highball glass and garnish with a slice of banana and a maraschino cherry.
Makes 1 drink
Ingredients
- ½ cup of crushed ice in a blender
- 1½ oz Caribbean Trois Rivières White Rum
- ¾ oz coffee liqueur
- ¾ oz banana liqueur
Instructions
- Blitz it up with a chopped banana (the riper the better) and 2 oz of creamy plant-based milk.
- Pour into a hurricane or highball glass and garnish with a slice of banana and a maraschino cherry.
Coconut Gin Sour
The origins of sours are hazy, but they were a sophisticated drink in the 1800s. Just imagine
socialites sipping a sour in flapper dresses and dapper pin-striped suits! For more island vibes, try this version, a holiday-ready cocktail with the cheeky addition of coconut. To make one, add 2 oz of O’ndina Gin to your blender with ½ oz coconut cream (the thick fatty top), ½ oz of the coconut water (found underneath the cream), and ¾ oz fresh lime juice. Add a good handful of ice and whizz until smooth. Whip 40g of aquafaba with a tablespoon of simple syrup and some vanilla extract (optional). Pour your drink into a rocks glass and top it with a spoon of whipped aquafaba!
Makes 1 drink
Ingredients
- 2 oz of O’ndina Gin
- ½ oz coconut cream (the thick fatty top)
- ½ oz of the coconut water (found underneath the cream)
- ¾ oz fresh lime juice.
- A handful of ice and whizz until smooth.
- 40g of aquafaba with a tablespoon of simple syrup and some vanilla extract (optional).
Instructions
- Add 2 oz of O’ndina Gin to your blender with ½ oz coconut cream (the thick fatty top), ½ oz of the coconut water (found underneath the cream), and ¾ oz fresh lime juice.
- Add a good handful of ice and whizz until smooth.
- Whip 40g of aquafaba with a tablespoon of simple syrup and some vanilla extract (optional).
- Pour your drink into a rocks glass and top it with a spoon of whipped aquafaba!
Clover Club
Try this pretty in pink berry cocktail, it’s a perfect serve whatever the occasion! A Clover Club
cocktail is a dreamy gin sip, swirled with raspberry syrup. It tastes as fantastic as it looks!
Typically, this wouldn’t be served with other creamy vegan cocktails as it’s shaken with egg
white. But try our nifty swap of 40g of aquafaba: shake it on its own first to create the ideal
froth. Adjust the sweetness with a little more syrup, if needed. This classic may become your
favorite serve.
Makes 1 drink
Ingredients
- 2 oz Bulldog Gin
- 0.5 oz lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 0.5 oz raspberry syrup
- 40 g of aquafaba
- Fresh raspberries
- Ice
Instructions
- Add the gin, lemon juice, raspberry syrup, and aquafaba into a shaker with ice and shake vigorously until well-chilled
- Strain into a chilled cocktail glass
- Garnish with 3 speared raspberries
Eggnog Martini
Just because you follow a plant-based diet, don’t miss out on a delicious Eggnog Martini this
winter! Make an easy vegan eggnog recipe with coconut cream and cashew or almond milk or pick one up from your local vegan-friendly grocer. This Martini fills you with all the festive cheer you need!
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz vanilla vodka
- 1 oz amaretto
- 2 oz vegan eggnog
- Ice
Instructions
- Dip the rim of the martini glass into the syrup and then the cinnamon sugar and set aside
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice
- Add the vodka, amaretto liqueur and eggnog
- Give it a good shake until chilled and creamy
- Strain into a prepared martini glass, sprinkle over chocolate shavings, and serve
Golden Dream
The fantastic Golden Dream cocktail has a firm seat on the IBA Top 50 cocktails list. You’ll
happily skip dessert if this creamy vanilla and citrusy drink is on offer. It holds all the nostalgia
of those childhood popsicles you enjoyed in the summertime. This 60s drink was whipped up by Miami bartender Raimundo Alvarez as an ode to his favorite golden girl of the moment.
Ingredients
- 0.75 oz Grand Marnier
- 0.75 oz anise liqueur
- 0 oz orange juice
- 0.75 vegan heavy cream
- Ice
Instructions
- Tip all the ingredients into a shaker or mason jar
- Add a handful of ice, close, and shake until well chilled
- Strain and pour into your cocktail glass. Enjoy immediately!
For more great plant-based dishes, check out The Beet's recipe library.
For more lists of recipes, check out:
More From The Beet
