This homemade Baileys Irish cream costs a fraction of what you'd pay for a bottle from the bottle shop, and it takes less time to make than the drive there.
I make a big batch every Christmas to pour into my Baileys Chocolate Trifle and Baileys Malteser Cheesecake, with plenty left over for sipping over ice.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Homemade Baileys Irish Cream
🕒 Ready In: 5 minutes, plus a couple of hours to chill
👪 Serves: 20 serves (makes about 1 litre)
🍚 Calories: 160kcal per serve
🥣 Main Ingredients: cream, Irish whiskey, sweetened condensed milk, coffee, chocolate syrup
📖 Dietary Info: naturally gluten-free (it's a distilled spirit), contains dairy and alcohol
⭐ Why You'll Love It: cheaper than store-bought, ready before the kettle's boiled, and it makes the best homemade Christmas gift going.
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One word: delicious. Bonus words: super easy to make, super easy to customise, makes a great gift. We don't have a blender big enough so did it in the food processor, just pulsed it second by second to ensure no whipping. Thanks so much for this recipe!
- Rebekah
It's just as good stirred through my Baileys Truffles or swirled into a Baileys Chocolate Cheesecake, and if you're stuck for gift ideas, a bottle of this alongside my Boozy Baileys Brownies never goes unappreciated.
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Why You're Going To Love This Recipe
- Ready in 5 minutes - no cooking, no double boiler, just a blender and a bit of patience while it chills.
- Costs a fraction of the bottled version. One reader worked hers out at around $25-$30 a litre depending on the brands she buys, which is well under half the shelf price.
- Just 6 ingredients, and you've probably already got most of them in the pantry.
- One reader said "My father-in-law drank three glasses of this at Christmas lunch last year without realising it wasn't shop-bought. He only twigged when he asked why we 'still had so much Baileys left' in the cupboard."
Homemade Baileys Ingredients
- Cream - use a cooking cream or a thin pouring cream that doesn't whip easily, I use Bulla Cooking Cream. Thick heavy or thickened cream can curdle the second the blender blades hit it.
- Irish whiskey - Jameson's is the classic choice and what I use, but any smooth Irish whiskey works. Readers have swapped in vodka and even brandy over the years, it changes the flavour but still sets nicely.
- Instant coffee granules, dissolved in a splash of boiling water and cooled completely before it goes anywhere near the blender. Adding it warm is one of the fastest ways to split the cream.
- Chocolate syrup - this is what rounds out the flavour into something closer to real Baileys. Leave it out and the drink tastes thin and a lot more boozy than creamy.
Variations
- Dairy-free version: swap the cream for coconut cream and use a dairy-free sweetened condensed milk, both are easy to find at the supermarket now.
- Double the chocolate syrup, or stir through a teaspoon of cocoa powder, if you want it extra chocolatey.
- Mint Baileys: a drop or two of peppermint extract turns this into a festive after-dinner sipper, lovely poured over ice cream too.
- Some readers have made this with vodka instead of whiskey, closer to a mudslide than a true Baileys, but they swear by it. Worth a go if whiskey isn't your thing.
How To Make Homemade Baileys Irish Cream
Four easy steps, and you don't even need to turn the oven on.
Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredient quantities and full detailed method.
- Step 1: Add everything to the blender. Mix the coffee granules with the boiling water and let it cool completely, then place it into the blender jug with the cream, condensed milk, whiskey, chocolate syrup and vanilla.
- Step 2: Blend low and slow. Start on the lowest speed and slowly increase to medium-low for about 20 seconds, just until combined. Rushing this step is the number one reason it curdles.
- Step 3: Pour into sterilised bottles. Use a funnel to carefully pour the mixture into sterilised glass bottles or jars, then seal well.
- Step 4: Chill before serving. Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours before drinking, and give the bottle a gentle shake before you pour, it settles a little in the fridge.
Recipe Tips
- Sterilise your bottles properly before you start. I learned this one the hard way, my very first batch went cloudy and slightly off after about three weeks because I'd just rinsed out old juice bottles under the tap.
- Storage: keep it in the fridge for up to 2 months unopened, or about 1 week once you've cracked the seal. It won't keep on the pantry shelf like the real thing does before opening.
- It's completely normal for it to separate slightly in the fridge, that's just the cream settling, not a sign it's gone off. A good shake before pouring fixes it right up.
- If it does curdle in the blender, don't tip it out. Pour it through a fine sieve, let it settle, then skim any foam off the top with a spoon.
- Freezing isn't worth trying. The dairy separates permanently once it thaws and no amount of shaking brings it back together.
Homemade Baileys Irish Cream FAQs
Unopened and stored in a sterilised bottle in the fridge, it lasts up to 2 months. Once you've opened it, keep it refrigerated and use it within about a week for the best flavour.
No, I wouldn't. The dairy separates permanently once it thaws and won't recombine no matter how much you shake it. Stick to the fridge instead.
I always use Jameson's, it's the classic choice and gives that familiar Baileys flavour. Any smooth Irish whiskey will work though, and a few readers have even used vodka or brandy instead when that's what they had on hand.
Real Baileys sits at around 17% ABV. Working off 375g of whiskey (roughly 40% ABV) diluted through about a litre of mixture with the cream, condensed milk and chocolate syrup, my homemade version comes out closer to 14-15% ABV. It's not lab-tested, just kitchen maths, but it gives you a fair idea of how strong it is before you hand bottles out as gifts.
Definitely, it's one of my most-gifted recipes every Christmas. Pour it into small sterilised bottles from Kmart or a discount store, tie on a handwritten label with the date, and pop it in a hamper with shortbread or fudge.
More Boozy Christmas Recipes
Once you've got a bottle of this in the fridge, here's a few more ways to put it to good use, or other homemade gifts to go alongside it:
Homemade Baileys
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee dissolved in 2 tablespoon boiling water
- 1 cup (240g) cream
- 395 g sweetened condensed milk
- 1 ⅔ cup (375g) Irish whiskey such as Jameson's
- 3 tbs (45g) chocolate topping or syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Conventional Method
- Mix the coffee granules with 2 tbs of boiling water and allow to cool completely (this step is optional - but recommended for a smooth result).
- Place all ingredients (including the cold coffee liquid) into a blender.
- Very slowly increase to medium/low speed for 20 seconds or until just combined (see notes).
- Pour into sterilised glasses, seal and place into the fridge.
- Keep unopened in the fridge for 2 months. Once opened, keep refrigerated and consume within 1 week.
Thermomix Method
- Mix the coffee granules with 2 tbs of boiling water and allow to cool completely (this step is optional - but recommended for a smooth result).
- Place all ingredients (including the cold coffee liquid) into the Thermomix bowl. Very slowly increase to Speed 3, for 20 seconds, or until just combined (see notes).
- Pour into sterilised glasses, seal and place into the fridge.
- Keep unopened in the fridge for 2 months. Once opened, keep refrigerated and consume within 1 week.
Dana says
I wish I hadn't added the chocolate, that's all I taste
Suzanne Mills says
hi there have been making homemade bailey's for years just wondering where you got the labels I would love to print some as I use this for gifts all year long thanks much
Bake Play Smile says
Hi Suzanne, I just got them from a little $2 discount store (I've seen similar ones in other discount stores as well as Spotlight!). xx
Sue says
Hi, How long does the baileys last in fridge unopened
Lucy Mathieson says
Hi Sue, as long as you've sterilised the bottles properly, it will last up to 2 months unopened. xx
Mckensie says
Hi. Just attempted to Make this and my ground coffee did not mix in. What did I do wrong?
Bake Play Smile says
Hmm that is very strange! I'm not sure why it wouldnt have mixed in - I have never heard of that happening before!!
Stacey says
Maybe it wasn't instant coffee? If you used ground coffee that goes in a drip filter coffee pot or similar, it won't mix in. Maybe make a cup of coffee and use the liquid if you only have gorund coffee.
Linda says
Can I make it without vanilla?
Bake Play Smile says
Absolutely!
Carrie says
This sounds wonderful...would you recommend a articular brand of Irish whiskey to use? I've never purchased one before lol
Bake Play Smile says
Hi Carrie, I just used a cheapie brand form Aldi! 🙂