Homemade Baileys Irish Cream
This homemade Baileys Irish Cream is rich, creamy, and ready in under a minute. It’s perfect for DIY Christmas gifts, adding to coffee or desserts, or mixing into festive cocktails.
I love giving homemade Christmas gifts, from condiments and Italian biscotti to flavored finishing salts. There’s something special about sharing something you made yourself. This homemade Irish cream recipe is always a favorite, especially when poured into glass bottles, tied with a ribbon, and paired with a small note showing how to use it.
The recipe takes less than a minute in the blender and costs less than store-bought. It has a smooth, rich flavor and is very versatile. Serve it over ice, stir it into coffee, drizzle it on ice cream, or use it in desserts like muffins, brownies, and cakes. It also works well in a creamy hot chocolate or holiday cocktails.
Recipe Highlights
- Budget-friendly: Cheaper than store-bought Baileys.
- Simple ingredients: No preservatives or fillers, just the basics you choose.
- Customizable: Adjust the coffee, chocolate, or whiskey to suit your taste.
- Long shelf life: Keeps in the fridge for up to 2 months, making it ideal for gifting or making ahead.
Key Ingredients & Easy Swaps
- Whiskey: Jameson is a classic, but any good-quality Irish whiskey will do. Some readers have tried bourbon, brandy, or flavored spirits with great results. See “Readers’ Tips and Suggestions” below for more options.
- Cream: Heavy cream gives the smoothest texture; half-and-half is a lighter choice. Milk is too thin.
- Sweetened condensed milk: Adds sweetness and thickness. Evaporated milk won’t give the same results.
- Chocolate syrup: Any brand works, even sugar-free. Hershey’s is my favorite.
- Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla gives the best flavor. You can also try almond, peppermint, or orange extract. For a holiday twist, add a little cinnamon or pumpkin spice.
- Instant coffee: Use regular, espresso, or decaf depending on how strong you like the flavor.
See the recipe card below for a detailed ingredient list and step-by-step instructions.
How to Make Homemade Baileys
- Blend the base: Add the cream, condensed milk, instant coffee, chocolate syrup, and vanilla to a blender. Blend on low for 30 seconds.
- Add the whiskey: Slowly pour in the whiskey while blending on low. Blend for a few more seconds.
- Taste and adjust: Add more whiskey, chocolate, or vanilla if needed.
- Bottle and Chill: Pour into sterilized bottles and store in the fridge. Shake well before serving.
Tip: Blend on low. High speed can cause curdling. If curdled, strain through a fine sieve and gently skim off foam or separation from the top.
Readers’ Tips and Ideas
Here are some creative variations readers have shared:
Liquor swaps:
- Mark made it with Southern Comfort and Amaretto.
- Brenda used brandy, while Carol preferred bourbon.
- Jo swapped the coffee and chocolate syrup for Kahlua.
- Lorry tried Screwball whiskey with an extra tablespoon of chocolate syrup and skipped the coffee.
- Kathy gave it a festive twist with Fireball whiskey for a cinnamon version.
- Arvind replaced the coffee with Drambuie, then added Cointreau and a little more chocolate syrup.
Mix-ins:
- Melanie whisked ½ teaspoon of cocoa powder with a bit of cream instead of using chocolate syrup.
- Rebecca added orange extract and extra chocolate.
- Chris made a pumpkin spice version with ½ teaspoon of spice and ½ cup of pumpkin purée (not pie filling).
Dairy-free option:
- Wade made a dairy-free version using homemade sweetened condensed milk and coconut milk in place of cream.
Bottles for Gifting
Pour the Baileys into small glass bottles and tie a ribbon or add a handwritten tag for a personal touch. A sprig of greenery or holly makes it feel festive.
The bottles in my photos are from Lakeland but unfortunately they’ve been discontinued. Similar swing-top bottles are easy to find at Target, discount stores, or online on Amazon and Etsy.
Free Printable Labels
I’ve made these free printable labels for your Irish cream bottles: As Easy As Apple Pie Homemade Bailey’s Stickers
How to use:
- Print on adhesive sticker paper
- Cut out the labels
- Peel and stick onto your bottles.
They’re optional, but they add a thoughtful final touch if you’re giving your homemade Baileys as a gift.
Recipe FAQs
No. Instant coffee or espresso granules give a stronger flavor without watering down the Irish cream mixture.
Yes. Since it contains cream and milk, it must be kept in the fridge. It will last for about 2 months.
Freezing is not recommended. The texture can change, and the cream may separate.
Yes. Replace the dairy with coconut or almond cream and use sweetened condensed coconut milk.
If you don’t have a blender, use a hand mixer on high speed for 30-60 seconds, or whisk by hand until smooth.
More Holiday Drink Ideas
If you’ve made this homemade Irish cream, leave a comment and rating below. I’d love to know how it turned out for you.
How To Make It: Homemade Baileys Irish Cream
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 ml) heavy cream or half & half
- 1 can (14 oz – 395 ml) sweetened condensed milk
- 3 tablespoons chocolate syrup
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1⅔ cup (400 ml) Irish whiskey I used Jameson
Equipment
Instructions
Blend the base
- Add the cream, sweetened condensed milk, instant coffee, chocolate syrup, and vanilla to a blender. Blend on low speed for about 30 seconds.
Add the whiskey
- With the blender still on low, slowly pour in the whiskey. Blend for a few more seconds, just until smooth.
Taste and adjust
- Taste and add more whiskey, chocolate, or vanilla to suit your preference.
Bottle and chill
- Pour the mixture into clean, sterilized glass bottles with tight-fitting lids. Store in the fridge for up to 2 months and shake before each use.
Notes
- Yield: About 1 liter (4 cups), or roughly 3¾ cups (28 oz). You can double or triple the recipe.
- Avoid curdling: Blend on low speed only. High speed may cause separation. If it does curdle, strain it through a fine sieve and skim any excess from the top.
- Serving size: About 37 ml per glass.
Just Wow! Simple easy & oh so delicious. Bought my jars at World Market. Filled 3 small jars with left overs for me.
Glad you like this recipe, Linda! Thank you for the feedback!
Made this last year for gifts (added cinnamon) and the recipe was a major hit. Wondering if it keeps for two months, even if my creamer expires sooner?
It’s fantastic to hear that the homemade Irish cream was a hit.
If the creamer has an earlier expiration date, it’s advisable to consume the homemade Irish cream before that date to ensure freshness and quality.
Hi there –
do you think this can be made with lactose free cream?
Yes, you can use lactose free cream
So incredibly easy to make and delicious! I can see myself playing with the coffee and chocolate to bring one or the other more forward. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it, Kathryn! Have fun experimenting with the coffee and chocolate flavors!
Fantastic recipe. My plan is to spit the recipe between a few bottles and add different essences for each one. Peppermint (of course) almond, hazelnut and chocolate.
Great idea! Would you use the different extracts IN PLACE OF vanilla or in addition to?
I would add it in place of vanilla.
I live in Brittany, France where caramel beurre salé is king. I reduced the chocolate to a tbsp and added 2 of salted caramel sauce. Delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for giving it a try, Brittany! Adding salted caramel sauce sounds like a fantastic twist.
Hello. Made a batch of this today.Awesome. Flavour,consistency are spot on.Highly recommended. Cheers.
Thank you for the feedback, Terry!
Made as directed except doubled the vanilla and added a little cinna
mon. I used the heavy cream and it came out a bit thicker than Bailey’s. Very delicious, but if you want same consistency as Bailey’s, I’d try the half and half. Thanks so much!
Put all ingredients into the Vitamix, and it is so delicious!!!
Made it with glenlivet and jack Daniel’s omg looking forward to experimenting with more
Absolutely gorgeous!
I read all the comments before making it. I put in 40ml of good espresso coffee instead of the granules, and i used 300ml of irish whiskey rater than 400lms. It’s absolutely fabulous. I used Tate and Lyle chocolate syrup, next time i will only use 2 tablespoons rather than 3, and i will only use 20ml of the espresso coffee.
I also think i will use a good quality thick coconut milk instead of heavy cream next time as well, just to see what it’s like.
So, I made it last evening, and i wanted a glass straight away, so i heaped in the ice, and put the bottle in the freezer, so i could have a chilled 2nd glass before i went to bed. I fell asleep, and woke on the sofa, and went straight to bed. I didn’t realise until noon the next day, that the bottle was still in the freezer! I pulled it out, and of course it was frozen solid. so i left it to defrost, then shook the bottle really well and poured myself a glass… i don’t know what freezing it did, but it was even better than it was before i froze it !
I really love this recipe. It makes an awesome alternative to baileys, and it’s much cheaper.
I’ve made this at least four times now and I really love it! I do use slightly less whiskey, but it has a wonderful, authentic flavour!
Just finished making the recipe, every one so far says it is excellent, I am glad I chose to double the recipe, I am sure it will not last very long. Thanks for posting. Blessings.
Thank you for the feedback, Margaret! :)
Must we wait 2 months though? Please, I would like to know if it would be wrong to serve it immediately. Thank you.
You can drink it immediately. The remaining can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 months.
I made this for Christmas gifts this year! The only things I changed were I dissolved the coffee granules in a teaspoon of hot water so they would be dissolved. And I only added 1 cup of the whiskey/batch – I found this amount of whiskey was plenty! I also added a bit more chocolate syrup. Yum!
So easy! So delicious! And so fun to give as a gift!