Advocaat substitute

Best substitute

Irish cream (Baileys or similar)

Use the same amount as the advocaat you are replacing

Best for Snowball style drinks

Taste and texture differ

The nearest bottle you can buy is Irish cream such as Baileys, used 1:1, though it is thinner and tastes of cocoa and whiskey rather than egg custard. The closest match overall is thick ready-made vanilla custard stirred with brandy, three parts custard to one part brandy, which gets both the texture and the eggy flavour. Bottled eggnog also works 1:1 if you add a tablespoon of brandy per half cup.

Other advocaat substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Thick vanilla custard plus brandy
Close match
3 parts cold thick custard to 1 part brandy, then use 1:1
Ready-made vanilla custard, or custard made from custard powder and left to cool thick, stirred with brandy.
What changes
This is exactly what advocaat is: sweet egg custard plus spirit.
Best for
desserts, trifles, sauces, Snowball style drinks, spooning over fruit
The best all-round substitute and the one most people already have the parts for. It is a shade paler and less glossy than the bottle, and it will not keep, so make only what you need and use it the same day. Leave the brandy out and you have a decent alcohol-free version.
3Homemade egg yolk and brandy custard
Close match
Use the same amount by volume
Whisk 2 egg yolks with 1/4 cup sugar over a pan of barely simmering water until thick and pale, take it off the heat, then whisk in 1/4 cup brandy and a splash of cream.
What changes
This is a genuine advocaat, made to order.
Best for
desserts, Snowballs, sauces, when you want the real texture
Cook the yolks gently to at least 71C or 160F, or use pasteurised eggs, because this mixture is not heated again afterwards. Keep the heat low and keep whisking or the yolks scramble. Chill it and use it within two days, and keep it refrigerated because it contains egg.
4Bottled eggnog
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount plus 1 tbsp brandy per ½ cup
Eggnog shares advocaat's egg-and-sugar base and its pale colour, so the flavour direction is right from the start.
What changes
Best for
seasonal drinks, desserts, coffee, trifle, baking
Eggnog is much thinner and is spiced with nutmeg and cinnamon, which advocaat is not, so the result tastes distinctly Christmassy. Adding brandy fixes the strength but not the thickness. If the recipe depends on advocaat coating the back of a spoon, thicken the eggnog by warming it gently with a teaspoon of custard powder first.
5Vanilla liqueur such as Galliano Vanilla
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount
Keeps the sweetness, the vanilla note and roughly the right pale gold colour, with none of the body.
What changes
Best for
cocktails where cream is also added, coffee drinks
This only works if something else in the drink supplies the richness, because on its own it is a thin, clear liqueur next to a thick one. Add a tablespoon of single cream per ounce and it becomes usable.
6Vanilla custard, no alcohol (non-alcoholic)
Different taste
Use the same amount
Thick cold vanilla custard on its own, with a drop of vanilla extract and a pinch of sugar if it needs help.
What changes
Best for
alcohol-free desserts, trifle, cooking for a mixed table, pouring sauces
Texture and colour are right, which is more than half the battle with advocaat. What is missing is the brandy warmth at the back of the throat, and there is no honest way to fake that. For a drink, top it with lemonade and lime the way a Snowball is built and it is a genuinely nice alcohol-free version.

What is Advocaat?

Advocaat is Advocaat is a thick, pale yellow Dutch liqueur made from egg yolks, sugar and brandy, closer to a pourable boozy custard than to a normal spirit.

Cooking tips

Understand what advocaat is doing before you swap it. It brings fat and richness from egg yolk, sweetness, real thickness and a pale yellow colour. Most liqueur substitutes cover the sweetness and miss the thickness, which is why a custard-based swap usually beats a bottle.
A Snowball is advocaat topped with lemonade and finished with a squeeze of lime. The foamy head everyone remembers comes from egg protein reacting with the carbonation, so if you swap in Irish cream or a clear liqueur the drink will look flat. Custard plus brandy keeps some of the foam.
Advocaat separates on standing, with a thicker layer settling at the bottom of the bottle. Shake it before pouring, and do the same with any custard-based substitute.
Heat it gently or not at all. Because it is egg-based it will curdle if you boil it, so stir it into a warm sauce off the heat rather than simmering it.
Because it contains egg, advocaat and every custard-based substitute should be kept in the fridge once opened and used within the time on the label, unlike a normal liqueur that lives happily in a cupboard.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave advocaat out?

Not in a Snowball or an advocaat dessert, because it is the whole point of the drink and it is also providing the body. In a recipe where advocaat is one flavouring among several, such as a trifle that already has custard and cream in it, you can leave it out and add a tablespoon of brandy plus a little extra sugar instead. You will lose richness rather than break anything.

Is advocaat the same as eggnog?

They are cousins, not twins. Both are built on egg yolk and sugar, but advocaat is much thicker, is not spiced, and is a bottled liqueur with a stable shelf life. Eggnog is thinner, is spiced with nutmeg and often cinnamon, and is usually a fresh dairy drink. Eggnog is a reasonable 1:1 substitute if you accept a thinner, spicier result and add a little brandy for strength.

Does advocaat contain raw egg?

Commercial advocaat is made with pasteurised egg yolk and its alcohol content also helps keep it stable, so a shop-bought bottle does not carry the risks of raw egg. If you make your own version, cook the yolks over gentle heat to at least 71C or 160F, or start with pasteurised eggs, since the mixture is not cooked again afterwards. Keep any homemade version refrigerated and use it within a couple of days.

Why did my advocaat sauce curdle?

Almost always heat. Advocaat is thickened with egg yolk, and yolk sets into lumps somewhere around 75 to 80C, so a sauce that comes to the boil will split. Add it at the end, off the direct heat, and stir rather than whisk hard. If it does split slightly, a splash of cold cream whisked in can sometimes bring it back.

What is the best alcohol-free substitute?

Thick vanilla custard, straight. It is the same colour and the same texture, and in a dessert nobody will notice the missing brandy. For a drink, pour chilled thick custard into a glass and top it with lemonade and a squeeze of lime, which is how a Snowball is built anyway. Add a drop of vanilla extract if it tastes plain.

Related substitutes

More liquor substitutes

Advocaat substitute

Other advocaat substitutes

2Thick vanilla custard plus brandy

3Homemade egg yolk and brandy custard

4Bottled eggnog

5Vanilla liqueur such as Galliano Vanilla

6Vanilla custard, no alcohol (non-alcoholic)