Vegan Coquitos

Sweet, creamy, and easy to make, these Vegan Coquitos are a simple and delicious beverage best enjoyed anytime of year, but especially at Christmas. Erroneously known as Puerto Rican Eggnog, this festive drink is perfect for guests or a quiet evening at home.

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Hey Internet, it’s been a long time since I published a beverage recipe. And I mean, with good reason, because my blog is about plant based comfort food.

But, I had heard my well traveled friends talking about coquitos (literally, little coconut), a creamy eggnog-like drink enjoyed traditionally on Christmas Eve in Puerto Rico and I knew I had to try it.

I LOVE coconut, if you didn’t know it from the last drink recipe I posted (last summer!): vegan pina coladas.

SO I looked at the recipe for coquitos online and it seemed pretty not-vegan. I set out to veganize it and in the process I actually reduced quite a few of the ingredients.

While this vegan coquito recipe is incredibly delicious, it’s not super authentic so just keep that in mind.

I also wanted to let you know the recipe is the same whether you use rum or not, so if you want to make it for kids or folks who otherwise don’t drink, just omit the rum and it will still be delicious.

A number of my loyal readers have actually expressed an EXTREME dislike for raisins, and it seems that some coquito recipes include rum-soaked raisins and some don’t.

I don’t particularly love raisins myself (they’re OK in things), and I’m also not a person who likes chewy stuff in my drinks.

So I’ll let you all decide whether you want them or not.

Anyway, let’s get into this simple and delicious beverage recipe.

What You’ll Need

• Canned coconut cream or milk: You’ll want a can of full-fat coconut milk that has a solid sound to it when you shake it (instead of liquid) OR you can use canned coconut cream, which generally has more of the solid stuff. I’d definitely recommend springing for higher quality coconut here, as the cheaper stuff tends to be kind of gritty. Some of my preferred brands for this include Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk, Aroy-D Coconut Milk, 365 Organic Coconut Milk, and Nature’s Harvest Coconut Milk.
• Carton Non-Dairy Milk: To reduce the fat content and get the consistency right, I also used some regular carton non-dairy milk. We’re adding our own sweetener so feel free to use unsweetened. Any variety should work (I’ve used soy or almond with success), but I’m not sure if oat would be good here or not. Certainly worth a try if that’s what you’ve got. I’d also go for “original” flavor here instead of vanilla which might mess with the flavor profile we’re building.
• Rum: I used Malibu Coconut Rum here which is perfect and totally delicious, but any rum (white or spiced) will be great here. Feel free to omit it as well and the recipe will be just as tasty.
• Organic cane sugar: You can really use any sweetener you’d like. I thought the organic cane sugar was the most tasty of any I tried, but if you’re looking to reduce your refined sugar intake, maple syrup, date syrup, date sugar, or coconut sugar are all good options. You could even go with stevia if you prefer that.
• Cinnamon and Nutmeg: Traditional coquitos have cinnamon and nutmeg, so I wanted to include those here as a nod to the original, plus they just taste delicious. Only a small amount is necessary. If you want to be really authentic, you could grate whole nutmeg but I couldn’t find it so I just used ground nutmeg.
• Ice: You can skip the ice if your blender can’t handle blending ice (I use a Vitamix) but then you’ll want to refrigerate your vegan coquitos and shake well before serving.

How to Make Vegan Coquitos

• Note: You’ll need a high-powered blender to be able to blend ice. I use a Vitamix but if you don’t have a high-powered blender you can skip the ice and just refrigerate the mixture for a few hours instead OR you can just serve it over ice. If refrigerating the mixture, make sure to shake it well before serving as it can separate in the refrigerator.
• To a blender, add the entire contents of the can of coconut cream or milk, non-dairy milk of choice, rum, sweetener of choice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ice (if blending) and blend until smooth.
• Serve immediately, garnish with a cinnamon stick and a little grated or ground nutmeg on top. Enjoy!
• Refrigerate leftover vegan coquitos for up to 2 days in an airtight container (mason jars work well for this.

More Great Vegan Drinks

I don’t have that many drinks but they are really good! Maybe I should make more?

• Vegan Pina Coladas
• Vegan Iced Matcha Latte
• Copycat Vegan Shamrock Shake
• Orange Hemp Milk Mocktail (please don’t judge the photography, lol, this was one of my first recipes and I haven’t gotten around to re-photographing it yet!)

Anything Else?

As always, I hope you love this recipe–I know I do, and Mr. Zardyplants does too.

These Vegan Coquitos are:

• Sweet
• Creamy
• Nicely spiced
• Fun
• Tropical
• Refreshing
• Fancy
• And perfect for a party at home or with friends!

Let me know in the comments below if you make this recipe or tag me @Zardyplants on Instagram so I can see your beautiful recreations! If you tag me on IG, I will share your post in my stories :)

Also, one quick request: if you love how this recipe looks or tastes, please leave me a 5-star rating and a nice comment–ratings help more people find my recipes which helps me keep providing them! Thank you!

<3 Liz

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