Low-Carb Irish Cream Liqueur (Keto-Friendly Copycat Bailey’s)

Beverages, Recipes, Uncategorized | 52 comments

This Low-Carb Irish Cream Liqueur recipe tastes like Bailey’s Irish Cream, but has fewer carbs. You’re going to love the creamy sweetness of this beverage. The lower carbohydrate content helps it work for people on low-carb, LC/HF, ketogenic, Atkins, diabetic and Banting diets.

This recipe was originally published on December 27, 2016 at 16:00. I have updated it to answer questions that many have been asking about it.

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The recipe for Copycat Keto Bailey’s Irish Cream

Christmas is right around the corner, and Low-Carb Irish Cream Liqueur is precisely the kind of festive brew that you’ll fall in love with while keeping those carbs in check at the same time!

Since this recipe goes easy on the carbs; it’s just perfect for people that are on low-carb, LC/HF, ketogenic, atkins, diabetic and banting diets. But; the recipe does contain alcohol, so if you have been prescribed by your doctor to refrain from alcohol, this recipe is not for you.

This recipe is very easy to prepare, and the delicious concoction, once ready, can be stored in your refrigerator for a week easily — it’s so good that it’ll be gone in a couple of days though! 🙂

The Inspiration

Before moving to a low carb diet, Baileys was my spirit drink, but unfortunately, it has more carbs than I want to have now. You would be surprised to know that just 50ml of Baileys has 162 calories. This is more than some chocolate bars!

I thought I would have to give up this little indulgence since I have a low-carb lifestyle. Instead of giving up my sweet holiday treat, I tried to figure out a way that I could have my Irish Cream Liqueur, and not question my choice later!

I came across a recipe on Saveur for Irish Cream Liqueur that got the gears running in my head, and I began to contemplate the possibility of recreating this delicious drink for people on low-carb diets. After a lot of experimentation, I finally got the ingredients right and created the masterpiece that’s this recipe!

I was not expecting it to work as beautifully as it did! The creamy texture and flavor are just like the real thing. This copy-cat recipe takes out the carbs, but leaves the sweet, creamy Irish liqueur for us to enjoy.

Before heading on to the recipe, I am answering a few questions I keep getting about it below.

What kind of whiskey can I use for this recipe?

While tinkering around with this recipe, I used two different brands of whiskey. Both of these brands had different flavors, different aftertaste, and of course; different results. But, the change wasn’t drastic. They were still essentially the same recipe, but with different little quirks and nuances.

One brand tasted a lot smoother with some hints of hazelnut, and the other one had distinct Brazil nut notes. Both made my tastebuds happy.

At the end of the day, you can choose any brand of whiskey that takes your fancy, but I recommend using a brand and flavor that you are familiar with to fully enjoy this experience. This is probably not the time to use a super expensive bottle as those are better savored without additional elements.

Can you drink this copycat Keto Bailey’s straight?

Irish cream is a sweet and creamy beverage. Many people enjoy drinking Irish Cream Liqueur by itself. You can serve it with or without ice.

If you find drinking Irish cream straight a little too sweet for your tastebuds, you can mix it with other things as discussed below.

How to serve this keto-friendly Bailey’s

As mentioned above, this liqueur may be served by itself, you can also use it to make a variety of other tasty concoctions.

I love mixing it with either hot coffee or cold brew. This helps dilute the sweetness if drinking it straight up is too sweet for you. Another tasty option to mix with Keto Irish Cream is low-carb nut milk. I like unsweetened almond milk for this purpose. Unsweetened coconut milk from a carton would also make a delightful blend and add a hint of coconut to the concoction. You could choose to use hot or cold nut milk, depending on your mood. Both would be delicious.

I also love drizzling Irish cream over ice cream. It is perfect with our keto vanilla ice cream.

You could even make a keto-friendly milk shake with it using a low-carb milk, keto vanilla ice cream and a bit of Irish Cream.

This keto-friendly Irish Cream is the perfect way to bring your hot chocolate up a notch as well. Just stir a few tablespoons of this creamy concoction into your hot chocolate for an extra special treat.

How should I store the Low-Carb Irish Cream Liqueur?

I recommend storing the Low-Carb Irish Cream Liqueur in a tightly sealed, preferably airtight container for maximum freshness, and then storing this container in the refrigerator.

I’m not a food safety expert, but some people suggest that homemade Bailey’s can last for weeks. It does have a high alcohol content, so this might be the case, but I’m not suggesting that you test it out. Personally, this creamy goodness doesn’t last more than about 10 days in my house because we drink it all up.

Instead of trying to store this Irish cream for long periods of time, I recommend cutting down on the quantity you make if you don’t need a large batch. If you are making it for a small number of people, then simply make half a batch.

One thing that can happen to this keto-friendly Irish cream is that a bit of the sweetener will crystallize out. If this happens, don’t panic. Just pass the liquid through a sieve or a fine mesh strainer. Another option is to warm the beverage gently to allow the crystal to dissolve again.

Can I make this recipe without eggs?

This recipe uses eggs as a part of the process. Egg yolks add richness and flavor to the final product, but some people might be unable to eat eggs or choose not to for personal reasons.

While I have personally not made this recipe without the egg yolks, some of my followers have and have reported back that they’ve had excellent results. My guess is that the consistency will be thinner. So if that isn’t an issue for you, then go ahead!

Can I swap the heavy cream for something else?

The presence of heavy cream in a recipe can be a major factor for people that prefer non-dairy options.

So if you’re not a fan of heavy cream, or are just watching your diet, then you can easily substitute this ingredient for something like coconut cream, or thick coconut milk. But remember that this will add a noticeable coconut taste to the Low-Carb Irish Cream Liqueur, if you are good with it, then why not!

What sweeteners can I use for this recipe?

I use a sweetener that is a combination of stevia and erythritol in this recipe. This sweetener, Pyure, is twice as sweet as sugar. You can use other sweeteners, but be sure to adjust the sweetness level. If your sweetener is the same sweetness as sugar, you will want to add more.

If your sweetener is the same sweetness as sugar, but heavy on erythritol, like Swerve or Lakanto,blends, you may want to choose a different sweetener as the much higher levels of erythritol will settle out as the recipe cools.

Sweeteners made from allulose would be an excellent choice for this recipe. Allulose is more soluble than erythritol, so you won’t have as much trouble with it forming crystals as it cools. Pure allulose is less than half as sweet as the Pyure stevia/erthritol combination that I used in this recipe. Because of this, you may need to double the amount, taste the end product, then add more if you want your Irish cream sweeter.

Can I make Irish Cream Ice Cream if I pour this into an ice cream maker?

Several people have asked me if they could make ice cream out of this recipe. I love the idea of this, but unfortunately, I’m afraid that it won’t work in practice.

Technically speaking, the presence of the large amount of alcohol will decrease the freezing point, so if you tried to freeze this concoction, it’s highly possible that the ice cream will not get the right consistency in the freezer.

Instead of trying to churn this mixture into ice cream, I recommend that you drizzle it over some keto-friendly vanilla ice cream instead.

Relevant: Also, if you’re an ice cream fan, then you should definitely check out this Eggnog Ice Cream recipe!

Let’s Head to the Recipe!

I am very excited to share this festive recipe with you. I hope you enjoy this with your family and friends during the Christmas holidays, without worrying about your diet!

Another keto-friendly holiday beverage you might enjoy during the holidays is this keto eggnog by Butter Together.

If you also make Low carb Bailey’s with your own recipe, don’t forget to tag @simplysohealthy on instagram, because we would love to see the magic you brew into it!

Here is to healthy, happy holidays!

Enjoy the recipe below!

-Annissa

This recipe for Low-Carb Irish Cream Liqueur tastes just like Bailey’s, but it’s low in carbs. 😋