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A low carb copycat Bailey’s Irish Cream for your coffee or favorite recipe! It’s a tasty blend of espresso, cocoa, cream, and Irish whiskey.
With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, I’ve been drooling at all the Irish Cream dessert recipes floating around. The problem is that bottled Irish Cream liqueur is loaded with sugar. Thankfully, it’s not that difficult to make a homemade low carb copycat Bailey’s Irish Cream.
Before moving to low carb, Bailey’s was one of my favorite spirits. I would mix it with coffee liqueur or just add it to regular brewed coffee. It adds a sweet flavor with hints of chocolate, vanilla, and almond.
Irish cream is really just a creamy flavored Irish whiskey. There are tons of recipes on how to make this delicious beverage. I personally think it’s too strong to drink on it’s own, so I like to dilute it with non-alcoholic liquids.
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You can also use this copycat Bailey’s Irish cream to make delicious desserts. I’ve had my eye on the low carb Irish Cream ice cream recipe here on Fluffy Chix Cook. I’m not a fan of the artificially sweetened low carb syrups so I’ll have to modify it to my liking, though.
To make my version of low carb Irish cream, I referred to two great recipes. One was on Food.com and the other is on LowCarb-ology. I used instant espresso powder in my recipe because I usually have a jar on hand.
To get the cocoa and instant coffee to blend in well, it’s best to heat up the cream. Cooking the mix also allows some of the liquid to be reduced. I didn’t bother trying to measure the amount of reduction. Instead, I just let the mix come to a slow boil and then reduced the heat to simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Once the mix has cooked down a bit, it’s removed from the heat and the remaining ingredients are added. You want to add the extracts and whiskey at the very end.
When the liquid has cooled down, you’ll want to transfer it to a glass bottle with a lid to store in the refrigerator. It can be stored for two weeks. If you can’t drink it all within that time, you can easy half the recipe.
It’s best to make this up as you need it because fresh cream can spoil after a couple weeks. It’s easy to use up if you’re a coffee drinker because it’s a great replacement for regular cream. You can always use it in an ice cream recipe where it will keep much longer in the freezer.
Since this is a sweet liqueur, it’s a nice flavor to add into desserts. I’ve seen Irish cream cheesecakes, trifles, cakes, and brownies. All great ways to use this low carb copycat Bailey’s Irish Cream.
I’m not much of a drinker, so I won’t be drinking shots of this Irish cream. I’ll be using it as a flavoring in desserts and an after work coffee. Bailey’s has always been one of my favorite spirits so it’s great to have a low carb alternative. I just need to make sure I have some good Irish whiskey on hand!
Low Carb Copycat Bailey’s Irish Cream
Copycat Bailey's Irish Cream
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup Swerve
- 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups Irish whiskey I used Jameson
Instructions
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Combine Swerve, espresso powder, and cocoa in small saucepan.
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Slowly add in the heavy cream.
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Bring mixture to a slow boil, reduce heat slightly and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
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Remove from heat.
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Stir in extracts and whiskey. Cool.
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Store in a glass bottle in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Recipe Notes
Each ounce contains about 5.8g erythritol (non-impacting)
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Hi! I'm Lisa, a part-time blogger, full-time engineer, and mother of three. I've been low carbing since 2001 and love to try new recipes. This blog started in 2010 as a way to save and share my recipes with others. 
Denise says
Yum! (I used a few squirts of liquid Srevia instead of Swerve.). My regular treat is Kerrygold Irish Cream – very close in taste. Thank you for the recipe!
Shannon Patton says
I just made this! I used almond milk & cream instead! It’s good! Not like normal baileys & it’s strong but I’ll be using this recipe again! 😆
Lisa says
Thanks for sharing!
Melanie Mattox says
Hi Lisa – quick and probably stupid question. The serving size you list is 1g. Doesn’t that equate to about 1 teaspoon? I’m sure I’m reading this wrong. Love the website! Keep it up !
Lisa says
It’s one cup size. That got messed up when the recipe was converted.
Candi B. says
I have missed “fancy” drinks so I thank you wholeheartedly!
Lisa says
They are a nice treat. Enjoy!
Elea says
Wow, that sounds great! How long can I store it?
Lisa says
I keep it in the refrigerator and it never lasts more than a week.
Randi Horst says
I made this a few days ago. It was beautiful with a delicious flavor when it cooled to room temp in the pan and smooth when I decanted it into a glass bottle. After chilling it for several hours, I went to pour some to try it and I found it had these chunks- both large and small- of some greasy substance all through it! You could rub them between your fingers and it seriously felt like wax or grease. I let it go for a day then strained it several times as the ingredients were far to expensive to just toss it, I plan to try to use it but I was wondering if anyone has any idea what made this happen? I don’t think the cream curdled because it wasn’t chunky hot nor at room temp, only after being refrigerated. I followed ingredients exactly other than using half Swerve, half Splenda. Any thoughts anyone?
Lisa says
It’s the erythritol in the Swerve. You can replace it with a sweetener that doesn’t contain erythritol.
Karen says
I use this recipe often, I do use swerve but I use the powdered form not the granular. I’ve never had a problem like you described.
Lisa says
That’s probably the key. The powder doesn’t tend to crystallize like the granular.
Meagan says
What is swerve ? Never herd of it for a sugar sub do u mean stevia ?
Lisa says
Swerve is a one-for-one sugar replacement made with erythritol and a fiber sweetener. If you can’t find it, you can replace it with another one-for-one sugar replacement. Swerve is very popular in the US.
Darla says
What is instant espresso? I’ve looked and looked but I’ve never seen it… can you post a pic of yours?
Lisa says
I use Ferrara brand. It’s in with the instant coffee at my grocery store. You can view it on Amazon.
Alicia says
I love copycat recipes. Perfect for putting your own twist on your favorite recipes. This one sounds delicious, I bet the almond exact adds another layer of flavor deliciousness. I use heavy whipping cream and a spritz of vanilla exact in my coffee each day. Can’t wait to try this one.
Lisa says
I’ve been enjoying this Irish cream in my coffee all week. I think you are going to love it!
Renee says
What is swerve ?
Lisa says
Swerve is a one-for-one sugar replacement. You can use any sweetener you’d like in the same sugar equivalence amount.