When I gave up dairy, I thought my days of eating creamy, delicious yogurt were over.
Of the few dairy-free yogurts even available, many of them were chalky, tasteless, or full of sugar and additives.
So I stopped buying yogurt altogether, but I always missed it…
Until I discovered how easy it was to make my own dairy-free yogurt! It only takes a few simple ingredients. I personally love the ease of using my yogurt maker, but it isn’t necessary.
You, too, can learn how to make dairy-free yogurt!
Let’s run through the ingredients for dairy-free yogurt…
1. Milk
Canned coconut milk is my favorite milk for yogurt because of its creamy consistency. Look for a brand with minimal additives. The purer, the better.
Homemade nut milks are also popular for dairy-free yogurt-making. Use nuts and water only — sweeteners and/or flavoring will be added later in the process, if desired.
2. Bacterial Culture
Yogurt needs bacteria. There are three options for culturing homemade yogurt:
- dairy-free yogurt culture
- probiotic capsules
- plain dairy-free yogurt (check to see that it has live bacteria in the ingredients)
3. Sugar
The sugar isn’t to sweeten the yogurt — it’s to feed the bacteria. Unlike dairy milks, dairy-free milks are much lower in naturally-occurring sugars.
Honey, maple syrup, or any variety of cane sugar all work. Unfortunately, sugar substitutes (such as stevia and xylitol) can’t be used since they do not provide food for the bacteria.
4. Thickener
You can use several thickeners to create a creamier dairy-free yogurt, such as:
I haven’t yet tried agar agar or gelatin, but I do have great results with tapioca flour.
If you prefer to thicken your yogurt after culturing, chia is an excellent and healthy choice! Simply stir in and let it gel.
Dairy-Free Yogurt
When I gave up dairy, I thought my days of eating creamy, delicious yogurt were over. Then I discovered how easy it was to make my own dairy-free yogurt!
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups dairy-free milk of choice of choice, such as 2 14-ounce cans coconut milk
- 1 packet dairy-free yogurt starter OR 4 probiotic capsules, OR 1/4 cup plain dairy-free yogurt
- 1 tablespoon raw honey maple syrup, or evaporated cane juice
- 2 tablespoons tapioca flour or other thickener, see recipe notes
Instructions
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Clean all yogurt-making tools.
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Sterilize jars by running them through the dishwasher or boiling them in water.
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Then pour milk into a saucepan.
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Remove about 1/4 cup of the milk and whisk tapioca flour into it.
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Return flour and milk mixture to the pan and whisk it in.
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Heat the milk until bubbling and thickened.
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Let the milk cool until it is about 100 degrees Fahrenheit, or look for specific temperature for milk given in instructions of yogurt starter (if using).
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Pour yogurt starter or yogurt (whichever using) into milk. Or, open up probiotic capsules and sprinkle contents into milk.
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Whisk until combined.
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Then pour milk into sterilized jars.
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Place in yogurt maker and culture for 12 hours. If you like a sour yogurt you may wish to culture for longer. If you do not have a yogurt maker, there are many other ways to incubate the yogurt.
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Once culturing time is complete, place lids on jars and place in fridge to stop culturing process and cool.
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Once cool, add flavorings as desired.
Recipe Notes
- If using gelatin, use about 2 teaspoons of gelatin per quart of yogurt.
- If using chia seeds, add 8 tablespoons of chia per quart of yogurt after culturing but before moving yogurt to the fridge.
- The amount of agar agar depends on the form purchased -- feel free to experiment!
What is your favorite way to enjoy yogurt? Do you know how to make dairy-free yogurt?
...without giving up the foods you love or spending all day in the kitchen!
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When do you add the sugar??
Hi Tracey, After the milk is thickens and bubbly, stir in the sugar. Sorry for the missing step!
What temperature do you heat the coconut milk initially? Thank you
Hi Dee,
I don’t know an exact temperature. Once it bubbles and begins to thicken it is ready to be brought down to 100-degrees.
~Danielle, TCS Customer Success Team
Could this be made with homemade coconut milk?
Hi, Cindi,
Yes absolutely 🙂 Let us know how it turns out!
~Peggy, TCS Custome Success Team
how do you add flavors
Hi Leah,
Wardee has great flavoring ideas here:
https://traditionalcookingschool.com/food-preparation/recipes/how-to-flavor-yogurt-at-home-10-flavor-ideas/
Enjoy!
~Peggy, TCS Customer Success Team
Do you reuse your yogurt as culture for the next batch (like you can with other fermented things like kefir sauerkraut etc)?
Tanya, you can definitely try that, but the culture will continue to become less hardy as you use it in subsequent batches. I would think you could use the yogurt for a second batch, but beyond that, you’d probably want to start again with a fresh culture.
If you try it, let us know what you learn!
Sonya, TCS Customer Success Team
To make the yogurt thicker could you use some dried coconut milk instead of tapioca flour?
Hi L,
We haven’t tried using dried coconut milk in place of tapioca flour. You could definitely try it and let us know how it turns out. 🙂
~ Vicki, TCS Customer Success Team
I have no non-dairy starter. Would it be possible to use a dairy starter with almond milk to make yogurt in the crockpot?
Yes, Beth Ann, you should be able to use a dairy starter, as long as you aren’t dealing with a dairy allergy. Here is a link to a blog post that includes some other considerations when making almond milk yogurt: https://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/homemade-almond-milk-yogurt
—Sonya, TCS Customer Success Team
Can you use an instapot to culture the yogurt? How long would you put it on and what temp?
Hi Christine, that’s are great questions.
We have a post that talks about using the Instant Pot to make yogurt. Here’s a link to it: https://traditionalcookingschool.com/food-preparation/raw-milk-yogurt-instant-pot/
~ Vicki, TCS Customer Success Team
Hello.
At what point do I add the geletin, and how. I didnt see it on the recipe.
Thank you!
Hi, Sandie.
If you’re using gelatin (instead of tapioca flour) as your thickener you would do it at this step:
“Remove about 1/4 cup of the milk and whisk tapioca flour into it.”
~Danielle, TCS Customer Success Team
Thank you. Can you halve this recipe, or even quarter it for small batch?
Hi, Sandie: Yes, halving or quartering this recipe should work. 🙂 —Sonya, TCS Customer Success Team
Sorry, me again. Total newbie. Making this tonight. Can I use corn starch? Accidently bought it.
Thank you all.
Hi, Sandy.
We have not made it with cornstarch but you could give it a try. 🙂
~Danielle, TCS Customer Success Team
wonderful?i tried~
If I were to use an Instant Pot would there be any steps to omit? I have used mine with other recipes and it doesn’t require the scalding or boiling. Perhaps the pre-heating in the pot accomplishes this. Just wondering what your thoughts might be.
Thanks
R
Hi, Randy.
Our Instant Pot recipe will give some ideas on how to omit the boiling/scalding.
https://traditionalcookingschool.com/food-preparation/raw-milk-yogurt-instant-pot/
~Danielle, TCS Customer Success Team
when do you add the thickener powder? after the culture process of 12 hours before placing into the fridge? Thank you!
Hi, Fatima,
You add the thickener powder to the milk, then bring it to a boil, then cool it before you add the culture.
~Peggy, TCS Customer Success Team
Hello, how do you incubate in a slow cooker please?
Let your cock pot warm up then unplug it. Then wrap your jar(s) in towels placing them inside the crock pot.
Wrapt the crockpot in another large towel and let sit undisturbed 12-18 hours.
This is the general process for yogurt. We have not tried it with this recipe.
~Danielle, TCS Customer Success Team