Homemade Coconut Yogurt
Making homemade coconut yogurt is easier than you'd think. And no, you don't need any fancy equipment or ingredients too! Just a few minutes in the kitchen to make a batch of luxurious and creamy vegan yogurt.
Use this for your smoothies and breakfast bowls, or as a topping over your breakfast favorites! I love topping mine with my homemade blueberry sauce or chopped fresh fruit.
While I'm not sensitive to dairy, I know a lot of people are, and that's exactly why I've been trying a lot of dairy-free recipes recently.
My homemade almond milk and coconut cream recipes have both been loved so much, and that got me thinking about trying to make yogurt using a plant-based milk this time.
Quick Look: Homemade Coconut Yogurt
- 🔪 Prep time: 5 minutes.
- ⏲️ Cook time: 5 minutes.
- 👪 Servings: 3.
- 📋 Main ingredients: Coconut milk and coconut yogurt starter.
- ♨️ Cooking method: Heat coconut milk to 180°F 🡢 cool to 108–111°F 🡢 stir in the yogurt starter 🡢 transfer to a sterilized jar 🡢 ferment for 12–48 hours until set 🡢 refrigerate before serving.
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy.
- 🥣 Serving ideas: Use in smoothies, parfaits, breakfast bowls (like caramelized banana yogurt bowl), overnight oats, or as a topping for waffles and French toast.
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What's So Great About the Recipe?
- You'll need just 2 ingredients and a few minutes in the kitchen- and the result? A perfectly rich, creamy and slightly tangy coconut yogurt.
- It kinda reminds me of my homemade mascarpone cheese, but with a slightly nutty flavor undertone.
Recipe Ingredients
Coconut milk: I used my homemade coconut milk here, but you can use the packaged, store-bought version too.
Yogurt starter: Use any plain coconut yogurt that you have as a starter, or stick to the probiotic capsules that contain live active cultures.
Honey: Optional, for sweetness. You can skip this if you're vegan or just don't want to use it.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- If you don't want to use gelatin but still want that thickness, add a bit of cornstarch or arrowroot powder into the mix while the coconut milk is on heat.
How to Make Coconut Yogurt
Step 1: Pour the coconut milk into a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until it reaches 180ºF.
Step 2: Take the pot off heat and allow it to cool down till the temperature reaches about 108–111ºF. Stir in the probiotic powder or starter.
Step 3: Mix well and pour the mixture into a clean, sterilized glass jar to allow it to set.
Step 4: Place it in a warm corner of the kitchen for 24-48 hours or in the oven turned off for about 12 hours.
Step 5: Check if the yogurt has set. It should appear semi-solid.
Step 6: Use immediately or store for later.
💭Top Tip
Make sure you use a non-reactive spoon like a wooden or silicone spoon for best results. Avoid using a metal spoon here.
Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- Make sure you use full fat coconut milk for this recipe, especially if you want your yogurt to have that rich, thick and creamy texture.
- You can also refrigerate the coconut milk for a few hours and only remove the top creamy portion to use for this recipe if you want it to be ultra-rich.
- If you love making your own yogurt, save a couple of teaspoons from this for your next batch of coconut yogurt.
- If you're using any flavoring agent like vanilla or honey, add them in towards the end, to make sure they don't interfere with the fermentation process.
- Make sure you choose a probiotic capsule that has at least 30 billion CFUs in active cultures and no added prebiotics or enzymes.
How to Use Homemade Coconut Yogurt
Your chilled homemade coconut yogurt is perfect to enjoy as a base for your parfaits and breakfast bowls, topped with some granola or muesli. I love using this for my overnight oats, and sometimes, I also spoon it over my breakfast waffles or French toast when I run out of my homemade golden syrup or date syrup.
This time, I had some of my crispy coconut curds and coconut chips at hand, so I sprinkled them on too, along with some mango chunks and chia seeds to make a nice breakfast bowl for myself.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
If you notice any discoloration or off-putting smell, the yogurt has probably gone bad. It's rare, but it can happen if your bowls, pots and spoons aren't sterilized.
Using low fat coconut milk can cause the yogurt to turn thin. To fix this, you can transfer it to a muslin cloth-lined fine mesh sieve to allow the liquid to drain, and let it rest for an hour. Then, simply use the thicker, creamier yogurt leftover.
Aim to finish up your batch of homemade coconut yogurt within 3-4 days, particularly if you mix in any flavoring agent. If you haven't added anything, you can store it for up to a week in the refrigerator.
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If you tried this homemade coconut yogurt or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Homemade Coconut Yogurt
Ingredients
- 2 cans coconut milk
- 2 tablespoon coconut yogurt starter
Instructions
- Pour the coconut milk into a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until it reaches 180ºF.
- Take the pot off heat and allow it to cool down till the temperature reaches about 108–111ºF. Stir in the probiotic powder or starter.
- Mix well and pour the mixture into a clean, sterilized glass jar to allow it to set.
- Place it in a warm corner of the kitchen for 24-48 hours or in the oven turned off for about 12 hours.
- Check if the yogurt has set. It should appear semi-solid.
- Use immediately or store for later.
Notes
- Make sure you use full fat coconut milk for this recipe, especially if you want your yogurt to have that rich, thick and creamy texture.
- You can also refrigerate the coconut milk for a few hours and only remove the top creamy portion to use for this recipe if you want it to be ultra-rich.
- If you love making your own yogurt, save a couple of teaspoons from this for your next batch of coconut yogurt.
- If you're using any flavoring agent like vanilla or honey, add them in towards the end, to make sure they don't interfere with the fermentation process.
- Make sure you choose a probiotic capsule that has at least 30 billion CFUs in active cultures and no added prebiotics or enzymes.
