The Spunky Coconut

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DAIRY FREE Yogurt!

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SpunkyCoconutDairyFreeYogurt_1Oh, I am so excited to share this recipe with you! It’s my best dairy free yogurt recipe yet. It’s thick, creamy, and tangy too. I wish you could taste some right now 🙂

You may remember I said that I had been told by friends that you can just open up your probiotic capsules and use them for the starter. Well, that’s exactly what I did. I toyed with ordering starter, but didn’t have the patience to wait for it to arrive, so I used my probiotic capsules. Turned out better than ever! Here is how I did it:

 

Dairy-Free Yogurt (and refined-suagr free too!)

Over almost medium heat bring to simmer:

4 cups cashew milk (How to Make Cashew Milk Video)
2 tsp honey
20 drops vanilla liquid stevia

Keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t boil over.

Meanwhile, dissolve 2 tsp Gelatin in 1/4 cup boiling water. (OR use Agar-Agar for vegetarian. Note: the amount of Agar-Agar needed might be different. I have only made it with gelatin so far.)

As soon as the cashew milk starts to simmer turn off the heat.

Add the dissolved gelatin water to the cashew milk and let it come down to about 92 degrees.

I pour the liquids into a bowl and put that bowl into a larger one of cold (but not iced) tap water. Whisking also helps it cool down faster.

Once you’ve reached about 92 degrees:

Open 6 probiotic capsules and whisk them in well.
I use Solaray Multidophilus, 3 Billion, non-dairy

Pour into containers and keep warm for about 10 hours. I use my yogurt maker, but I love the suggestion of using a cooler with jars of hot water around the yogurt containers. Note: If there is a clear pool at the bottom, secure the lids tightly and shake the yogurt to mix it in before refrigerating.

Refrigerate for 8 hours.

I’m going to mix in a drop of lemon extract before I eat mine tonight. I love lemon yogurt 🙂

♥, Kelly

P.S. Also check out my second dairy-free yogurt recipe that uses coconut milk.

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  1. Wow, you did it! This is so great. I will definitely be doing this. Do you think any probiotic would work? What about the nutmilk? Any nut milk?

  3. Hi Brandon! I’m so excited about this recipe! I don’t know if any probiotic or nut milk would work. Let me know if you try it : ) I’m going to do half coconut milk next time, and I’ll tell you how that goes.

    Thanks Alisa! Cashew milk is so awesome. Such an incredible substitute for dairy. : )

  5. Looks fantastic! I’m going to soak some cashews over night so I can try it tomorrow! PS: I have a batch of your banana bread in the oven right now. It’s my son’s favorite!

  6. Looks fantastic! I’m going to soak some cashews over night so I can try it tomorrow! PS: I have a batch of your banana bread in the oven right now. It’s my son’s favorite. 🙂

  8. Kelly, this one looks fantastic!! I am going to have to try it! It looks like it turned out just perfect. And I love my yogurt tart and tangy (with a zing of lemon). It is the only way I eat it!

  10. Fantastic results! Am going to try this recipe today. Now that I have TWO yogurt machines (got another Yogourmet at Goodwill for $2!) I will do side-by-side test batches 🙂

    -Lexie

  12. good stuff… i put the yogurt cups into a baking pan of warm water and place that in cold oven overnight… works great!

  13. Good Saturday to ya! Yogurt girl reporting in. So I made this version of yogurt and it ROCKS! So creamy. Cashews make the creamiest yogurt so far. Worked just fine with using the GI Prostart starter that I have. I am going to try those probiotic capsules you used next … Vitamin Cottage opens this week in Cheyenne and will pick some up! Woo hoo! VC is the first natural food store chain to come to town. This will change my life! Between Azure, Vitamin Cottage, Costco, and our CSA produce delivery I rarely go to the grocery store. Hugs and keep up the mad science!

    -Lexie

  15. This recipe worked perfect for me! This is the first time I’ve made yogurt that actually looks and tastes like yogurt. This is my go-to recipe from now on! Thanks for sharing!

  18. Wow! This looks great–I can’t wait to make this–I’m soaking some cashews for coconut milk (which I’ve been wanting to make anyhow) tonight so I can make it tomorrow. One ?: I don’t have vanilla creme stevia. I do have apricot nectar and chocolate raspberry or I have plain stevia powder? Would one of the other liquid stevias work or would it taste funny? Or should I use the powdered stevia? If so, how much? Thanks! -Ari

    Ariana Anderson
    The Frugally Rich Life
    http://www.thefrugallyrichlife.wordpress.com
    GF, dairy-free, refined sugar-free recipes and frugality (+ traditional “non-allergy” recipe too)
    thefrugallyrichlife@gmail.com
    Twitter: FrugallyRichAri

  21. OH MY GOODNESS! I am taking my first bite of this yogurt and I can’t believe how good it is!!! When I went to Tuesday Morning and saw a yogurt maker discounted 75%, I knew I couldn’t pass it up. This turned out so thick and creamy, with such great flavor, it will definitely be a regular on the weekly menu. Thanks so much for a great alternative to dairy and soy yogurt!!!

  22. I tried this recipe….but it didn’t thicken up…stayed more like kefir. I used a different pro-biotic but everything else was the same….could the pro-bio be the problem? Any tips that maybe I missed…I’ll really like this to work! Thanks!

  23. Yes, if you look at my first yogurt post I include the yogurt maker I use =)

    Julie, Thanks! I’m so excited! Woohoo!

    Anonymous, Maybe it was the probiotic, or maybe my fridge is colder than yours. I keep it pretty low. You could also add another teaspoon of gelatin—maybe that would work. =)

  24. My children have a combined total of 16 food sensitivities…including nuts. I know in the States they have coconut yogurt but it’s not allowed to be sold in Canada. Would this recipe work with coconut milk as well?

    Thanks,
    Shawna

    • I know this post is old, but I have to ask about the coconut yogurt! Is it still NOT allowed to be sold in Canada and do you know why?

      I’m so curious about this, as we use it all the time and I know Canada has stricter regs, and I try to stay informed about things we find out about too late!

      • I bought coconut yogurt at the grocery store in Montreal just a few days ago. So, it must be a-ok in Canada now 🙂

  25. Shawna, I’ve made it with canned coconut milk before. It didn’t become as thick, but it tasted great 🙂 You could try adding an extra teaspoon of gelatin or agar-agar.

  26. I’m a little late in finding this, but thanks so much for the tip on probiotic capsules! I can’t have dairy and have thought about ordering a non-dairy starter, but they only sell it in bulk and I don’t want to invest that much just to try something. Will definitely give this a go!

  27. I’m still waiting for my yogurt…it’s been in the fridge a few hours. I’m a little concerned though b/c it is very thin. Does it thicken in the fridge? I used a dehyradrator at 115 degrees, b/c I don’t have a yogurt maker. Hope it works! I am so excited to eat yogurt again. Thanks, Tina

  28. Kelly, I hope you have some extra room at our house because I am coming right over, LOL! This recipe will no doubt knock my boys’ socks off, they just LOVE the root beer flavored stevia, I can’t wait to make them some tomorrow, thanks for sharing!

  29. This sounds AWESOME! I love the idea about adding the root beer flavored stevia! YUM! I’m not really a fan of cashew milk, but I’m thinking coconut milk should work, shouldn’t it?

    Also, I love the tip on the cooler with hot water bottles. I don’t have a yogurt maker and my crock pot gets too hot, even on the warm setting. I’m going to try the cooler thing. Thanks! 🙂

  31. Yes, yum and yay! I just made this using half cashew half coconut milk (roughly), and put a whole packet of gelatin (about 1 Tbsp.). I didn’t add any sweetener as I am on an anti-candida diet and rather like the taste of plain yogurt. I thought I had done something wrong when the yogurt was thin after spending the night in the maker, however, a few hours in the fridge and, voila! perfect dairy/sugar/weird-additive free yogurt (that actually tastes like yogurt)! Thank you!

  32. I just made the cashew milk for the first time and I love it. It’s so smooth, like real milk, and I think tastes better in cereal than almond milk. I’d like to make the yogurt but I have a couple of questions.
    I don’t have stevia, have never used it, and am not sure about buying it. Could I just sub some agave or is the stevia necessary?
    Also, if I have powdered probiotic, not capsules, about how much do you think the six capsules comes out to?
    Thanks so much!

  33. Thanks everybody!

    Jessica, You can definitely try it without the stevia. If you add much honey it will be thinner. Check out my stevia video if you haven’t already though 🙂 And I go for about 25 billion per 6 to 8 cups of yogurt.

  34. love this yogurt!! i’ve made it twice now- once following the recipe, and the second without any honey or stevia and they both came out great. i ended up making it how i used to make cow’s milk yogurt- wrap the bowl in towels and put in the back of the oven to sit over night, so no yogurt maker necessary. thanks kelly!

  35. I made this for the first time using a Euro Cuisine yogurt maker. I had enough cashew milk to fill 4 of the jars so used my homemade almond milk for the rest. I have GI Prostart for the starter. I took one out this morning to have a taste after refrigerating all night. It thickened up nicely and the taste was very good but when I stirred it had little lumps all through it. That would only be pleasing if it was tapioca. I will try again and hope that I get the completely smooth texture like in your pic.

  36. Have tried twice now but am struggling to get anything resembling yoghurt. thought maybe it was too hot in my rice cooker so i heated it and turned it off before adding jars. I get separation- liquid on top but it doesn’t thicken in the fridge. tastes ok have been adding it to my smoothies. could it be my probiotics?? too old, not enough, too much ?????? I want yogurt 🙂

  37. I am SO grateful for this recipe today. I have been eating Paleo for the past 8 months with basically no dairy except for very small amounts of high quality parmesan cheese from time to time. Last night I tried to “sneak” some raw milk yogurt in from my local farmer but my body let me know real fast that it wasn’t having it! I was SO sad because although I found a good replacement for cream in my coffee (homemade coconut cream), I still love the comfort of yogurt.

    I am off to buy a yogurt maker today and will be trying this asap. Thanks again for giving me an option when I thought there were none!!

  38. i THINK YOUR RECIPE FOR DAIRY FREE YOGURT IS THE BEST.You really have to have the soloray probiotics for it to work. I tried with another probiotic and it didn’t work.I’ve done it both ways. And you can use it in cooking.I turn it on to everbody I know. Thanks so much.

  39. I’m thinking about ordering the probiotic through your link but I’m confused–how do they ship probiotics? I thought they had to be refrigerated?

  40. I finally got my yogurt maker and made this yogurt yesterday and I love it BUT…it doesn’t have that tang that yogurt usually has. I used all of your ingredients exactly (even the same pro-biotics). Is there a way to make it tangy (more probiotics maybe or longer cooking time?). Thanks so much!

  41. I tried this today, without a yogurt maker, putting it in a cooler with jars of hot water and towels around it and I heated up two of the heat pads you put in your insulated carry bags for dishes. I heated them up a few times. I am concerned it didn’t stay warm enough..is there any safety issue if it didn’t stay warm enough? it was thin but we’ll see what happens over night in the fridge. thanks!

  42. After waiting months to try this recipe, made the yogurt last night after getting a new Blendtec for Christmas. It turned out great! I am blown away by the taste, it actually tastes like cow milk yogurt only with a nutty note to it Just a little on the sweet side though… Will make without honey next time.

    It is not necessary to use the Soloray probiotics. We used HMF powder by Genestra/Seroyal. It comes with a measuring scoop inside, and each scoop is 11 billion bacteria. Much easier than opening capsules, and the nice thing about HMF, is that it is cultured using human tissue, so very hypoallergenic. Thank you so mcuh Kelly, you are truly amazing!

  43. Yogurt success!! This tastes great. I reduced the water by 1/2 C and added 1 tbs of chia seeds. The end result was thick and creamy goodness!

  44. Yogurt Success!! This is fabulous! I reduced the water by 1/2 C and added 1 tbsp of chia seeds. The results were thick and creamy goodness!!

  45. I made this yesterday with 4 cups cashew milk and 1 can coconut milk. I had to strain the cashew milk because there was a lot of chunks and I didn’t have extra gelatin to add, just one packet. The results were good but more of a drinkable yogurt. Do you think I could make frozen yogurt with some of it? Thanks so much for the recipe!

  46. Mine came out like jello and had fluid all around it. It was awful.. helpful hints? Too keep them warm for ten hours I put them on warm in my crock pot.. was this TOO warm?

  47. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I have been trying to make a yogurt I’m happy with for almost a year now. I hate buying the stuff at the store as it has all that “other” stuff in it. I’m also trying to stay away from coconut, so this is great. I love that I don’t need any fancy yogurt starter and that this is completely dairy free. Now I have another food my kids can eat for lunch at school, and another option for quick breakfast mornings. Thank you!

  48. Hiya, I made this and it turned out great! Can you tell me why the milk needs to be heated to a simmer? I know when making dairy milk that it needs to be heated high enough to denature the proteins so that it will thicken. But because this has added thickener I’m assuming this isn’t the reason. Thanks!

  49. Is there a way i could use coconut milk for this? can’t wait to try it! Thanks for all you do!

  50. I am about to make your yogurt but I can only get 50 billion bacteria capsules. Any idea how many I would need ? Would 1 be ok?

  51. Kelly, I am hoping that you could help me. I followed your recipe and have delicious tasting cashew milk yogurt, but it is more the consistency of a drinkable yogurt. I’m wondering if you could help me troubleshoot so that I could achieve a thicker consistency. I did make the cashew milk one day earlier and refrigerated it before bringing it to a simmer the next day and adding all the other ingredients. I used the beef gelatin you recommended and 9 probiotic capsules that were 8 strain 50 billion (a different brand than you mentioned). I did 1 1/2 times the recipe starting with 6 cups cashew milk and added about 2 extra tablespoons honey since I wanted it a tad sweeter. I waited until the milk cooled to 92 degrees, added probiotics, put in canning jars with lids on and put in my dehydrator for 10 hours. Do you think any of my slight variations may be the problem? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!!

    • I would try using coconut sugar to see if that helps, and increase the gelatin by a teaspoon or two. Hope that does the trick!

  52. another thought. we use liquid probiotics, i’m assuming i’d get the same results if I can determine the amount to use to get the equivilant billions?

  53. Hi Kelly!
    Your recipes are incredible!! I just tried to make this recipe for yogurt and it turned out just as watery and when I put it in 🙁 I had it in the yogurt maker for 17 hrs. Any suggestions? Would the type of probiotic matter??