Easiest Low Fat “Yogurt”, Dairy Free!

I have tried over and over to make homemade dairy free yogurt.

Making yogurt with cow’s milk is easy, especially with a yogurt maker. I’m trying to avoid dairy so I decided to try to make my own non dairy yogurt. Not so easy! But wait, this simple recipe is the easiest low fat yogurt, dairy free you can get and I use a secret ingredient! And it only takes a few minutes to put it together, no cooking involved!

In the past, I’ve tried making non dairy yogurt using various types of milks, including store bought and homemade soy milk, store bought and homemade almond milk, and the list goes on.  Each time it just came out a watery disgusting mess! Different types of starters didn’t work either. As far as equipment, I’ve used a yogurt maker, and an Instant Pot, both methods failed. I couldn’t understand because so many people seem to be able to make creamy delicious dairy free yogurt! In looking at many YouTube videos, it seems so simple, and everyone in the video has creamy smooth yogurt, not so for me! I’ve tried recipes from many cookbooks.

I was determined to figure this out because yogurt is a great thing to have in your fridge.yogurt banana parfait

During my many hours of research,  I found a recipe that used tofu. Now this is all well and good, and it came out ok, if you don’t mind the tofu, beany taste a little bit, but it was missing the probiotics, which after all, is why so many of us tend to include yogurt in our diets. So I fixed that using a secret ingredient and you’ll never guess what it is! I also like this recipe because it has more protein than store bought yogurts.

But where are the probiotics?

I think one of the reasons people eat yogurt anyway, is for the probiotics. After making this recipe a few times, I pretty much mastered it, but it was missing the bugs. Then it dawned on me, I make a lot of fermented foods, so why not just blend some of them into the yogurt? But which one? So, right off the bat, I tried sauerkraut. It might seem weird, because it’s so sour, but that is just what was missing from my yogurt, the tanginess! So I tried it, and it worked! I couldn’t believe it, you would never know there was sauerkraut in it. It’s so good, and has all the good bacteria that yogurt has, maybe even more! Of course, if this is really weird for you, you can always leave it out.

I will warn you though, don’t add more than a couple tablespoons, unless you are eating it within two days, after that, the yogurt itself begins to ferment and the texture becomes runny and it develops a bitter taste. You can tell when it’s fermenting because it will have clear liquid form in the bottom of the jar. I keep  mine in little glass yogurt jars so I can see what’s going on inside. I would not advise to store it in anything other than glass. I got a large box of these jars below and use them for everything, especially leftovers and my DIY Spice Mixes, of course!

yogurt jars

There are two advantages to making this yogurt, one, it’s cheap! Dairy free yogurt in the grocery store can cost $2-$3 or more for one serving. This costs (depending on how much the yogurt is) probably about the same, but you get four servings from one package of tofu. You can’t go wrong with that! If you read the label on store bought non dairy yogurt, there isn’t much protein in it. That’s the other reason yogurt is so popular as a snack or meal, because it’s high in  protein. Well, not so, unless it’s dairy. There are brands with higher protein content being made now, but they just add protein powder, which you can do at home. Any powder you add to a smoothie will do.

I keep some of this made in my fridge all the time, it’s become a staple in my kitchen. I always have frozen fruit in my freezer for smoothies so I can switch up the flavors with each batch.

My favorite way to eat this is mixed with my homemade granola and I usually have a banana or grapes on the side. I usually just mix the granola in but you can get a little fancy and make a fruit bowl. Just add cut up fruit, bananas, peaches, berries to a bowl. Add a container of “yogurt” and top it with crunchy granola. Or add the yogurt to granola and top it with fruit! Make it ahead for a brunch, you could layer the ingredients in parfait glasses and have a make ahead component for a brunch, or dessert.

Non dairy yogurt in glass jars

Easiest Low Fat Yogurt-Dairy Free!

This recipe uses tofu and a secret ingredient, for the probiotics to make a smooth creamy fruity "yogurt".
Prep Time 5 mins
Course Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 4

Equipment

  • Blender

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1 lb pkg Silken tofu
  • 3/4 cup Frozen Fruit Use one type, or a combo. See below for recommendations.
  • 1/2 tsp Monk Fruit Sweetener Substitute any sweetener, 2 tbsp Maple Syrup is good. Add sweetener to taste.
  • 2-3 tbsp Almond Milk or Water Any non dairy milk will do.
  • 2 tbsp Sauerkraut with juice Omit if you like
  • 2 tbsp Soaked raw cashews or protein powder optional

Instructions
 

  • Drain any liquid off the tofu and add it to a blender. Add rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy.
  • Store in glass jars in the fridge. This will keep for a few days.
  • To serve, mix with as much granola as you like. You can also top with fresh fruit. Get really fancy and make two separate flavors and make parfaits.

Notes

This recipe is totally customizable. You can try it with soft or firm tofu. That would up the protein considerably. Just blend it longer. You'd probably need more milk. 
Use any fruit you like. Bananas are good, but they start to discolor after a day making the yogurt less appetizing. I like peaches or mangoes, they are my favorite. Strawberries or blueberries are good too. 
I added cashews one day that I had soaking for a non dairy cheese I was going to make so I added them. They made it very creamy, you just have to be sure they are fully blended. Protein powder gives a nutritional boost of protein making this a great post workout snack. 
You could also stew up some fruit and add it to the bottom of the jar and have your own homemade "fruit on the bottom" yogurts! The possibilities are endless.....
Keyword Dairy Free, Tofu, Fruit Flavored, Make ahead

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