Vegan Yogurt
VEGAN YOGURT.
I am SO. DARN. EXCITED.
Okay guys, let’s be honest here. Yogurt has been the one thing I have REALLY missed since going vegan. I used to eat yogurt by the container and put it on e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. I also loved to make homemade yogurt at home every week.
I know, I know. There are lots of vegan yogurt brands in the shops. But they all taste off to me. I’ve tried them, baked with them and tried to like them but I just can’t. They are all flavored or sweetened in some odd way and none of them come to close to the tangy, creamy, good ol’ plain yogurt I love.
And guess what guys?
Homemade vegan yogurt is super easy to make at home AND is made with only TWO (that’s right folks, TWO) ingredients.
Soy milk and probiotics.
To note, the probiotic you use is important – it has to be the strong, vegan (obviously, lol) and the refrigerated sort. I use the Vegan Ultimate Flora Probiotic with 100 billion cultures in this recipe. It works perfectly in yogurt and does not leave any funny probiotic aftertaste.
Vegan yogurt is also super easy to make…
The hardest part about making this yogurt is waiting for it to set in the turned off oven overnight.
But, if you are patient, when you wake up, your creamy, tangy, tart Homemade Vegan Yogurt will magically appear!
In case you are wondering, that funny liquid forming on the top is the whey.
You can either stir the whey into the yogurt for a thinner yogurt or scoop it off for a thicker Greek-style yogurt.
Use this non-dairy yogurt like you’d use any yogurt. Eat it plain, with fruit, granola, bake with it, cook with it… or make it into a cheese.! I’m experimenting this weekend with homemade hard vegan yogurt cheese – I’ll be sharing the results with you guys soon.
And remember, if you whip this Homemade Vegan Yogurt up at home. Make sure to tag your delicious Ceara’s Kitchen creations on Instagram with #CearasKitchen, share them on the CK Facebook page or share your feedback in the comments below! #EatHappyLiveHappy #VeganYogurtBaby
Vegan Yogurt
- Total Time: 12 hours
- Yield: 4 heaping cups yogurt 1x
Description
A tangy, creamy and thick vegan yogurt made with only two simple ingredients! You won’t believe there isn’t ANY dairy in this traditional style yogurt.
Ingredients
- 1 unsweetened soy milk carton (946 ml/ 32 oz/ 4 1/2 cups)
- 1 vegan probiotic capsule (I use the 100 billion Ultimate Flora Ultra Potent in this recipe but any strong vegan probiotic that needs to be kept in the fridge will work). You use the inside powder of the probiotic in the recipe.
Tools
- A candy thermometer – this is to make sure your milk is at precisely the right temperature.
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 110F/43C.
- Warm up the milk: Pour the soy milk into a large pot over medium-high heat. Gently stirring with a whisk continuously, warm the milk up until just before boiling (you will see tiny little bubbles begin to appear before the milk is at it’s simmering point). If you are using a thermometer it should read 200F/93C. Continue to stir the milk as it warms up so ensure that the milk does not scorch on the bottom of the pan and the milk does not boil over.
- Cool the milk down: Remove the milk from the stove-top and leave it to cool until it is just warm to the touch. Your thermometer should read 112F/44C to 115F/4C. Stir the milk every so often to prevent a skin from forming on the top. If you are in a rush, you can speed this step up by placing your pot in an ice water bath.
- Add the probiotic: Open up the probiotic and add the inside powder to the cooled milk. Whisk the probiotic into the milk.
- Yogurt setting time! Transfer your milk mixture to an oven safe *non-metal* dish (like pyrex, glass jars). It is important not to use metal in the setting process because the yogurt can negatively react with the metal. Cover the dish with a lid. Place yogurt into the oven. Turn the oven off and turn the oven light on. The oven light will keep your oven at the ideal temperature for the yogurt to form. If you are not sure that your oven light is warm enough, wrap the pot in a towel (with the oven turned off). Do not open to the oven to peak or the temperature in the oven will fluctuate! Leave the yogurt to set in the oven for 8 – 12 hours (I usually make my yogurt in the evening and leave it to set overnight). The longer the yogurt stays in the oven, the tangier it gets.
- Cool the yogurt off: When the yogurt is set to your liking, remove it from the oven. You will see that some of the whey will have separated on the top. Either whisk it back into the yogurt or skim it off the top for a thicker yogurt. Store the yogurt in the fridge for up to a week.
- The next time you make yogurt you can use this same method with 1/2 cup of the yogurt from this batch to use in the next batch.
Notes
1) You can double, triple quadruple this recipe as you like! I like to triple the recipe because I like to make vegan yogurt dips and cheese with the yogurt as well).
Update: It is very important to use a strong probiotic in this recipe that is “alive”! I used the 100 billion Ultimate Flora Ultra Potent probiotic in this recipe and it works great – any strong vegan probiotic that needs to be kept in the fridge will work well. If your probiotic is not super strong, you can add a vegan yogurt starter to the yogurt when you add the probiotic to make sure your yogurt works out!
- Prep Time: 12 hours
