I have been trying a variety of non-dairy yogurts with little to no success, and finally have something I am happy to share: a rich, creamy non-dairy yogurt with all that wonderful tang of true dairy yogurt. I love it for breakfast, topped with blueberries, a drizzle of honey or maple syrup, and hemp seeds for crunch.
The best thing is, it’s really easy! If you have a yogurt maker, it’s super simple. If you don’t, I’ll explain several other options for keeping the proper temperature to culture your yogurt. Unlike dairy milk that you have to boil and cool down, nut milk yogurt can go straight into the culturing container from the blender.
Want more wonderful dairy-free recipes? Check out my Twelve Terrific Dairy Substitutes, now on sale on Amazon.
Suitable for:
vegan, gluten-free, low-sodium, reduced-sugar diets
Not for:
migraine or low-tyramine diets
How to achieve 110F/44C:
- Electric yogurt maker
- Dehydrator (if you can place an item inside)
- Cooler filled with hot water bottles plus your culturing container
- Warm oven, place culturing container into pan of 110 water, then use lowest setting to maintain that temperature (tricky)
- Electric heating pad with towels on top of it and towels around the container
Notes: If there is colored mold on top when you finish culturing, throw out that batch and start over, making sure your container is super-clean next time. Probiotic capsules with streptococcus thermophilus yield the thickest yogurt. If you are not using a yogurt maker, invest in a digital food thermometer until you find a system that works for you. Don’t think that adding more capsules or starter yogurt will yield thicker yogurt, the culture needs room to grow. If you are using yogurt from a previous batch as the starter, you may find that you need to add a capsule once in a while, as sometimes the culture needs a boost.
Today’s post is part of our mission to help you rebuild your health through food and lifestyle choices. Look for posts on Mondays featuring gluten-free, sugar-free recipes made with healthy plant-based ingredients, Wednesday essays, and Friday giveaways (when available).
I love my Yogourmet, which I bought via Craigslist for about this price.
How to make cashew yogurt
Ingredients
- 2 cups cashews raw (225 g)
- 3 cups water (filtered or spring)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup organic
- 1 probiotic capsule OR 1 tbsp non-dairy yogurt with live cultures
- 2-4 tbsp chia seeds optional
Instructions
- Soak the cashews in the filtered water overnight. Drain and rinse the cashews. Add to the blender with another 3 C. (750 ml) fresh filtered water.
- Blend on high for 3 minutes, adding in the maple syrup. If you have a regular (not high-speed) blender, blend for 5 minutes. The yogurt should be the perfect temperature after blending.
- Prepare your culturing container by washing it thoroughly in hot, soapy water, then rinsing it completely so there is no trace of soap remaining.
- Pour cashew mixture into the culturing container. Stir in the contents of the probiotic capsule, discarding the capsule itself. Cover and culture for 8-12 hours.
- If you'd like thicker yogurt, stir in the chia seeds, then refrigerate to thicken. You can try using other nuts for this, including almonds and sunflower seeds. You should always rinse nuts after soaking, here is an excellent explanation why to soak and rinse nuts, seeds, and grains.
Notes
- 199 calories (169 with chia seeds omitted
- 14 g fat
- 2 g saturated fat
- 7 g monounsaturated fat
- 3 g polyunsaturated fat
- 0 g trans fat
- 0 g cholesterol
- 6 mg sodium
- 226 mg potassium
- 14 g carbohydrate
- 3 g fiber
- 5 g sugars
- 7 g protein
- 6 Weight Watchers Points Plus
I have been using this amazing recipe forever and incubate it in my instant pot. It is the best recipe. Nonetheless, I have noticed that the very bottom of my containers have a liquid that eventually, as I spoon down, becomes much more liquidy that I would like. Do you have any hints as to how to avoid this? Thanks so much
You can use a little less water in the original recipe to thicken it, or alternately strain it over cheesecloth. So glad to know you love the recipe!
Can you use store bought cashew milk and make it
In your instant pot ?
Hi Sandy, I have no idea since I don’t have an Instant Pot, but I suspect that will work fine. Give it a try and please report back. Note that it won’t thicken very much, so you might need to add chia seeds if you want a thicker texture, or strain it through cheesecloth in the fridge.
Did u ever try this with cashew milk from the store?
Hi Stephanie. This is the second time I made this yoghurt. The first time it didn’t really thicken much at all, it was a bit like single cream, but delicious nonetheless.
My last batch has done something weird though.
As with the fist time, I used the contents of a probiotic capsule. The cashew mixture was quite thin to start with (I may have added a little too much water when I blended). It was not very warm at all. I let the mixture sit overnight in my dehydrator, and the next morning it was still really thin when I put it in the fridge. 2nd morning it was still thin, but this (3rd) morning it is super thick and gloopy – kind of elastic, like bread dough, but not as stiff!
It does not smell or taste off at all, in fact it is not even very sour tasting, but I wonder what happened to give it such a strange texture. Do you have any idea?
I am going to give it a whizz with my stick blender to see if it will fix it.
Hi Cornelle,
I am sorry to say that I have absolutely no idea! Fermentation is a trial and error process. My only thought is that if your container was not perfectly clean, perhaps something else also grew in there. I personally would throw it out and start over. Best, Stephanie
P.S. Thanks for reading and letting me know you’re trying the recipes! It means a lot.
Did u ever try this with cashew milk from the store?
I personally LOVE this recipe! I have made it several times, and it has come out perfect every time so far. I normally use cashews, but one time I mixed cashews and pecans. It was just as amazing that way. I always use one probiotic capsule as stated in the recipe.
Thank you for this fabulous recipe! I am allergic to coconut, soy, and have a sensitivity to dairy, so this is my dream yogurt!
Hey Luna, I am so happy to read your comment and know that the recipe has become a favorite! You might want to check out my Twelve Terrific Dairy-Free Recipes for more.
Is a yogurt starter not necessary for this recipe?
Hi Gillan, the probiotic capsule is the starter. You don’t need to buy a yogurt starter, just the probiotic capsule. Under the right warm conditions it ferments and makes yogurt.
Stephanie,
Thanks so much. I followed the instructions and placed my yogurt into individual sterilized glass jars in my yogurt maker. I’ve hit the 8-hour mark and it looks like it’s separating. It’s very thick throughout the whole jar but there is a thin layer of liquid right at the bottom.
Is this normal?
My yogurt maker doesn’t have glass containers so I don’t know if mine separates, but it’s pretty normal for yogurt to separate and have liquid (whey). You can either pour it off and use it for smoothies (it’s high in protein) or stir it in. Thanks for reporting back!
I’m confused… I see adding the syrup into the food processor while the nuts are still in there. Do you not strain the nuts out as if making nut milk? I’ve made nut milk a few time now, but this will be my first attempt at vegan yogurt. The nuts are soaking now to use tomorrow.
Hi Christine, I am sorry for any confusion. You soak the nuts overnight. Drain and rinse. Add to the blender (I’m not sure a food processor will get the mixture smooth enough, but you can try) with three fresh cups of filtered water and the maple syrup. Blend until very smooth. There is no straining like with nut milk. You put that mixture, plus the probiotic capsule, in your culturing container. Let me know how it goes!
Thank you. I did use my blender & didn’t strain… my food processor & blender have the same base, & the containers just change out. I decided that the blender made more sense for pouring into my jars. I’m looking forward to tasting it when it gets done tonight.
Hey Christine, how did the yogurt come out?
Not sure what I’m doing wrong – made cashew yogurt just like bovine yogurt made sure temp was correct added live culture still came out liquid
Hope someone can help
Hi Carol, it doesn’t thicken all that much. I would use less water with your soaked cashews. You don’t have to heat the cashew “milk” like you do cow’s milk. Then culture overnight. You can add ground white chia seeds to thicken it further.
Hi! I made this recipe but I used a little dairy based yogurt as a starter culture. I placed it in my dehydrator for the last 6 hours and I just checked on it. When I opened the jar it was under pressure and overflowed… it also separated and there is a lot of cloudy but clearish liquid in the bottom. I’m not sure what happened! I’m not sure if it’s safe and if I should throw it away. I’ve made nut yogurt before and this hasn’t happened. Any advice????
Hi Tara,
Thanks for your question. I have never had it “under pressure” like that… it sounds like it was fermenting a lot and creating gas, which is a natural part of the process. There is often liquid at the bottom of mine and I simply stir it in.
If there is no mold present, I would taste a little. If it tastes off or bitter in any way, then toss it. If it tastes like yogurt, then I would personally be okay with eating it. Trust your gut instincts. Fermenting is a trial-and-error art, and without seeing your set-up, temperature, timing, etc. I can’t tell you for sure.
If you are worried about it, then compost or toss it and try again without using the dairy yogurt as starter. Good luck!
Stephanie
Do you know if cashews (or other vegan sources) support the growth of probiotic cultures as well as bovine milk does?
Hi Kaleh,
Thanks for your question.
I did some checking and the consensus seems to be that if you add some sweetener, as I do in my recipe, that makes up for the lack of lactose (milk sugars) and gives the probiotic culture something to feed on. As I have no problem culturing this yogurt, and it tastes very tangy just as regular yogurt does, my assumption is that it is equally beneficial, without the potential negatives of eating dairy. Hope this helps and thanks for reading!
Hello, how are you? what kind of brand can I used for the porbiotics? I saw in amazon one called PB 8 , do you know if this one is vegan, I am having a lot of trouble, plz help, thanks.
This post is why I’ve found your blog – I really want to try making nut yoghurt at home! My husband (who’s been a vegetarian for all his life due to animal protein allergy) now wishes do get rid of the dairy products he still consumes, and yoghurt is the last one because we haven’t found a proper substitute yet (as we don’t want soy). I’ll definitely try this out! :D
I was so happy when I finally got this right… now I need to make it again. :)
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Hello Stephanie,
I have tried to make this cashew youghurt but it didn’t thicken. I have added 33 grams of chia seeds too. It ended up like cashew kefir with black seeds in it. I have used all the right ingredients and quantities and followed the recipe step by step. I also left it there – in maker – for nearly 12 hours.
I have found some different recipes where they say to strain the cashew through muslin or cheese bag and then warm it up and boil it for 5 mins. cool to 47 degrees Celsius and then add some culture and put it in yoghurt maker. I might try it after I drink the litre of cashew kefir :-).
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If I had just probiotic powder, how much would I use? I’m not sure about how much is in one capsule.
Rachel, I would try 1/2 teaspoon and see if that works. Let me know!
[…] frenzy! Here is my review of Wild Fermentation, and some fermented foods to get you excited… cashew yogurt, sauerkraut, and kombucha tea. SWEEPSTAKES IS NOW […]
I’ve just put the mixture to culture right now and it looked awesome. I’m quite confident it’ll turn out very well.
I’ve been making yogurt with coconut milk so far, but I found this recipe more straightforward. I love the cashews taste so it was worth a try.
I wonder if the same method (skipping the milk straining) would work also with almonds.
PS I love the blog and I’m chuffed to read any of your posts.
The yogurt turned out well, yet it retains the density of the initial mixture. It’s not a big deal for me, because I don’t eat it plain, but I mix it with milled seeds, nuts and cereals. I’d rather if it’s runny. Further, I love the tanginess the cashews yield when turned into yogurt. If a proper yogurt texture is desired a thickener that needn’t to be heated shall do the job. I think chia seeds it’s a wonderful idea.
For my next batch I’ll try the same method with almonds. Why should I drain the soaking water for almonds and not for cashews?
Federico, thanks for reporting back. And it was my mistake… I should have indicated that it’s best to rinse and drain the cashews after soaking and start with fresh filtered water for the blending. I have updated the post now. It’s not as critical with cashews, as they have already been lightly steamed and peeled (even when you buy them “raw”), but it’s always good practice. I put a link in for a better explanation.
So glad your yogurt turned out!
I made the almond mixture earlier this morning and now it’s culturing.
I took the extra effort to peel them. For the mixture I blended 220g of skinned almonds, that after soaking (12 hours) and blanching became 300g, with 600ml of water.
I’ll report back soon.
Great Federico, thanks! I agree, I would probably skin the almonds too if I was going to make yogurt from them.
After 18 hours of culturing and a couple of refrigerating, the yogurt looks like pictured here http://imm.io/YAze
I used less water so the mixture was already more creamy than the cashew one. Less silky though. I blended the almonds for 5 minutes, but maybe I should have waited longer. Also the culturing boosted a bit the density, and that didn’t happen to me with the cashews.
Further the almonds yielded a stronger tanginess (I had been culturing them a bit longer though), which doesn’t displeased me at all.
Hi Frederico,
Thank you for sharing your results with the cashew and almond yoghurts.
Could you please share how you make coconut yoghurt ?
Thank you
I wonder if this method would work to make kefir.
This sounds so luscious!
oh, this sounds like something to try.
Yes, let me know if you try it!
I’ve always been intrigued by recipes for non-dairy yogurts. Thanks for the tips on how to make it without a yogurt maker.
You are welcome. It took a long time to get it right but I really love it.