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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.
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Cashew yogurt
Makes 4 cups (about 1 L)
2 C. (225 g) cashews
3 C. (750 ml) filtered water
2 T. (30 ml) organic maple syrup
1 probiotic capsule—OR about 1 tablespoon of a previous batch of yogurt
2-4 T. (25-50 g) chia seeds, optional
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.
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. Tomorrow’s giveaway includes a Yogourmet!
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
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
.
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!
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.
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.
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