I came up with this coconut yogurt recipe because I know that not everybody can tolerate dairy. In all my programs and work with women in my free and private community, I always recommend to self-test your tolerance for dairy. I don’t want anybody missing out on the creamy goodness of yogurt.
In my years of practice, I have found that many women are to some degree intolerant to dairy and need to heal their digestion to continue with dairy consumption.
I have personally lived a dairy-free lifestyle for 4 years. Since then, I have been able to reintegrate some form of dairy such as raw milk cheese and heavy cream. However, I no longer desire eating yogurt, but many of my clients do!
Why Homemade Yogurt?
So, after being asked too many times if the coconut yogurt found on store shelves is OK to have, I decided to figure out how to make it at home. I’ve discovered that it’s SUPER EASY to make coconut yogurt! I’m serious – super quick and easy!
To answer the big question why coconut yogurt from the store is not OK to have: check out the list of ingredients on the back of the containers. The list is way, way too long and many of the “items” on the ingredient list are not recognizable to my brain, which means my body will not recognize them either. Therefore, my body will also need to process them (detox mechanism), which means extra work for my liver! So, it’s a “no” for me and “no” for my list of recommendations!
Homemade Coconut Yogurt: Tips & Tricks
My coconut yogurt recipe has only three ingredients! They are coconut milk, raw unpasteurized honey, and bacteria culture.
Read my tips and tricks before starting:
- The bacteria source, which is what will produce the yogurt, can be either regular probiotic capsules or yogurt starter. It can be purchased from health food stores or online at Cultures for Health (btw, this is where I get all my fermentation supplies). For the probiotic, I recommended BioKult in the recipe as this is what I personally use. However, any probiotic that contains most of the following strains would work fine: Bifidobacterium lactis, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermopiles.
- Coconut milk used is only the full-fat version found in cans. My favorite brand to use is Earth’s Choice Organic. Reduced-fat versions will not work and are not recommended.
- Glass jars are essential and non-negotiable. Mason jars are perfect!
- You can choose to use a thickening agent like Great Lakes Gelatin red bottle (clean source of pectin), tapioca starch, or arrowroot. However, my recipe uses only coconut milk and live cultures (either the yogurt starter or probiotic capsule) so the need for thickening is not mandatory. The yogurt will continue to thicken while in the fridge, but if you want thicker yogurt, this is your choice. Start with 1 tsp. and use up to 1 tbsp. of the canned thickening agent, if desired.
Coconut Yogurt Recipe
So it’s time to give my Homemade Coconut Yogurt recipe a try! Not only is coconut milk yogurt a fantastic and creative recipe, but it’s also really delicious. It’s tangy, creamy and satisfying like yogurt should be!
Enjoy!
PrintCoconut Yogurt
Ingredients
- 3 cups full fat organic coconut milk
- 2 probiotic gel caps (I use the brand BioKult ) or you can also use a yogurt starter 1 packet.
- 1 tbsp. raw honey melted and cooled
Instructions
- Use a glass jar only. Add your coconut milk, and two of your probiotic pills and raw honey. Stir into the jar.
- Leave the jar in a sunny place for 8 – 12 hours. A counter beneath a window works well for this. If you have a yogurt maker, follow the instructions. If you have a dehydrator, place the glass jar(s) in the dehydrator at 105 F for 8 hours. You can also place the jar(s) in your oven with the light on for a period of 8 hours (DO NOT TURN ON OVEN just the light will be enough).
- Pop yogurt into fridge. Chill for another 12 hours and enjoy. It does get thicker and tarter with every passing day.
- Enjoy!