This recipe for coconut milk yogurt is wonderful. I recommend making this in the evening, to make sure you set aside 12 hours for the mixture to become yogurt in the oven. Also, it’s super important that you sterilize your jars first.
You get the same health benefits/probiotic power from this yogurt as you do from the dairy variety, plus it’s less expensive than the pre-made variety. Plus, you can sweeten it to your satisfaction. I don’t like my coconut yogurt super-sweet, as I am usually adding it to already sweetened granola or berries or cereal, so I only added a tablespoon of honey for the whole batch. And, you can turn it into ice cream or smoothies!
Recipe adapted from The Kitchn
Coconut Milk Yogurt
Servings
4 Servings
Ingredients
- 2 14-ounce cans coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons agar agar flakes or 2 tablespoons tapioca starch (I used tapioca starch)
- 4 probiotic capsules or 4 tablespoons store-bought coconut yogurt (I used store-bought yogurt)
- 2 tablespoons raw sugar or maple syrup optional (I used a tablespoon honey instead)
Instructions
- Put water in a kettle on high heat to bring to a boil.
- Preheat the oven for about 5 minutes, until it reaches about 100°F, then turn off the heat — leave the light on to help keep the oven warm. Fill the jar(s) you’ll use for storing the yogurt with boiling water to sterilize them. Let stand a few minutes, then pour the water out. I also placed the lids to my jar in a bowl, then poured hot water over that. Alternatively, you can run the jars through the dishwasher.
- Pour the coconut milk into a saucepan: Shake the can of coconut milk, open it, and pour it into a medium pot. Whisk until the milk is smooth and uniform.
- Add the thickener: If you’re using agar agar, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of agar agar flakes into the pot over the coconut milk — but don’t stir! If you’re using tapioca starch, scoop out roughly 1/3 cup of the coconut milk and transfer to a bowl with the starch. Whisk this together until the starch is dissolved, then pour back into the pot. The tapioca starch method is the one I used and it worked great!
- Warm the coconut milk: Place the pan on the stove over medium heat and warm until the coconut milk starts to simmer. (The agar agar will also start to melt together.) Whisk the milk and turn down the heat to low. Continue cooking on low, whisking occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes, until the agar agar flakes are fully dissolved or the tapioca starch has thickened the mixture.
- Cool the milk: Cool the milk until it’s just warm to the touch, about 100°F. I used a candy thermometer to measure)
- Add the probiotics: Twist open the probiotic capsule and pour the powdery contents over the milk (discard the capsule’s casing). Whisk to combine. Alternatively, whisk in 4 tablespoons store-bought coconut yogurt. I whisked in the coconut yogurt and it was delicious!
- Add the sugar or maple syrup (I added about a tablespoon of honey to make it a less-sweet variety). Whisk together well.
- Pour into jar(s) and allow the yogurt to set for 12 to 24 hours: Pour the coconut milk into the sterilized jar(s) and screw on the lid(s). Place into the oven — turn the oven light on to keep the environment warm. Alternatively, use a yogurt maker or place into a dehydrator at 110°F. Leave for 12 to 24 hours without disturbing.
- Chill the yogurt: Place the set yogurt into the fridge and chill for at least 6 hours. The yogurt will become thicker as it chills. After this stage, you might find that the mixture has separated with a yellowish, translucent layer at the bottom and a thicker white layer on top. Stir to recombine or scoop off the top layer for thicker coconut yogurt.
- Keep coconut yogurt refrigerated and use within 2 weeks. Enjoy your fabulous yogurt success! And use your yogurt with abandon- over cereal, oatmeal, fruit, in a smoothie, freeze some to add thickness to a smoothie- the list goes on and on!
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