Recipe: Coconut Yogurt

I am really excited about this. Really excited….because I’m giving dairy a break for awhile…no cheese…no yogurt…no ice cream<sigh>…no butter<double sigh>. It’s harder than I thought so when I found about a billion recipes for coconut yogurt on Pinterest, I thought I’d give it a try. My first attempt was a joke. However my second attempt was simply delicious. And what made it even better is that Max liked it…alot. So, yeah, I’m really excited.

Yogurt Makers

I broke down and bought a yogurt maker by the way. I did that awhile back and that is why I am addicted to yogurt and frozen yogurt. I was always afraid to try making it in the oven or crockpot…just like I’m afraid of fermenting my own veggies because I fear I will poison myself or my family. So I bought this one and it was only $24.99! It comes with 7 cute little jars (yes I find jars cute) that I use for other things like leftover tomato paste or blueberry topping. The nice thing about this yogurt maker is that you don’t have to use the jars if you don’t want. I use a combination of a 2 cup glass storage container and a couple of the jars.  Whatever fits under the dome will work. All it really does is keep the contents at a constant low temperature which is perfect for making yogurt. But if you don’t want to use a yogurt maker you could check out one of the millions of crockpot recipes on Pinterest and I’m sure you will get good results.

Ingredients and Tools

• coconut milk (canned or homemade)
• gelatin (I use Great Lakes Unflavored Beef Gelatin)
• honey
• probiotics capsules
• cooking thermometer
• yogurt maker (optional)
• whisk or hand blender
• microwave or stove top

The recipe is really quite easy. Once you get a good batch and figure out how you like it, it becomes easier and easier.  You can use either canned or homemade coconut milk (check out my recipe here). First you sprinkle some gelatin over the coconut milk and let it bloom for 3 minutes. Put it in the microwave or on the stove and heat to 120 degrees. This takes my microwave about 2-3 minutes depending if I’m using refrigerated milk or canned milk. Whisk the gelatin in well and then let it cool down to 105 degrees.  When it hits 105 degrees, add a bit of honey and some probiotics*, mix well and put it in your yogurt maker overnight. I put mine in at 7:30pm and got it out at 6:30 am. You can play around with how long it “cooks”. Usually the longer you let it cook, the more sour it will get. You want to shoot for about 10 – 12 hours.

Once it’s done give it a good shake or whisk because sometimes it separates, and then put it in the refrigerator to firm up. After a few hours, if the gelatin seems grainy or the consistency is jello-y then just whisk or blend it with a hand blender and you will get a creamy, thick coconut yogurt. (*Note: With the probiotics I was using it took 3 capsules. Each capsule contained 5 billion PFUs. You want to get about 15-20 billion PFUs total in this size batch.)

So this is what mine looked like and you have to take my word that it was delicious. I just made another batch today and can’t wait to eat some tonight with my blueberry topping (coming soon). The thing I like about this yogurt is that its so good for you. No dairy or preservatives, but rather good for you coconut milk, gelatin, honey and probiotics. So check out the recipe below and let me know how yours came out.

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Recipe: Coconut Yogurt

I love this dairy free coconut yogurt. It's creamy and delicious and staple in our house now.

Author Denise Wright (MyLifeCookbook.com)

Ingredients

• 1 can of coconut milk or 2 cups of homemade coconut milk
• 1 1/4 teaspoon gelatin I use Great Lakes
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 15 billion PFU probiotics how ever many capsules make 15 billion PFUs

Instructions

1. Pour your coconut milk in a microwave bowl.
2. Pour gelatin evenly over milk and let bloom for 3 minutes.
3. Microwave until temperature is 120 degrees. (1-3 minutes)
4. Whisk to make sure gelatin is dissolved.
5. Let cool to 105 degrees.
6. Stir in honey and then sprinkle in probiotics (take out of capsules).
7. Whisk well and pour into jars.
8. Using a yogurt maker, "cook" for 10 - 12 hours. The longer you "cook" the sour it becomes.
9. Take out of yogurt maker and whisk well. Put into refrigerator for a few hours to gel.
10. If yogurt is to gelatinous, use a hand blender or whisk and blend tip smooth.