Homemade coconut yogurt is creamy, gently tangy, and naturally dairy-free!
Homemade coconut yogurt is easy, fun, super delicious, and dairy-free. The texture is even creamier than regular yogurt (thanks to canned coconut milk), and it combines the natural sweetness of coconut with the tang of live probiotic cultures. I think coconut yogurt has the most appealing flavor of all the dairy-free yogurts I’ve tried ~ but it’s often pricey (and comes in teeny tiny jars!) Time for a homemade version!
let’s dig in
what you need to make coconut yogurt
- canned full fat coconut milk
- Be sure to use unsweetened canned coconut milk, not the refrigerated kind in a carton.
- probiotics (you have 3 choices)
- A powdered vegan yogurt starter, I used this brand
- or probiotic capsules, I used this brand
- or commercial coconut yogurt, I used this brand
tips for making coconut yogurt
Be sure to start with full fat canned coconut milk, and whisk it thoroughly until it has a uniform creamy consistency.
For a thicker result, drain off some of the water from your coconut milk before fermenting.
Make sure your jar is super clean before adding your yogurt mixture. Any unwanted bacteria can interfere with your yogurt.
Make sure you’ve got a warm (@110F) spot for your yogurt to ferment.
what to expect from non-dairy coconut yogurt
THE PLUSES: As I said above, coconut yogurt has a wonderful flavor, the natural sweetness of the coconut comes through. When I dipped my little tasting spoon into the finished batch, the bells went off. The taste was velvety smooth and pure coconut. It had none of the cloying sweetness or gelatinous texture of the commercial brand.
THE DRAWBACKS: Coconut yogurt can struggle to thicken compared to other vegan yogurts. It’s low in protein, naturally higher in water, and doesn’t firm up the way dairy yogurt does during fermentation.
On the bright side, it makes a great drinkable yogurt, and the looser texture works beautifully with granola and muesli.
5 ways to ferment yogurt at home
When you ferment yogurt you ideally want a temperature of around 110°F. This is warm enough to activate the cultures without killing them with too much heat. Note this is higher than warm room temperature, and lower than the “keep warm” function on your oven.
A yogurt maker
- If you love to make yogurt this is a great appliance to have. I highly recommend getting a yogurt maker like this one, but there are many on the market. Follow your machine’s instructions for the proofing period. (There’s no need to pre-heat the yogurt for this recipe.)
A proofing box
- I have a collapsable proofing box with a thermostat. I set it to 110°F. This is the one I use and I love it. I use it for breads and yogurt.
Your oven set to 110F
- If your oven doesn’t go that low, but has a 60 watt or higher bulb in it, you may be able to store your yogurt in the oven (no heat) with the light on. Wrap it with a towel. You can experiment with different wattage bulbs to get your desired temperature.
Instant Pot
- Ferment the yogurt using the yogurt function on your IP. Again, no need to boil the milk first.
An electric heating throw or pad
- In a pinch an electric heating pad or small electric throw blanket wrapped around the yogurt and set on low to medium will do the trick. If you use a heating pad, cover the whole thing with a towel.
homemade coconut yogurt faqs
Canned coconut milk is already pasteurized, a process that uses heat to eliminate harmful bacteria. This pre-heating step eliminates the need to heat it again for yogurt making.
You can make or store your yogurt in one jar, or several individual jars, just be sure they are squeaky clean.
Homemade yogurts and coconut yogurt in particular is more runny than commercial yogurts, especially if you’re used to Greek style yogurts which often contain thickeners and stabilizers. There are a couple of things you can do to thicken your yogurt further:
Strain the Yogurt: after fermentation, strain the yogurt through cheesecloth to remove whey. The longer you strain, the thicker the yogurt will get.
Add Thickening Agents: you can incorporate thickeners like gelatin, agar agar, or even powdered milk to enhance the body of the yogurt.
Coconut yogurt has a natural affinity for fruits, as well as granolas and mueslis. I’m especially looking forward to using it alongside a hot curry.
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How to make Coconut Yogurt
Ingredients
- 40 oz canned full-fat coconut milk, (this is 3 13.5-ounce cans)
- 1 Tbsp powdered gelatin
- 1 direct-set yogurt starter* or 6 oz coconut milk yogurt with live cultures
Instructions
- Pour the coconut milk into a saucepan and heat to 180°F — hot but not boiling.
- Sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the hot milk and whisk until completely dissolved.
- Let the mixture cool to 110°F. This temperature is key: warm enough for the cultures to activate, but not so hot that they’re destroyed.
- Whisk in the yogurt starter (or coconut yogurt) until fully blended.
- Transfer the mixture to a yogurt maker and incubate at 105–110°F for 10–12 hours. Overnight works perfectly.
- Refrigerate the yogurt for several hours to fully set.
- For thicker yogurt, line a colander with two layers of cheesecloth, set it over a bowl, and drain the yogurt for about 1 hour.
Notes
- This coconut yogurt is dairy-free but not vegan, as it uses gelatin for structure. For a vegan option, use a plant-based thickener such as agar-agar instead.
- Full-fat canned coconut milk is essential for good texture.
- Gelatin gives coconut yogurt structure that fermentation alone can’t provide.
- For the most consistent results, a direct-set starter is more reliable than reusing yogurt batch to batch.
coconut yogurt–now that’s my kind of yogurt.
i keep tweeting to siggi’s yogurt to make a coconut one.
I tried the brand they sell at Whole Foods, I think it was called SO Delicious, and I wasn’t impressed…it had an artificial taste, and was too sweet. Also a gelatinous texture. Maybe siggi’s can come up with a better one.
This recipe looks delish and I love both yogurt and coconut so I’m sure I’d be gaga for it. Although I’d love it for the taste I wouldn’t really consider it a real healthy alternative to dairy yogurt since you lose the protein and essentially double the calories because it’s so high fat. Coconut milk is actually a decent source of calcium, especially for people who can’t tolerate dairy
Don’t be too quick to diss coconut. Virgin coconut oil is a healthy fat esp. compared to most vegetable oils.
Well,I’m trying not to think about calories in a vacuum these days; if the serving size is appropriate, and the food has health benefits, I go for it. I especially think this yogurt would be good as a condiment for Indian and Thai food.
I love this, Sue! I love making fermented things…kefir, komboucha, pickles, yeasted bread but this is just so beautiful! I have a coconut milk kefir recipe on my site from 2009 that I love and it’s so easy and can just be made on the countertop but now I want to try actual yogurt! Your photos are just so luscious and inviting and make me want it now!
Fermenting is addictive!
I love coconut milk. I’ve been thinking of trying coconut milk kefir sometime (I have a kefir culture and I find it easier than yogurt). It is supposed to work the same way. Your yogurt looks very smooth and creamy and delicious. I love yogurt or kefir with granola…i just need to make some. My sister doesn’t eat dairy, so she would love this…I’ll send her a link. Love your blog, I’m usually lurking.
I really think the coconut flavor in this yogurt would be especially tasty with homemade granolas. I think maybe the kefir culture would work on coconut milk, too, you should give it a try.
Hi Sue! I must confess, I’ve been a lurker for quite a while and I truly enjoy your servings of deliciousness.
I find today I must comment because like you, I’ve been making whipping up homemade yogurt for ages and not once did I ever think anything un-dairy like, for lack of a better description, could be made into yogurt. Not only that, but it all makes sense. The sweetness of the milk the tangy yogurt cultures. Oh my!!!
Thank you so much for sharing…I’ve pinned this to my Pinterest Dairy board, well it does use yogurt after all, because I just had to save it!!! Thanks again, Louise.
I’ve never tried making coconut…but I adore the flavor of coconut. Oh, I wish I could taste yours.
If you like coconut then you’ll flip for this, promise.
This recipe might be worth getting a yogurt maker. I can remember I gave one as a wedding gift 30 years ago. But do I have one? No!
I know that all too well, I’m on the verge of re-buying an ice cream maker myself! I do recommend the yogurt maker if you like to make yogurt at all, it makes it foolproof, and for me it encourages me to eat more yogurt because I really don’t like how sour most commercial yogurt is.
Sue, the only downside to this , and here is the difference between dairy yogurt, is the lack of protein in the coconut version
I’ll have to check into that, and I guess it would lack calcium, too. But then again the coconut milk has nutritional value in itself, that dairy milk doesn’t have, so I guess unless you’re lactose intolerant or vegan, it makes sense to enjoy both.
Hi! How about the Good probiotics in kefir?! Is that still present in homemade kefir?! I have not made either but will love to and might try this weekend.
Thanks
Wendy
Wendy…commercial kefir has about 10 cultures while kefir grains provide more than thirty. Even water kefir grains are densely probiotic.
Hey Louise! This really does taste good, I hope you give it a try.
It’s interesting because I think you could make this yogurt with the coconut milk yogurt as a starter, like I did, or actually probably with regular yogurt as well, as long as you don’t need to avoid dairy for any reason. Using regular yogurt as a starter would certainly be more convenient, a little bit cheaper, and might even alter the end result, I’m going to have to try!