How to Make Homemade Coconut Milk Yogurt ~ since it’s one of the world’s healthiest foods, I think it’s worth the effort to make it yourself. This yogurt is creamy, full of flavor, and dairy free.
I’ve made homemade yogurt for years and I’ve posted about it on a couple of occasions.
But I always thought yogurt had to be made with dairy products. I just assumed that there was something inherent in animal products that allowed the yogurt cultures to thrive. But I guess not. You can culture coconut milk the same way. It’s naturally a little thinner, so it requires some sort of added thickener, but you will get the most incredibly creamy delicious coconut yogurt, you won’t believe it. The texture is even creamier than regular yogurt and it combines the natural sweetness and flavor of the coconut with the tang from the live cultures.
Why make homemade coconut milk yogurt?
Sometimes the impetus for making something from scratch is financial. Sometimes it springs from a health concern, and sometimes it just seems like a fun project. But for me the most persuasive reason to make something from scratch that is already available commercially, is if you can achieve a really superior flavor. This project checks all those boxes.
This yogurt went smoothly from beginning to end, and I made it almost exactly as I would make milk yogurt. The only difference is that I add a little powdered gelatin to encourage thickening, and instead of a milk based yogurt starter, I used coconut milk yogurt as the starter. Even with the added gelatin this coconut yogurt will tend to be a little thinner than regular yogurt. You can drain it through cheesecloth after it’s fermented, which I do anyway with homemade yogurt because I like the thick Greek style.
Homemade coconut yogurt beats store bought by a mile!
But it was only when I dipped my little tasting spoon into the finished batch that 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. It was way, way better than the commercial brand.
If you’re even thinking of trying this, I’m going to urge you to just plow ahead and do it. It’s really a treat. We had it for breakfast with bananas, honey and wheat germ, but it would be so good with granola, or in a smoothie. I am really looking forward to using it alongside a hot curry.
If you don’t have a yogurt maker:
First off, I highly recommend getting a yogurt maker, they are inexpensive and so easy to use. I am really happy with this one, but there are many on the market. The key is to find one that allows you to make a large batch, all in one container. It’s more versatile, and easy to clean.
Otherwise there are several options to help you keep your yogurt at the constant temperature (110F) it needs to ferment. Some methods are too elaborate to bother with; here are the ones I recommend:
- If your oven 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.
- 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.
- Whatever method you choose, do not disturb your yogurt while it’s fermenting.
You can keep your yogurt in one jar, or several individual jars, just be sure they are clean.
Do you have any experience with coconut yogurt? I would like to try almond milk yogurt, too!
How to make Homemade Coconut Milk Yogurt
Ingredients
- 3 13.5 oz cans full fat coconut milk
- 1 Tbsp powdered gelatin
- 1 6 oz container coconut milk yogurt
Instructions
- Heat the coconut milk in a saucepan to 180F. This will be hot, but not boiling.
- Sprinkle the gelatin over the milk and whisk in.
- Let the milk cool to 110F. This is important--- the temperature has to be warm enough to allow the cultures to grow, but if it is too hot they will be killed off.
- Whisk in the container of coconut milk yogurt.
- Pour your milk into a yogurt maker and let incubate for 10-12 hours. I leave mine overnight.
- Refrigerate the yogurt until ready to use. If you want thicker yogurt, lay two layers of cheese cloth over a colander, and set that over a large bowl. Pour the yogurt into the cheesecloth and let drain for an hour or so.
Hi Sue,
Thank you so much for this. Do you think it’d work without the gelatin? I don’t mind if it’s thin, as long as it has the ‘nutritional goodies’ of yoghurt. 😉 Also, do you think I could use the first yoghurt I made (assuming it’ll work!) as a starter to the next lot?
Many thanks,
Andrea
Hey Andrea—I don’t know about how the texture would be without the gelatin because I didn’t try it that way. I think if you don’t care about how thick it is, then go for it. It would still be great for sauces, smoothies, etc. And I do think you can use the first batch as a starter the next time, but I have heard that this won’t work indefinitely, that you may need to buy a stronger starter after a batch or two.
this looks great! i was wondering what the ‘shelf life’ was?
The shelf life is about a week, as far as I can tell. I usually make fairly small batches so that works fine. Hope you try it!
I just dusted off the yogurt maker I bought in ’78 so I can try this. Can you believe I still have it? Thanks for this post. I am a fan of coconut yogurt and I am anxious to make my own with ingredients I know and trust.
You are so good to have kept it all those years, and it’s such a simple machine that I bet it works just fine. I am not a ‘saver’, and I’ve gone through more generations of kitchen equipment than I care to admit 🙂
I use the crockpot method for making my yogurt. I heat the milk to the 180 temp in a pan on the stove, then pour it into my crockpot to cool. Once it cools, I take it out of the crockpot, and turn the crockpot on high to let it heat up, while I add the culture, and mix it well. Turn the crockpot off, put the crock back inside, lid on and wrap the crockpot with a towel, and put a towel over the top and just leave it sit overnight. Works perfect. I am going to try this recipe tonight. Thanks! I bet it is so good!
Your method sounds good, I love to hear all the creative ways people have come up with to make yogurt.
I just made my first batch of almond milk yogurt (from homemade almond milk) and it’s awesome! I am on a no-dairy diet, and the almond milk yogurt totally scratches that itch.
May I ask what brand of coconut milk you used? I’ve found wide variation in the thickness of canned coconut milks.
I use full fat coconut milk, and as far as I know, the differences in thickness isn’t important, and varies from brand to brand and even can to can.
I am anxious to try using almond milk, it sounds delicious!
Have you tried almond milk yet? So far the goat milk was the best!
Heather W. Torrance, I was wondering about making a coconut almond milk blend yogurt. I make it for my toddler who is allergic to dairy and the homemade coconut yogurt I make has a much stronger coconut flavor than the store bought he is used to, so I thought I might cut it with some almond milk to mellow it out. I was wondering how you made yours. Didn’t know if the ratios were different since the consistency of coconut and almond milk are so different. Thanks
I haven’t made yogurt with almond milk yet, Heather, so I can’t tell you, but I do know that people do it. I would try it the same way, it should work. Here’s one article on how to do it:
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-to-make-almond-milk-yogurt.html
Good luck!
Brilliant idea! I’ve been making my own yogurt for years but never thought to make coconut yogurt; this has now catapulted to the top of my to-do list! Thank you for sharing!!
Let me know how it turns out…
This recipe is FANTASTIC! Love it!
OH MY. I haven’t even gotten my act together to make ordinary dairy yogurt yet, and now I want to try coconut! Super intriguing. 🙂
hey-yo! what a marvelous find! this sounds like a thrilling diy process, and the result looks sooo creamy and lovely!
You are so creative Sue – this really sounds and looks like something I could enjoy everyday. I also like the idea of using it along side a curry dish – yum! Have a lovely week 🙂
I ate all of this batch before trying it with curry!