Video/Recipe: Coconut Milk Yogurt

Dr. Jill { 82 comments }

As I mentioned in my previous post about making coconut milk, living dairy-free can be rather challenging. One of the hardest foods to give up is yogurt. The smooth texture of cool yogurt on a hot summer’s day is deeply refreshing. You do not have to miss out!

This recipe is easy once you get to know the steps. Just add some fresh berries and it is as satisfying as any fresh dairy product — more so, because this yogurt is truly hand crafted.

While there are several steps to make before the coconut milk yogurt is ready, it is very light and fluffy… so worth the effort! Give it a try and let me know how it goes!

Coconut Milk Yogurt

Ingredients

2 quarts coconut milk
1 – 2 tablespoon honey (where to buy raw honey)
Yogurt culture
2-3 tablespoons gelatin (preferably Great Lakes or Vital)
Vanilla extract

Equipment

Yogurt maker with glass jars (where to buy)
Light dimmer switch (like this one)
Blender (where to buy)
3 – 4 quart pot and smaller pot
Candy thermometer (where to buy)

Instructions

Heat the coconut milk to 180º F to sterilize
Remove from heat and cool to 105º F degrees
Pour into glass jar and reserve one cup
Mix cultures into one cup milk
Mix honey into the cup as well
Combine cup into the larger portion of milk in the glass jar
Set into yogurt maker
Brew for 8 – 12 hours
The milk will not be thicker after brewing
After you take it out of the yogurt maker, heat 1/8 cup water to boiling in a small pot
Mix 2 teaspoon vanilla, 2 tablespoon honey (you add more or less depending upon how sweet you like it) and 3 tablespoons gelatin into the water until well blended
Mix this mixture into the yogurt and blend well
Pour into 2 quart jars and refrigerate
After 6 – 8 hours you will see that the yogurt has separated
You will need to blend this in a blender as the fat will be hardened
After blending, refrigerate again for 6 – 8 hours
Now your yogurt is ready. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 35 minutes
Brew Time: 8 – 12 hours

This post is linked to: Seasonal Saturday, Seasonal Sunday, Sugar-Free Sunday, Sweet & Savory, Melt in your Mouth Monday, Monday Mania, Midnight Maniac Monday, Meatless Monday, Mangia Monday, Mouthwatering Monday, Weekend Carnival, Tuesday Night Supper Club, Hearth and Soul Hop, Tasty Tuesday Parade of Foods, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Made From Scratch Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, What’s on the Menu, Real Food Wednesday, Gluten-Free Wednesday, Made It On Monday, Foodie Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, Tip Day Carnival, Simple Lives Thursday, Creative Juice Thursday, Frugal Follies, Pennywise Platter Food Trip Friday
Fresh Bites Friday, Fight Back Friday, Fat Camp Friday, Friday Potluck, Allergy Free Friday, Friday Food, Foodie Friday, Cultured Gathering

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Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil

Tropical Traditions Gold Label Coconut Oil is a product I use every day.

Rakesh May 9, 2011, 11:57 am

Hi,

thanks for posting this but I have questions:

1. If the yoghurt culture is multiplying, what is it feeding on? The honey? If so, could we add honey to lactose-free milk and see it work too (in principle)?
2. Won’t adding hot water to the yoghurt kill some of the bacteria? Or has it cooled by time its ready to add back in?

Thanks

Reply
- Jill May 9, 2011, 2:56 pm
  
  Hi Rakesh,
  The cultures are feeding on the honey. In principle you might be able to make yogurt in lactose-free milk. I have never tried that. The water is not that hot by the time you mix in all the other ingredients.
  
  Reply
April Hargraves May 9, 2011, 1:17 pm

Sounds yummy!

Reply
- Jill May 9, 2011, 2:56 pm
  
  Hi April,
  Thanks for your comments!
  
  Reply
wendi May 10, 2011, 5:23 pm

Thanks for this! I have a few questions, I buy 16 oz coconut yogurt for $3 or under. What’s the comparison to this? I’d have to buy the culture and gelatin AND yogurt maker..

And do I have to use gelatin? Maybe less? Or is it needed at that amount to be ‘yogurt’.

Thanks for the great video. I really hope to make it but buying the supplies and such seems like a lot.. Convince me 🙂

Reply
- Jill May 10, 2011, 8:27 pm
  
  Hi Wendi,
  If you are on the SCD or GAPS diet you need to eat only completely non processed foods with no additives. That is why you need to make the coconut milk and then the yogurt — so you control what goes into it. If that is not an issue with you and you don’t mind a few additives, just buy it. What coconut yogurt is $3.00 for 16 oz?
  
  Reply
angie May 10, 2011, 7:53 pm

what an amazing recipe my children love yogurt come see me at http://shopannies.blogspot.com

Reply
wendi May 10, 2011, 11:36 pm

So Delicious at my local farmers market store. Its actually on sale for 2.84 now. I am not on the diet. Thanks!

Reply
Swathi May 11, 2011, 9:25 pm

I use coconut and yogurt separately a lot. combined only for curries. not yet as such. Looks delicious. Thanks for sharing with Hearth and soul blog hop.

Reply
- Jill May 11, 2011, 10:08 pm
  
  Hi Swathi,
  Thanks for your comments!
  
  Reply
Tressa @ Hecka-Good Recipes May 11, 2011, 9:48 pm

Do you really need to heat the milk to 180 degrees? They do this with cow’s milk to “pasteurize it, so would that be necessary with coconut milk?

Reply
- Jill May 11, 2011, 10:14 pm
  
  Hi Tressa,
  When I make the yogurt directly after making the milk, (see previous post) I do not heat it as it has just been heated. But if I am using milk that has been frozen, you have to heat it anyway in order to mix it…As you said, heating to 180 degrees does “pasteurize” it. I’m not really sure if that is entirely necessary here, but it would kill any unwanted microorganisms and the coconut milk does not have all the “live” substances like raw milk that would also be eliminated with heating. So I guess the choice is yours.
  
  Reply
Lark May 11, 2011, 10:36 pm

I am so happy you linked up to “Made it on Monday” 🙂

I hope you will make us your new habit.

Reply
- Jill May 12, 2011, 5:33 am
  
  Hi Lark,
  Will do, the party is fun!
  
  Reply
Pounds4Pennies May 12, 2011, 10:37 pm

Wow this sounds really delicious. I wish I had a yogurt maker. I just tried coconut milk for the first time this week. I was surprised at how good it actually was. If I can get it on sale I will purchase more. I am going to check out your previous post on how to make coconut milk.

Thanks!

Reply
- Jill May 13, 2011, 6:12 am
  
  Hi Pounds4Pennies,
  I think you will like it!
  
  Reply
Linda May 13, 2011, 10:10 am

I’v tried the store bought coconut milk yogurt once or twice and liked it, so I’m sure this is good too. As always, thanks for participating in Gluten Free Wednesdays!

Reply
- Jill May 13, 2011, 10:41 am
  
  Hi Linda,
  Thanks for your comments.
  
  Reply
Miz Helen May 13, 2011, 4:33 pm

Hi Jill,
I am happy to see that your Video made it through the”Blogger Storm”. It is a great Video with very good information. I really enjoyed it. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and hope to see you next week!

Reply
- Jill May 13, 2011, 5:34 pm
  
  Hi Miz Helen,
  I’m so glad it made it through as well!
  
  Reply
Nicole Feliciano May 13, 2011, 9:43 pm

Thanks for the instruction. My husband is on a coconut water kick. I found you from ekat’s kitchen potluck. If you get a moment, I’d love for you to swing by and share this on Momtrends:

http://www.momtrends.com/2011/05/easy-chicken-pot-pie/

Reply
- Jill May 14, 2011, 10:15 am
  
  Hi Nicole,
  Thanks for the invite — will do!
  
  Reply
Little Brick Ranch May 13, 2011, 10:12 pm

Such a great idea…so much better than store bought! This would be perfect for my Foodie Friday linky party – stop by this week and link up!

Reply
Erin @ EKat's Kitchen May 14, 2011, 11:26 am

This looks wonderful! Thanks so much for linking up to Friday Potluck!!

Reply
- Jill May 14, 2011, 3:02 pm
  
  Hi Erin,
  Thanks so much for your kind words!
  
  Reply
Miranda May 15, 2011, 5:13 pm

What a great recipe. I love that you have things that I have never seen before. Thanks for linking up to Fat Camp Friday this week! See you next Friday!

Reply
- Jill May 15, 2011, 9:09 pm
  
  Hi Miranda,
  And your carnival has a lot of foods I have not seen before and it is very interesting!
  
  Reply
christy larsen May 15, 2011, 6:26 pm

fabulous recipe…i love making homemade yogurt…i never thought it could be done with coconut milk…genius! thank you for sharing with tuesday night supper club!

Reply
- Jill May 15, 2011, 9:10 pm
  
  Hi Christie,
  Thanks for your kind words!
  
  Reply
Jennifer May 17, 2011, 9:57 pm

Alright, this is probably a silly question, but… is this homemade coconut yogurt as coconut-ty in taste as the store-bought ones. My kids really didn’t like the coconut yogurt I purchased right after we went dairy free. They’ll eat soy yogurt, but I’m concerned with the amount they eat, especially my younger son who eats an entire large container of plain soy yogurt every couple of days. I’m looking for an alternative, but I’m not sure if this will work for them.

Reply
- Jill May 17, 2011, 11:02 pm
  
  HI Jennifer,
  I never bought the store bought coconut yogurt so I couldn’t say — I can only say try it — it has a very light and refreshing flavor and the texture is also light and fluffy. It does not have an over powering flavor. Let me know!
  
  Reply
cindy May 17, 2011, 10:34 pm

where do I get yogurt culture? I love the idea of making my own yogurt, but have used acidophilus in the past. I just found your web site – I love it!

Reply
- Jill May 17, 2011, 11:02 pm
  
  Hi Cindy,
  You can purchase yogurt cultures is any health food store in the refrigerated section. It is a powder.
  
  Reply
SarahB May 20, 2011, 1:52 pm

Thank you so much for posting the steps out in a list like you did – that’s just what I needed! I have tried making coconut yogurt twice now and was so frustrated by the separating because no one else’s tutorial seemed to mention it. I tried stirring it back together but it just wasn’t enough. I never thought to use the blender! I will give this a try again today. : ) (Found you by way of Cybele Pascal’s site!)

Reply
- Jill May 20, 2011, 2:46 pm
  
  Hi Sarah,
  You are very welcome! It is a “process” to make this yogurt but the texture and the flavor are not to be compared. Let me know how it goes. I visited your site — you may want to take a look at the info about SCD and GAPS diets. They are good for allergies.
  
  Reply
Sarah May 21, 2011, 2:01 am

I made the yogurt and it came out great. How long does the yogurt keep for refrigerated? And is it possible to freeze?
Thank you.

Reply
- Jill May 21, 2011, 6:43 am
  
  Hi Sarah,
  I usually make 2 quarts at a time and it can keep for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator. I have never put it in the freezer as I think the bacteria would die.
  
  Reply
Alison June 2, 2011, 8:05 am

Jill, it looks like you have a glass container inside your yogurt maker….did it come like that or do you use your own?

Also, how did you know your yogurt maker ‘ran hot’? I just bought one and want my yogurt to come out right and might do the dimmer switch idea….how hot was it? Did you test it throughout the cooking process?

Reply
- Jill June 2, 2011, 3:23 pm
  
  Hi Alison,
  I bought the glass container as an extra option with the Yogourmet maker.
  
  When you run the yogurt maker more than 12 hours it may start to heat up. I was making goat milk yogurt on the SCD and that requires 24 hour yogurt. I would take the temperature of the yogurt at various times and it would be up at 120 — should be around 105.
  
  The solution is the dimmer set in the middle if you are going to make 24 hour yogurt. The coconut milk yogurt does not have to be brewed for 24 hours.
  
  Which yogurt are you making? Cow, goat or coconut milk?
  
  Reply
  - Alison June 2, 2011, 5:17 pm
    
    Thanks for the reply Jill. Right now I’m making coconut, but can’t wait to make cow’s milk yogurt again soon. I have to search for the glass jar, haven’t seen it on amazon. Where did you get yours? I checked my yogurt at 6 hours and it was 105 still, but in the plastic container. I’d love to get glass if I can find it! Thanks for the video, I’m so pumped for yogurt, been dairy free for 2 years and on GAPS for 6 mo. and no yogurt! 🙂
    
    Reply
    - Jill June 2, 2011, 6:15 pm
      
      Hi Alison,
      I think I got my glass jar from digestivewellness.com. You’ll love the coconut yogurt — I like it better than cow milk yogurt.
      
      Reply
Alison June 4, 2011, 1:29 pm

Jill, do you think you can freeze this yogurt with ok results?

Reply
- Jill June 4, 2011, 2:23 pm
  
  Alison,
  I’m sure you could freeze it but you will kill the probiotic. I’ve never frozen it so I can only guess. Let me know!
  
  Reply
Tracey June 24, 2011, 1:05 pm

Jill-I just made the coconut milk and also the yogurt. I chose not to strain the coconut so my milk is not very smooth. Will my yogurt still turn out okay? thanks!

Reply
- Jill June 24, 2011, 2:58 pm
  
  Tracey,
  I never did the yogurt with unstrained milk. You can only try — make sure there is enough honey there for the bacteria to eat. Let me know how the yogurt turns out!
  
  Reply
kate September 4, 2011, 3:23 pm

I made this on Thursday, and it is SO good! Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting a video with this one. Making yogurt is a little intimidating.

I think this is better than the store-bought coconut milk yogurt. Not as thick, but much more flavorful. Worth the effort.

Reply
- Jill September 5, 2011, 10:59 am
  
  Hi Kate,
  Thanks so much for your comments. The store bought coconut yogurt is full of gums and stabilizers to hold it together. Homemade is sooo much better!
  
  Reply
Katie September 28, 2011, 12:23 pm

Jill – the past 2 times I’ve made this, it’s come out really runny, even using 3 tbsp of gelatin. Any idea why this is happening? I can’t figure it out!

Reply
- Jill September 28, 2011, 12:41 pm
  
  Katie,
  Could the milk you are using be too thin? If you are making homemade coconut milk be sure it is moderately thick to start out with. Are you sure the cultures you are using are live? Lastly, are you mixing it all together several times after culturing? It will separate and one part is watery the other thicker. I hope this helps! Please let me know how it goes!
  
  Reply
  - Katie September 30, 2011, 7:01 pm
    
    I think it might be my culture, but i’m not positive. the milk I make is fairly thick, and I’m mixing it up a few times after it cultures and is refrigerated with the gelatin. I made one more batch yesterday just to make sure it’s not an error on my part, and it’s still runny today.
    
    Thanks for your help! I’ll get some new cultures and give it another try!
    
    Reply
    - Jill September 30, 2011, 8:31 pm
      
      Also, is your gelatin working? Are you using 3 tablespoons to 2 quarts of cultured milk?
      
      Reply
      - Katie October 13, 2011, 7:16 pm
        
        It was my starter. I got a new jar, and have made a couple successful batches of yogurt since.
        
        I have another question for you – do you think this yogurt would work well as an egg substitute? My son is allergic to eggs (and nuts), and I’m trying to recreate some SCD recipes using seed flours and egg replacers, but I haven’t been happy with most of the substitutes for eggs that I’ve tried. I was wondering today if this yogurt might work well in breads/muffins, or maybe even pumpkin pie.. ? What do you think?
      - Jill October 13, 2011, 8:32 pm
        
        Yeah! It may work, as gelatin itself is used as an egg replacer:
        
        Mix one envelope of unflavored gelatin with 1 cup boiling water.
        Substitute 3 tablespoons of this liquid for each egg.(Refrigerate leftover portion.)
        
        However, once you cook it as you know, the probiotic benefit will be lost.
        
        What other egg replacers have you tried?
      - Katie October 13, 2011, 10:56 pm
        
        I’ve tried them all (fruit, squash flax, gelatin, ener-g (pre-scd)! I find that most of the time, the center of the baked good ends up being too gooey. They just don’t set up as well. My son (he’s 2) eats them just fine, but no one else does! I like gelatin, but didn’t like that as an egg substitute for pumpkin pie… it ended up being like jello.
Tpicoriello October 31, 2011, 1:58 am

I know that Honey has antibacterial properties. so isn’t that defeating the purpose of using probiotics ,(GOOD BACTERIA). to culture yogurt?

Reply
Jill October 31, 2011, 10:24 am

Honey does not seem to affect the yogurt cultures in any negative way. They still work. Honey is used here because it is the only sweetener allowed on SCD or GAPS (with the exception of stevia).

Reply
Suzanne January 15, 2012, 12:41 pm

Is there a way to make the coconut yogurt without honey? I’m not consuming sweeteners. If not, would it be possible to use fruit juice instead? This starter doesn’t say anything about needing to use honey: http://www.wildernessfamilynaturals.com/product/culturing-products-yogurt-culture-starter/YOLPlus6.php

Reply
- Jill January 15, 2012, 3:02 pm
  
  HI Suzanne,
  The cultures will need something to eat in order to multiply. That is the honey. You could also use sugar or other sweeteners if you are not on the SCD or GAPS diets. But the cultures need some sweetener. They will eat most of it up especially — so there will be very little left if you brew it longer.
  
  Reply
Mali Korsten (The Korsten Chronicle) January 22, 2012, 12:57 pm

This looks fantastic! I wonder if it would work with Coconut Cream too?

Reply
- Jill January 22, 2012, 6:14 pm
  
  Hi Mali,
  I’m sure it would and probably be delish!
  
  Reply
Amy Lauren April 7, 2012, 3:00 am

Thanks for posting this great and easy to follow recipe. I live in The Netherlands where the staple diet is milk and cheese. Dairy-free alternatives are very hard to come by and coconut yogurt is unheard of here. I can not tolerate milk or soy so this is a much-needed alternative for me!

Reply
Kate July 21, 2012, 8:25 am

Hi Jill!
I’ve made this recipe dozens of times. Thank you so much!
My latest batch ended up with a grey film over the top when it was done in the yogurt maker. I’m guessing this is a bad thing? Not sure if some unwanted bacteria took up shop during fermentation.

Reply
- Jill July 21, 2012, 9:18 am
  
  Hi Kate,
  I would think that is not a good thing — do you think it was mold? Does it smell bad?
  
  Reply
  - Kate July 21, 2012, 9:19 am
    
    It doesn’t smell bad… same smell as it always has, but the fat that rose to the top is sort of grey.
    
    Reply
    - Jill July 21, 2012, 12:08 pm
      
      If you think it may be bad don’t eat it.
      
      Reply
Randy August 19, 2015, 12:02 pm

Great article on making coconut yogurt. I love both yogurt and coconut milk. I will be making this!!

Reply