Easy Coconut Cashew Yogurt
It’s not easy to find a good, plant-based yogurt. So many factors are at play, like the ingredients, texture, and price. I’ve found a few that I like, but they are all quite pricey and hard to track down in my area. Thankfully, it’s super easy to make creamy, decadent yogurt at home. I promise! I like using a combination of coconut milk and cashews for my yogurt. The coconut milk gives it a beautiful flavor, while the cashews help thicken up the yogurt to the correct, dreamy consistency.
My favorite ways to enjoy this yogurt are: with fresh fruit (right now, it’s citrus and passionfruit, as pictured), or in savory applications. I like to add a little lime or lemon juice to the yogurt, as well as a grated garlic clove and some salt, which makes it into a sort of crema. It’s so good served with roasted vegetables, on tacos, in burrito bowls, or even dolloped on chili or soup.
Easy Coconut Cashew Yogurt
makes about 2 cups
1 13.5 oz (400 ml) can full fat unsweetened coconut milk
heaping 1/4 cup cashews, soaked in water at least 1 hour
pinch sea salt
1 100 billion probiotic capsule or 2 teaspoons Inner Eco unsweetened probiotic coconut water
Combine the coconut milk, drained cashews, and salt in a high speed blender. Blend on high until very smooth. Add the probiotic and pulse it in.
Transfer the mixture to a clean glass jar. Cover the jar with cheesecloth or a thin kitchen towel, secured in place with a rubber band or string. Let sit in a warm place, away from direct sunlight, for 24 hours. If it’s summer or if you live in a warm climate, the yogurt can be cultured at room temperature. If your house is on the cooler side, find a warm place, like in the oven with the oven light on (oven off!), a cabinet above your stove, near the heater, etc. Fermentation goes faster in warmer temperatures and slower in cooler ones, so play around with it. If it’s summer and your home is really hot, you might even want to check the yogurt earlier than 24 hours in.
After 24 hours, the yogurt might separate and should smell pleasantly tangy. Stir it with a wooden or plastic spoon (do not use metal) and taste. If the yogurt is tangy enough for you, seal the jar with a lid and refrigerate. If not, let it ferment for a few more hours, until tangy enough to your liking. The yogurt will keep in the fridge for about 1 week, during which time it will slowly keep fermenting and getting tangier. It will also thicken up considerably after it’s refrigerated, so don’t worry if it seems thin at first.
Intuitive Cooking Takeaways
Sometimes, a really good, store-bought yogurt can be used as a starter for a new batch of homemade yogurt, in place of the probiotics. Just make sure that the yogurt that you’re using is truly ‘living’ and has active cultures in it. Add about 1 tablespoon of the store-bought yogurt to the coconut milk/cashew mixture, in place of the probiotics, and proceed to fermenting as per the recipe. I’ve had success doing this with Anita’s coconut yogurt. The same can be done with this homemade yogurt, reserve about 1 tablespoon for your new batch, and use it as a starter.