Homemade Nondairy Yogurt

By Melissa Clark

Published July 17, 2018

  • An overhead image of a bowl of yogurt on a blue and white patterned surface. The yogurt is topped with sliced citrus, plums and granola.
    Karsten Moran for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
20 minutes, plus fermentation and chilling
Rating
4(215)
Comments
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Of all the nondairy milks you could use for yogurt, cashew milk works best, turning pleasantly sour with an underlying sweetness. If you wish to go beyond cashew milk, and use soy milk, coconut milk or your homemade nut milk, our How to Make Yogurt guide can help, but whatever you choose, look for nondairy milk with the fewest possible ingredients, ideally just nuts, grains or pulses, and water. While not strictly necessary, the starch used here makes for a creamy, silky yogurt that’s still loose enough to stir. If you prefer a thicker yogurt, add a little more, or try the agar powder variation. Or leave the thickener out entirely for a thin, pourable yogurt that’s perfect for smoothies.

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Ingredients

Yield:1 quart

  • 4 cups cashew milk

  • 3 to 4 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot powder

  • 2 tablespoons yogurt with active live cultures or 1 probiotic capsule

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

30 grams carbs; 204 calories; 20 grams monounsaturated fat; 48 grams polyunsaturated fat; 8 grams fat; 1 milligram sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place ¾ cup milk in a small bowl and whisk in starch until smooth.

  2. Step 2

    Bring remaining milk to a simmer in a medium pot. Whisk starch into hot milk, then let simmer until mixture thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. It should be very thick, like pudding. (It will thin out after fermentation.) Remove from heat, transfer to a glass jar or ceramic bowl (not a reactive metal bowl), and let cool until it reaches 110 degrees.

  3. Step 3

    Stir in starter, cover, and let ferment somewhere warm and draft-free for 12 to 24 hours, until it milk turns sour, to taste. If it separates, simply whisk or shake it back together.

  4. Step 4

    Refrigerate for at least 4 hours to set.

Tip

  • — If your milk doesn’t seem to be turning sour after 24 hours, it might be the brand you’re using: It could have too many additives, which can inhibit fermentation. Try again with another brand. — Agar powder gives nondairy yogurt a thicker, jellied texture that some people prefer to the starch-thickened kind. To make an agar-thickened yogurt, skip the starch, and instead add ½ teaspoon agar powder to the milk while it’s heating, whisking well to dissolve it, then proceed with the recipe.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
215 user ratings
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Comments

Krysten Chambrot, Senior Staff Editor, NYT Cooking

You can! From our guide: Cover 1 cup cashews with at least 2 inches water. Soak at least 4 hours, and preferably overnight. Drain and transfer nuts to a blender, along with 4 cups filtered water. Blend until very smooth. Strain mixture through 2 layers of cheesecloth, squeezing on solids, into a medium pot. Heat milk to 180 degrees, let cool to 110 degrees, then continue with recipe as directed for from Step 2. The thickener is optional here. If using, follow directions in master recipe.

Bana

I know this somewhat defeats the purpose of non-dairy, but can I use dairy (cow) yogurt as a starter for the cashew milk? Thanks!!

funnybone

Why aren't there any more Melissa Clark videos ??? The recipes are great but I would like to see her too. She is adorable!

Savannah

Through trial and error, I found this approach to produce a true thick, tangy yogurt: 1) Make the fresh cashew milk as directed in the recipe in the comments. 2) Add 1 full teaspoon of agar as thickener (no cornstarch). 3) Use 4 capsules of 30 billion CFU probiotic. 4) Let ferment a full 24 hours. Hope that helps someone!

Lish

When using a probiotic capsule - do you put the capsule in whole to the cooled milk or try to open the capsule and empty the powder within?

Laurie

Sorry, but this is pretty awful. The thickener makes this pretty much inedible. This is one of those vegan approximations that really doesn't work for me.

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