I have been making my own yogurt for years and love it so much that the store brands taste watery and bland compared to my own! Plus, making my own saves me a lot of money and is much more health-promoting!
But, when I decided to do a Whole 30 I had to give up dairy. Not my yogurt!
So, I decided to figure out how to make coconut milk yogurt instead. I have to admit, it is pretty amazing…and loaded with healthy fat and probiotics! I even got my recipe to achieve the creamy thickness of greek yogurt!
Greek Coconut Milk Yogurt
Ditch the store-bought stuff and make your own Greek coconut milk yogurt.
Ingredients
- 3 cans (13.5 oz) full-fat coconut milk (or 5 cups)
- Yogurt starter
- 3 tsp grass-fed gelatin
- 2 Tbsp real maple syrup (because coconut milk does not have a lot of natural sugar, needed for fermentation)
Instructions
- Place coconut milk in a large saucepan over medium heat, clip a candy thermometer on the side (make sure it is not touching the bottom of the pan, or you will get a false high reading)
- Heat coconut milk until it reaches 180°F, stirring occasionally (this kills any bad bacteria, you don't want that fermenting!).
- Remove from heat and allow to cool to 110°F.
- Stir the gelatin into a small amount of water until dissolved, then add to the heated coconut milk.
- Stir in yogurt starter and maple syrup.
- Pour into a clean glass jar.
- Cover glass jar with a cheesecloth or paper towel and place into a dehydrator.
- Set the temp to 110°F and allow to ferment for 8-24 hours, the longer it goes the more tart it will be (I always do 24 hours).
- When you have fermented it for as long as you desire, then place it on the counter and let it cool until it is cool enough to place in the fridge. Do not stir or disturb it. Allow to cool for a few more hours, or overnight. This is what really develops the thick greek yogurt consistency!
- Store in the fridge in a large glass jar with a non-reactive plastic lid.
- Stir in your favorite flavorings: vanilla, cinnamon, pureed berries, honey.
- Lasts up to two weeks in the fridge.
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44 Replies to “How to Make Greek Coconut Milk Yogurt”
I got really excited about this until I read the yogurt culture starter ingredients – skim milk. I am super allergic. 🙁
https://www.culturesforhealth.com/vegan-yogurt-starter.html
Try this one. I love this company, as they are great with helping and get back to you quickly. They have TONS of fermenting advice, a blog, a newsletter and many, many products. They are great with customer service, as well.
Me too. How can it be dairy free if the yogurt starter has milk in it!
I was really excited to see this. I love yogurt but over the past couple years I haven’t been able to eat any because I developed an allergy to milk and all milk products.
before purchasing this from amazon, I decided to check out this companies web site. and unfortunately, this product contains skim milk 🙁
copied from their site
Regular yogurt
Yogourmet’s yogurt culture is carefully produced and controlled in laboratory to guarantee a smooth, tasty and creamy yogurt every time. Used with the Yogourmet Multi yogurt-maker, the yogurt culture produces a delicious yogurt in only 4 ½ hours of incubation.
Note that each 100g serving contains 100 billion active bacteria.
Ingredients :
Skim milk powder, sucrose, ascorbic acid, active lactic bacteria (L.bulgaricus, S.thermophilus, L.acidophilus).
Val nutri yogourt usa”
See my above comment.
Oh, I’m excited about this one! I love greek style yogurt but since I discovered I can’t have dairy I haven’t had any in a long time. Thanks for posting!
Yay, I'm going to try this!! Thanks Kate.
Awesome, store-bought coconut yogurt tastes yucky so this is just another excuse to get a thermometer…
Yeah I never liked the stuff from the store either. This recipe has the most wonderful tangy flavor!
I love that thick greek yogourt texture. This looks really good! I’ve always seen the coconut yogourts in stores, but I don’t really like the other ingredients that are used to stabilize and such.
Such a clever idea. Sharing this for sure!
I have a question. Do you have to use the gelatin to get the thick consistency? The can label didn’t say grass fed or organic so I’m cautious about using it.
Hi Sandie, Yeah you do need to use the gelatin to get the thick consistency. Here is info I pulled from their website, about it being grass fed:
“Our cattle are grass fed and slaughtered in Argentina and Brazil which is controlled by their respective Department of Agriculture. These countries have the same type of rigourous tests and inspections as the United States. Beef hides are the only product used to manufacture gelatin in these countries.”
Find more info here: https://www.greatlakesgelatin.com/consumer/FAQs.php
Hope this helps 🙂
Any substitution for dehydrator?? I can't buy one for just this project. Oven for 110?
You could boil water and place it in a large cooler along with the jar. Wrap the jar in a bath towel and place the pot of hot water next to it. Put the lid on the cooler. Some say a low oven works too, although I have not tried either of the mentioned methods. Many say these methods work just as well as a dehydrator. You can also buy a yogurt maker for cheap: https://amzn.to/1zbb14f
I use my oven with the light on to keep my yogurt warm while fermenting. I don’t know what the temperature is exactly but works great for me!
Would coconut sugar work instead of maple syrup?
You could certainly try it. I have used maple syrup and organic white sugar before. Let me know how it turns out!
Could I use some store bought yogurt as the starter for this? I have never had much luck with starter cultures. I make my own raw milk yogurt but I’d love to give this a try.
I have not tried it that way, but give it a try and let me know how it turns out!
I haven’t yet used my beef gelatin powder yet…………the texture of it mixed with the water looks like it would not be smooth in the yogurt, does it need to be whipped ?
I have a daughter who is vegetarian. She will not eat gelatin. Have you tried using pectin or any of the other thickeners besides gelatin? If so, how did it go?
I have not tried pectin. If you do, be sure to let me know how it works.
Sure, you could try it 🙂
You can place it in a cooler with a pot of hot water. Keep it wrapped in a towel and put the cover on the cooler. I have not tried this method, but I have heard that it works
I’ve made dairy yogurt this way & it came out perfectly every time!! I’m looking forward to trying your coconut milk recipe next time 😀
Hi Kate! I love your blog!!! I have a quick 2 questions. One, is this recipe safe and good for my 10 month old? Im really hesitant to give her store bought yogurt. Also, unrelated question, I have a bang load of the Ningxia in my fridge, never opened, but it has been in there for probably a year..is it safe to drink?
The yogurt should be fine for your little one, just take it slow. You want to start slow with any probiotic food. As for the NingXia, I think it should be okay. Use your own best judgement, if it smells off then pitch it.
What do I do when I refrigerate and the coconut fat hardens at the top :/
I just scrape that off and either eat it or toss it.
Kate: In various health food stores, probably Whole Foods, people can find coconut nectar, which is in syrup form. Forget the maple syrup, use this, especially because the sugar is far better for people than that of maple, and it’s – coconut! And I do appreciate maple syrup.
Could i make the yogurt using homemade coconut milk made from shredded coconut adding a bit of guar gum so that milk does not separate? And then follow your instructios? Also i only have probiotic capsules. If so howmany should i use? Thank you
I have not tried that so I cannot really assure that it will work out. I get the yogurt cultures because it has the correct strains to make yogurt
Any alternative to a food dehydrator?
low ovem, yogurt maker, or a cooler with a pot of hot water inside the cooler with the yogurt.
I made yogurt yesterday, it is now sitting in fridge. Is it normal for separation? Looks like about 1/3 of each jar is whey. Do I mix whey back into yogurt or drain?
some separation is normal, I mix it back in. If you want thicker yogurt drain it off
Thanx for the recipe. Do you think apple pectin would work instead of gelatin? I’m hesitant to try and it not work. It would be an expensive failure for me.
Yu could try that, but it would probably be more like regular yogurt