Dairy-free & vegan coconut yogurt

Coconut yogurt is a really delicious form of vegan, nut-free yogurt. You can often buy them in health food stores, but also in normal supermarkets. But often the price is also expensive. That's why here you get a recipe for a homemade variant. A coconut yogurt, with a creamy consistency and a slightly sour taste, made from very few ingredients. 

TIP: Try stirring coconut yogurt into a delicious bowl of chia porridge.

Easy coconut yogurt recipe

With just a few ingredients and a little patience, you can easily conjure up the creamiest, most delicious, tangy yogurt from coconut milk. 

ALSO TRY: Another breakfast hit is this healthy oatmeal with eggs.

Ingredients for homemade coconut yogurt

To make a delicious, creamy coconut yogurt, you will need the following ingredients: 

• Coconut milk: It is recommended to use a good organic canned coconut milk. Choose a variety that you think tastes good - and your yogurt will do the same.
• Lactic acid bacteria:r This uses a dietary supplement of lactic acid bacteria in small capsules. The capsules can be opened and the powder contained can be stirred into the coconut milk.
• Optional ingredient: Cashews If you want to make a thicker and creamier yogurt, you can blend cashews into your coconut milk before letting the yogurt ferment overnight. Soak the cashews in boiling water for an hour before blending them into the yogurt so they can blend completely.

TIP: Explore the archive of lactose-free recipes. 

The importance of good digestion

Gut and digestion have become a popular topic – both in terms of books and dietary trends, but also in research, where the connection between our health and gut flora is investigated. There is a growing recognition that the microorganisms that are part of our digestive system have an enormous effect on our physical and mental health. If our digestion is not working, we can eat just as healthily – our body simply will not get the best out of food if it is not able to break it down. This can be a problem, for example, if you have been on antibiotics, or if you have consumed too much sugar, salt and alcohol for a period of time.

Lactic acid bacteria for a better intestinal flora

You've probably heard that yogurt and other fermented milk products are good for our digestion. They contain lactic acid bacteria that feed the good bacteria and fight off harmful bacteria and fungi, so that digestion can function optimally. Our digestion works best when there is an excess of good bacteria. You can't just lump all bacteria together, because in our stomachs there are thousands of different strains of bacteria that help us absorb nutrients in different ways. To add more of the good ones, lactic acid bacteria is a good place to start. 

How do you make yogurt?

Yogurt is made from milk that is fermented with a lactic acid bacteria. This makes the milk thicker in consistency and sour in taste. The milk must have a temperature of around 37 degrees before the lactic acid bacteria have the best conditions. There, the bacteria will convert sugar (in cow's milk lactose) into lactic acid. You can make your own homemade yogurt from regular cow's milk, but honestly, it's not worth it. The taste will be pretty much the same, and it will be more expensive than buying yogurt from the supermarket.If you want to experiment with making yogurt from plant milk, it's definitely worth making your own version. This saves a lot of money and allows you to avoid a lot of strange additives.   

How to make coconut yogurt

To make homemade coconut yogurt, use a capsule of a lactic acid bacteria supplement. Open the capsule and stir the powder into coconut milk (or blend it with cashews for a creamier consistency). The bacteria are then allowed to stand and work overnight so that they can convert the sugar in the coconut milk into lactic acid. Place the coconut milk in a jam jar with a cloth over it inside the oven. Here, leave the light on but the rest of the oven off, because that way you achieve a temperature of around 37 degrees, where the lactic acid bacteria have the best conditions. After 12-24 hours, taste the yogurt. If it is sour enough, refrigerate it so that the consistency can become fresher and the yogurt cold. If you want it a little more sour, let it stand in the oven until you are satisfied with the taste.

Tips for the perfect coconut yogurt

Before you start conjuring up your own coconut yogurt, there are a few tips worth keeping in mind.

•  Make sure you choose a coconut milk that doesn't separate. If you choose a variant where the coconut cream and water separate in the can, your coconut yogurt will also separate. Here you can choose to use only the coconut cream and make a thicker yogurt, but it will of course have a high fat percentage.
• Use high-quality probiotic capsules. That is, a dietary supplement that combines a high number of different species in the same capsule (you can use Multidophilus from Solaray). They are more expensive, but much more effective – both when it comes to yogurt production and as an aid to balancing digestion. And remember, by the way, that probiotics often need to be stored in the refrigerator.
• Use wooden or plastic utensils when mixing the ingredients, as metal can affect the probiotic bacteria.
• The longer you let your yogurt develop, the more acidic it will become. If the yogurt starts to change color or smell funky, something is wrong (perhaps the jar wasn't completely clean) and it should be discarded.

Serving suggestions