If you’re like most people, cow’s milk, various kinds of cheese, and yogurt are the major dairy products in your home. If you want to go totally dairy-free, you need to remove all these foods from your home. They come in many varieties. Look for the following:
Cow’s milk: Whole, low-fat (2 percent, 1 percent, 1/2 percent), skim, buttermilk, eggnog, and flavored milk (such as chocolate and strawberry)
Cheese: Cheddar, cottage, farmer, havarti, jack, mozzarella, Muenster, Parmesan, provolone, ricotta, Swiss, cream cheese, and others
Yogurt: Regular, low-fat, nonfat, flavored, plain, and kefir (a fermented drink made from cow’s milk)
As you remove the milk, cheese, and yogurt products from your kitchen, understand that the fat, protein, and carbohydrate (including lactose) contents may vary greatly, depending on specific factors such as the type of milk used. These content levels may be relevant to you, depending on your reasons for limiting dairy products or the extent to which you opt to avoid certain products.
However, in general, milk, cheese, and yogurt are substantial sources of lactose, milk protein, and, with the exception of fat-free varieties, saturated fat. All are fiberless.
Get ready to be pleasantly surprised if you’ve never tried replacement products for your milk, cheese, and yogurt. Most of them are delicious and, with a few exceptions, they work well as replacements for their dairy counterparts.
Nondairy varieties of milk are the stars of dairy-free eating. That’s because these products taste so good. You can use these nondairy milk products in the same ways you use cow’s milk in cooking and baking and on your breakfast cereal or with a plate of cookies. Even better: All these nondairy milks are lactose-free and don’t have the saturated fats that cow’s milk does.
The most common and popular varieties of non-dairy milks include
Soymilk: This nondairy milk is made from soaked, ground, and strained soybeans. Buy it plain, or try the vanilla-, chocolate-, or carob-flavored varieties. During the holidays, you also may find soy-based eggnog. Soymilk has a mild flavor.
Rice milk: This grain milk usually is made with brown rice. It’s thinner in consistency than soymilk and whiter in color. It resembles cow’s milk in appearance more than other forms of nondairy milk. Rice milk has a mild flavor. Buy it plain, or try the vanilla-, carob-, or chocolate-flavored varieties.
Almond milk: Blend finely ground nuts with water, and you have almond milk. It has a mild, nutty flavor with a rich consistency similar to that of soymilk. Like soymilk and rice milk, almond milk is sold in a few different flavors.
Other forms of nondairy milk: Natural foods stores also carry less familiar forms of milk, including nondairy milks made from oats and potatoes. These aren’t as popular, nor are they as widely available, as other nondairy milks. But they may be useful for people who, for whatever reason, don’t care for or can’t use soy, rice, or almond milks.
Most cheese substitutes are made from soy, though some also are made from rice milk, almond milk, and other nondairy ingredients. Experiment with different brands — and different varieties within brands — to find those you like the best. The flavors and textures of nondairy cheeses vary a lot.
Be aware that many cheese substitutes, including many made mostly from soy, rice, and other nondairy ingredients, contain small amounts of dairy byproducts such as casein. Read ingredient labels to be sure.
Soy-based, nondairy yogurt products are available in many mainstream supermarkets and most natural foods stores. The consistency of nondairy yogurts is often thinner or looser when compared to yogurt made from cow’s milk. The flavor is generally excellent. They’re available in many flavors as well as plain or fruited.
Nondairy milk, yogurt, ice cream, and other products made with coconut milk also are available in some stores. These products have many benefits, because they’re dairy-free and also work for people who may be allergic to soy or almonds. They taste great, are rich in calcium, and may be fortified with vitamin B12, an important addition for strict vegetarians or vegans who need a reliable source of this important nutrient. On the other hand, these products are high in saturated fat from the coconut milk, so they may increase the risk of coronary artery disease by stimulating your body to make more cholesterol.
The options in the yogurt aisle at the grocery store have increased greatly over the years, with Greek yogurt taking up just as much space on the shelves as the regular stuff. What’s the difference between Greek and regular yogurt, and which one should you buy?
The process for making regular and Greek yogurt starts off the same: milk is first heated, then cooled to the desired fermentation temperature (106-114°F) before bacterial cultures are added. The mixture is then left to ferment until the bacteria grows, produces lactic acid, and gels the milk proteins to produce regular yogurt.
To make Greek yogurt, regular yogurt is strained extensively to remove liquid whey and lactose, leaving behind a thicker-textured yogurt.
Besides texture, here are some other differences between regular and Greek yogurt:
- Protein – Greek yogurt has almost double the protein of regular yogurt.
- Fat – Unless you’re using the nonfat varieties, Greek yogurt has about three times the saturated fat than regular yogurt.
- Sodium – Greek yogurt contains about half the sodium of regular yogurt.
- Carbohydrates – Greek yogurt contains roughly half the carbohydrates of regular yogurt, but remember that adding sweeteners to either one will increase the carbohydrate count.
The one to choose really depends on texture and dietary preferences. Because of its thicker texture and tangier flavor, Greek yogurt is often used as a healthier substitute for sour cream, crème fraiche, or mayonnaise.
Do you prefer Greek or regular yogurt, or does it depend on how you’re using it?
Cow’s milk: Whole, low-fat (2 percent, 1 percent, 1/2 percent), skim, buttermilk, eggnog, and flavored milk (such as chocolate and strawberry)
Cheese: Cheddar, cottage, farmer, havarti, jack, mozzarella, Muenster, Parmesan, provolone, ricotta, Swiss, cream cheese, and others
Yogurt: Regular, low-fat, nonfat, flavored, plain, and kefir (a fermented drink made from cow’s milk)
As you remove the milk, cheese, and yogurt products from your kitchen, understand that the fat, protein, and carbohydrate (including lactose) contents may vary greatly, depending on specific factors such as the type of milk used. These content levels may be relevant to you, depending on your reasons for limiting dairy products or the extent to which you opt to avoid certain products.
However, in general, milk, cheese, and yogurt are substantial sources of lactose, milk protein, and, with the exception of fat-free varieties, saturated fat. All are fiberless.
Get ready to be pleasantly surprised if you’ve never tried replacement products for your milk, cheese, and yogurt. Most of them are delicious and, with a few exceptions, they work well as replacements for their dairy counterparts.
Nondairy varieties of milk are the stars of dairy-free eating. That’s because these products taste so good. You can use these nondairy milk products in the same ways you use cow’s milk in cooking and baking and on your breakfast cereal or with a plate of cookies. Even better: All these nondairy milks are lactose-free and don’t have the saturated fats that cow’s milk does.
The most common and popular varieties of non-dairy milks include
Soymilk: This nondairy milk is made from soaked, ground, and strained soybeans. Buy it plain, or try the vanilla-, chocolate-, or carob-flavored varieties. During the holidays, you also may find soy-based eggnog. Soymilk has a mild flavor.
Rice milk: This grain milk usually is made with brown rice. It’s thinner in consistency than soymilk and whiter in color. It resembles cow’s milk in appearance more than other forms of nondairy milk. Rice milk has a mild flavor. Buy it plain, or try the vanilla-, carob-, or chocolate-flavored varieties.
Almond milk: Blend finely ground nuts with water, and you have almond milk. It has a mild, nutty flavor with a rich consistency similar to that of soymilk. Like soymilk and rice milk, almond milk is sold in a few different flavors.
Other forms of nondairy milk: Natural foods stores also carry less familiar forms of milk, including nondairy milks made from oats and potatoes. These aren’t as popular, nor are they as widely available, as other nondairy milks. But they may be useful for people who, for whatever reason, don’t care for or can’t use soy, rice, or almond milks.
Most cheese substitutes are made from soy, though some also are made from rice milk, almond milk, and other nondairy ingredients. Experiment with different brands — and different varieties within brands — to find those you like the best. The flavors and textures of nondairy cheeses vary a lot.
Be aware that many cheese substitutes, including many made mostly from soy, rice, and other nondairy ingredients, contain small amounts of dairy byproducts such as casein. Read ingredient labels to be sure.
Soy-based, nondairy yogurt products are available in many mainstream supermarkets and most natural foods stores. The consistency of nondairy yogurts is often thinner or looser when compared to yogurt made from cow’s milk. The flavor is generally excellent. They’re available in many flavors as well as plain or fruited.
Nondairy milk, yogurt, ice cream, and other products made with coconut milk also are available in some stores. These products have many benefits, because they’re dairy-free and also work for people who may be allergic to soy or almonds. They taste great, are rich in calcium, and may be fortified with vitamin B12, an important addition for strict vegetarians or vegans who need a reliable source of this important nutrient. On the other hand, these products are high in saturated fat from the coconut milk, so they may increase the risk of coronary artery disease by stimulating your body to make more cholesterol.
The plant-based dairy business is absolutely booming. It’s been a long time since non-dairy milk was a niche product — the kind you’d have to travel to the local health food store to find. These days most grocery stores have a wall of soy milk, almond milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, rice milk, and more.
And now that non-dairy milk is officially mainstream, plant-based yogurts are growing in popularity as well. Non-dairy yogurt parfaits for all! Here are some of the alt-milk yogurts you might be able to find on the shelves today.
Soy milk was the big dairy-free alternative milk back when I still had to go to the hippie store to find it, and the Silk Dairy-Free Yogurt Alternative Made with Soy is still one of the easiest plant-based yogurts to find in stores. A 5.3-ounce serving has six grams of protein and 20 percent of the daily recommended amount of calcium. Stonyfield Organic’s dairy-free soy yogurt is another popular one that comes in vanilla, strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry. Trader Joe’s even has its own house brand of organic soy yogurt in assorted flavors that sells for just 99 cents apiece.
Silk’s vanilla yogurt made with soy milk is very popular, but a lot of people prefer to avoid soy, so the company also introduced an Almondmilk Yogurt Alternative. This one has 200 calories, five grams of protein, and 10 percent of the daily recommended amount of calcium. Kite Hill’s artisan almond milk yogurt comes in European-style and Greek-style varieties. A serving of Kite Hill’s plain, Greek-style almond milk yogurt has six grams of protein and 13 grams of fat, only two of which are saturated. It can be used in smoothies and bowls, or in dairy-free versions of yogurt-based savory sauces.
CoYo’s coconut yogurt is made of coconut cream and does not extract any of the saturated fats, so it’s extremely rich and can be expensive. A serving can have nearly 400 calories and more than 30 grams of saturated fat, but the yogurt is made with natural ingredients and doesn’t contain any added sugars, and it’s so rich a lot of people would be hard-pressed to finish a whole cup in one sitting. (You can even make cheesecake out of it.)
For another take on coconut yogurt, So Delicious uncultured coconut milk yogurt comes in 13 flavors, including unsweetened vanilla, which has six grams of fat and 110 calories. There’s also Anita’s coconut yogurt, which comes in three flavors including mango and blueberry.
Cashews are some of the richest, creamiest nuts, so it makes sense that cashew milk yogurt would have a reputation for being rich and creamy. Forager Project’s Cashewgurt comes in seven flavors, including coconut and lemon. The plain, unsweetened variety only has about three grams of protein and two percent of the daily recommended amount of calcium, but it also only has one gram of sugar per serving.
Good Karma Foods’ dairy-free yogurt is made of flax milk and live cultures, and it comes in plain, vanilla, blueberry, strawberry, and raspberry flavors. A six-ounce serving of plain flax milk yogurt has 90 calories, 7 grams of sugar, 6 grams of protein, and 800 milligrams of Omega-3s.
You can even get yogurt made of peas — yes, peas! — now. Ripple Foods‘ non-dairy milk made out of yellow pea protein has been one of the buzziest alternative milk products of recent years, and now they’ve come out with a Greek-style yogurt alternative in a range of flavors including vanilla, strawberry, blueberry, maple, and plain.
We tried it, and while it was surprising to open a container of plain yogurt and find it was the color of wood putty, it has very a thick texture that’s a lot like Greek yogurt made from dairy. The texture is a bit chalky and a couple testers noted a bitter aftertaste that might be off-putting if eaten straight out of the carton, but a 5.3-ounce container has 12 grams of protein and six grams of sugars, and it seems like it might be good for adding to smoothies.
After trying a pot of super creamy, slightly tangy coconut yogurt from the supermarket, I started to wonder how it was made — and if I could make it myself. A bit of research and experimentation later, I discovered it’s not hard at all! As soon as you’ve gathered a few supplies, you’ll be well on your way to making (and falling in love with) this delicious dairy-free yogurt.
Regular cow’s milk yogurt relies on bacteria to thicken the yogurt, give it a tangy flavor, and add some beneficial probiotics. Because coconut milk has a very different structure, we have to use other methods to turn it into creamy, spoonable yogurt: probiotic powder for the health benefits and flavor, and agar agar or tapioca starch for the thickener.
For the probiotics, I use probiotic capsules that are certified vegan and gluten-free. If you’re the UK, go with these. If you’re in the US, try these capsules or this yogurt starter culture packet. Check the list of probiotics on the packet — you want a few of the following: Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium lactis and Streptococcus thermophilus. You can also add a few tablespoons of store-bought coconut yogurt or vegan soya yogurt with live cultures. If you’re not bothered by dairy, you can use normal cow’s milk yogurt, too.
I recommend using either agar agar (a vegan alternative to gelatin) or tapioca starch to thicken the coconut yogurt. Most store-bought coconut yogurt that I’ve seen use tapioca starch. Both of these thickeners are easy to work with and produce reliable results: a pourable yogurt, similar in texture to the low-fat plain yogurt I usually buy for baking, making smoothies, and eating with granola or muesli.
You can also make a fairly thick yogurt without using any thickener at all. Instead of using the whole can of coconut milk, just use the extra-thick creamy layer that rises to the top. To do this, refrigerate the can of coconut milk overnight, open up the can, and scoop the layer of thick white cream off the top. It’s naturally thick, so there’s no need to add thickening agents to it, and you can also skip the heating step (which makes the process quicker). The only downside is that this yogurt is incredibly rich, so it’s better as a topping for pancakes or desserts, in my opinion.
One final option for making Greek-style yogurt is to make tapioca- or agar agar-thickened yogurt and then strain it through cheesecloth overnight. This also produces a fairly sweet and rich yogurt, though nicely thick.
How To Make Dairy-Free Coconut Yogurt
Non Lactose Yogurt Brands
Makesabout a quart
Ingredients
- 2
(14-ounce) cans coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons
agar agar flakes, or 2 tablespoons tapioca starch (see Recipe Notes)
- 4
probiotic capsules, or 4 tablespoons store-bought coconut yogurt
- 2 tablespoons
raw sugar or maple syrup, optional
Equipment
Glass jars with lids, for storing the yogurt
Thermometer, optional
Instructions
Warm the oven and sterilize the jars: Warm the oven for about 5 minutes, until it reaches about 100°F, then turn off the heat — leave the light on to help keep the oven warm. Fill the jar(s) you'll use for storing the yogurt with boiling water to sterilize them. Let stand a few minutes, then pour the water out. Alternatively, you can run the jars through the dishwasher.
Pour the coconut milk into a saucepan: Shake the can of coconut milk, open it, and pour it into a medium pot. Whisk until the milk is smooth and uniform.
Add the thickener:If you're using agar agar, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of agar agar flakes into the pot over the coconut milk — but don’t stir! If you're using tapioca starch, scoop out roughly 1/3 cup of the coconut milk and transfer to a bowl with the starch. Whisk this together until the starch is dissolved, then pour back into the pot.
Warm the coconut milk: Place the pan on the stove over medium heat and warm until the coconut milk starts to simmer. (The agar agar will also start to melt together.) Whisk the milk and turn down the heat to low. Continue cooking on low, whisking occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes, until the agar agar flakes are fully dissolved or the tapioca starch has thickened the mixture.
Cool the milk: Cool the milk until it's just warm to the touch, about 100°F.
Add the probiotics: Twist open the probiotic capsule and pour the powdery contents over the milk (discard the capsule’s casing). Whisk to combine. Alternatively, whisk in 4 tablespoons store-bought coconut yogurt.
Add the sugar or maple syrup. Whisk together well.
Pour into jar(s) and allow the yogurt to set for 12 to 24 hours: Pour the coconut milk into the sterilized jar(s) and screw on the lid(s). Place into the oven — turn the oven light on to keep the environment warm. Alternatively, use a yogurt maker or place into a dehydrator at 110°F. Leave for 12 to 24 hours without disturbing.
Chill the yogurt: Place the set yogurt into the fridge and chill for at least 6 hours. The yogurt will become thicker as it chills. After this stage, you might find that the mixture has separated with a yellowish, translucent layer at the bottom and a thicker white layer on top. Stir to recombine or scoop off the top layer for thicker coconut yogurt.
Keep coconut yogurt refrigerated and use within 2 weeks.
Best Non Dairy Yogurt
Recipe Notes
If the yogurt develops a pink or grey discoloration on its surface, that means it has been contaminated with bad bacteria. Throw it away and do not eat it!
Adobe installer download torrent. Thickener-free coconut yogurt: The night before making the yogurt, chill the can of coconut milk. Do not shake. Open the can of chilled coconut milk and scoop off the top layer of cream, leaving behind the liquidy coconut water below (you can discard the water or use it for making smoothies or cooking oatmeal). Add the probiotics and continue making the yogurt as directed.
Making extra-thick coconut yogurt:
Almond Milk Yogurt
→ Scoop about 1 tablespoon of the fermented yogurt into a small bowl and stir together with 1 teaspoon ground psyllium husk. Pour back into the jar and stir together well.
→ Stir 3 tablespoons of chia seeds into the jar of fermented yogurt. Chill for 4 hours until thickened.
→ Transfer the yogurt to a strainer lined with cheesecloth and set over a bowl. Allow to strain overnight, just like when making Greek-style yogurt.