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Coconut Milk Yogurt Recipe
This delicious coconut milk yogurt recipe is a great option for coconut lovers or anyone avoiding traditional dairy.
The sugar and cornstarch in the recipe are necessary to feed the culture in lieu of the dairy sugars (lactose) that yogurt cultures normally consume. The cornstarch also thickens and stabilizes the yogurt, which is helpful given the lower protein content of coconut milk compared to cow’s milk. This recipe uses a half gallon of the lowfat coconut milk that is sold in cartons as a drinking milk, plus one can of the richer canned coconut milk to create a balanced, creamy texture with a moderate coconut oil content.
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Yield: This recipe makes eleven 8 oz / 250 ml servings of yogurt.
Ingredients
| Table header 0 | Volume | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Coconut milk in a carton (lowfat, unsweetened) | 2 quarts / 2 L | 2 kg / 72 oz |
| Canned coconut milk | 1 ⅔ C / 398 ml | 398 ml / 13.5 oz |
| Sugar | ½ C | 100 g / 3.5 oz |
| Cornstarch | 1 C, lightly spooned | 120 g / 4.2 oz |
| Salt | ⅓ tsp | 2 g / 0.07 oz |
| Yogurt with live cultures* | ½ C + 2 T | 151 g / 5.3 oz |
*This can be a coconut milk yogurt with live cultures purchased from the grocery, or live culture dairy yogurt. Alternatively a direct-set vegan yogurt starter can be used according to package directions.
Equipment: Brød & Taylor Proofer, thermometer, glass mason jars or other heat-proof containers with a capacity of one quart / one liter or less. Everything that will touch the milk should be thoroughly clean and dry.
Note: When using the Folding Proofer to make yogurt, be certain there is no water in the water tray. The water tray is not needed for making yogurt. You can remove it from the Proofer, if you like, or leave it empty. But do not add water because it will affect temperature settings.
Bring the Coconut Mixture to a Boil. Mix the canned coconut milk with the sugar, cornstarch and salt and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the half gallon carton of lowfat coconut milk. Using either the microwave or stove top, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally to distribute the cornstarch and sugar and to prevent scorching. Simmer and stir just until thickened (mixture will still be pourable). Remove from heat and cover to prevent a skin from forming.
Cool to 115 °F / 46 °C. Allow the coconut milk mixture to cool to at least 115 °F / 46 °C. For faster cooling, place the container in a pan or sink of cold tap water. While the coconut milk is cooling, set up the Proofer with the wire rack in place and the temperature set to 120 °F / 49 °C.
Add Yogurt. Put the yogurt with live cultures into a small bowl. Gradually stir in enough of the warm coconut milk mixture to liquefy the yogurt and mix until smooth. Then pour the liquefied culture back into the large container of coconut milk mixture and stir gently to distribute. Pour the milk into jars and place in the Proofer.
Tip: For best heat circulation and the most accurate culturing temperature, arrange the jars so that they are not directly over the center of the Proofer.
Culture at 120 °F / 49 °C for an Hour, then Lower the Heat to 86 °F / 30 °C. Set a kitchen timer for one hour, then after that hour turn the Proofer down to 86 °F / 30 °C. It’s important not to let the yogurt remain at 120 °F / 49 °C for more than an hour in order to avoid damaging the culture.
Check the Yogurt after Three Hours. After one hour at 120 °F / 49 °C and two more hours at 86 °F / 30 °C, check the yogurt by gently tilting a jar to the side to see if it has set. Once set, the yogurt can be removed or, for more flavor, allowed to culture longer. When the yogurt is ready, put it into the refrigerator and allow it to chill thoroughly. Be sure to reserve enough yogurt to start your next batch.
Tip: It is convenient to include one small container among your larger culturing jars, so that it can be easily removed early to reserve in the refrigerator as the seed culture for your next batch of yogurt.
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5 comments
Making this right now! I will comment when it’s finished:)
My first batches of yogurt made with 2% and dried milk turned out great, I’m moving to coconut milk. Is there any information on whether homemade coconut milk will work? If not, what parts or process of the purchased milk support the success of this recipe. Thanks!
Laura – If using coconut milk, we recommend using our Coconut Milk Yogurt Recipe as written above.
Hi. Love your website. Great info. I’m trying to find a recipe that matches a coconut milk yogurt I bought on the west coast of Canada. It was thick, smooth and delicious without all the added plant proteins and gums that so many store bought plant based milks and yogurts contain and that I am sensitive to. The ingredients are ; organic coconut cream, L. acidophilus, L. paracasei., organic coconut nectar, and agar. Of course it is quite expensive and not a available in stores where I live so I want to make my own. I am an experienced dairy yogurt maker but have had no success making coconut milk yogurt. It’s the only alternative milk I can tolerate. My question is do you think your process for making coconut yogurt would work with these ingredients. I realize I would have to experiment with substitutions but don’t want to waste expensive ingredients on a process that isn’t likely to work. Thank you for any input you can offer.
Penny – Although we haven’t experimented with the exact ingredients you mentioned, it sounds promising. Agar and agave should work as replacements for cornstarch and sugar, but we can’t comment on the exact amounts to use. We would recommend starting with a small batch to first to experiment. Let us know how it turns out!