Homemade Coconut Milk Yogurt

Love yogurt but want to experiment with making it at home? This Homemade Coconut milk Yogurt is an easy recipe that yields a great alternative to store-bought yogurts.

Why avoid store-bought? All that single-use plastic just breaks my heart! Just like those dumb k-cups for coffee, yogurts are usually packed in number 5 plastics, which are not recyclable in all areas (certainly not where I live). Secondly, most store-bought yogurts (especially the plant-milk yogurts) are loaded with sugar. To the best of my knowledge, Whole Soy was the one brand that made a sugar-free plant milk yogurt, but unfortunately they are going out of business.

{Related: The Social and Environmental Costs of Sugar}

The other reason to love this recipe for homemade coconut milk yogurt is that it’s easy to do with basic kitchen stuff- no need to purchase a fancy yogurt maker. This experiment with homemade fermentation is pretty fun, and yields a coconut yogurt that is deliciously different than the store brands. If you love it, you can build on the base recipe to make it sweeter, thicker, or more tangy.

A note about the coconut milk: despite that fact that I live in Hawaii, it’s pretty difficult to get fresh coconuts, so this recipe uses canned coconut milk. Other recipes on the web use fresh coconut, which I’m sure would be yummy if a bit more labor intensive. I really prefer the Thai Kitchen coconut milk cans, because it’s the thickest and has the best flavor.

And a note about the equipment: You will need and thermometer and six half pint (8 ounce) canning jars- jars must include a band and lid. You can use your oven or a dehydrator.

Homemade Coconut Milk Yogurt

4 cups unsweetened, full-fat coconut milk
3 Tablespoons tapioca starch or potato starch
¾ teaspoon agar-agar powder OR 2 tablespoons agar flakes
½ cup unflavored store-bought or previously made coconut yogurt
1 Tablespoon agave nectar (optional)

1. Add all jars and lids to a stockpot. Cover with water, and bring to a boil. Keep at a rapid boil for five minutes. Turn off heat, but leave jars in water until ready to use.
2. In a medium saucepan, whisk 2 cups coconut milk with tapioca flour and agar. Heat on low until temperature reaches 180º, stirring constantly, ensuring that agar flakes are totally dissolved.
3. Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice cubes.
4. Whisk in remaining 2 cups coconut milk and place saucepan in cold water. Let cool to 115º, stirring constantly. Stir in yogurt and agave (if using) and whisk until smooth.
5. Remove jars carefully from water using tongs. Pour coconut mixture into jars and cover with lids and bands. Wrap jars individually in kitchen towels and place onto a cookie sheet. Put into the oven with the light on. Keep in oven for 8 hours.
6. After 8 hours, check your yogurt- it should be slightly tangy and noticeably thicker. If it does not seem tangy enough, keep in oven for another 6-10 hours. Once fully cultured, move to fridge. Before serving, add any extras you’d like: jam, extracts, nuts, seeds or fruits. Enjoy!

Yield: 5-6 half-pint jars (total about 4 cups yogurt)