Coconut Milk Yogurt

This is my favorite homemade coconut yogurt recipe that I tweaked

This recipe is made with non-dairy coconut milk and a vegan starter.

NOTE: To make a smaller batch of non-dairy yogurt, use 2 cans coconut milk and 1½ teaspoons gelatin with 1 full packet of Vegan Yogurt Starter.

Tools you will need:

• Stainless steel medium-sized cooking pot or saucepan

• Stainless steel wire whisk

• Food or candy thermometer

• One Glass Bowl

• One bamboo wooden spoon or silicone spoon/spatula

• Yogurt maker machine or a crockpot that allows you to maintain an exact temperature of 110 degrees.

• Glass jars with lids (most yogurt makers come with these jars, if not you can buy small mason jars to use with a digital crockpot).

Ingredients you will need:

• 4, 13.5-ounce cans of (additive-free & BPA-free) coconut milk (guar gum is okay) Organic is even better (Natural Value or Native Forest Brand are the one's I use)

• 1 Tbsp. “Grass Fed Beef Gelatin”

• 1 packet Vegan Yogurt Starter Culture or 4 probiotic capsules (when using probiotics you can control how much probiotic your yogurt will contain. If you want more probiotic-rich yogurt you can add 4-5 of 25 to 50 billion of your choice).

• 2 tablespoons of “Raw/unfiltered/unprocessed honey” - this is used so that the positive bacteria will eat up the sugar in the honey and multiply.

Instructions:

1. Heat and stir the coconut milk using the whisk in the stainless steel saucepan to 125ºF using a food or candy thermometer to monitor temperature.

2. Remove the coconut milk from the stainless steel saucepan and poor it into the glass bowl. Use the wooden spoon to scrape excess milk into the glass bowl.

3. Sprinkle gelatin into this cup slowly while mixing well ONLY WITH THE WOODEN SPOON until completely blended.

4. Add the raw honey and mix well in the glass bowl.

5. Cool to 110ºF, then add culture/probiotics. Mix well ONLY WITH THE WOODEN SPOON. (Note: Culture or probiotic can be killed if it comes in contact with metals so make sure you are only using the wooden spoon and glass bowl before you add cultures/probiotics. Some say that stainless is ok, but I err on the side of not using any metals because I do not want to waste money on having to buy more cultures or probiotics as they are expensive.)

6. Pour mixture from the glass bowl into your yogurt glass jars to only 2/3 full. (Yogurt may expand so leave a half inch at the top of each jar in case it expands) and cover with a coffee filter, secured with a rubber band, or pour into yogurt maker container and follow manufacturer's instructions for covering the containers.

7. Culture at 108º F for 24 hours in a yogurt maker or similar appliance. If your yogurt maker DOES NOT go past 8 hrs, you'll need to restart it 3 times.

8. Once 24 hour period is over...leave it on the counter to cool at room temperature for another 2 hours.

9. Shake or stir and refrigerate. Yogurt will not thicken until after refrigeration time. Thickening may take up to 24 hours.

10. Add fruit ONLY right before serving and not during the culturing process

Because coconut yogurt is not only so yummy but I make a lot of things with it I recommend making this a part of your weekly food list. There are so many things you can do with this basic coconut yogurt recipe. Below are just a few of my other recipes that use this recipe as a foundational ingredient: