This is a recipe that we’ve been excited to share for a while! The number of plant-based yogurt options has been growing like crazy on health food store shelves, which is amazing, and I always love seeing how companies innovate in this field. Still, I rarely buy yogurt. There are a few things that I find less than ideal about it: the single-use (mostly plastic) packaging, the presence of weird ingredients or additives (gums, etc.), and/or the price, which can often be quite steep. Knowing that I can easily make really good vegan yogurt at home is another huge reason.
This recipe takes care of a few common problems that I’ve personally noticed when it comes to homemade, plant-based yogurt making: it’s not at all finicky (unlike coconut yogurt), and it’s not overly bland (looking at you, 100% cashew yogurt).
Coconut yogurt is notoriously tricky to make at home. The ingredients couldn’t be simpler (just coconut milk + probiotic), but achieving the right texture is not easy. It’s common for coconut yogurt to refuse to thicken and remain the texture of milk, albeit a probiotic one. This is when you start getting into the nuances of which brand coconut milk works and which doesn’t, and what probiotic capsules to use. Not very universal. There are some incredible coconut yogurt brands out on the market (like Anita’s and Coconut Cult), but they are very expensive, hard to find, and honestly so incredibly rich that I can only handle one spoonful at a time.
On the other hand, perfectly creamy cashew yogurt is very easy to make at home, but I find it to be pretty bland. It can also end up being fairly pricey to put together, since you are only using cashews, water, and probiotic, and you need quite a bit of cashews to bulk it up.
Enter this cashew-oat yogurt recipe! It’s foolproof in my experience, always comes out luxuriously creamy, and has an interesting yogurt-y savoriness from the addition of oats. You don’t have to use as many cashews, which cuts down on price, and it seems to work with many probiotic brands. Here are a few more things to expect from this yogurt:
- This yogurt does not taste like dairy yogurt, but it does have a satisfyingly creamy, fatty body, which goes well with fresh fruit, much like regular yogurt.
- The texture of this yogurt is unique. It’s not fluffy like well-made coconut yogurt and not pudding-like, like store-bought yogurt that contains gums. It’s thick but pourable.
- The flavor is unique, too. The cashews contribute fattiness and richness. The oats, once fermented with a probiotic, acquire a pleasantly sour, almost cheesy/yogurt-y type of flavor that I personally find delicious.
We hope you’ll give it a try :)
- 1 cup raw cashews or cashew pieces - soaked in purified water for 4 hours or overnight
- ⅓ cup gluten-free, old-fashioned rolled oats - soaked in ½ cup purified water overnight
- ¾ cup purified water
- 2 probiotic capsules (I use this one)
- Drain and rinse the cashews. Combine them with the soaked oats (the oats should absorb the water by now, so no need to drain) and water in an upright, high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour into a glass container, leaving some room at the top for the yogurt to expand. Open the probiotic capsules and pour the powder into the yogurt mixture. Stir with a wooden (or any non-metal) spoon to incorporate thoroughly. Cover the container with a piece of cheesecloth or breathable fabric, fixing it in place with a rubber band (or I use my nut milk bags here) and let culture in a dark place (no direct sunlight), at room temperature for 24 hours.
- Taste the yogurt. If it tastes good and yogurt-like enough to you, it's ready. If not, leave it to culture more, for up to 48 hours total. The timing will depend on the temperature in your house and the probiotic you use. Once ready, keep refrigerated in an air-tight container.
Love it. So nice to have this alternative to the commercial vegan yogurts! I was searching for a suitable recipe for a while, and now found it :)
So happy to hear that! Please let us know how you like it.
Oh I cannot wait to try this! I love some of coconut yoghurts available but very rarely buy them for the same reasons you mentioned. I’ve never thought of making a yoghurt with oats so I’m really intrigued to taste it. Thank you!
Yay! Hope you like it :)
Very excited to try this. I’m curious—while the mixture is culturing for the first 24 hours, is it kept at room temperature, like kefir?
Thanks!
Rose
Hi Rose,
Yes, room temperature! Just added that to the recipe, thanks for the great question :)
I love this recipe! Already hooked on it. It makes the best dairy-free yogurt I’ve ever had. Thank you so much.
Hi Rose,
This makes us so happy! Thanks so much for letting us know :)
Thank You for this and all your recipes! How long will it last on the refrigerator before going bad?
Hi Janna,
It never lasts long in our house, but I would say that it should last for up to 10 days refrigerated :)
I love your (brazil nut oat) yogurt recipe from your first book, the vibrant table, and can’t wait to try this cashew-oat yogurt!
Hi Susanne,
That’s so cool that you like that recipe from the first book, we love it too! Hope you enjoy this one :)
Hi!
I love your blog and recipes!
Can I use the yogurt maker machine??? Rather than wait 24h??
Thanks
Thank you so much :)
I’ve never tried using a yogurt maker but I think it could work!
Hi, great idea for a healthy homemade yogurt. Do you think I could culture it in my yogurt maker?
Thank you Pat. I’ve never done that but I think it’s worth trying!
I have a question related to making yoghurt :)
Before a few days I made the recipy for oat – brasil but yoghurt from your first cookbook. It is now three days standing and I think it should be finished, however I don’t know if I did it right. It has gotten really fluffy like when you leave dough to rise for bread. Is this what should happen ? It has the yoghurt smell.
And I have used hulless oats, I think because of this is tastes a little bitter. Is this what you use as well ot do you use another version of raw oat groats ? If that exists, I dont know.
Thank you in advance :)
Greetings,
Hanneke
Hi Hanneke,
If it has a yogurt smell and taste, then you should probably move it to the refrigerator. It’s ready when you are satisfied with the sourness of the flavor. I can’t say for sure about the bitterness, but I think it’s probably coming from your oats. We use hulled raw oats for this recipe. You can also try using rolled oats. Hope this helps :)
Hi Anya, thank you for your help. Yes it helps a little because maybe my hulles instead of hulled oats are the cause of the little strange smell and taste. I am gonne try the other ones.
Is it a stable proces this fermentation ? Or is it easy to do something wrong ? Did it went ‘ off ‘ a lot of times for you in the proces of making this recipy or is it turning out always kinda ok ? That’s my specific question I think.
I have read Russia has a tradition of making a fermented oat drink. Is there any good place to read more about fermenting oats that you know of ? I can google translate if it’s in russian.. I would love to know more ..
Greetings, Hanneke
Hi Hanneke,
I think what you’re talking about is Oat Kvass? I’ve never had or made it before, since I grew up with a different kind of kvass that’s made with bread. But I think it would be worth googling oat kvass to see what you find.
I didn’t ever have any problems with fermenting the Brazil nut yogurt. Of course, that process depends on a million factors like what kind of room temperature your house it at, etc. I would suggest adding probiotic to it for a more stable fermentation, like in the cashew-oat recipe in this post. Hope this helps!
Yes oat kvass, It sounds so healthy and interesting – I am gonne check it further.
o good, hearing that you didnt experience any problems with it helps a lot. We always learn everything will spoil if not kept fresh in the fridge so it’s going against my ‘teached’ nature , all this around fermentation. I need to built trust and experience.
Thank you for your time
Greetings,
Hanneke
* Brasil nut yoghurt
I love this recipe! The first time I made it, I accidentally left out the extra water (beyond what had soaked into the oats and cashews). It was thick and creamy and delicious. Then I made it the “right” way, which was also good, but I’ve gone back to adding minimal water. It’s more like Greek yogurt or Quark – I’m going to try to use it like “ricotta” on pizza and “paneer” in saag paneer.
Hi Erin,
Ooh, that’s interesting! We’ll give it a try that way the next time we make it. Thank you so much for the tip :)
Anya, it’s really awesome! This will quickly become a favorite in our house!
Hi Anya,
I haven’t made my own yogurt before and am super excited to try this recipe. Just one question – When I make a batch using the few tablespoons I’ve reserved from the previous batch does that change any of the measurements of the original recipe?
Hi Erin,
I think you could generally keep all the measurements the same. You could also experiment with adding one less probiotic capsule, since you’re adding a starter. Please let us know how it goes!
I love this yogurt! I used a different probiotic and it still turned out great. The yogurt took about 30 hours to get sour enough for my taste, but I’m very happy I didn’t need to get a yogurt maker. I sweetened it a little with stevia and now it reminds me of home made cottage cheese that my mom mixes with sugar. Thank you Anya!
Thank you so much for your feedback Margarita! So glad you’re enjoying the yogurt. It’s one of our favorite recipes ever :)
I have been testing vegan yogurts for a while now, and I was continuously disappointed by how watery they came out. I never thought a nice thick homemade vegan yogurt was possible, but I’ve been proven wrong. It’s super easy to make and came out delicious. It was very tangy (for me) after 24hrs. I might try doing just 12 hours and seeing how it turns out. Thank you so much for this recipe!!!
Hi Laura,
So glad this recipe worked out for you! Thanks so much for leaving this note :)
I’ve been making this for weeks straight, and once added too much water. I went ahead with the fermentation, and ended up with a kiefer-like product that’s perfect on my muesli. 2.5-3 cups works well. This recipe is versatile!
Hi Kendall,
What a great tip! Thanks so much for sharing.
Oh YUM.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had decent non-dairy yoghurt, as everything seems to have coconut in it these days.
This has a lovely texture and flavour.
I used a tsp of dairy yoghurt I had on the fridge for starter (I can tolerate a small amount) and put it in my electric yoghurt maker for about 12 hours. It did dry out on the top and form a sort of skin, which I just scraped off when it was done.
I will definitely be making this again.
Hi Sally,
Thanks so much for this note, love to hear that it can be made in a yogurt maker! Glad you enjoyed it :)
I found this recipe looking for more information about the brazil nuts yogourt !
Because you say to mix the yogourt with fruits, or honey, but I can’t be sure if it’s okay to do it before the fermentation ! Furthermore, I would like to know if the texture of your yogourt is really smooth ? I’m thinking about finding a better blender ( Mine is quiet a good one, but had 7 years now… ).
Thanks a lot for your marvelous recipes !
Hi Jessica,
I usually top the yogurt with fruit and/or sweetener when serving, so after the fermentation. That being said, you can experiment with blending some fruit into the yogurt before the fermentation, I think that could still work. The yogurt is smooth, but has a little bit of texture due to the oats, it’s not entirely smooth like dairy yogurt. Hope you enjoy it!
Loved it!! I was wondering if it’s possible to add extra water when blending everything because it turned out amazing but a little thick
Thanks for the amazing recipe I’m so happy because I don’t need a yogurt machine 🤎
Hi Nini,
So glad the yogurt turned out well for you! Yes, you can add more water for sure.
Hi! Is it normal the formation of a “shell” ?? I thought I over fermented it but smells nice.
Hi Nini,
Yes, that can happen and is normal, unless it looks or smells off.
Hi, have you tried making almond yoghurt? Would it be the same process? Thanks
Hi Megan,
Almonds would behave pretty differently I think. They’re not as creamy or fatty as cashews, and the texture might come out a little grainier. I would recommend finding a dedicated almond yogurt recipe instead of using this one :)