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This homemade cultured cashew yogurt is the perfect plant-based replacement. It's incredibly creamy, easy and versatile. Use it for baking, salad dressing, topping on top, pancakes and more!
I used to think making a plant-based yogurt would be a tedious process. But, to my surprise, it's just the opposite! Thankfully, during my Nutrition training, I learned an extremely simple way to make homemade, vegan yogurts. Needless to say, I haven't bought any yogurt since!
This is an unflavoured, plain cashew yogurt. So, even though it requires a bit of natural sugar, it is not a sweet yogurt. It's perfect for adding to savoury dishes, making salad dressing and baking, or if you're on a low sugar diet.
You can also use it as a base to turn it into any flavour of your liking.
How to Make Cultured Cashew Yogurt
Soaked cashews blend up so nice and creamy; they make the perfect plant-based yogurt. The best part is, it doesn't take much effort at all. Especially if you already have a batch of cashew cream whipped up!
Either way, it only takes a few simple steps to make creamy cultured cashew yogurt.
Step 1 - Make Cashew Cream
To make cashew yogurt, you'll first need to make a batch of cashew cream. Not to worry, it's a simple and easy process! Here's a step-by-step guide.
Step 2 - Add Probiotics & Natural Sugar
Once you have a batch of cashew cream whipped up, add in your probiotics. I find 30 - 50 billion organisms work best. If your probiotics are in capsule form, break open the capsule and pour the contents into the cashew cream. Next, stir in a teaspoon of natural sweetener. I like using pure maple syrup, but any other unrefined sugar will work. I also should note, it does have to be a sugar, not a sugar substitute. In order for the fermentation process to work, sugar is needed to feed the probiotic bacteria.
Step 3 - Ferment For 8 - 24 Hours
Now all you have to do is cover the mixture with a clean, breathable linen cloth or paper towel. Secure your cover with an elastic band and simply place the jar on the counter where it won't be disturbed for 24 hours. To speed the process up, you can leave it in the oven with the light on for eight to twelve hours (or overnight).
Once your cashew cream has fermented into yogurt, use it up right away or keep it refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Ways To Use Your Homemade Cultured Cashew Yogurt
There are many different ways you can use this homemade cashew yogurt!
You can use it in place of sour cream for tacos and nachos. You can top your soups and oatmeal with it. It's also great for baking, turning into salad dressing, adding to smoothies and making yummy parfaits!
Plus, you can use it as a base to turn it into any naturally flavoured, vegan yogurt of your desire!
Ways to Use Cashew Yogurt
Is Cashew Yogurt Healthy?
As long as you don't have a nut or mould allergy, homemade cultured cashew yogurt can provide some great nutritional benefits, especially if you eat a vegan diet!
I also say homemade is always best! When you make something yourself, you know exactly what's in it. Plus, love is hands down the most nutritious ingredient you can add!
And that isn't to say you can't find any clean dairy-free yogurts on the market; you most certainly can! It's a little more difficult, however. Many are filled with loads of sugar, preservatives, fillers, binders and gums. Hence why it's more often healthier, easier and cheaper to make your own.
Homemade Cultured Cashew Yogurt Benefits
Cultured foods are extremely beneficial for our health, and this creamy yogurt provides even more nutritional value thanks to cashews!
Cashews
Cashews have some great nutritional benefits, especially for those who eat a plant-based diet!
Good source of protein. Cashews are an excellent source of plant protein. They contain all the essential amino acids making them a complete protein.
Good source of minerals. Cashews are also a great source of minerals, including magnesium, potassium, iron and zinc.
Healthy Fats. Another great thing about cashews is that their fat content is 65% oleic acid (a monounsaturated oil known to provide protective benefits against heart disease and cancer)..
Great source of energy. Lastly, cashews have a higher carbohydrate content than most nuts! Combined with their high fat and protein content, this makes them a great food to eat before workouts and to keep you full longer.
Organic Is Always Best!
All that being said, it's important to buy organic whenever possible as many nuts grown in North America can be with sprayed glyphosate. Click here to learn more about the detrimental effects of glyphosate and the importance of choosing organic.
Naturally Sweetened
Just as I mentioned above, one thing I love about homemaking is that you have complete control over the ingredients you use. So, you can have peace of mind that you're providing your body with the most nutritious foods.
Although this cashew yogurt itself is not sweet or sweetened, it does need some sort of sugar to feed the probiotics. This is how the fermentation process works. Thankfully, natural sweeteners work wonderfully well, so you don't have to use any refined sugars. I like using maple syrup the best for my cashew yogurt, but coconut sugar, date sugar, raw cane sugar, or any other natural sugar will work just as well.
Immune, Brain & Gut-Loving
One of the best foods for our guts and immune systems are live-cultured foods. They provide so many health benefits!
For one, cultured foods offer our bodies beneficial bacteria. It's essential that we eat various fermented and live-cultured foods to ensure a balanced gut flora. If our flora (or microbiota) becomes out of balance, it can cause problems like yeast infections, acne, cravings, anxiety and brain fog!
Our microbiome and gut health is directly connected to our overall health. It also plays a critical role in our brain function and mental health. So, keeping our flora healthy increases our chances of warding off harmful bacteria and pathogens, as well as depression, mental illness, and neurodegenerative disease.
Eating naturally fermented foods and switching up your probiotic strain is a great way to keep that immune system and brain in tip-top shape!
THIS RECIPE IS...
More Dairy-Free Staples You Might Enjoy
- Homemade Cashew Cream
- How to Make Coconut Milk
- Homemade Tigernut Milk
- How to Make Almond Milk
- Cashew Whipped Cream
- Homemade Naturally Coloured Icing
If you try this Homemade Cultured Cashew Yogurt, let me know how it was by leaving a comment and/or a rating below! And make sure you're following along on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook for more wildly nutritious recipes!
HOMEMADE CULTURED CASHEW YOGURT
Ingredients
- 2 cups Cashew Cream
- 1 teaspoon Pure Maple Syrup / Coconut Sugar
- 1 Capsule Probiotics (30 - 50 Billion Organisms)
Instructions
- Add 2 cups of cashew cream to a clean glass jar or container.
- Break open one probiotic capsule of 30 - 50 billion organisms, and pour the contents into the cashew cream.
- Add 1 teaspoon of maple syrup (or any other natural sugar) and mix well.
- Cover the jar or container with a clean cotton cloth or paper towel and secure with a rubber band.
- Next, place it in a spot where it won't be disturbed and allow it to sit at room temperature for 24 hours. Or, to speed up the process, place in the oven with the light on for 8 - 12 hours (or overnight).
- You will be able to tell your yogurt is ready when natural air pockets form. It will be thick and creamy. The longer the it ferments, the tangier it will get. If you prefer it on the very tangy side, you can continue to let it ferment for up to 48 hours.Once your cashew yogurt has tanginess ofyour liking, use it up right away or keep it refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Hi. Where do you get a capsule of probiotic?
You can find them at any health food or supplement store 🙂
I like using this brand https://amzn.to/3qUzHwd, and here's the link if you're in the US https://amzn.to/3c7gT8B
This came out really great! It has a slight lemony flavor, which I’m loving because I really wanted this recipe to work as a sour cream. But is that normal for it to taste lemony, or is that the tang factor of fermentation?There were also a couple of yellow tiny dots on top. Just wondering if I did it right. For the first attempt, super stoked. Thanks for the great tips!
Hi Denise! So glad to hear that your yogurt came out great 🙂 It is normal for it to have quite a tangy and slight lemony flavour. The tang comes from the lactic acid and is a sign that the fermentation went right! Also, the longer you let your yogurt ferment, the tangier it will get. So, once the tang gets to your liking, simply transfer it to the fridge to stop the fermentation process 🙂
I've never personally seen tiny yellow dots. However, if they look like small granules, my guess is that it could be a bit of yeast formation around some sugar particles, especially if you used coconut sugar or raw cane sugar. Which would be nothing to worry about. Another thing it could be from is heat. You do need some warmth for the fermentation process to work. However, exposure to higher temperatures can cause the top layer to turn thicker with a yellowish tint. Which again, is nothing to worry about. If that happens I just scrape the top part off. But, to prevent that from happening, you can place it in the oven without the light on, or if your kitchen gets quite warm, an undisturbed spot on your counter or a shelf.
If you see any pink/ruby or typical green or black mold colours forming, that's when you would definitely want to toss it!
I hope that helps, and am also stoked for you and your first batch!! ♡
Hi there, I live in West Africa and the only probiotic I find are in liquid form. Will it work? Is there anything I should amend? Thank you
Hi Emmanuelle, I personally haven’t made the recipe with a liquid probiotic before, but I’m sure it will work just the same. So long as there is no flavouring, or ingredients in it that may spoil. Depending on how much you need to use, you could make the cashew cream a little thicker, reducing the water by the equivalent amount of probiotic liquid you will need to use. However, if it’s just a teaspoon to a tablespoon, it should still turn out nice and thick without adjusting the water. I hope that helps, and I hope it turns out well for you! 🙂
Hi, I am hoping to make this recipe soon. I tried it from a different website, and there it required the cashews to be heated up to boiling, then adding the probiotics after cooling to 110F . Also, I didn’t have the best luck with the capsules (my cashew yogurt ended up so sour, had to throw it out). I wanted to try to mix with yogurt (as a starter) next time . Can I mix with another plant base d yogurt (e.g., coconut yogurt), if I don’t have cashew one on hand? Thank you for advice!
Hi Irena,
For this recipe, it is not recommended to heat the cashews. Simply adding the recommended amount of natural sweetener is enough to feed the probiotics. I haven’t tried using this particular yogurt as a starter or mixing it with any other yogurts, so I can’t say for sure if it will work or not. If the plant-based yogurt you would be adding is already cultured, it could make it too sour. You could, however, try adding pure coconut milk to make it go further, although it may change the consistency.
I hope that helps a little, at least. And I hope it turns out well for you!?
Hi Michelle,
Thank you so much for your response! Last time I put 8 capsules of “Jarrow” brand; they were only 10 billion for 2 capsules; I was trying to reach 50 .. maybe it was too much?!). I will try to follow your recipe the way it is and see how it goes:). Thanks again!
No problem! I’m not familiar with the Jarrow brand, but yes, that could have been too much. If using a very high quality brand 20 - 30 billion will usually work just fine. I hope it works out for you next time 🙂