This vegan cashew yogurt is thick, tangy and delicious with healthy probiotic cultures.
I love this vegan cashew yogurt so much, it has pretty much replaced the quick, non-cultured yogurt I'd blend up in the past to eat or add to various dishes.
I loved yogurt in my pre-vegan days and I've never really been able to wrap my head around storebought vegan yogurts, which just don't taste right and their texture is almost always completely off. Call me picky.
So the last time I bought a cashew yogurt off the shelf that had live cultures, I decided to try making my own. Partly so I didn't have to spring six bucks for a small tub of yogurt, and partly so I didn't have to rush to Whole Foods each time I needed some.
I also wanted a thicker yogurt, and the storebought ones are too thin for my liking.
I loved the result, and I started to make my own, using some of the storebought yogurt as a starter.
This is really a very simple recipe -- all you need are the cashews and the starter (any vegan yogurt with live bacterial cultures will do), a bowl, and a blender, and you're all set. The result is a thick, creamy, tangy yogurt that tastes gorgeous.
I love eating this yogurt by the spoonful, but I especially love stirring in some berries, or using it to top granola. It also works great in Indian curries, raitas and biryanis, when the recipe calls for yogurt.
Try making some today. It takes minutes, and it is, like any homemade yogurt, a gift that keeps on giving. You'll never need store-bought again.
You can also make vegan yogurt in the Instant Pot.
Storage instructions
- Refrigerate: refrigerate the yogurt after it's set. You can store it this way for up to a week.
- Freeze: the yogurt can be frozen in an airtight container for up to two months.
Recipes to make with vegan yogurt
Homemade Cultured Cashew Yogurt
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews or cashew pieces
- 1 cup filtered or distilled water (this helps the cultures grow faster than chlorinated tap water would)
- 1 tablespoon vegan yogurt for use as a starter. Be sure to use one with live, active cultures, OR
- 2 vegetarian probiotic pills (if not using the vegan starter. I use the Now PB8 Probiotic Acidophilus capsules, which are vegan.)
Instructions
- Place the cashews and water in a blender and blend to a very smooth paste.
- Place the cashew paste in a ceramic or glass bowl. Microwave for 10-15 seconds or until slightly warm. You can skip this step, but I like that it gives the bacteria a head start.
- Stir in the starter or, if using probiotic pills, open the capsules and empty the powder into the cashew paste. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and place in a warm spot, like a cold oven with the pilot light on, or, in hotter temps, on the countertop.
- Let it stand for six hours or overnight. The set yogurt should be very thick and tangy.
Recipe notes
- You need either the probiotic pills or the starter yogurt, not both.
Mercedes
Hi I would like to try making yogurt. Which probiotic pills do you use and recommend?
Carol
Does the length of time it incubates affect the amount of probiotics in the finished product? Or is the length just for desired thickness? The default on my yogurt setting on my instant pot seems to be 8 hours but I think you said 16-20 hours. I set my machine for 20 hours but we had a quick power outage this morning which shut down my instant pot so I am not sure how late by my first try incubated. It does taste wonderful!
HS
Has anyone ever added a little bit of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to make this even more tart like regular yogurt? BTW this recipe is simple but amazing. I finished all of it in a couple days and currently making more.
Anne
Do you think it would help to soak the cashews?
Vaishali
No need to soak if you're using a high-powered blender, but otherwise it is a good idea to soak for at least 30 minutes before blending.
Gail
Hi, have you ever made vegan yogurt and then added berries and frozen it? Would that work?
Kathy
Vaishali, once the yogurt is made, can I just keep back one tablespoon of that yogurt to use as the starter for another batch and just keep it going indefinitely? By the way, I am amazed at the recipes you create. What a talent! I’m definitely going to try as many of them as I possibly can. My adult son lives with me and he usually won’t eat anything vegan, so there are a lot of dishes that I don’t make because I couldn’t eat all of it. I do wish he’d be more willing to try new things. Anyway, thank you for your beautiful recipes and for answering my question about the yogurt.
Vaishali
Hi Kathy, thanks for your encouraging words-- you are so kind! And yes, you can absolutely keep back a tablespoon of the yogurt and use as a starter for the next batch.
Melina
I'm considering trying this with almonds (no skin), only because of the cost of cashews where I live. Do you think it could work?
Vaishali
Yes, I don't see why not, but make sure they are blended really smooth. Cashews tend to blend to a creamier consistency than almonds. Blanched almonds might work better. You could also try this with coconut milk.
MARIA
I love the recipe but I'm confused how 1 cup of nuts is supposed to yield 8 servings? How much are you considering as a serving?
Vaishali
Hi Maria, it yields a little over two cups.
Saheli
Vaishali, you have outdone yourself! I did try it over the holidays, and it is amazing!
Vaishali
Hi Saheli, how wonderful you tried! Thanks for letting me know.
Saheli
Came back to say this is now a fixture. I don't even bother warming the paste anymore (maybe the vitamix helps a bit with that). I just add 2 tbsp. of starter culture from previous batch and leave it on the countertop in winter for 2 whole days for perfect tanginess. For someone who didn't care much for yogurt before, now I'm hooked! Now, if you had a recipe to make sesame seed yogurt....:-)
Priya Rao
Hi Vaishali, Love your website.
I am based in Sydney, We are slowly converting to veganism and what I miss most is yoghurt. I am looking forward to trying the cashew yoghurt. Can you please advise which vegan yoghurt did you use to start the culture and can you carry the cashew yoghurt culture forward for the next batch?
TIA
Priya
Supriya
This is great to have—thanks for posting! I finally found a store-bought brand I like (Forager) but it’s hard to find and expensive. Can’t wait to try your recipe.
Vaishali
Hi Supriya, that's great. I used Forager too-- it worked really well here.
Supriya
Finally finally tried this...and didn’t work. I followed the recipe to a tee but still tastes like cashew cream and same consistency too. Can it be salvaged, and if so, how?
Vaishali
Your cashew cream needs to stand in s warm enough place -- that is key. What starter did you use? I would advise leaving it out for another day to see if it reaches the right consistency but discard if it begins to taste off.
Supriya
I used the Foragers cashew yogurt and put it back in the fridge while I waited for your reply. Think I could just take it out and put it in the cold oven for another day? Or do I need to take the chill out somehow? This is my first attempt at homemade yogurt!
Vaishali
Are you turning the oven light on? You need warmth for your yogurt to set. It won't set when it's cold around.
Supriya
It worked! I put it back in the oven overnight (slightly warm from the casserole I’d made earlier in the evening), and it was perfect-o this morning! Thank you thank you thank you! How simple and wonderful!
Vaishali
Awesome! ?
Susan
Have you tried this in an Instant Pot, using the contents of a probiotic pill for the starter? Would you consider recipes for the Instant Pot?
I miss the stories about your family, everyone of them, and the pictures.
Thank you so many delicious recipes.
Vaishali
Hi Susan, I miss telling the stories too, thanks for missing them! I'll try and come back with more. 🙂 And yes, I absolutely want to do more Instant Pot recipes and just got one. Keep an eye out!
Rosemary
This recipe couldn't have come at a better time! I am definitely going to try this. Instead of using the microwave I will put the bowl of yogurt in a larger bowl of hot water for a short while. I fear that the microwave will destroy the cultures. Thanks!
Vaishali
Hi Rosemary, the culture is added after microwaving, but it's perfectly good to warm in a bowl of hot water too! Hope you try. 🙂
lora
Love your recipe! But for sure I would never use a microwave even to warm up water....it kills everything. Microwaves are the most unhealthy thing, not only do they destroy any nutrients in food, they give off harmful radiation into your food. Even conventional heat (above a certain temperature) does destroy the enzymes in live food. Don't use microwave 😉
Stephanie
I recently read about extensive studies on different cooking methods (roasting, boiling, frying, steaming, microwave) on different foods and the nutrient loss, which were done to show the methods which preserved most nutrients in food, they were are steaming and microwave. The worst, affecting different vegetables differently, were boiling, roasting and stir frying. Peppers were worst affected. see Nutrition Facts for full details
Anonymous
Instead of microwave you can actually blend a bit longer it’ll warm up as it blends
geetha
Hi Vaishali,
Thank you for the recipe for cashew yoghurt.I have been making soy yoghrt to get more protein.Can we use a probiotic pill as a starter for yoghurt?
Thank you for all the lovely recipes.I tried out Diwali sweets and they came out really great.
Vaishali
Hi Geetha, yes, use the contents of one probiotic capsule, stir in, and proceed as you would with the starter. Glad you tried the sweets! A belated Happy Diwali.
Kara
Hello I couldn't find no raw cashews at my store so I bought almonds. Could i use almonds? And just put more in to make it thicker?
Vaishali
I am not sure almonds would work the same way cashews do in this recipe. All almond yogurt recipes I've ever seen use almond milk and thickeners like agar and xanthan gum to get the right consistency. You can always try though--I'd prob use blanched almonds, without the skins. If anyone else has tried this with almonds, I'd love to hear.
Nora
Vaishali, love your post on making cultured cashew yogurt - I feel the same way about store-bought vegan yogurts and generally don't buy them any more. Can't wait to make this recipe!
Thank you for your blog and website - so inspirational! Such delicious recipes!
Vaishali
Thanks, Nora!
Tatyana Shust
Hi! So after I make the initial batch, how much of the yogurt should I leave to ferment the next batch? thanks!
Maureen Cram
Can't get unsweetened dairy free yoghurt over here in South Africa easily (not in shops) so so far I have tried cashews and a vegan probiotic. Now going to try with organic coconut milk and probiotics! Keep up the great recipes :).
Vaishali
Thanks, Maureen!
Marlena
When you say probiotic pills, do you mean the ones you can take by mouth? And how many billion ?
Magda
Can I use sweetened vanilla cashew yogurt as starter?
Vaishali
If it has live cultures, it should be okay I think.