I love cheese and yoghurt and eat them regularly. The high protein of these foods is an important part of my vegetarian diet, and I am thankful that I am not lactose intolerant and can eat dairy without any negative consequences. Unfortunately, that is not the case with many people and telling someone who loves cheese and yoghurt to give them up can be difficult.
Additionally, dairy-based cheese and yoghurt are not suitable for people on a vegan diet, such as my son, Troy. The good news is that there are wonderful non-dairy alternatives that taste amazing, and they are easy to make at home.
This soy and cashew yoghurt was an idea from one of the Green Living Australia customers who said she was making yoghurt from cashews using soy milk instead of water. I tried it a couple of times, had friends and family taste it and came up with a winner. Here is the recipe
Equipment
- Heatproof bowl
- A blender. I highly recommend Vitamix. Other blenders will work, but the end result will not be as smooth and creamy.
- Yoghurt Maker
- Sealed Whisk
Ingredients
- One cup of whole raw cashews
- One litre of Soy Milk
- Non-dairy yoghurt culture (check the packed for the amount to add)
Instructions
- Place one cup of cashews into a heat-proof bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover and soak for one hour.
- Drain and rinse the cashews.
- Place the drained cashews and some of the soy milk into your Vitamix and blend till smooth, adding more soy milk as needed to ensure the free movement of the cashews. This step will not take long with a Vitamix, but it could take up to five minutes with a blender of lower quality.
- Add the remaining soy milk and blend again to mix.
- Once blended to a smooth consistency, pour the soy/cashew mixture into your yoghurt maker.
- Add your culture and mix well using a sealed whisk.
- Ferment in the yoghurt maker for 24 hours.
- Remove from the yoghurt maker and chill before serving.
Your yoghurt maker should stay between 37 and 43 degrees during the 24 hours. As dairy yoghurt can be made in eight to ten hours, not all yoghurt makers are designed to hold the temperature accurately for 24 hours. Make sure yours does. The Green Living Australia yoghurt maker is designed with long fermentation in mind.
This yoghurt is delicious and healthy. It is a great alternative to dairy and easy to make at home. While the ingredients, particularly cashews, are not cheap, making your own is far more economical than purchasing premade non-dairy yoghurts.
As always, live well.
Valerie
Have you ever tried making this with almond milk, or perhaps soy milk with almonds?
Yes, you can use almond milk. I have not tried using almonds with this recipe, but there are directions on the Green Living Australia website for making almond yoghurt. SO I believe that this would work fine.
This is my favourite plain yogurt. Have you made it with any additional flavoring or sweetener?
Thank you for this. 🙂
I never make the yoghurt with flavourings; if I do, the live bacteria will eat the sweetness out of the flavour. I do, however, add flavourings after it is made. I usually use my sugar-free jams for this.