Making your own coconut yogurt at home doesn’t have to be difficult, time consuming or messy. My recipe for coconut yogurt using coconut milk is super easy, super quick and super healthy!

What you need

• Coconut cream or milk (Can be canned or fresh. I use coconut milk and the two cans that I use equal 800ml total)
• Yogurt starter (this can be a purchased starter or from an existing prior batch of yogurt)
• Gelatin (optional)
• A container to make it in (preferably glass)
• A way to keep it warm for 8-12 hours

Lets get started

This is really simple. When you make your first batch of coconut yogurt you’ll need a starter of some sort.

You can buy a yogurt starter from somewhere like Amazon or other online suppliers or from your local health shop OR you can start your yogurt with a couple of tablespoons of a good quality yogurt. Be warned however that good quality yogurts are surprisingly difficult to buy but you’ll know if you’ve used a dud because your yogurt just won’t work (or it won’t keep working).

• So first add the required quantity of starter (if you’ve purchased a starter) or 2-4 tablespoons of yogurt to your container.
• Add half of your coconut cream and mix well.
• Add the rest of your coconut cream and mix again.
• If using gelatin add about 1 teaspoon of gelatin per litre of coconut cream (the measurements here don’t need to be exact. Experiment and see what works for you).
• Mix well.
• Place a lid on the container or jar and place in a thermal cooker.
• Add about 1 inch of boiling water then cover and close the thermal cooker.
• Leave to do it’s thing for 8 to 12 hours without opening.

Notes: If you don’t have a thermal cooker you can warm the coconut cream before adding the starter to blood temperature (about 36 degrees Celsius) then add the starter. If you don’t have a thermometer just dip your little finger in to the coconut cream as it warms and when the it feels like your skin temperature (not warmer or cooler) that’s about right. Place the mixture in a thermos flask or wrap in a towel and place somewhere that will keep the mixture warm but not too hot.

Always use a good quality gelatin. Great Lakes and Bernard Jenson gelatin don’t contain any preservative where most others do. They are also made from grass fed cattle which I always choose over factory farmed animals. I’m not sure if the green variety of Great Lakes gelatin will thicken the yogurt as I haven’t tried it. It will however still provide the anti-inflammatory properties and additional protein to your yogurt.

Eat well