How to Make Almond Milk Yogurt

Almond milk is a healthy, low fat alternative to milk from animals, and is beneficial for people who must eat lactose-free foods. It is also popular for people who follow vegan diets. As almond milk has become more popular, those who tout its benefits have developed many almond milk recipes. Many almond milk recipes are similar to recipes that call for animal milk. This article covers how to make almond milk yogurt. Homemade yogurt takes time to make, but those who make their own yogurt think the fresh taste is worth the time investment.

Ingredients

Almonds
Honey (replace with syrup or agave nectar for a vegan alternative)
Yogurt culture mix

Steps

1
Make the almond milk. Before you can make any kind of vegan yogurt, you must make vegan milk. Almond milk is made from almonds and water.^{[1]
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- Blend 1 cup (0.237 L) almonds and 2 1/2 cups (0.59 L) water in a food processor.
- Strain the almond milk mixture to remove unblended parts of the nuts from the liquid. You can use cheesecloth, a tea ball, or a nut milk bag available from specialty foods stores for this step.
2
Add culture starter to the milk. Because culture starter products are different, you'll need to check the package directions to determine the exact amount of culture starter to add to the almond milk. Many culture starter products recommend preparing the culture starter and almond milk mix when the almond milk is at room temperature. If necessary, you can warm the yogurt on a low setting on the stove.

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3
Ferment the almond yogurt mixture. Whether or not you use a yogurt maker, the fermentation process usually takes about 8 hours.^{[2]
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- An automatic yogurt maker will alert you when the fermentation process is complete.
- If you do not have a yogurt maker, you can put the almond mixture into a Dutch oven and place it in an oven on the warm setting for 4 to 6 hours, place it into an insulated thermos for 8 hours (transfer the mixture to a clean container for cooling in the next step), or place it into a sealed crock pot that you have warmed but unplugged for 8 hours.^{[3]
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4
Place the fermented almond yogurt into the refrigerator to slow down fermentation. This will make the almond yogurt taste fresher when you strain it.
5
Place a piece of cheesecloth over a mason jar opening and put on the outer lid to keep the cheesecloth in place.
6
Pour the fermented almond yogurt over the cheesecloth to allow the yogurt to strain into the jar. For yogurt the consistency of store-bought yogurt, wait about 1 hour. For thicker yogurt, wait longer.^{[4]
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7
Finished.

Community Q&A

Question

Is the yogurt still good if it separates?

Community Answer

Yes, just stir it up.
Question

Can store bought almond milk be used?

Judith Gardner Stephens

Community Answer

It's not recommended, because many time almond or other nut milks have additives like carrageenan, and that will make it difficult, if not impossible, to make the yogurt.
Question

Can I use probiotic yogurt as my starter?

Community Answer

All yogurt is probiotic. Brands like Activia only advertise as probiotic because they have a generally higher colony forming unit (CFU) count, ensuring that you will be getting live culture in larger amounts. Probiotic is simply an indicator of beneficial bacteria. Probiotics are what yogurt culture is made of.