Are you on the hunt for a coconut yogurt recipe that’s thick and easy? Me too.
Or at least, I had a strong hunch that all the coconut yogurt recipes with gelatin, agar agar, tapioca starch, thermometers, sweeteners, and canned coconut milk were missing something.
I kept thinking to myself, it shouldn’t be this hard. Or complicated. Coconut is easy to ferment.
Beyond that, I’m passionate about giving good food to babies. While I do love sardines, canned anything is less-than-awesome for mama and tiny tummies. So when I can skip the cans, I do.
The other day I followed my hunch and did the one thing I had never heard anyone do but that seemed ridiculously obvious.
Ferment coconut butter.
And that’s it.
That’s the secret to this #thiqq raw coconut yogurt with all the fluff you’ve been dreaming of.
What I learned from fermenting coconut meat in my shower
Not to date myself or anything, but literally 10 years ago I was fermenting blended coconut meat in my shower because I lived in a tiny studio at the tippy top of the Los Angeles mountains – with no kitchen.
If you’ve ever fermented things, you know: Explosions happen.
I had picked up the how-to from Donna Gates, who invented coconut water kefir.
In those days, I would get young green coconuts, open them, and ferment both the coconut water and the meat. Using the Body Ecology starter, coconut water became kefir. And with a little splash of kefir or starter culture, you could ferment the coconut meat too.
It was delicious.
Fermenting all those bubbling jars of kefir and coconut meat taught me a couple of things. For starters, coconut water and meat are naturally sweet. This means that they’re easy to ferment since any starter culture you use – whether it’s a probiotic capsule or the Body Ecology starter – will need to feed on sugar.
It also taught me that coconut meat – and by extension coconut butter – is fatty and fibrous. Fiber is fodder for microbes and this is exactly why you can ferment coconut butter. Because it’s fibrous.
Coconut butter is a source of fiber
When comparing this coconut yogurt to others on the market, it’s fair to say that this coconut just as thick and creamy – with a bit more chew. Which is why I added cashew butter to the recipe. It softens the coconut yogurt and gives it that smooth and fluffy texture.
Coconut butter is made from dried coconut meat and it’s rich in fiber.
All that fiber feeds your bacteria living in the colon, which then goes on to make short-chain fatty acids that protect against inflammation.
If you’re pregnant, there’s even evidence that SCFAs speak to baby’s genes and optimize their expression.
#gofiber
Cashew coconut yogurt recipe
To make this cashew coconut yogurt, you’ll need a large quart jar and an immersion blender.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 3/4 cup coconut butter, I used Artisana raw coconut butter
- 3/4 cup cashew butter, I used Artisana raw cashew butter
- 1/2 packet of Body Ecology Culture Starter
Instructions
- Add warm water to a quart sized mason jar.
- Add the starter packet and set aside to bloom for 10 minutes.
- Next, add coconut butter and cashew butter to the jar with the water and culture starter. Blend with an immersion blender.
- Screw lids on the jars. Set in a warm place to ferment. I’ve successfully fermented coconut yogurt in my Instant Pot on yogurt setting for 8 hours. I’ve also fermented it by placing the jar on top of my oven (in a warm place) for 24+ hours.
- You’ll know the cashew coconut yogurt is done when it tastes sour. Place the jar in the refrigerator for one to two day, where it will continue to thicken.
Hello,
Thank you for sharing and I can’t wait to try this. After yogurt is done, should this be consumed within a week? Also, what is the calories for one serving size?
Hey!
The calories would be equal to what’s in coconut and cashew butter.
Since it’s fermented and a living culture, I’ve stored it in my refrigerator for up to a month.
xxo!!
Hello! So excited to try this recipe. What if we cannot get our hands on the Body Ecology Culture Starter? Is there anything else we can substitute with?
Thanks!
Hey Kelli,
You could probably use any probiotic, powder or capsule. Although I’m not sure how it would taste, some strains do taste differently.
You could also use the InnerEco coconut water kefir, I’ve used that a lot as a starter. Around LA, it’s sold a Whole Foods and our local co-op.
Let me know how it goes xxo!!
This is a dumb question but do you place the closed jars in the instant pot? Or the yogurt unjarred? If they’re in the jar, I’m assuming you have water in it?
Great Q Christina! I will clarify in the notes.
I place the yogurt in lidded jars into the IP. And yes, there’s water!
Hey meg! If I wanted to make yogurt with just coconut manna would I use the same measurements just omitting the cashew? I remember you having a coconut recipe without the cashew and want to start off keeping it simple with my newest addition. Thanks!
Hey Laura!
I haven’t made this in a while, but I remember that the straight coconut yogurt got pretty thick with each passing day. I think this has to do with the fiber content. So, I would keep that mind.
I can try making it again this weekend with only coconut and let you know how it goes. I might start off with a 1:2 ratio of coconut manna to water.
As an aside, I’ve also been using Laird’s coconut creamer instead of canned coconut milk in recipes. I love it! And extra points that it’s not from a can. It has a carb count, I wonder how it would ferment?? Might try that too!
xxo!!