January 20, 2022

Vegan Soymilk Yogurt

Tired of spending money on additive-filled and artificially thickened vegan soymilk yogurt, I decided it was time to make my own using my Instant Pot and some probiotics.

The key for success here is to use soymilk with just two ingredients: soybeans and water. No guar gum, carrageenan, sweeteners, etc. I buy our soymilk organic from Costco and it fits the bill. WestSoy is another brand that has just two ingredients. Alternatively, you can make your own soy milk.

My Instant Pot has a yogurt setting, and that is what I used to make this soymilk yogurt.

I used two capsules of NewRhythm probiotics. Two capsules contain 50 billion colony forming units (CFUs) in powder form.

Step 1:

Give your quart of soymilk a good shake and add the contents of two probiotic capsules directly to the quart of soymilk. Shake again to mix. Don’t be afraid to really mix it up, you want the probiotics to be well mixed in the soymilk.

Soymilk and probiotics — Soymilk with just two ingredients and probiotics all ready to go.

Adding the contents of a capsule of probiotics to the quart of soymilk — Add in the contents of two probiotic capsules. Don’t add the capsule itself.

Step 2:

Pour into clean pint jars.

Step 3:

Place pint jars in the Instant Pot. I used the steamer rack to better balance the jars, but it’s not required. I don’t put lids on the jars.

Pint jars placed in the Instant Pot — Jars ready to culture!

Step 4:

Put the Instant Pot lid on and press the “yogurt” button. The first time I made this yogurt, I set the time for 12 hours. After making it a few times, I’ve realized I prefer the texture and flavor of the yogurt best if it cultures for 15 hours. 15 hours allowed the yogurt to thicken even more and the flavor to develop some traditional yogurt tanginess.

Step 5:

Once the yogurt is finished, place a lid on the jars and store them in the fridge. Don’t shake or stir the yogurt jars yet, just set it in the fridge to further thicken for another 12 hours. And voila! The soymilk yogurt is ready to eat!

Soymilk yogurt after 12 hours in the refrigerator. — This is the soymilk yogurt AFTER 12 hours in the fridge. Thicker than I expected and tasted delicious.

Creamy vegan soymilk yogurt close up. — This is the soymilk yogurt AFTER 12 hours in the fridge. Thicker than I expected and tasted delicious.

Soymilk Yogurt after 15 hours of culturing time and 12 hours in the refrigerator — Yogurt after culturing for 15 hours and 12 hours in the fridge

The yogurt does thicken as you can see in the photos above. At 12 hours, it is a drinkable consistency. It’s not going to exactly replicate dairy yogurt or Greek-style yogurt. I would liken it to a thicker kefir. You can thicken the yogurt by straining it through cheesecloth but I honestly thought this was thick enough for my liking. At 15 hours, the yogurt is thicker and more like traditional yogurt.

This soymilk yogurt is a delightful way to have affordable and healthy dairy-free yogurt in our lives again! I ate some plain and the next day enjoyed it with granola and a banana. I plan to make a tzatziki sauce with it and use it to thicken sauces or smoothies.

Soymilk yogurt with granola and banana — Delicious with granola and banana.

You can make this yogurt during the day like I did and store it in the refrigerator overnight to have it ready for breakfast, or alternatively you can set it up in the Instant Pot overnight and refrigerate it during the day. Up to you!

Hope you’ll give this easy vegan soymilk yogurt a try. It’s a delicious way to enjoy some protein and probiotics.