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Healthy coconut yogurt that tastes like salted caramel candy? Yes!
I can’t believe I’m only sharing the recipe now, as I have been making this yogurt about twice a month since last year! This creamy coconut yogurt is flavored with a sweet and salty caramel sauce that is naturally-sweetened and insanely rich.
To make the yogurt, we are using coconut cream combined with full-fat coconut milk for an incredibly rich and smooth consistency. Think of it as a luxury coconut yogurt. Then, it’s flavored with a salty coconut caramel sauce that is naturally sweetened with maple syrup and coconut sugar.
I’m sharing two ways to make coconut yogurt: at room temperature or in the Instant Pot. Both yield similar results, so the choice is yours. Just be aware that it’s twice as fast in the Instant Pot or yogurt maker.
To get a thick and rich texture, you first heat the coconut milk with tapioca starch to thicken it a bit. Then, transfer it to jars before letting it ferment. If using an Instant Pot, you simply place the jars in the IP and press the yogurt button. Come back 8 hours later, and your yogurts are ready!
If you don’t have an Instant Pot or yogurt maker, just place the jars in a dark place and let them ferment at room temperature for 24-36 hours.
The salted caramel sauce is definitely the star of this recipe. It’s thick, stretchy, salty, and so buttery! Plus, it requires only 20 minutes to prepare.
You combine coconut cream, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 20 minutes. After that, remove from heat and stir in some vanilla extract for extra flavor. The caramel sauce will thicken as it cools, so don’t worry if you find it a bit too runny at first.
Be aware that if you taste the salted caramel sauce alone, you might find it a bit too salty. I did this on purpose so once mixed with coconut yogurt, it gives it the perfect saltiness.
The ratio of coconut yogurt to salted caramel is up to you, depending on how sweet you like your yogurt. I usually go for 1/4 to 1/3 of caramel sauce to coconut yogurt. Simply fill the bottom of clean jars with the salted caramel and top with coconut yogurt.
You can then mix it until fully combined or just stir to get a caramel swirl. When completely mixed, the yogurt gets a nice beige color, as you can see in the photo below.
This coconut yogurt is SO GOOD! It’s super thick and perfectly salty with buttery caramel undertones! For more yogurt recipes, check out this thick Almond Yogurt!
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
Salted Caramel Coconut Yogurt
Ingredients
Coconut Yogurt
- 3 14-ounce can full-fat coconut milk 2 of them chilled overnight in the refrigerator
- 2 tbsp tapioca starch optional
- 1/8 tsp vegan yogurt starter or 2 tbsp non-dairy yogurt, or 3 capsules probiotics
Salted Caramel
- 3/4 cup coconut cream from one 15-ounce full-fat coconut milk
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or seeds from one vanilla bean
Instructions
Coconut Yogurt
- Instant Pot Method: Open the two chilled cans of coconut milk. Scoop out the solid coconut cream on top, leaving out the coconut water.
- Add the coconut cream, one full can of coconut milk, and tapioca starch to a medium-size saucepan. Heat on medium heat, whisking regularly until it starts to thicken.
- Once it has slightly thickened, transfer to a large bowl and let cool about 15-20 minutes, until just warm to touch (the temperature should not be higher than 110°F).
- Sprinkle the vegan yogurt starter (or stir in the non-dairy yogurt) over the coconut cream and whisk well using a wooden spoon. Pour into clean jars.
- Add 1 cup of water to the bottom of your Instant Pot liner. Place the rack inside the liner and place your jars on the rack. Cover with the lid, press the "Yogurt" button and adjust the time to 8 hours.
- Remove the jars from the Instant Pot, cover with a lid or plastic film, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. The yogurts will thicken once completely cool.
- Room Temperature Method: Open the two chilled cans of coconut milk. Scoop out the solid coconut cream on top, leaving out the coconut water.
- Add the coconut cream, one full can of coconut milk, and tapioca starch to a medium-size saucepan. Heat on medium heat, whisking regularly until it starts to thicken.
- Once it has slightly thickened, transfer to a large bowl and let cool about 15-20 minutes, until just warm to touch (the temperature should not be higher than 110°F).
- Stir in the yogurt starter (or non-dairy yogurt), and stir well using a wooden spoon. Transfer the coconut milk to a large glass jar and cover with a cheesecloth. Secure with a rubber band and place the jar in a dark place, at room temperature.
- Let ferment for 36-48 hours, or until the yogurt has thickened and has a subtle sour flavor. Refrigerate at least 8 hours before eating.
Salted Caramel
- Combine the coconut cream, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and salt in a saucepan.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat. Then, lower the heat and let simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Transfer to a bowl and let cool completely before storing in the refrigerator.
- To make the salted caramel yogurts: Fill about 1/4 (1/3 if you have a sweet tooth) of small jars with the salted caramel and top with coconut yogurt. Stir before enjoying!
Notes
- Nutritional information is just an estimate, it can vary depending on your ratio of caramel to coconut yogurt.
Nutrition
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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Very excited to try this! The photos look beautiful & I’m a sucker for salted caramel. I’ve never made my own yoghurt before, though, so I’ll let you know how I go!
Thank you!! Homemade yogurt is easy to make, you should definitely try it 😉
Este es el mejor yogur del mundo que haya comido jamás! Y lo mejor es que es fácil de preparar ! El caramelo es una delicia! Ciertamente es un yogur de lujo que cuando se hace no se puede parar de comer !
Thanks for your feedback Cecilia! I’m glad to hear you like the yogurt and caramel 🙂
Dear thomas I just tried this recipe, I didn’t have tapioca so I tried adding potato starch but it made bumps so I had to take them out.. I did everything else but now it’s been 24 hours and my yogurt didn’t get dense enough.. it’s kind of liquid 🙁 do i have to Wait some more? Maybe NexT time add more yogurt? Thanks! Love your recipes tho
Did you use the coconut cream from the two cans and the full milk from one can?
You shouldn’t have to wait more, 24h is more than enough, 8 hours is enough to get the perfect tanginess. I would recommend using tapioca starch next time and maybe try using another yogurt starter, you don’t have to use more than 2 tbsp. Good luck, hope it will work for you next time! 😉
Do you think l can use this for fruit on the bottom soy yogurt? Meaning to put this on the bottom of jar before pouring on yogurt “batter” and placing in the IP? I do this with jam and the yogurt sets fine. If not, after storing in fridge, will it pour well on the already made yogurt?
I think it should work! I always prefer to add jam/caramel after the yogurt has fermented but if it works for you with jam it should work with the caramel too.
The salted caramel is a bit firmer in the fridge so let it warm at room temperature 10 minutes before pouring into the yogurt.
My yogurt turned out very thin….it tastes great but did not thicken upon cooling. What do you think happened? I thickened it with the tapioca starch then put it in jars in the instant pot. After 8 hours I put it in the fridge and this morning it has a tang but is not nice and thick. Should I have cooked it longer on the stove? Thank you!
You used coconut cream, not just coconut milk right? I would recommend trying another brand of coconut milk/cream, some are thicker than others.
Hello! I made this recipe and have made you fermented butter which I LOVED. I used tapioca starch and the probiotic capsules you recommended for the cultured butter, however my coconut yogurt was so grainy, I couldn’t even finish the second jar. Do you know why this may have happened? Thanks for all these cool cultured and fermented vegan recipes by the way, I can’t wait to make the blue cheese soon!
Hi Kelly,
I would recommend trying another brand of coconut milk/cream.
Hello thomas , thank u for ur amazing recipes, please i wanna make sure i understand this right . Do we sprinkle the starter just on the top or do we mix it with a wooden spoon in the whole coconut mixture?? Thank u
Hi Tina,
You want to mix the starter into the coconut milk.
Hi Thomas! Have you REALLY had pretty good luck using an InstaPot to make vegan yogurt? Personally most of the ways I’ve tried with appliances claiming to be able to make yogurt haven’t turned out well at all as their temps are excessively high, causing the probiotics to die off vs. multiply. My best luck has been using the oven method and simply letting the oven light keep the plant milk warm enough to allow the probiotics to multiply. I’ve also had some success with cup warmers IF they have a low setting. No appliance has worked for me yet, but I do have an InstaPot, so if there’s any particular trick in getting it to work right vs. overheat, I’d love to hear it! Thanks!
Hi Dawn,
I made many, many batches of vegan yogurt in the Instant Pot and always got great results. I used to own a yogurt maker and it gave me the same results as the Instant Pot so I got rid of it. Are you using the basic Yogurt settings of the Instant Pot? You may want to try putting it on “Less” mode which is about 30-34°C.