Vegan Dairy Free Homemade Yogurt Recipe

Purchasing dairy free yogurt in the grocery store can be quite expensive and it does not provide the same digestive benefits as  homemade dairy free yogurt.  Homemade yogurt provides an excellent source of probiotics and improves digestion. I have seen dramatic health improvements in many people I have worked with simply by adding fermented foods into their diet.  Relief from constipation, headaches, fatigue, IBS, inflammation, nutritional deficiencies and more.... Commercially prepared yogurts contain only one strain of bacteria, tons of sugar and are NOT health foods.

What's Wrong with Dairy?

Yogurt made from dairy products contains:  insulin growth factor known to contribute to juvenile diabetes, promote the growth of cancer cells among a host of other health problems.

"Studies have suggested that bovine serum albumin is the milk protein responsible for the onset of diabetes... Patients with insulin- dependent diabetes mellitus produce antibodies to cow milk proteins that participate in the development of islet dysfunction... Taken as a whole, our findings suggest that an active response in patients with IDDM (to the bovine protein) is a feature of the autoimmune response."
New England Journal of Medicine, July 30, 1992

Insulin growth factor or IGF-1 stimulates the growth of normal cells and is a key factor in growth and development of nursing infants or animals, however, after weaning IGF-1 is a potent stimulator of both normal and cancerous cells.   

 Rosenfeld, R.G., et al. Insulin-like growth factor binding proteins in neoplasia (meeting abstract). Hormones and Growth Factors in Development and Neoplasia, Fogarty International Conference, June 26-28, 1995, Bethesda, MD, 1995, p. 24

Several studies found that IGF-1 found in cows milk accelerates the growth of breast cancer cells.   

Lippman, Marc E. The development of biological therapies for breast cancer. Science, Vol. 259, January 29, 1993, pp. 631-32

Papa, Vincenzo, et al. Insulin-like growth factor-I receptors are overexpressed and predict a low risk inhuman breast cancer. Cancer Research, Vol. 53, 1993, pp. 3736-40

 In 1995 researchers at the National Institutes of Health reported that IGF-1 plays a central role in the progression of  a number of childhood cancers as well as  breast cancer, small cell lung cancer, melanoma, and cancers of the pancreas and prostate. 

LeRoith, Derek, et al. The role of the insulin-like growth factor-I receptor in cancer. Annals New York Academy of Sciences, Vol. 766, September 7, 1995, pp. 402-08

Making your own dairy free yogurt is very simple.  I have tested recipes using soymilk as well as cashew and almond to give you a variety of choices when making your homemade yogurt.

Homemade Dairy Free Yogurt Recipe

My kids LOVED this yogurt, they ate it at breakfast and lunch everyday for over a week....it's time to make more!

** This yogurt can be made with fresh almond, cashew, brazil nut milk etc... however, these ferment more quickly and only need about 8-12 hours fermentation so be aware of that.

**Do NOT use store bought almond milk, it will not thicken.  You MUST use fresh homemade almond or cashew milk.  If you use milk other than soymilk add about 1 or 2 Tb. of turbinado sugar to feed the culture.

1 qt. soymilk, almond milk, cashew milk, brazil nut milk......
1 pkt. dairy free kefir starter  [1/2 c. water kefir from water kefir grains]

Warm soymilk to finger temp about 92 degrees, pour in packet and stir until dissolved.  Pour into a clean quart jar and put the lid on. Ferment on counter for 48 hours, up to 72 hours.  It should smell slightly sour.

Strain off yogurt water as best you can.  Add:

2 packets of stevia in the raw
3 Tb. turbinado sugar
1 Tb. vanilla

Stir well.  Pour into a container and store in the fridge up to one week. You can add your favorite fruit to this yogurt for a delicious snack. 

What do you do with the left over liquid ferment?

I noticed that when I made the cashew and almond yogurts the yield was much lower and it produced a lot more liquid that needed to be strained.  This liquid can be used so DO NOT just toss it.    Use 1/2 c. of the liquid ferment to make another batch of yogurt without having to use another packet of starter. 

I actually added some of my liquid ferment to creamy salad dressings, you can also add it to fresh pressed juices for some probiotics and it can be added to green smoothies as well. 

Homemade Dairy Free Raw Almond Yogurt with Fruit Recipe

I wanted to show another example of homemade yogurt, this one will really appeal to raw foodists as this is a homemade raw almond yogurt recipe.  The almond milk only has to be heated to about 95 degrees before adding the kefir starter.  This homemade yogurt makes a delicious addition to breakfast or a snack.

In this photo I used mango, raspberries, blueberries and banana topped with raw buckwheat, oats and topped with my fresh raw almond yogurt recipe.

I would LOVE to hear your yogurt making stories! 

Post your yogurt making story below and you can WIN a dairy free, soy free Cheese and Cream Recipe Collection:

"Grate-able Vegan Cheddar Cheese, Mozarella cheese, Cashew Dill Cheeseball, Ricotta Cheese and more...."

Stoll, B.A. Breast cancer: further metabolic-endocrine risk markers? British Journal of Cancer, Vol. 76, No. 12, 1997, pp. 1652-54