The healthy yogurt finds itself some room in a whole variety of recipes, from baking to smoothies. Yet, there might be times when a yogurt substitute is desirable.
Yogurt is a very versatile ingredient that’s good to eat by itself, in a smoothie, for baking, for savory recipes, and a lot more. In many ways, it’s obvious that the recipe plays a role in picking the right substitute.
In most cases, the best substitutes for yogurt are sour cream, Greek yogurt, and buttermilk. Depending on the recipe and diet preferences, it might be also worthwhile to consider commercial vegan yogurt (coconut, almond, or cashew), silken tofu, mashed bananas, and mashed avocado.
Now is the time for some details.
Table of Contents
Yogurt Substitute Ideas To Look At
1. Sour Cream
Sour cream is pretty much a straightforward substitute for yogurt. It offers the same texture and also delivers pretty close on the taste with a touch of tanginess. It’s a remarkable fit for dips, sauces, and anything cold.
It works pretty well for baking too, but the higher fat content of sour cream can bring some differences to the overall texture, though it’s not problematic for the recipe.
Things can change if you choose to go with fat-free sour cream. In this situation, it still works rather well for cold food like dips, sauces, and even smoothies. However, it doesn’t do as well with baked goods, where it affects the texture negatively.
When using conventional sour cream as a yogurt substitute, it’s acceptable to use an equal amount (1:1) ratio for substitution.
2. Greek Yogurt
Greek Yogurt might bring a bit more tanginess to the recipe, but it can work as a suitable yogurt substitute. Of course, this assumes the classic, unflavored Greek yogurt, since the flavored varieties may not work as well as yogurt substitutions in many recipes.
When going with the substitution, remember that Greek yogurt is thicker than regular yogurt, and it has less moisture. Small attention to these changes can help make the substitution more successful.
One way to handle this is to simply add a little bit of water to the Greek yogurt during the substitution. As an example, if a recipe calls for one cup of yogurt, when substituting, fill about 80% or even ¾ of the cup with Greek Yogurt and top it up with water.
The presence of water gives more moisture to the substitution, bringing the resulting recipe closer to the original in both taste and texture.
The amount of water to add will generally depend on the type of Greek yogurt being used. For full fat Greek yogurt, using three-quarters (¾) of Greek yogurt with one-quarter (¼) of water can work. For regular Greek yogurt, adding just one-tenth cup of water can work.
This usually works well for most recipes, including baking and even the less-complex options like smoothies or overnight oats.
Avoid using no-fat or low-fat Greek yogurt, since the lack of fat won’t work well for the overall texture of the recipe, especially for baking. It could work for cold recipes like sauces and dips.
3. Buttermilk
To be specific, the buttermilk here is the modern commercially available cultured buttermilk, rather than the traditional buttermilk, which was a byproduct of churning butter. In many western countries, cultured buttermilk is the usual product that’s labeled as buttermilk.
In most cases, buttermilk can be used in the same amount as yogurt for a recipe. It does well with cold and hot recipes, and works decently well for marinades as well.
However, buttermilk is thinner than yogurt and slightly less acidic. The added moisture and reduced acidity can affect the texture of the recipe, especially for baking and marinades.
One way to manage this can be to add a little extra flour during baking to manage the extra moisture. Adjustments to manage the acidity are rarely needed, but if necessary, adding a few drops of lemon juice should be an acceptable solution.
4. Vegan Yogurt
If the need for a yogurt substitute stems from a desire to pick a dairy-free option, vegan yogurt can be a viable solution. The choice of vegan yogurt can generally depend on availability and individual preferences, but most options should work just fine to replace yogurt in most recipes, especially cold recipes like smoothies or dips.
Cashew yogurt, for example, is quite suitable as a vegan substitute for yogurt. It has the fat content, texture, acidity, and the subtle tang that make it a very useful alternative to conventional yogurt. Plus, it can work rather well with most recipes, thus shining as a suitable pick.
Other suitable options include coconut yogurt and almond yogurt.
Many commercial plant-based yogurt products tend to have sweeteners. It’s best to use unsweetened varieties for the best substitution results.
5. Silken Tofu
A medium-firm silken tofu can work as a suitable vegan alternative for yogurt in many recipes, especially cold recipes like sauces and dips.
Keep in mind, this is a workable substitute, and not an ideal substitute. There are notable differences in texture and taste when choosing this alternative. If some tang and flavor is desirable, consider adding a bit of lemon juice to the recipe.
6. Mashed Banana
Using mashed banana can be suitable replacements for yogurt in baking or for smoothie recipes.
Now, there are some changes involved when using this alternative. For one, the tartness that yogurt brings to the recipe will be replaced by the sweetness of banana.
Another aspect worth noting is that banana has a lower acidity when compared to yogurt. For most baked goods, this won’t be a problem, because even though bananas usually fall in the low-acidity range, they’re only slightly less acidic than yogurt.
The substitution can proceed in equal amounts, or a 1:1 ratio. For example, one cup of mashed banana can substitute for a cup of yogurt.
7. Mashed Avocado
Much like mashed banana, which I’ve already discussed, mashed avocado can be a substitute for yogurt in many recipes.
The reason I mention mashed avocado separately from bananas is because apart from smoothies and baking, mashed avocado can replace yogurt in several dips as well. This is largely because of the relatively neutral flavor and enhanced creaminess of mashed avocados.
Of course, avocados don’t bring the same tang as yogurt, which might be desirable especially for dips. In such cases, adding a few drops of lime juice can help with the recipe. Adding a bit of olive oil (for dips) is also worth trying, as the added fat makes the recipe feel more substantial.
The conventional substitution ratio is 1:1, so you can use equal amounts of mashed avocado to replace yogurt in a recipe.