One thing many people miss on a ketogenic diet is yogurt. Most yogurts at the grocery store, even full-fat, plain Greek yogurt, contain too many carbs and added ingredients that will kick you out of ketosis.
Fortunately, there are now low-carb alternatives to traditional milk yogurts. In the recipe below, you’ll use Carb Master milk, which can be found at many large chain grocers and online on Amazon.
With just 33 calories, 6 grams of protein, and a single gram of total carbs, this keto yogurt is suitable for any low-carb diet. Full disclosure, CarbMaster milk does contain a small amount of sucralose, which the nutrition team over at Perfect Keto doesn’t usually recommend.
A small amount is fine, but if you’d like to avoid altogether, use organic, full-fat dairy or coconut milk.
How to Make Keto Yogurt
Many keto yogurt recipes are made with dairy alternatives. You might find recipes that use almond milk, coconut milk, avocado, or coconut cream.
Typically, you’ll combine one of these ingredients with active cultures to make plain yogurt. Or, you’ll add a sugar-free sweetener such as monk fruit, stevia, or erythritol. You can also add various flavorings such as vanilla, blueberries, or strawberries.
While this particular recipe uses dairy, you can easily substitute one of the aforementioned alternatives to make your yogurt dairy-free.
Simply follow the same fermentation process, combining the probiotic capsules and guar gum with your dairy-free milk instead of whole milk, whey, or heavy cream. You could also choose to make your own almond milk (or other nut milk) by soaking the nuts overnight and straining with a cheesecloth.
Ingredients in Keto Yogurt
This full-fat yogurt is made with the following ingredients:
- Kroger brand Carb Master milk or lower carb milk of your choice
- Probiotic capsule
- Guar gum
This milk yogurt contains just one gram of net carbs, giving you a little wiggle room when it comes to carbohydrates.
If you’re craving additional sweetness, try a keto-friendly sweetener like stevia or monk fruit. You could also top with low-glycemic fresh fruit such as blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries.
Or, make a yogurt parfait with chia seeds and keto yogurt topped with homemade whipped cream created from heavy whipping cream or coconut cream.
Keto Recipe Ideas With Yogurt
Whether you’re enjoying your keto yogurt for breakfast or as a midday snack, there is more than one way to enjoy it. Here are several low-carb recipe ideas you might consider:
- Yogurt parfait: Take a tall glass, and alternate between layers of keto yogurt and this keto-friendly granola, made from chia, sunflower seeds, pecans, and almond butter.
- No churn ice-cream: If you’d like to freeze your keto yogurt, follow the steps outlined in this keto ice cream recipe. After freezing in a mason jar for 4-6 hours, your frozen yogurt should be ready to enjoy.
- Smoothie bowls: Yogurt is thick, delicious, and makes the perfect addition to your morning smoothie. Try one of these 17 smoothie recipes and top with flaxseed, chopped walnuts, or fresh fruit.
- In place of whipped cream: With a hint of sweetness and a light vanilla flavor, you can easily use this keto yogurt as a replacement for whipped cream. Use it atop keto waffles, keto pancakes, or a host of other low-carb desserts and breakfast recipes.
Health Benefits of Yogurt
Yogurt is a nutritious food to incorporate into a variety of diets — not just the keto diet. It’s loaded with essential protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals. Plus, it helps improve gut health and boosts immunity.
Yogurt Is Loaded With Vitamins and Minerals
Yogurt contains calcium, vitamins B and D, and other minerals. Calcium isn’t just essential for healthy teeth and bones. Calcium is an essential nutrient your body needs.
According to the USDA, you should consume around 1,100-1,200 milligrams each day[*]. Calcium also helps your blood clot, promotes muscle contraction, and helps your heart pump blood[*].
Yogurt also contains B and D vitamins. Vitamin B helps protect against heart disease, provides energy, and supports the adrenal glands[*]. Vitamin D helps build strong bones and prevents various cancers, heart disease, weight gain, depression, and diabetes[*].
Dairy also contains minerals such as phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium which are necessary in many biological processes such as regulation of blood pressure and metabolism[*][*].
Yogurt Promotes Gut Health
Yogurt is a fermented food, and therefore contains live bacteria essential in balancing gut health. The bacteria found in fermented foods can help balance gut bacteria, helping populations of good bacteria thrive and crowd out bad gut bacteria[*].
When you have too much bad bacteria in your gut, you can suffer from uncomfortable digestive issues and other irritating symptoms such as bloating, constipation, candida overgrowth, and bladder infections[*]. To combat these unwanted side effects, rebalancing your gut bacteria levels is necessary so that you have a healthy mix of good and bad bacteria.
You can do that by eating fermented foods like yogurt, which contain probiotics. The probiotics found in yogurt are widely known to help improve digestive health and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome[*].
Yogurt Is a Rich Source of Protein
Protein is a building block in your body. It helps support metabolism, controls appetite, and is needed for the regulation and function of many organs and tissues in your body. On a ketogenic diet, you should aim to consume roughly 20% of your total calories from protein.
If you can tolerate dairy, yogurt is an excellent source of protein for vegetarians on keto. The recipe below contains 6 grams of protein, the same as one egg.
A Final Note on Dairy
If you can’t find Carb Master milk at your local grocery store, you can easily substitute another high-quality dairy option. When selecting an alternative source for your keto yogurt, remember that keto dairy should be organic, grass fed, and high-fat. Avoid 1% and 2% dairy products, which are typically loaded with carbohydrates. Instead, select raw milk, heavy cream, or heavy whipping cream.
Enjoy Keto-Friendly Yogurt
The next time you need to change up your keto breakfast ideas, give this recipe a try. It’s so simple to make and is also extremely versatile.
You can easily change the creamy, tangy flavor by adding different extracts, spices like cinnamon or a few berries blended in. Make one large batch and divide them into different flavors, serve on its own, or top your favorite keto pancakes with it.
PrintTangy, Homemade Keto Yogurt
Enjoy this simple and easy recipe for the creamiest batch of keto yogurt that doesn’t require any appliances like a Crock-Pot or Instant Pot.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 hours+
- Total Time: 12 hours+
- Yield: 8 cups 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: European
Ingredients
- 2 cups Kroger Carb Master milk, whole-fat dairy, or full-fat coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon guar gum
- 2 probiotic capsules
Instructions
- Pour milk into a saucepan, stir in guar gum and begin to slowly heat the milk until it begins to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-6 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let cool to 108°F. Transfer to large glass jar. Stir in contents in probiotic capsules into milk mixture (discard gelatin caps) using a sterilized spoon.
- Cover jar with cheesecloth. Leave in a warm spot in your kitchen (not hot), for 12 hours. Stir and taste contents. If you would like it tangier, leave it out for an additional 6-12 hours. Stir well and store in the fridge when desired tanginess is achieved. Add keto friendly sweetener if desired to taste.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 cup
- Calories: 33
- Fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: Net Carbs: 1g
- Protein: 6g
Keywords: homemade keto yogurt