This thick, Greek-style vegan yogurt is made with soy milk, soaked cashews and yogurt starter. You’ll need a thermometer and yogurt maker, and you’ll have homemade yogurt in 6 hours!
This post and recipe were updated September 2026 with clearer equipment, ingredient and method instructions for more consistent results.
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What You Need
Equipment:
- Yogurt maker
- Thermometer
- Blender (not a food processor)
Ingredients:
- Soy milk: This is essential (or another high-protein plant milk). Regular oat, almond and other low-protein milks don’t have enough protein to set (more on that below).
- Raw cashews: makes the yogurt extra creamy and thick, but if you’re allergic to nuts they can be omitted. The yogurt will just be a bit runnier.
- Yogurt Starter: Store-bought vegan yogurt with live cultures or a packet of dry yogurt starter both work. It doesn’t have to be soy yogurt, I’ve used coconut yogurt as the starter and it works fine. If it’s your first time, I’d use the dry vegan yogurt starter because it’s a controlled amount.
How to make vegan yogurt at home
Step One: Soak cashews overnight in the fridge (or boil for 10 minutes), drain, then blend with 1 cup of soy milk until smooth.
Step Two: Pour the remaining soy milk into a saucepan, then add the blended cashew mixture. Heat on low until lukewarm. Take it off the heat, then stir in the starter.
Step Three: Transfer the mixture to your clean yogurt maker container, cover and ferment for 4 to 6 hours. See Equipment tips below for Instant Pot and other yogurt maker settings.
Step Four: Once the yogurt is fermented, transfer it into the fridge to chill and thicken further.
Can you make yogurt without a yogurt maker?
I used to include tips for making this without a yogurt maker, but I no longer recommend it. It’s technically possible if you have a warm, controlled environment, but it’s so hard to do in practice. Temperature swings are the number one reason homemade yogurt fails, and I don’t want you to wait 6 hours only to be disappointed. A yogurt maker is the way to go, especially for your first batch.
Tips From My Testing
Equipment tips
- You must use a blender, not a food processor. Food processor blades chop, not blend, and you will have a gritty texture throughout the yogurt.
- Sterilize your yogurt maker container by washing it in very hot water, or at minimum make sure it’s very clean. We don’t want anything funky growing in our yogurt.
- Yogurt maker settings: Most yogurt makers don’t have a temperature setting. You just switch them on, set the hours, and they hold the right temperature. If yours does have a temperature setting, set it to 108°F/42°C. In an Instant Pot, press Yogurt, keep it on Normal and set 4 to 6 hours. If you have a small 1-quart yogurt maker, this batch (about 38 oz) won’t fit, so reduce the recipe card to 5 servings.
Method tips
- Use your thermometer when heating the milk. You only want it lukewarm (about 86°F/30°C). Too hot and it can kill the cultures, and the yogurt won’t set.
- The cashews MUST be softened by either boiling or soaking overnight. This is important to get that super silky consistency. If your blender is not strong, this step is extra important.
- Blend the milk and cashews until completely smooth and creamy. There should be no bits of cashews. Don’t underdo it!
- Chill the yogurt in the container it fermented in. Don’t spoon it into another container first. It will prevent it from getting that thick, Greek yogurt consistency. It will thicken more as it chills.
- If there is some water separation on top of the yogurt after chilling, mix it back in.
You MUST use soy or another high protein plant-milk
A high-protein plant milk is essential for this recipe to work. One of my lovely followers who has experimented told me that high-protein almond milk also works. Do NOT use regular almond, oat, rice milk etc, as they do not have sufficient protein content, and the yogurt won’t gel. You will end up with separated water and curd, which will be pretty unappealing (speaking from experience with my own oat-yogurt fail here – see photo below). It technically fermented, but the gloppy result was way too gross to eat!
There is a workaround for this using a gelling agent like agar-agar to thicken, but until I experiment further and create another recipe, I suggest sticking to the high-protein milk 🙂
Flavors and Add-ins
Don’t add anything to the yogurt mixture until after it is fermented, but once it is done, you can stir through any syrups, fruits, or flavorings you would like. It’s great with a little vanilla and maple syrup, or a swirl of berry chia jam.
Serving suggestions and recipes to use yogurt with
- Protein powder – stir through a scoop for a thick, mousse-like texture.
- Use it in breakfast recipes like Tiramisu Chia Pudding or my viral Blueberry Blended Oats or even bake with it, like in my Lemon Blueberry Baked Oats.
- Cook – keep the yogurt natural and unsweetened and stir it into pasta sauces, dollop on top of curries or soups. It is delicious as a topping on my Tofu Butter Chicken or Creamy Tomato Soup.
Troubleshooting
Yes, just leave the cashews out. Skip the soaking and blending, and add all the soy milk straight to the saucepan with the starter. The yogurt will be a little runnier but still sets.
If the yogurt has separated slightly, you can stir the liquid on the top or bottom back into the mixture. If it’s very thin once stirred, it might mean the temperature wasn’t consistent and hadn’t been set properly. It’s still perfectly fine to eat, but you should try again to get that thick, Greek-style consistency.
Usually, issues with consistency are due to varying temperatures during fermentation, or using a low-protein milk. For temperature, it needs to stay between 90°F/32°C and 108°F/42°C and be as stable a temperature as possible. Give it another go and pay close attention to the timing and temperature, and use a yogurt maker if you aren’t already. Make sure you are using soy milk or another high-protein equivalent plant-based milk, otherwise the yogurt will never set.
Yogurt should smell slightly tangy, but if it smells like rotten eggs or tastes fizzy, throw it out and start again. It could be due to the milk used or leaving it out for too long.
3-Ingredient Vegan Yogurt
Equipment
- Yogurt maker
- Thermometer
- Blender
Ingredients
- 4¼ cups soy milk approx. 1 L (1000 mL; approx.960 g)
- ½ cup raw cashews approx. 57 g; quick‑soak: boil 10 min
- ¼ cup plant-based yogurt approx. 57 g; or 1 packet dry yogurt starter (see notes)
Instructions
- Cover cashews with water and refrigerate overnight (or quick-soak by boiling in water for 10 minutes). Drain well.
- In a blender, combine drained cashews with 1 cup of the soy milk; blend until completely smooth.
- Pour remaining 3¼ cups soy milk into a medium saucepan, then add blended cashew mixture. Gently heat over low, stirring constantly, until it reaches 86°F/30°C (use a thermometer). Remove from heat and stir in the yogurt (or starter).
- Transfer mixture into your yogurt maker, then incubate for 4 to 6 hours until set and tangy.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to thicken fully.
- Optional: stir in vanilla and maple syrup to taste, or keep plain for savory cooking.
Luvi Rey says
I would add two capsules of probiotics so you don’t need to add a yogurt from the supermarkets
Liz says
Yes as mentioned the sachets of culture will also work fine, it’s often just easier to find and buy premade yoghurt rather than go to a specialty store 🙂
Tiffany Castle says
I’m excited to try this. I used to make yogurt when I used dairy and I blew the shop stuff out of the water.
Jess says
Worked beautifully! Like pot set yogurt
Manolya says
So so excited to try this 😍
Tiffany Castle says
I’m excited to try this. I used to make yogurt when I used dairy and I blew the shop stuff out of the water.
Eva says
Te best home made yogurt I have ever made. Very creamy and tasteful. Than you very much.
sarah says
Spot on, incredibly satisfying.
Hong Nguyen says
Yum, was delicious
Louise says
This is so good! Perfect for when you don’t want shop-bought vegan yoghurt which can contain loads of additives.
Janelle says
oh what a delight it is to make my own yogurt at home without any animal products! thanks for sharing this recipe
Jack says
Delicious
Anna says
Fantastic homemade yoghurt.
Cindy says
It’s so much better than store bought! Yum!
Regi Pearce says
Love this! It looks so good. I ‘ll be trying this soon!
Louise says
This is a great way to DIY your own yoghurt so you know exactly what’s going into it.
Regina says
This was perfect for my breakfast bowls and smoothie! Loved it.
Zara Annett says
Love this recipe – I add vanilla extract and some monk fruit. Just to confirm a serving size is about 3/4 a cup (or 0.18 litre)? I know this recipe makes 6 servings but I make it in a large tup and usually double the recipe so it is hard to figure out what a 6th or 12th of the dish is.
Liz Douglas says
hi Zara. yes one serving is about ¾ cup (around 180 ml). love the vanilla and monk fruit add-in 🙂
Marta says
Looking forward to trying this! I only have coconut yogurt in the fridge—will it work OK if I mix coconut yogurt and soy milk in this recipe? Thank you!
Liz Douglas says
Yes, that should work just fine. I’ve done it myself before 🙂 My biggest tip (in general) for this recipe is to use a yogurt maker if possible, as it can be hard to keep the yoghurt at a consistent temperature and that seems to be where most people seem to go wrong.
Michelle says
Love that it’s made with only three ingredients! So easy and delish!
Tine says
im not sure at first but honestly this turned out creamy, tangy, and better than store-bought.