Homemade Soy Yogurt Slow Cooker (Vegan)

Homemade Soy Yogurt made in the Crock Pot (Slow Cooker)

Several weeks ago, I bought soy yogurt for the first time to make a Buffalo Chickpea Pizza recipe. The recipe called for making Ranch dressing with the soy yogurt to drizzle on the pizza after baking. I love the pizza recipe but I really love the Ranch salad dressing recipe. I’ve been making it over and over ever since I tried it.

I was a tad worried when I bought the soy yogurt. First I worried I would not like it and it would go to waste.  I only need about 1/2 a cup and I could only find a big tub of it.  The tub I got contained less yogurt (as compared to the plain cow’s milk yogurt I used to buy) and it was more expensive.  I want to say the price for the three cup tub of yogurt is $5.79. The other thing I noticed about the soy yogurt (Silk brand) is that it contained a lot of added sugar.  It got me to thinking... if I have made cow’s milk yogurt in the slow cooker in the past, why not try soy yogurt?!

I started researching vegan yogurt recipes. At first I found recipes that called for pro-biotic capsules that could purchased on line.  What I found was big bottles for $44.00 when I just needed one or two capsules. Then I saw recipes calling for acidophilus and that sound familiar (as in... maybe I could find that at WalMart for less than $44.00).  I kept searching and I found a recipe and instructions that called for a small tub of store bought yogurt with live/active cultures and the adding it to warmed soy milk.  Basically, this is the exact method I used when making cow’s milk yogurt a few years back.  I made it Monday and it worked. And it’s delicious.  I am also happy that it is less expensive than the store bought soy yogurt, it contains less sugar, and overall it containers fewer additives and ingredients which, in my mind, makes it a little more wholesome.

Here is the tutorial I followed for making my homemade soy yogurt. The most important things I can point out is to look fo soy milk and yogurt which contain as few as ingredients as possible.  Specifically, look for soy yogurt which contains only soybeans and water.  Also, you must ensure the yogurt you use contains live/active cultures.  I had a hard time finding mention of live/active cultures on the Silk brand soy yogurt.  It was sort of hidden in the list of ingredients.


http://greenleavesandjam.com/the-easiest-crock-pot-homemade-yogurt-vegan-plant-based/

I made my homemade yogurt into some overnight oats.  Above you can see it with banana and natural peanut butter.  This is my favorite combination.  Overnight oats could not be easier to make.  You can make them a bazillion different ways but adding different toppings. 

 Here is the basic OVERNIGHT OATS recipe:

3/4 cup plain, unsweetened yogurt

3/4 cup milk of your choice (I used unsweetened almond milk)

1/2 cup rolled/old fashioned oats

2 tablespoons chia seeds

A splash of pure maple syrup (more or less depending how sweet you like things)

A splash of vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.  Refrigerate overnight (or at least a few hours) and top as desired.  Thawed frozen berries, jam, banana, nut butters, coconut, chopped nuts... the possibilities are endless.  You can experiment with other flavors... in place of vanilla, try almond extract for example.   

I typically eat overnight oats cold but they can also be enjoyed hot; just warm in the microwave oven as desired.