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Happy days in the kitchen – I had a little eager helper and we made the most beautiful yogurt I’ve ever seen (not going to be modest here). Just look at the color – isn’t it striking? We’ve made a plain white version of the same cashew yogurt many times now, but to show it here I wanted something extra pretty. So I bought a cute bunch of beets and rest is history. Well-documented history 😉 This sweet and creamy lemon cashew yogurt is one of our go-to brekkies or snacks, it’s perfectly silky and very filling. Especially when you top it with granola and berries, like we usually do.
When we made this yogurt together, my daughter was very surprised soaked cashews are used as the base ingredient. She had eaten this yogurt several times before, and had never guessed it’s made of her favorite nuts! Cashews have become my favorite nut too, as I find their versatility in cooking very appealing. I use cashews in both savory and sweet dishes; in milk, cream and butter form (or just as they are). And there’s a whole chapter to be written about cashews used in vegan baking and raw treats!
The fun part about this recipe is that it’s totally up to you to determine the taste and color 🙂 There are at least three elements you might want to adjust (these parts are also interrelated – changing one part means you probably want to change another part, too):
- Sweetness: use your preferred sweetener and adjust to taste. Start with only a little – 1 teaspoon, and add more as you wish (or you can just follow the recipe and add 1 tbsp straight away)
- Tanginess: add more freshly squeezed lemon juice for an even tangier citrus flavor.
- Color: make a white vanilla version, or add just a teaspoon of grated beetroot for a baby pink color. OR you can go ahead and make this stunning fuchsia colored (but not beetroot tasting) creation! This fuchsia colored cashew yogurt contains more sweetener and lemon juice than the plain version, as I wanted to cover up all the beetroot flavor.
As I’ve written before I love to cook with my little helpers, but I have to admit cooking with my 2 year old son can get crazy messy. I cook a lot more with my 5 year old star of these pics. My son isn’t really into decorating smoothie or yogurt bowls like my daughter who always concentrates 100% on the task. And the result is pretty – don’t you think (just ignore the dirty “I’ve been playing in the garden all day” -fingernails 🙂 ) ?
- The base: Creamy lemon cashew yogurt (plain white, without beets)
- 1 cup cashews (soak cashews a minimum of 4 hours before making the yogurt to get an extra creamy consistency)
- ⅓ cup unsweetened plant-based yogurt (I used unsweetened oat yogurt)
- 2 tbsp water
- 1,5 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- ¼ tsp vanilla bean powder
- pinch of salt
- Creamy lemon cashew yogurt (fuschia, with beets)
- Same base but with beets and more lemon juice and sweetener.
- 1 cup cashews (soak cashews a minimum of 4 hours before making the yogurt to get an extra creamy consistency)
- ⅓ cup unsweetened plant-based yogurt (I used unsweetened oat yogurt)
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp grated raw beet
- 1 - 2 tbsp maple syrup (add to taste, start with 1 tbsp and add 1 tsp at a time)
- ¼ tsp vanilla bean powder
- pinch of salt
- Soak cashews in ~2,5 cups warm water and 1 tsp sea salt for a minimum of 4 hours (or overnight).
- Rinse and drain cashews and add in a high-speed blender or good food processor together with other yogurt ingredients. Blend until creamy.
- If you want to make a baby pink color, add only 2 tsp grated beetroot + sweetener and lemon juice to taste.
- Enjoy this bowl of yogurt with crunchy granola and fresh berries.
I wanted to use plant-based yogurt in my recipe to get a more yogurt-like taste (instead of plant-based milk, which is used in the original recipe). This yogurt tastes much creamier and softer than a regular store bought plant-based yogurt.
This is so beautiful, Tiina! I really want to try this, I can only imagine how velvety the texture is and that colour is just, wow! I love all of the photos too, your little girl is so cute! What an awesome little sous chef you have!
Thank you Bo 🙂 This really is our favorite yogurt now, and we really love the color, too. I’m always so amazed by beets..it’s so magical to see the color turn to pink while blending. And yes will train these kids well 🙂 Julia actually said she wants to be either a cleaning lady or a chef when she grows up. hehe. xoxo
Hi Tiina, what is OAT YOGHURT? Never heared about it? Do you make it by yourself. I tried out to make my own cashew cheese. It taste a bit like joghurt?! Is that normal? Need to learn a lot in the vegan kitchen. Haha. Love your Picture with your kid. Great work. xoxo Janine
Hi Janine! Thank you 🙂 We have oat yogurt in stores here. The brand is Oatly http://www.oatly.com/products/international/natural-oatgurt/ and it tastes okay but I wouldn’t eat it plain. It is also possible to make oat yogurt! I’ve never tried it, but it’s next on my to-do list 🙂 And yes cashew cheese can taste a bit like yogurt I suppose..if you add a lot of lemon juice, it gets a little tangy like yogurt. I love soft cashew cheese but lately we’ve only been eating the baked version I posted with my feta salad. Wishing you a great new week <3
If you were to package and sell this stuff in the plant based yogurt aisle all other brands would be out of business in an instant! It’s prettier. It’s creamier. And it’s loads healthier with all those beautiful beet nutrients! My goodness this is gorgeous <3 Julia is a pro smoothie bowl stylist, I loved the fruity flowery design the minute I saw it on IG. I bet this tastes just as marvelous as it looks, and much much easier than messing with fermentation and starters and all that jazz. I love it! I know I say that about all your recipes, but it's always 100% true! You are amazing!
P.S. From your comment above with Janine, I tried homemade oat yogurt once…so gross. So I'm really hoping you have better luck than me!
Thanks Natalie, I always have a laugh when reading your comments 🙂 🙂 I thought I’d skip a few steps with this one (the fermentation etc…), because I had severe creamy yogurt cravings 🙂 Can you believe it, we only have soy or oat yogurt here in stores?!?! It’s crazy. But now you know why I simply had to make this simple creamy yogurt of my own. Will let you know how my oatgurt experiments turn out! Have a wonderful new week <3 <3
Wow! SO beautiful. And it sounds absolutely delicious with all those flavours. I love cashew yoghurt but haven’t made it in a long time, I’ve definitely been inspired to make it again now!
PS. Your daughter is so so cute.
Thank you Aimee! We really love cashew yogurt too, and have been eating it quite a lot this summer 🙂 Can’t wait to make it again now that we’re back from our summer vacation. Hope you’re having a wonderful summer!