We’ve been in a breakfast rut lately interchanging whole-grain waffles with oatmeal, always paired with green smoothies.
It’s morning. Simple routines needed.
When I do break out of the waffle/oatmeal breakfast rotation, the girls are stoked!
Most stoked when it’s pancakes… but, also pretty happy to see a beautiful vegan yogurt breakfast parfait like this…
These vegan yogurt parfaits are an especially easy and fast breakfast treat.
They look so elegant but really quite simple to make!
You can prepare the vegan yogurt the day before, and then layer your favorite fruits into parfaits the next morning.
Put them in special cups or parfait glasses and the kiddos think it’s very fancy.
My wee girl said “this is the best day ever“! 😊
The parfaits start with Vanilla Cashew Yogurt. When I wrote LTEV I used storebought vegan yogurts in several of the recipes – the Creamed Cheese Brownies, the Gluten-Free Chocolate Yogurt Cake, and the Banana Butter Pie (I have GOT to get that recipe and photos up for you)!
I went a little overboard offering allergy-friendly and storebought substitutions with LTEV, so I decided to include a homemade vegan yogurt recipe.
This Vanilla Yogurt is not exactly like storebought brands. It’s not cultured with probiotics.
What it does offer is the characteristic tang and texture of a plain or vanilla non-dairy yogurt.
While it doesn’t include the probiotics, you can easily add your own probiotics when eating. (I add probiotics to store-bought vegan yogurts all the time!). Just open a capsule of whatever probiotic you are using, and stir it into the yogurt.
Enjoy this vegan yogurt straight up or as a topping for granola, baked goods, or to layer in breakfast parfaits. Here, they are layered with fresh kiwi, nectarines, and blueberries.
Many other fruits could be used, and in the fall an apple/pear/orange combination would be tremendous! You could also layer in for an even heartier breakfast (or snack).
The recipe follows. If you’ve already tried it, please share you how you’ve enjoyed it.
x Dreena
Vanilla Cashew Vegan Yogurt
Ingredients
- 1 cup presoaked raw cashews
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce preferably organic
- 1 1/2 - 2 tbsp lemon juice see note
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1/3 cup non-dairy milk or more to thin if desired; but keep to 1/3 cup for use in recipes
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract OR 1/4 - 1 /2 tsp vanilla bean powder
- pinch salt
Instructions
- In a high-powered blender, puree all ingredients until very smooth. If using a standard blender, this may take a few minutes, and scraping down the sides a few times throughout. Serve, or store in an airtight container. Makes about 1 1/4 cups.
Notes
- I created this vegan yogurt primarily as a substitute for premade yogurts in my recipes (ex: BF Blueberry Muffins, Fresh Orange Cake). As such, it isn’t overly sweet. Feel free to make it a little more fun for your little ones, by stirring in extra maple syrup, or try a few spoonfuls of a berry, peach, or other fruit jam. Also note that this vegan yogurt is nutritious for little ones that might not otherwise eat nuts or nut butters because of textural issues - nuts being too hard, and nut butters too sticky. This recipe brings cashews into a pudding-like form that can you can customize with extra flavor and sweetness!
- Use 1 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice for use in recipes, and if you’d like it tangier for eating straight, add the extra lemon juice to taste.
- Probiotics Note: Feel free to add probiotics (by breaking open a capsule), and stir into this yogurt.
Christine (The Raw Project) says
This looks wonderful and like a great excuse to take a break from my smoothie rut, thanks!
Jacky says
I made this last night & had it for breakfast this morning with some hemp, flax, pumpkin seeds & blueberries! So. Good!!!! Will try it with probiotics and fermenting next time. But will definitely be on recipe repeat! I reduced the maple syrup by half and used the full amount of lemon juice. Next time I will skip the maple syrup altogether. I dont have a sweet tooth so prefer the tang. Thanks!!!
Tellie says
I just made the Vanilla Cashew yogurt since I already had all of the ingredients on hand and it sounded so yummy! I have to say, the finished product is quite good! The only thing I might comment on is that the “consistency” has the mouth-feel of a “cream” more so than a true yogurt. Perhaps fermenting would change that? Not sure. I’ll add granola and fruit in the morning which should be a delicious treat for me and my daughter. Thanks for sharing!
Katie says
Dear Dreena,
This recipe looks delicious!!!
I just had to come online and find your blog to thank you. This past year, I’ve researched nutrition like never before. I first learned about GMOs and that led to more. I stopped consuming GMOs about a year ago – ones that we are aware of anyway, switched to buying organic, then cut out meat, then cut out dairy, and now I follow a whole-foods, plant-based diet! I’m so very grateful the Lord placed many resources in my path to help me on this journey. I wanted to specifically thank you for your book, “Let Them Eat Vegan”. I’ve only had it a couple of months, but every recipe I’ve tried has been a winner. 🙂
My whole family is not vegan (yet ;), but I made your Almond Cardamom Toffee Cookies the other day and they were a hit. One person in our family said, “If you could make these cookies, I would never need chocolate chips.” 🙂
I just wanted to share with you that all of your time and effort invested in your recipe books has been a blessing to our family, and we are very new to this journey. Thank you!!
God bless you,
Katie
Dreena says
Thanks for this note, Katie, true delight to read! Congrats on making the plant-based switch, and I’m chuffed the cookies were so well received. 🙂 Many thanks for your kindness.
Shonalika says
Oh wow, cashew yogurt? And I thought I’d seen cashews in everything. So nice to be proven wrong:D Especially with regards to yogurt – I’ve been keen to find a richer (but not too expensive!) alternative to soy for quite some time!