There are so many perks to going vegetarian. However, there are also a few downsides that go along with it, and one is the fact that a lot of vegetarian versions of so many food products tend to carry steep price tags. Case in point: soy yogurt. It’s nutritious and dairy-free, but it tends to cost a lot than regular yogurt.

If you are bent on sticking to a vegetarian diet and you want to keep the purse strings tightened, there is a simple way to get your hands on soy yogurt without spending a lot of cash, and that is making your own at home!

Actually, making soy yogurt from scratch is rather easy. However, you will still need to purchase a small serving or soy yogurt from your favorite supermarket, the kind that yields about half a cup. The good news is you can turn that half a cup of supermarket-bought soy yogurt into a liter, which is enough to last for an entire week!

By the way, before we start it’s a good idea for you to sterilize the jar (large enough to accommodate up to a liter) you are going to place the finished product in by carefully rinsing it with boiling water. You should also sterilize a large mixing bowl and small wooden spoon.

Got them sterilized? Then it’s time to whip up your very first batch of homemade soy yogurt!

Ingredients:

1 liter of your favorite brand of soy milk (plain) 

1/2 cup of soy yogurt (plain) 

1 teaspoon of agar agar powder

Directions:

-Get the oven preheated to 50°C, which is equivalent to 120°F. 

-In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 liter of soy milk and 1 teaspoon of agar agar, a thickening agent. Mix with a wooden spoon — not the one that you have sterilized with boiling water! 

-However, do not bring the mixture to a boil. The goal is to bring it to near boiling point. If you have a kitchen thermometer, then the mixture should be at 90°C or 195°F only. 

-Carefully transfer the mixture to the large mixing bowl that you earlier sterilized with boiling water. Allow it to cool to about 50°C or 120°F — the mixture should still be hot, but no longer scalding. 

-Once the mixture reaches that temperature, it’s time to pour 1/2 cup of soy yogurt into it. By the way, go for the plainest so yogurt that you can find at your supermarket, the kind that has no unnecessary ingredient. 

-Using a sterilized wooden spoon, give the mixture a stir. Afterwards, carefully transfer it into the jar that you have earlier sterilized with boiling water. Do not put the lid in place. 

-Switch off the oven and place the jar in it. Leave it there for 8 straight hours. During the process, refrain from opening the oven to help ensure that your homemade soy yogurt will ferment properly. 

-After 8 hours, take the jar out of the oven and put on the lid. Stash in the refrigerator for a few hours. Once chilled, you may start enjoying soy yogurt that you have made from scratch.

That’s how easy it is to make soy yogurt in your very own kitchen! After having your first serving of it, come back to this page and kindly share your thoughts on it in the comments section below.

If you have family and friends who also just switched to a vegetarian diet and they find soy yogurt to be very expensive, then kindly have this article reposted on your different social media sites to let them know how trouble-free it really is for them to make delicious and nutritious soy yogurt at home!