Innovative Ways To Use Yogurt

When you ask most people about how they eat yogurt, it’s usually for breakfast. Maybe they sprinkle a little granola or honey on it before heading out the door for work, or enjoy it with some fresh fruit. But, for the most part, outside of the morning hours, many of us don’t give yogurt a second thought.

The truth is, yogurt can be used in a wide variety of ways. Its creamy texture works well in many recipes, marinades and dips. If you want to break free from the norm and find innovative ways to use yogurt in the kitchen, read below for some great ideas:

Make yogurt desserts: Yes, fro-yo has become a huge dessert trend worldwide, but that isn’t the only way yogurt can satisfy a sweet tooth. For instance, you can make yogurt-based popsicles, custard, yogurt-based pound cakes and tarts, cream pies or chilled sweet drinks like lassis or smoothies.

Make dips and sauces out of yogurt: The possibilities are endless with dips and yogurt, and this is usually a much more healthy option compared to mayonnaise or sour cream dips. For instance, Greek yogurt can easily be made into a ranch dipping sauce for veggies or wings with some spices, chives and fresh dill. Or, make a cucumber raita to cool down Indian dishes or as a fun dip for pita chips. You can also make caramelized onion dip and blue cheese dressing. Almost any sauce that has mayo or sour cream can be substituted for Greek yogurt as well – it has the same consistency without all the fat and calories.

Make baked goods with yogurt: Almost any baked good that requires milk – muffins, pancakes, birthday cake – can be made with yogurt. You can even make cornbread with yogurt if you want. Because of its dense consistency and milkfat, yogurt adds a lot of flavor and moisture to baked goods.

Make meat tenderizers and marinades with yogurt: Meat and yogurt might not seem like a winning combination at first, but yogurt is actually a wonderful meat tenderizer.

“The live cultures and lactic acid in yogurt helps marinate all types of meat,” Sharon Bice, Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery marketing communication manager, explained to Fabulous Foods. “In order for yogurt to do its magic, I recommend an 
overnight marination… Excess yogurt that has been used for
 marinating raw meat should be discarded or cooked.”

If you want to use yogurt as the base for your marinade or meat tenderizer, be sure to use full-fat yogurt, as other types might separate during the process.

Make soups with yogurt: One of the hottest trends right now is making cream-based soups with Greek yogurt, such as this spinach, chive and yogurt soup with grilled scallions from Saveur. It adds a lot of extra tang to chilled soups such as this, and also blends well with other ingredients, particularly in vegetable soups.