Little sings a cute breakfast for two like yogurt parfait. Bbuuttt, with the dairy, grains, and sugar, it’s not quite the healthiest Valentine’s breakfast, which is why we’ve made some fitting altercations to make this parfait a breakfast of champions.
The first dilemma to deal with is yogurt, which is best solved by using coconut yogurt. While you can purchase store-bought yogurt, I find that they’re often too watery, filled with too many additives, or just too expensive for the good ones. The most economical, creamy, and natural route to take is to make your own, which is a lot simpler than you likely imagine; if you have coconut milk, probiotic capsules, a jar, a wooden spoon, and paper towels or a cheese cloth, then you have everything you need to make homemade coconut yogurt. Probiotic pills can be a ‘lil pricy, which is why it’s best to go with the most generic brand with the fewest ingredients. The one we have only contains a strain of vegetarian strand of probiotics wrapped in a vegetarian capsule – that’s it. Oh, and it came with 40 capsules and was only $15.
My point being is this: skip the ones with “fruit skin” this and “vitamin” that and go with one that’s as bare bones as possible.
The second dilemma to tackle is the granola that’s typically added on top, which is important because of its added crunch. The first thing that came to our minds was to replace the grains with nuts, particularly roasted hazlenuts, which are crunchy and robust in flavor.
Typically, parfaits also contain a touch of fruit, which can come in the form berries, apples, or citrus, depending on the season. If your body’s highly sensitive to sugar, then feel free to leave any of these out. However, because it’s still winter, we added half a Fuji apple into our parfait for a bright, juicy burst of flavor.
Finally, we have the cherry on top… well, actually, the chocolate drizzle on top. Mmmmm. Yogurt parfaits are often topped with caramel, but because I’ve yet to find a sugar-free, vegan caramel recipe that does the trick, we went with a chocolate drizzle, which is as simple to make as placing some dark chocolate chips into a double-broiler and heating it until it’s smooth. Plus, dark chocolate is loaded with antioxidants, adds a nice dose of sweetness, and c’mon, it’s chocolate (I confess, I’m obsessed).
All in all, this yogurt parfait is creamy, tangy, lightly sweet, and crunchy. Once your yogurt is done fermenting, this dish only takes 15 minutes to put together and just so happens to be the perfect size for two. Valentine’s breakfast anyone?
If you like what your taste buds are tellin’ ya, leave behind a nice rating, share your thoughts with us in the comments, or show us your creations by tagging @noeggsorham on Instagram.
Go Forth & Devour,
Ryan & Kim
Coconut Yogurt Parfait (grain-free, vegan, & Plant Paradox Friendly)
Creamy & tangy coconut yogurt topped with toasted hazelnuts, Fuji apple chunks, and dark chocolate drizzle.
Ingredients
Homemade Coconut Yogurt
- 1 13.5 oz can full-fat coconut milk (use coconut cream for thicker yogurt)
- 2 probiotic capsules
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 5-10 drops of stevia (optional)
Parfait
- 13.5 oz (about 1 1/2 c) coconut yogurt (homemade is the healthiest, cheapest, & creamiest option)
- 1/2 medium Fuji apple, small diced
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 c roasted hazelnuts
- 1/4 c dark chocolate chips
Directions
- Coconut Yogurt: Place can of full-fat coconut milk into a medium mason jar. Carefully open two probiotic capsules and place their contents in the coconut milk.
- Use the handle of a wooden spoon to stir (I’ve heard that metal can cause nasty tasting reactions) until probiotics are thoroughly mixed in.
- Grab a small paper towel or piece of cheesecloth and set it atop the mason jar then screw on the outer ring of the mason jar lid.
- Keep in a dark, cool spot for 36-48 hours, stirring once or twice throughout. Taste after 36 hours – if tangy to liking, place in fridge. If you’d like it to be tangier – let it sit for another 12 hours, then place in fridge.
- Allow coconut yogurt to cool completely; about 8 hours. Once cool, stir in vanilla & a few drops of stevia, if a sweeter yogurt is desired.
- Parfait: In a small bowl, toss apple dices, salt, lemon juice, and hazelnuts together. Set aside.
- Place one cup of water in a small sauce pot over medium heat. Once water begins to simmer, set a bowl that fits on top of the pot over the water.
- To that, add in chocolate chips and stir with a rubber spatula until completely melted; about 5 minutes. Pull off the heat.
- Use same mason jar coconut yogurt was prepared in for the parfait. Or, if using store-bought yogurt, place in 13.5 oz of coconut yogurt into a mason jar.
- To the mason jar, add in the hazelnut/apple mixture then drizzle on the chocolate. Enjoy while fresh!
NO EGGS OR HAM 
Oh my word, this looks amazing. I’ve been lamenting my dairy based yogurt eating days so this recipe may just hit the spot. And the dark chocolate drizzle? I will HAVE to give this a try!! :)
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Amazing presentation on the photos.
Thank you for such an amazing recipe :)
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I am definitely going to give this recipe to my wife who has all kinds of issues with dairy but misses the dairy in yogurt. She does like coconut, so this is perfect! Thanks for a great recipe and visually appealing photos.
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