Yogurt with Fruit on the Bottom (Homemade!)
I'm constantly looking for ways to streamline healthy eating in our house. One thing I've learned about myself is if it ain't easy, I'm probably not going to follow through. That's why I'm such a big fan of single-serving yogurts. They are super easy to meal prep and are a great grab-and-go breakfast or snack (especially if you pair them with something like moist apple cinnamon muffins!). Plus, they're tasty and full of healthy fats, protein, and probiotics.
Why should I make my own yogurt with fruit on the bottom?
Unfortunately, there are also quite a few things that I don't love about single serving yogurts. I really hate all the waste they create. We try to reuse our leftover yogurt containers wherever possible (and recycle if we can't reuse), but that's still generating way more waste than I feel comfortable with. I also don't love the price. If you hit a good sale, you can maybe get organic yogurt for $1 per single-serving container (which averages around 6 ounces). By making my own yogurt from organic milk, I can get a full gallon of yogurt for about $5. A gallon at single serving prices=$21. That's a hefty savings when you eat as much yogurt as we do.
What kind of container works best for this yogurt with fruit?
We use four-ounce and eight-ounce jelly jars, depending on how big we want the servings to be. They are glass, reusable, and hold the perfect portion size. You can usually find a set of 12 jars with lids at your local hardware store, supermarket, or grocery store for a reasonable price.
What fruit should I use?
For the fruit-on-the-bottom part, you'll make a lightly-sweet fruit-chia syrup concoction (kind of like a fruit compote) that not only looks great in the jars, but adds tons of flavor, antioxidants, and omega-3s. We've made it with:
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
- Raspberries
- Cherries
- Peaches
- Apples and cinnamon (or take a shortcut and use my homemade canned apple pie filling)
You'll find a recipe below that will work for most fruits, and feel free to adjust it and tweak it to make it your own. I like mine on the less sweet end of things to let the taste of fruit really shine, so if you're into sweeter yogurts, I'd up the sugar content.
What kind of yogurt do I need?
On top, I just put my plain regular yogurt, but this also works well with homemade coconut yogurt. Making your own yogurt is so easy and cheap!
But if you aren't into making your own yogurt, you can just as easily buy the large tubs of whatever yogurt you prefer and follow the same process. You'll still be saving money over buying the single-serving versions.
Happy food prepping!
📖 Recipe
Homemade Fruit on the Bottom Yogurts
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups fresh fruit or frozen fruit
- 3 tablespoons chia seeds
- ½ cup water
- 2-4 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 48 ounces plain yogurt regular or Greek yogurt
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except yogurt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally.
- Spoon the fruit syrup into the bottom of each jar-use 2 tablespoons for four-ounce jars, or a quarter cup for eight-ounce jars.
- Top off the container with a layer of yogurt and seal. Store in the fridge until use.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Want more meal prep breakfast ideas?
- One Bowl Vegan Blueberry Muffins
- Egg Muffin Cups (delicious little egg bites!)
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Overnight Oats
- Strawberry Cheesecake Overnight Oats
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Have you tried making a blended fruit yogurt with your homemade yogurt? I want to make a blended mango yogurt using frozen mango. I just wasn’t sure if I should blend it while it’s warm after incubation or if I should chill the yogurt then blend it with the mangoes.
Hi Susan! We haven't made a blended yogurt with frozen mangoes before, but we don't see why it wouldn't work. Just note that the yogurt won't have as long of a shelf life because there won't be any preservatives in the fruit. So we wouldn't make up more than you can eat in a few days! If you give it a go, we think waiting until the yogurt is chilled and thickened and the frozen fruit is defrosted and drained before blending will work best. That way you don't end up with a smoothie! Which while delicious, doesn't sound like what you're going for. ; )
What’s the shelf life for this in the fridge?
Hi Daena! These will keep about a week in the fridge. Since the jam isn’t preserved at all, we wouldn’t make up more than you can eat in a week!
I don't eat enough yogurt to make my own, but I do buy Plain (milk and culture only, no sweetener or thickener) in a tub. Instead of having to cut up fruit every time, I searched for a fruit on the bottom recipe and found this one. *WITH CHIA SEED!* I tried the strawberry with 300g of fruit, and followed the remainder of the recipe using honey as the sweetener. I think I will play around with the type and amount of honey to find what is right for me. This was the perfect amount of fruit blend for eight glass oui yogurt containers with silicone re-useable lids. I did let the jars with fruit blend chill for 30-45 minutes in the refrigerator before I added the yogurt on top. 100% will try again with other fruits.
I didn’t see anything about homemade yogurt. You used store bought.
Hi Rain! You can use homemade or store-bought yogurt for this recipe. If you're looking for information on how to make homemade yogurt, you can find our recipes for homemade yogurt and homemade coconut yogurt by following those links. I hope that helps!