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. 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
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!
Homemade Fruit on the Bottom Yogurts - Syrup
Homemade yogurt with fruit on the bottom is an easy, inexpensive way to get a nutritious snack or breakfast. Learn how to make this perfect meal prep breakfast!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups fresh fruit or frozen fruit
- 3 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1/2 cup water
- 2-4 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 48 ounces plain yogurt (regular or Greek yogurt)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients 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.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 2 tablespoonsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 131Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 81mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 2gSugar: 18gProtein: 7g
At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.
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
Hi. How long will the yogurts last in the fridge? Will they keep longer if I vacuum seal them in mason jars? I am new to this and am grateful for the recipe, information and patience 🌷. Thank you, Tricia
Hi Tricia! 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!
Excellent idea. I’ve been making my own yogurt for the past few months and love it. This is a great idea to add the fruit and flavor as well as single servings ahead of time. We’ve always used reusable pouches for the kids for school, but they still have a shelf life. Now to get my kids to eat the homemade yogurt:)
That sounds yummy, Cassie! I will be adding some vanilla to the yogurt and sub some organic stevia and/or erythritol for sweetening.
Im crazy about homemade yogurt-loving greek the best. I had the same light bulb idea you did and bought some raspberries and blueberries. Going to the local fruit stand to get fresh out of the field strawberries! I’m using my instapot to make the yogurt and using the souz vide setting to keep the temp at 112 after the boil-oh and I bought yogurt from an Indian food store -its tangier-which i love!
Are you suppose to mash the fruit before adding it in the pan with the rest of the ingredients?
It is easier to mash the fruit up a bit once it is in the pan and heating and starting to break down!
I just tried this recipe in an attempt to replace store bought fruit yogurts, with an actual clean version. I made this with berries, honey and chia and it turned out wonderful! I also tried it with cottage cheese, as well as yogurt and it was fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing this. I’m thrilled to have found this.
Hi,
I was wondering have you ever tried making the yoghurt itself over the fruit? I mean allowing the curd to set over hte fruit? Does that happen? Instead of making a compote and adding yoghurt over it??
Thanks,
Shobha
Homemade single-serving yogurts is an AWESOME idea! I have been dreaming of something like this for a long time, but didn’t know what kind of containers to put them in. Now I know I must invest in some of those cute little Mason jars if I can find any!
Hi… Love your single serving recipe… How long can they last in the fridge?
I love this! I used some honey greek yogurt, added some granola, put it in a jelly jar and I was good to go. I just got home from the farmer’s market with a box of strawberries …. and I just might need to make my to-go yogurt jars with strawberries before they are consumed by my ravenous kids!! P.S. The little bitty jars are too adorable!
These look beautiful!! I’ve never made my own yogurt, although we go through a ton a week. I’m ultra-paranoid about it being ‘bad’ and making my kids sick (I think this stems from drinking bad milk when I was a kid and was told it was fine). Any reassurance you can offer?
If you have a local source of clean, raw milk, you’ll never have to worry about the milk being “bad”. Raw milk will sour, but won’t go bad unless it was handled improperly. You’ll know if you’ve made yogurt from “bad” milk, it won’t set correctly and will take on an odd spongy type texture. I have 2 dairy goats on my farm, and we make all our own yogurt, cheese, and other dairy products. We don’t have fancy equipment and I don’t spend half the day in a hazmat suit preparing a sterile milking facility. We simply wash our girls udders with warm soapy water, milk into a clean stainless steel bowl, and strain the milk before storing in a 1/2 gallon mason jar. Though we like the benefits of raw milk, you could certainly pasteurize it before making whatever cultured product you wanted, to ensure cleanliness. 🙂 Being that most people don’t have a goat waiting in the field to be milked, I often recommend purchasing a milk share (goat, sheep, or cow) from a local farmer, or one that delivers their product to your city. Do take the time to visit the farm you choose, look at the animals and assess their health and living conditions, and look at the milking area to assess the cleanliness. Ask the farmer questions about the dairy animals, any certifications they have, and any tests that have been run on the herd. Always trust your gut, if the farmer is open to talking with you and showing you around and the animals are in good body condition with clean living conditions, it’s likely that you’ve found a great source of milk 🙂
We do the same thing but using plain frozen fruit on the bottom (raspberries are a fav at our house) and drizzle a little honey on the top. The frozen fruit is also a great way to pack it for a school snack. The frozen fruit helps keep the yogurt cold and it is mostly thawed by the time my kid’s snack time comes along.
How do you make your homemade yogurt? I looked in your recipes and there isn’t a link.
Voila! https://wholefully.com/2011/05/19/yogurtmaking-101/
sorry! I scrolled back up far enough and found it! Thank you so much, I appreciate it!
Nevermind! I found it!
Back when I first tried Greek yogurt, I couldn’t stand the tartness of it. I swore by the Fage containers that came with the side of “jam” until one day I got the bright idea to buy a container of the plain stuff and a JAR of jam…yeah, I thought I was pretty friggin’ genius! Lol Of course now, I actually prefer it plain most of the time! There are only a few flavored ones out there that I don’t feel are overkill in the sugar department.
I’ve been wanting to make chia jam for FOREVER!! I need to get on that!
This is so perfect! Now I just have to try to make the yogurt!
Yeah. You may be a genius. I kind of feel stupid that I haven’t done this already. 🙂
This sounds like a really cool idea! I’ve never made yogurt but I’ve heard it’s easy to do. My fiance eats the store-bought yogurt cups every weekday for breakfast and this sounds much better for him (not to mention a cost saver and better for the environment). Thanks for the idea!
I already have those jars and blueberry syrup so I guess I have no excuse but to try this asap. Thanks for the kick of motivation!
brilliant. will definitely be doing this!