Coconut Milk Yogurt With Gelatin (Full GAPS)

Homemade coconut yogurt has its own texture: coconut-rich, softly tangy, and much thicker after a good chill than it looks coming out of the yogurt maker. This Full GAPS version starts with four cups of rich homemade coconut milk, uses a live dairy-free starter, and gets its chilled body from a measured amount of gelatin.

My Luvele Pure Plus is my go-to yogurt maker. For this coconut batch, it holds the warm culture while the refrigerator does the final setting afterward. The stovetop work happens first, in a saucepan where you can stir the milk and check its temperature.

With six kids, homeschooling before work, and second shift outside the house, I appreciate a recipe that makes the waiting clear. This one needs a full day in the maker and at least six hours in the refrigerator. Plan those stretches before you begin, so a warm, loose batch is not mistaken for yogurt that should already be ready to serve.

Have your milk and starter prepared first. The linked plain cashew yogurt provides the three tablespoons of previous culture used here. Choose a live, dairy-free culture suitable for reculturing at 100°F when making that component. This version contains cashews through its starter and animal-derived gelatin.

Why Add Gelatin To Coconut Yogurt?

Coconut milk behaves differently from cow’s milk. It does not form the same dairy curd as it ferments. Gelatin helps give the chilled coconut mixture a spoonable body, while the live starter supplies the culture. Those ingredients have separate jobs.

The warm batch can still look thin. A creamy top and a more watery layer underneath can also develop. That separation is useful to understand before you start: a layered jar does not automatically mean the coconut yogurt needs another measure of gelatin.

Let it chill completely before stirring the layers together and assessing the thickness. The final result depends in part on how rich your homemade milk is. Use the rich, strained component linked here rather than a thin coconut drink if you want to follow this batch consistently.

Ingredients

• 4 cups prepared rich homemade coconut milk
• 1¾ teaspoons plain, unflavored grass-fed gelatin powder
• 2⅜ teaspoons raw honey
• 3 tablespoons plain live dairy-free cashew yogurt, suitable for reculturing at 100°F

Coconut milk: Make enough of the linked homemade recipe to measure four finished cups. Its yield varies with straining, so do not count an estimated number of component batches as the measured milk. Stir the milk and cream together before filling the measuring cup.

Gelatin: Use gelatin that sets when cold. Collagen peptides are a different product and will not give this mixture the same set. Keep the 1¾-teaspoon measure rather than adding powder until the warm milk looks thick.

Honey: This small amount is included before culturing as food for the culture in the coconut base. Measure two teaspoons plus three eighths of a teaspoon, or two teaspoons plus a quarter teaspoon and an eighth teaspoon. It is not a promise that every bit of honey will be consumed during fermentation.

Starter: Measure three tablespoons from a plain completed cashew-yogurt batch. The culture used to make it must support reculturing and the 100°F incubation used here. A direct-set packet intended for one batch does not automatically become a reusable starter. The component page explains making cashew yogurt; keep its cashew and water quantities on that page.

Recommended Equipment

• A stainless-steel saucepan and a small bowl for blooming gelatin
• A whisk, measuring cups and spoons, and a food thermometer
• Luvele Pure Plus LPPYM300WUSA with its matching two-liter glass container, water bath, lid, and outer cover
• A spoon and covered glass storage container

The prepared coconut milk needs no blender during this yogurt method. If you are making the milk component first, follow its Ninja BN801 and straining instructions. Keep the pulp out of the measured milk so the finished yogurt is not full of coconut shreds.

Use the thermometer in the stirred liquid. The saucepan warms the milk enough to dissolve the gelatin; the Luvele maintains the selected culture temperature. They are separate stages, and adding starter during the warmer stage defeats the reason for cooling.

How To Make Coconut Milk Yogurt With Gelatin

1. Measure and bloom. Stir the prepared homemade coconut milk until the cream and thinner liquid are combined, then measure four cups. Reserve a quarter cup from that measure in a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the reserved cool milk, stir, and leave for three minutes to swell. Put the remaining milk in the saucepan.
2. Dissolve the gelatin and honey. Add the bloomed gelatin and measured honey to the saucepan. Warm gently to about 115°F, whisking until the gelatin granules and honey are fully dissolved. Stir along the bottom and sides; the liquid should be evenly mixed rather than dotted with dry powder. Remove from the heat.
3. Cool and add the starter. Let the coconut mixture cool to 100°F. Smooth the three tablespoons of prepared live cashew yogurt with a little of the cooled milk, then whisk it through the whole batch. Use starter made with a culture suitable for reculturing at this temperature.
4. Culture in the Luvele. Pour into the matching glass container and fit its lid. Place it in the maker, add bath water outside the glass container without exceeding the marked tall line, and fit the outer cover. Select 100°F and run a 24-hour culture.
5. Chill and combine. Refrigerate the completed batch covered for at least six hours, until cold throughout. A creamy layer and a more watery layer may set separately. Once chilled, stir or whisk them together for a more even spoonful, then serve.

Texture And Temperature Tips

Blooming gives the gelatin time to absorb liquid before it goes into the saucepan. The reserved quarter cup belongs to the original four cups, so you are not adding extra water and thinning the milk. Sweep the bowl into the pan so the full measured gelatin reaches the batch.

Warm gently and keep whisking. Look for dissolved gelatin rather than a simmer or a dairy-style skin. If the milk gets warmer than intended, take it off the heat and let it return to 100°F before adding the live starter.

After culturing, expect a coconut aroma with a tangier fermented note. Coconut cream can rise above the thinner liquid, and some coconut fat can become firm in the refrigerator. Stir after chilling to distribute those layers. Do not expect the sharp, uniform curd of a dairy yogurt.

Gelatin can set a liquid even without a successful culture. Thickness alone therefore does not tell you whether fermentation worked. Begin with an active suitable starter, use the stated temperature and interval, and assess the fermented aroma as well as the cold texture.

Where This Fits On GAPS

This recipe is for Full GAPS after coconut, cashews, honey, and the other ingredients have been introduced. It uses homemade coconut milk rather than canned coconut milk. The cashew starter makes it dairy-free when that starter was itself made without dairy.

This is not an Introduction Diet yogurt recipe. A spoonful of coconut yogurt does not take the same place as the protocol’s introduction of fermented dairy. For that separate preparation, see the plain homemade dairy yogurt and its dairy-introduction guidance.

The 24-hour coconut culture is a plant-milk method. Coconut milk has no dairy lactose to remove, so the reason for this interval is different from the GAPS dairy-yogurt minimum. The honey also means this recipe should not be described as sugar-free.

Storage And Serving

Keep the finished yogurt covered in the refrigerator. Label it with its finish date, use clean utensils, and take out the amount you plan to serve. Give the center of the container time to become cold before checking its final set.

Serve a chilled spoonful plain or with fruit already introduced on Full GAPS. Keep extra toppings in individual bowls so the remaining yogurt stays available for another use. Coconut has a noticeable flavor here; it is part of the recipe rather than something vanilla needs to hide.

Measure the finished yogurt if using it in another dish. This thickened batch is not a substitute for every recipe calling for plain coconut yogurt, especially one that needs draining. Gelatin changes how the liquid sets and separates.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is This Vegan Or Nut-Free?

No. Gelatin is animal-derived, and the measured starter contains cashews. Dairy-free describes the absence of dairy in the milk and starter, not the absence of animal ingredients or nuts.

Can I Use A Carton Of Coconut Drink?

Follow the linked rich homemade coconut milk recipe for this batch. A thin drink or one with added gums and sweeteners changes the ingredients and the texture you are working with.

Why Is There Liquid Under The Cream?

Homemade coconut milk can separate during culturing and chilling. Let the whole batch become cold, then stir the layers together. Adding more gelatin to the warm jar changes the recipe before you have seen its chilled result.

Can I Use Dairy Yogurt As Starter?

It would make the finished batch contain dairy. This post uses the linked dairy-free cashew yogurt so the starter matches the coconut version’s dairy-free purpose.

Can I Double The Recipe?

Use eight cups coconut milk, 3½ teaspoons gelatin, 4¾ teaspoons honey, and six tablespoons starter. Make two original-size Luvele batches rather than crowding the two-liter container. Each batch needs its own 24-hour culture and complete chill.

More Homemade GAPS Yogurt

For another dairy-free base, try the cashew yogurt used as this starter. If you use dairy, the separate whole-milk yogurt with gelatin explains that milk’s heating and culturing steps.

The planned Ferment Tracker gives you a place to record start times, temperatures, and the texture after chilling. Look for it with the WFLI kitchen printables in the shop. A note about the milk’s richness is especially useful when you make your next coconut batch.