Yogurt: Beyond the Parfait

Plain Yogurt has a whole repertoire of uses beyond the berry, honey and granola parfait (that is, nonetheless, delicious.)

You might already know you can swap it for sour cream, mayonnaise, or buttermilk in most recipes, but here are some more not-your-average-uses!

Have any other favorite recipes that use yogurt? Please send them our way-- we'd love to try them!Try marinading poultry, fish or even red meat in a combination of yogurt, citrus, herbs and some salt for a few hours to impart a juicy, and rich flavor to your meats. Check out this all-purpose Spicy Yogurt Marinade recipe, or our recipe for Yogurt Fried Chicken.

Curious how marinades actually work? Basically, a marinade usually has three main components that help boost flavor and retain/add moisture in meats: acids, fats, and herbs. The acids break down some of the exterior proteins on the cut of meat, so that the fat and flavor from the herbs/oils/yogurt can get into the cut.This is probably the simplest yogurt trick in the book-- just whisk a little yogurt together with lemon juice, a little oil, some fresh herbs and voila, a lightened-up creamy dressing. Try our Pesto-Yogurt dressing on a simple green salad, or instead of mayonnaise in our Garden Egg Salad or Cabbage Cornslaw.

Check out this recipe for a Cauliflower Salad with a Garlicky Yogurt Dressing, and here is another for Beets and Greens with a Yogurt-Lemon Sauce. And maybe for a summery treat, here is a recipe for a Spelt Berry Waldorf Salad with Yogurt Dressing. Substitute yogurt for some of the oil, eggs, or as a direct swap for buttermilk the next time you bake or make pancakes, like our recipe for Sweet Potato Pancakes.

Here are some of our baking recipes that use yogurt: Chunky Harvest Muffins, Corn & Berry Muffins, & Blueberry Zucchini Scones.

Check out this recipe for a French-Style Yogurt Cake from the wonderful blog, Orangette.Yogurt and onions sounds very unlikely, but this dairy hero can actually make a delicious base for a pasta sauce. Check out this recipe for Pasta with Yogurt and Caramelized Onions.Yogurt can provide a healthier base for creamy desserts, like our Strawberry-Balsamic Cream Pops and Roasted Strawberry Ice Cream.

And of course, there are always parfaits 🙂 Alternate layers jam or fruit with granola, chocolate or honey and thick yogurt and keep cold till serving. Try yogurt instead of pastry cream for a lightened up version of our Gingered Cherry Parfaits.