These days, dairy-free yogurt alternatives are quite creamy, satisfying, and boast probiotic and calcium levels that rival cultured dairy. They even come in a range of versatile flavors, from Unsweetened Vanilla to Passionate Mango to Chocolate. But, I’ve yet to find a dairy-free variety that came with its own mix-ins. So I decided to get creative, and put together the lists below with dozens of tasty DIY dairy-free yogurt mix-ins. While I was at it, I found several cool ideas to pack your dairy-free yogurt alternative for a snack, lunch or afternoon treat.
Dairy-Free Yogurt Mix-Ins
I’ve categorized my ideas for dairy-free yogurt mix-ins into Simple Things (basically one easy-to-find ingredient), Fancier Food (things you might by pre-made or that are a little less common), For Dessert (goodies to turn your dairy-free yogurt into a treat), and Fun Combinations (a few themed blends that we’ve enjoyed).
The Simple Things
- Fresh Berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc)
- Chopped Fruit (bananas, apples, grapes, pears, mango, papaya, pineapple, kiwi, mandarins, pitted cherries, peaches, etc)
- Chopped Dried Fruit (apples, apricots, mango, figs, dates, prunes, etc)
- Raisins
- Dried Cranberries (a.k.a. “Craisins”)
- Freeze-Dried Fruit (it hydrates in the yogurt)
- Shredded Coconut or Coconut Flakes
- Ground Cinnamon
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Chopped Nuts (pistachios, pecans, walnuts)
- Seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, chia, hemp, sesame, poppy, etc)
- Flaxseed Meal
- Peanut Butter
- Nut Butter (almond, cashew, pecan, etc)
- Seed or Soy Butter
- Toasted Oats
- Maple Syrup or a Favorite Liquid Sweetener
- Pumpkin or Sweet Potato Puree
- Cocoa Powder
- Sea Salt
- Wheat Germ
- Carob Powder
Fancier Food
- Toasted Coconut Chips
- Trail Mix
- Granola
- Chickpea Snacks (Cinnamon Crunch are heavenly in yogurt!)
- Cereal (your favorite!)
- Flavored Nut Butters
- Crystalized Ginger
- Goji Berries
- Cacao Nibs
- Matcha Powder
- Plant-Based Protein Powder
- Graham Crackers (crushed or minis)
- Chopped Plant-Based Bars (snack, energy or protein)
- Jam (we like wild blueberry)
- Fruit Sauce
- Blackstrap Molasses (great for minerals like calcium!)
- Extracts (orange, lemon, vanilla, almond, etc)
- Zest (orange, lime or lemon)
- Fresh Minced Herbs (such as mint or basil)
- Pumpkin Butter
- Apple Butter
- Nutritive Oils (hemp, olive, coconut, etc)
- Superfood Powders (Acai, Camu, Lucuma, Blends, etc)
- Maple Toasted Nuts
For Dessert
- Sprinkles
- Mini Dairy-Free Chocolate Chips
- Dark Chocolate Chunks
- Apple Crisp
- Dairy-Free Cookie Butter
- Crumbled Crunchy Dairy-Free Cookies
- Crushed Dairy-Free Sandwich Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Spread or Sauce
- Crumbled Raw Macaroons
- Vegan Cookie Dough Pieces (you always have some in the freezer, right?)
- Dairy-free Dark Chocolate-Covered Dried Fruit (raisins, cherriese, blueberries, etc)
Fun Combinations
- PB Cup – Chocolate dairy-free yogurt with creamy peanut butter (or sunflower seed butter) and cacao nibs or mini chocolate chips.
- Tropical Raspberry – Mango dairy-free yogurt with shredded or toasted coconut and fresh or freeze-dried raspberries.
- Carrot Cake – Vanilla dairy-free yogurt with shredded carrot, chopped walnuts or pecans, raisins or chopped dates, and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon.
- Birthday Breakfast – Unsweetened dairy-free yogurt with vanilla plant-based protein powder and sprinkles.
- Pumpkin Pie – Swirl pumpkin butter into unsweetened vanilla dairy-free yogurt and sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice and crumbled graham crackers or pumpkin seeds.
How to Pack Dairy-Free Yogurt Alternatives + Mix-Ins
While you can freeze dairy-free yogurt, it might affect the consistency once defrosted. For optimal taste and to help keep it cool, I’ve got several fun tips.
Super-Cool Yogurt Containers
There is a simple store-bought solution for nearly everything, including packing dairy-free yogurt! One of my favorites is the YoToGo Yogurt Container.
The YoToGo reportedly holds the wider “Greek-style” yogurt cups, yet is quite compact (it folds flat when no longer in use). It comes with the little spoon and custom mini ice pack insert shown, and really does keep yogurt alternative cold.
But, if you buy the Multi-Serve Dairy-Free Yogurt Alternative and want something to hold both the yogurt alternative and the yogurt mix-ins, then the Asobu Yo2Go is a great choice.
It comes in a Regular acrylic style and a Chilled Version that can be frozen ahead of time to keep things really cold. Both come with their own attached spoon, have a top that keeps the yogurt mix-ins separate, and hold a whopping 13 ounces.
If you just need a simple little container that keeps dairy-free yogurt alternative and yogurt mix-ins separate, then the Dash Yogurt Container shown at right should do the trick. But you will need some other ideas to keep it cool.
Other Cool Ideas
For your entire lunch, invest in an insulated lunch bag. You can add a slim lunch ice pack to keep the contents chilled, or freeze a water bottle or beverage for an ice pack that doubles as extra hydration when it defrosts.
Although I don’t recommend freezing it solid, you can put dairy-free yogurt alternative in the freezer while you get ready in the morning, for about 20 to 30 minutes. This will cool it significantly to give you an extra hour or so for transport and to enjoy it as a mid-morning snack. You can also stir frozen fruit into your dairy-free yogurt alternative for a delicious internal cooler.
Finally, if you make your lunch the night before, put all contents (even shelf-stable ones) in the refrigerator overnight. Any warm items put in an insulated lunch box can make the internal temperature much cooler.
This post is sponsored by So Delicious Dairy Free, but the opinions and cool ideas are all my own.
27 Comments
A good container idea I saw in another fb video… Mason jar and a clean upcycled plastic fruit cup (the snack cup ones) inverted on top under the mason ring. Don’t forget a spoon!
Great idea! Thanks for sharing this Ash.
What wonderful ideas, Alisa! There are so many options. Can I put them all in my yogurt at once? 😉 Great list that I’ll be keeping for future reference 😉
Haha, now that would be an interesting blend Vanessa 🙂
This is so awesome!!! LOVE all these ideas and the way you organized it!
Thank you Sophia! I am an organizing freak sometimes (sometimes I’m chaos) 🙂
So many great ideas! I love adding raw cocoa nibs into my yogurt! And definitely dairy-free granola!
Granola is such a classic that can’t be beat, but cacao nibs is a newbie I’ve welcomed, too, Laura!
I prefer mixing in my own toppings! That way you get lots of variety- and you provide so many delicious options here. Those containers are super cool!
Aren’t they? I want one of each!
I’m loving all of those yogurt containers. I rarely eat yogurt out of the house, but my husband takes yogurt to work almost every day. I think I have a present idea! 🙂
Yes, they are such a cute little gift or even stocking stuffer!
I love these ideas and the containers are so cute! My favorite mix-ins right now are a mix of dried blueberries and nuts. But I see that chocolate peanut butter yogurt in my future.
Oh yum! Now I’m thinking dried blueberries with peanut butter 🙂
I really like the organization of this post and that you categorized it. It made it so much easier to read! Great idea.
Glad my type A personality come in handy sometimes Megan 🙂
What great mix-in ideas and I love those yogurt holders. I didn’t even know they were a thing!
I didn’t either until I started researching it Mel. They are just too cool!
My favorite is fresh berries and granola with my yogurt. Love all these ideas though!
That is the perfect parfait Jenn!
OMG, I LOVE this post! I always put the same boring items in my yogurt each night; strawberries, blueberries, chocolate chips and almonds. I am SO using this awesome list as a reference when shopping next week and I’m gonna get creative! Thank you.
Awesome! So happy that I could inspire you Elizabeth!
Sometimes I can get repetitive with my snacks, this a great way to prevent that!
I think we all do Cricket. But I tell you, creating these lists has really helped me branch out!
I don’t eat yogurt enough, but all of these mix-in ideas make me want to run out and get some to snack on later in the week!
It gets that much more interesting … and darn if some of these don’t make a great semi-healthy dessert!
Those yogurt containers are so cute! We make our own, so I like that there are reusable to go options I can pack it in for my kid’s lunches that aren’t glass.