Creamy Whipped Greek Yogurt Recipe (2024)

Greek Yogurt
Easter

A light and fresh summer dessert.

Stella Parks

Editor Emeritus

Stella Parks is a CIA-trained baking nerd and pastry wizard, dubbed one of America's Best New Pastry Chefs by Food & Wine. She was the pastry editor at Serious Eats from 2016 to 2019.

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Updated June 08, 2023

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Why It Works

True Greek yogurt is strained, making a thick, low-moisture foundation for this dessert.
A small proportion of cream thickens and aerates the yogurt.
Ingredients like golden syrup and honey add both flavor and sweetness to the dessert.

When it's too hot to turn on the oven or stand over a stove, your dessert options can really start to dwindle. One of my favorite summertime tricks is to make a batch of whipped Greek yogurt, which is exactly what it sounds like—a cross between airy whipped cream and dense yogurt.

It's a combination that offers the best of both worlds. The tangy Greek yogurt provides some heft to the whipped cream, giving it a consistency that's somewhere between pudding and mousse, while simultaneously cutting through its richness (because, as much as I love whipped cream, I can eat only a few spoonfuls before tapping out). Meanwhile, the whipped cream aerates the heavy yogurt and mellows its acidic bite, transforming it into something more like dessert.

Tips for Making the Best Whipped Greek Yogurt

For this recipe, it's important to start with true Greek yogurt, which is strained to reduce its water content. You can make it yourself, or else look for brands that list nothing more than milk and active cultures among the ingredients (my favorite brand is fa*ge). Brands that include gum, gelatin, or pectin thicken the yogurt artificially rather than through straining, which produces a thick but watery yogurt. Along those same lines, regular yogurt is a no-go as well; in order to whip up light and thick, this recipe requires a low-moisture foundation.

That said, feel free to play with different types of sweeteners. Baked goods may depend on the specific behavior and pH of sugar, but whipped Greek yogurt is amenable to flavorful alternatives like sorghum, maple syrup, honey, or even treacle. My personal favorite isgolden syrup, as the rich caramel notes make a perfect counterpoint to the bright, fresh taste of the yogurt. The mixture can also be doctored with vanilla bean seeds or rosewater for a more aromatic approach.

Whatever you choose, the recipe itself is laughably simple: Put all the ingredients in a bowl, and whip until nice and thick.

How to Use Whipped Greek Yogurt

It can be used right away as a topping, dolloped overFrench toastor crispy wafflesif you're into the breakfast-for-dessert thing, or else refrigerated overnight until it thickens into something like a parfait.

Should you decide to fire up the oven after all, whipped Greek yogurt is also a perfect match for all sorts of baked goods, includingangel food cake,blueberry pie, andsour cream pound cake.

On top of that, this is one of my favorite accompaniments for fresh fruits that are too delicate for baking, along with a handful of toasted nuts for a bit of crunch. It's also a solid alternative to ice cream or frozen yogurt, and, buried under mycrispy granola, it makes a pretty decadent brunch.

July 2017

Recipe Details

Creamy Whipped Greek Yogurt Recipe

Prep10 mins

Active5 mins

Total10 mins

Serves16 servings

Makes2 cups

Ingredients

8 ounces plain Greek yogurt (about 1 cup; 225g), any percentage will do (see note)
6 ounces heavy cream (about 3/4 cup; 170g)
2 ounces golden syrup, sorghum syrup, honey, or maple syrup (about 3 tablespoons; 55g)
1/4 teaspoon rosewater or vanilla extract, or seeds from 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
Pinch of salt

Directions

Combine Greek yogurt, cream, sweetener, rosewater or vanilla, and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
Mix at low speed to start, then increase to high and whip until mixture is thick and stiff, about 5 minutes. Use immediately as a soft, whipped cream–like topping, or, to serve as a parfait, divide into serving dishes and refrigerate until thickened (roughly to 45°F/7°C).

Special Equipment

Stand mixer

Notes

Avoid Greek yogurt thickened with gum, gelatin, or pectin. Look for brands that contain only milk and active cultures, like fa*ge. Unstrained yogurts, whether faux Greek or plain, will not whip as light or thick.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
55	Calories
4g	Fat
3g	Carbs
2g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 16
Amount per serving
Calories	55
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 4g	5%
Saturated Fat 3g	13%
Cholesterol 13mg	4%
Sodium 17mg	1%
Total Carbohydrate 3g	1%
Dietary Fiber 0g	0%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 0mg	0%
Calcium 26mg	2%
Iron 0mg	0%
Potassium 38mg	1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)