A chocolatey indulgence, this easy no-sugar recipe for homemade chocolate yogurt is made with creamy Greek yogurt and cocoa powder.
Back in my high-carb days, I used to make honey-sweetened homemade frozen yogurt, frozen banana ice cream, and avocado chocolate mousse sweetened with maple syrup (I’ve since developed a low-carb version), which I considered as better alternatives to traditional desserts.
But now that I eat a low-carb diet, I prefer this chocolate yogurt recipe. It’s so easy, it hardly qualifies as a recipe! I make it almost daily – it’s my favorite after-dinner dessert. It feels good to eat something tasty, indulgent, and good for you.
The ingredients you’ll need
You’ll only need three ingredients to make this tasty yogurt. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below. Here’s an overview of what you’ll need:
Greek yogurt: I use plain whole-milk Greek yogurt in this recipe.
Unsweetened cocoa powder: I prefer using Dutch-processed cocoa powder which is milder and less acidic than natural cocoa powder.
Sweetener: I use stevia. You can use a powdered sweetener instead.
How to make homemade chocolate yogurt
Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed instructions. The idea is simple:
1. Grab some creamy Greek yogurt. Whole-milk is best.
2. Add unsweetened cocoa powder and your favorite sweetener (I use stevia glycerite).
3. Add just a bit of water, especially if your Greek yogurt is very thick.
4. Then, with a spoon, slowly mix everything together.
Once fully mixed, I like to let the mixture rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature. This allows the flavors to meld and dissolves any remaining stubborn cocoa powder.
Then, I give the yogurt one more stir, and dig in! So since I make this recipe for my after-dinner dessert, I usually make it before we sit down to eat our dinner, then let it rest.
Is Greek yogurt keto?
There seems to be controversy around this. Personally, I eat a moderate carb diet, so plain unsweetened Greek yogurt is fine with me.
One can argue that plain unsweetened Greek yogurt can indeed be part of a ketogenic diet.
This recipe has about 13g carbs and 4g fiber per serving, so it’s ultimately your decision whether you can fit in into your diet.
Why not just buy chocolate yogurt?
Most commercial flavored yogurts are very sugary. And flavored commercial yogurts, even the high-quality ones, often contain additives such as flavors, pectin, gums, and lecithin.
“Light” flavored yogurts are often made with potentially problematic sweeteners, plus food additives such as modified corn starch, flavors, acesulfame potassium, and potassium sorbate.
What type of yogurt should I use in this recipe?
I use plain whole-milk Greek yogurt. I especially like Straus yogurt. It’s wonderfully thick and creamy, just like sour cream. However, it’s very high in carbs compared to other whole-milk Greek yogurts.
So I often end up using Fage yogurt, which is also excellent. The nutrition info below assumes Fage Greek yogurt.
If you prefer to use low fat or nonfat yogurt, that’s fine. It won’t be as tasty, but it will still be very good.
Why not use regular yogurt?
I use Greek yogurt in this recipe, then sometimes I add a bit of water, especially when the yogurt I use is very thick. Even with the addition of water, the chocolate yogurt is still very thick and creamy.
Regular yogurt is too liquid, so I don’t like it, and especially not in this recipe. The idea is to get a mousse-like consistency, and you can’t achieve that with regular yogurt.
What sweetener to use?
I use stevia glycerite. I really like this sweetener and use it almost exclusively when I need a non-nutritive sweetener. Although many people object to its taste, the glycerite formulation greatly minimizes the bitter aftertaste.
The amount of stevia I use equals about 2 tablespoons of sugar. So you can try replacing the stevia with your favorite sweetener. If you use a granulated sweetener, I recommend using a powdered sweetener.
If you use honey, you can probably use just 1.5 tablespoons, since it’s sweeter than other sweeteners. And if you use maple syrup, it’s possible that you won’t need to add water at all. So check the consistency and decide.
Isn’t that a lot of sweetener for one serving?
Yes. Two tablespoons of sugar (or its equivalent) per serving is indeed a lot. But the sweetener needs to balance out two acidic/bitter ingredients.
Greek yogurt is quite sour, and cocoa powder is bitter. You can try using less sweetener, of course, and see if you like it.
What cocoa powder to use?
I recommend using unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder, which is cocoa processed with alkali. Dutch processing makes the cocoa powder milder and darker. Natural cocoa powder is more acidic.
It’s not that this chocolate yogurt recipe won’t work with natural cocoa powder. But I think it’s tastier with alkali-treated cocoa powder.
More tasty recipes that use Greek yogurt
I really like Greek yogurt and use it in many recipes, including Greek yogurt deviled eggs, Greek yogurt pancakes, and Greek yogurt cake. I find that Greek yogurt adds wonderful texture to baked goods.
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Chocolate Yogurt Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup whole-milk plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, processed with alkali
- ½ teaspoon stevia glycerite (equals about 2 tablespoons of sugar)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the yogurt in a medium bowl.
- Add the cocoa powder and your sweetener.
- With a spoon, mix slowly and thoroughly, until mixture is uniform and creamy.
- If the mixture is too thick, mix in a tablespoon or two of water.
- Let rest at room temperature for 10-30 minutes, to allow flavors to meld.
- Mix one more time and dig in!
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, Reader's Digest, and Better Homes and Gardens.