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Need a quick and healthy breakfast or snack idea? This satisfying yogurt bowl is packed with protein, fiber, and flavor—and easy to customize with your favorite toppings. It’s especially fun to make a DIY yogurt bowl bar as a low-stress way to serve guests!
Why we love this recipe
Here’s a fun and satisfying breakfast or snack that takes little effort and works literally anytime: yogurt bowls! Of course, you don’t need a fancy recipe written by two cookbook authors to make a yogurt bowl (we admit it!). But what you do need is a reminder that this concept isa a fun and easy way to start the day or load up on nutrients.
Here are all our tips and tricks for how to turn “yogurt bowl” into something more than just yogurt plus granola! Another fun use we’ve found for yogurt bowls is that they’re perfect for low-stress entertaining! Making a DIY yogurt bowl breakfast bar for guests is so simple and a perfect way to make breakfast covered.
Ingredient notes on the yogurt base
When it comes to the yogurt in a yogurt bowl, you can start from any base. But here’s what we prefer when it comes to flavor:
- Plain Greek yogurt: We like starting with plain Greek yogurt and adding our own sweetener—it just tastes better than buying vanilla or other flavors, in our opinion! We find full-fat Greek yogurt has the best flavor. The brands of yogurt we like the best are Chobani, Stonyfield, and Fage, but feel free to use your favorite brand.
- Maple syrup and vanilla extract: Adding your own flavoring to Greek yogurt makes the best tasting base. It’s a similar concept to our popular yogurt fruit dip and healthy chocolate pudding. We find that syrup marked “Grade A: Dark Color Robust Taste” has the most vibrant flavor.
Yogurt bowl toppings
The trick with yogurt bowl toppings is to choose toppings that provide flavor and texture contrasts. At the very least, you’ll want to mix some fresh fruit with crunchy nuts, seeds, and granola. Adding a drizzle of sweetener over the top is a nice touch. If you want to get fancy, we’ve linked to a few sauce and compote recipes that would take this over the top!
- Fresh fruit: Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, sliced strawberries, apples, bananas, pineapple, sliced peaches, chopped mango
- Dried fruit: Dried cherries, cranberries, raisins, golden raisins
- Nuts: Almonds, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, cashews
- Seeds: Pepitas (pumpkin seeds), chia seeds
- Granola: Purchased or homemade granola
- Coconut: Large flakes of toasted coconut
- Sweeteners: Maple syrup, honey, agave syrup
- Sauces and compotes: Strawberry sauce, strawberry compote, blueberry sauce, blueberry compote, peach compote, raspberry sauce, rhubarb compote
Seasonal variations
Want to make a fun yogurt bowl variation? Try these ideas:
- Pumpkin yogurt bowl: To 1 cup Greek yogurt add ¼ cup canned pumpkin, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, and ½ teaspoon each vanilla extract and cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice). Top with pepitas or pecans.
- Apple crisp yogurt bowl: Top the yogurt with sliced apples or homemade applesauce, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and homemade granola.
- Strawberry rhubarb bowl: Top the yogurt with rhubarb compote, fresh strawberries, chopped pistachios, and a drizzle of honey.
- Peaches and cream yogurt bowl: Add ripe sliced peaches or peach compote, chopped pecans or homemade granola, and fresh mint sprigs.
Making a DIY yogurt bowl bar
A favorite way to use yogurt bowls is as a quick way to make breakfast when you’ve got guests! Recently we had out-of-town family staying with us and weren’t sure what to make for breakfast. We decided on a quick oatmeal and yogurt bowl bar, and it was so quick and easy! Here are a few tips:
- Make a big batch of yogurt, then line up bowls of toppings for guests to make it their own, like an ice cream sundae bar.
- For dairy-free diets, add a batch of oatmeal. It’s hard to find a great non-dairy yogurt. For dairy-free and vegan diets, we like making a batch of our classic oatmeal recipe. See also our top 20 oatmeal recipes.
More easy breakfast ideas
This yogurt bowl recipe is one of our top healthy breakfast ideas, and fits as a Mediterranean diet breakfast, vegetarian breakfast, and gluten free breakfast. Here are a few more fun and easy breakfast recipes:
- Try a Breakfast Quinoa Bowl
- Go for delicious Banana Oatmeal Pancakes (no flour!)
- Try an Easy Smoothie Bowl instead (similar concept!)
- Make simple Cottage Cheese Toast, Smoked Salmon Toast, or Avocado Toast
Dietary notes
This yogurt bowl recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan and dairy-free, use vegan yogurt or make oatmeal, smoothie bowls, or quinoa bowls.
Frequently asked questions
Greek yogurt is a popular choice for yogurt bowls because it’s high in protein and has a thick, creamy texture. However, you can use any type of yogurt you like, such as plain yogurt, flavored yogurt, or even plant-based yogurt.
If you’re looking for a more filling yogurt bowl, you can add some protein powder, chia seeds, or oats. You can also use a higher-protein yogurt, such as Greek yogurt or Icelandic yogurt.
Yes, you can make the yogurt base and chop the fruit ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator for up to a few days. Just be sure to keep the toppings separate until you’re ready to eat (they become soggy if refrigerated with the yogurt).
Yogurt Bowls
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 1x
Description
Need a quick and healthy breakfast or snack idea? This satisfying yogurt bowl is packed with protein, fiber, and flavor—and easy to customize with your favorite toppings. It’s especially fun to make a DIY yogurt bowl bar as a low-stress way to serve guests!
Ingredients
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/2 to 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey, plus more to taste if desired
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 handful blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries
- 1 handful sliced strawberries
- 1 handful dried cherries or cranberries (optional)
- 1 dollop almond butter or peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon roasted salted pepitas (optional)
- 1 handful granola or chopped pecans
- More topping ideas: chopped apples, pineapple, banana slices, pear slices, peaches, mango, chia seeds, bee pollen, cashews, hazelnuts, almonds, toasted coconut, etc.
Instructions
- Mix the Greek yogurt with the maple syrup and vanilla extract.
- Prepare the fruit, as desired.
- Place the yogurt in a bowl, then sprinkle and drizzle with all toppings. Add another drizzle of honey or maple syrup, as desired.
Notes
Try these seasonal variations:
Pumpkin yogurt bowl: To 1 cup Greek yogurt add ¼ cup canned pumpkin, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, and ½ teaspoon each vanilla extract and cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice). Top with pepitas or pecans.
Apple crisp yogurt bowl: Top the yogurt with sliced apples or homemade applesauce, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and homemade granola.
Strawberry rhubarb bowl: Top the yogurt with rhubarb compote, fresh strawberries, chopped pistachios, and a drizzle of honey.
Peaches and cream yogurt bowl: Add ripe sliced peaches or peach compote, chopped pecans or homemade granola, and fresh mint sprigs.
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: Breakfast
- Diet: Vegetarian
Let us know if you have any questions!