Recipe for sugar-free, low-fat lemon frozen Greek yogurt
For a food writer, I'm kind of funny about food. I love strawberries, but not strawberry jam. I love crunchy raw carrots, but not mushy cooked ones. I love hummus, but not chickpeas. And I love frozen yogurt, but not regular yogurt right from the container. So it might seem odd when I tell you that I've been working for weeks to perfect this low-fat frozen Greek yogurt that's creamy and rich, with great "mouth feel" but no sugar, a diet-friendly, diabetic-friendly dessert I really love. I know it's a success because all five of our grandchildren, ages 1-1/2 to 11, ate every spoonful of it at dinner a few weeks ago.
Sugar-free, low-fat lemon frozen Greek yogurt
From the pantry, you'll need: Greek yogurt, artificial sweetener, vanilla extract, lemon, salt.
Serves 4-6 (makes 3 cups).
Ingredients
16 oz low-fat plain Greek yogurt
8 oz nonfat plain Greek yogurt
3/4 cup Splenda® or other granulated artificial sweetener (or sugar)
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Directions
In a mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to 4 hours.
Pour mixture into your ice cream machine, and process for 10-12 minutes until set to the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.
Serve immediately, or transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze until ready to use. Allow the yogurt to warm up slightly before serving.
More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Greek yogurt vanilla parfait with pistachios and dried cherries
Lemon walnut yogurt dessert
Lemon berry yogurt parfait
Lemon waffles
Composed salad with lemon-yogurt dressing
Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Lentil soup with lemon yogurt cream, from The Kitchn
Pasta with zucchini, tomatoes and creamy lemon-yogurt sauce, from Ezra Pound Cake
Lemon-ginger frozen yogurt, from We are not Martha
Lemon yogurt blackberry muffins, from The Biscuit Pusher
Olive oil cake with lemon and yogurt, from Brooklyn Supper
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Just what I needed! Recently got an ice cream maker but haven't had much success in making something Dukan friendly. Two questions: a. Is it vital to use low fat mostly rather than all 0%? Does it go too icey without the fat? b. Does the sweetener have to be granulated? Did you try powder at all? I only have powdered stevia which is much stronger. Would you say you need as much sweetener as you would to eat the amount of yogurt as yogurt?
Sorry about the lengthy comment (and more than 2 questions)! Thanks for the yummy sounding recipe.
mmmmmm... I can see this between two cookies!
Eleni, I can try to answer some of your questions, but of course I'll recommend you use this recipe as a starting point for your own experiments. I first tried using only nonfat yogurt, and for me the taste was too flat. It does not get too icy; I just didn't like the "mouth feel." The sweetener I used is powdered. In this recipe, the sweetener balances the tang of the yogurt. If you do not want to use sweetener, you might try another recipe (without lemon), such as a recipe with whole fruit.
Carol, that's a great idea.
I make lots of frozen yogurt when I am dieting and I use no-fat yogurt and Splenda sweetener. I find that blending one cup of fruit with 2 cups of yogurt plus one cup sugar equivalent of sweetener works well. The blended fruit gives back some of the mouth feel that is lost from the fat. This works especially well with ripe mangoes or very ripe bananas.
Cousin Martin, that's a great alternative for fruit lovers. I've always had a thing about fruit and milk products (never could eat those orange creamsicles from the Good Humor trucks), so I don't make fruit yogurt, frozen or otherwise, for myself. But it would definitely address the "mouth feel" issue.
I've been waiting for this one and it just went to the top of my "must make" list!
Kalyn, it's worth the wait. I seem to make a batch every few days.
Mmmm, you can tell how good the mouth feel is just by looking at the photographs! I have an ice cream maker that I bought last summer and never used - this is on my "make this week" list. (My kids are all home too - and they can all eat this!) From what you say, I can substitute 3/4 cup sugar for the 3/4 cup Splenda - is that right?
Thanks, Lydia!
Looks like your work has paid off! This sounds so easy and looks so creamy and delicious. Wish my regular ice cream looked that good!
Judy, yes, you can substitute sugar for the Splenda. (And I've had an ice cream maker in my cupboard for at least 15 years, and until this summer I don't think I used it 10 times.)
TW, yes to both, so easy, so delicious.
My ice cream maker hasn't seen the light of day for several years, but maybe this will bring it out of hiding!
Donna, this yogurt is really worth getting the ice cream maker out. I'm surprised at how much my family loves it.
I love chick peas but not hummus. But I like just about everything else. Except sardines.
I would really like this, especially eaten from that charming bowl.
Yummy! Perfect summer dessert ;)
Hi Lydia!
This looks really good...I made some "froyo" as well this summer using a mixture of Greek and plain yogurts. I'd like to make another batch before summer ends..
Mimi, sardines are a whole other conversation! I think the lemon in this yogurt would appeal to you.
Bee, yes, absolutely!
Marie, I've had to put the ice cream maker away for a while, because I made this so often and we ate every bit of it.