Vegan Labneh

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April 2, 2017 by Alexandra Daum

This vegan labneh is an easy dairy-free alternative to the thickened yogurt "cheese", labneh, a Levantine food staple. Eaten sweet or savoury, labneh is a wonderful addition to just about any meal and makes a great vegan cream cheese, too.

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Did you know that you can make vegan labneh (a kind of cream cheese – see this guide) from coconut or soya yogurt? You need just three ingredients for a version of vegan cream cheese, with just yogurt, lemon juice, and salt.

The only thing I consistently miss since giving up dairy is cream cheese. On bagels or whipped up into an easy two-ingredient frosting, it’s so easy and delicious. This is a sweeter version, if you use coconut yogurt, and I more often use cashew cream cheese for something savoury. You can also use this base recipe to make dairy-free labneh balls.

Use store-bought or homemade coconut yogurt (page 228 of my cookbook). There is certainly a coconut flavour, so if you hate coconut then I don’t recommend this recipe. I don’t find it overwhelming in the finished product, as it’s already a little sour as it’s a yogurt, and you also add lemon juice. With soya it’s pretty neutral.

I love this as a topping for dairy-free carrot cake and vegan cinnamon rolls, and I think it would be nice with a whole host of other treats – crusty bread, fruit, granola, and so on.

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

Yogurt: if you can find a Greek-style vegan yogurt, that’s ideal. If not, coconut yogurt is generally creamier and higher-fat and works very well.
Lemon: this is part of what adds the distinctive flavour and shouldn’t be left out.
Salt: the salt will help to draw the water out of the yogurt and thickens it more effectively.

How to Make Vegan Labneh

Step 1: mix all of the ingredients together and place into a cloth-lined strainer.

Step 2: hang the cloth or tea towel over a deep bowl or jar and refrigerate overnight.

Step 3: in the morning, the mixture should be about halved in size.

Step 4: unwrap the labneh and serve however you’d like.

Recipe Notes

The method to make vegan labneh is very simple, no different from normal labneh, and you don’t need any special equipment. You’re essentially straining yogurt overnight to make a type of fresh cheese.

It’s important to keep the yogurt chilled while straining, and it shouldn’t be kept on the kitchen counter, where it will spoil quickly.

How to Store

Storage: the labneh will keep for several days in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Freezing: while this can be frozen, the texture changes for the worse once thawed, so I don’t recommend it.

Expert Tips

Use a thin cloth: a nut milk bag is perfect, or multi-layered cheesecloth, but I’ve also used a thin tea towel. The latter is not as effective but will work in a pinch. Note that it does make a mess and will have to be scraped off the cloth with a spoon.
Be patient: keep it in the refrigerator so that it has enough time to thicken without spoiling. The yogurt should reduce in size by at least half before it resembles labneh.
Use the water: this isn’t whey, because the yogurt isn’t made with milk, but the liquid that’s strained from the yogurt can still be used. I usually replace some of the water with breads like naan or sweet potato flatbread with it.

More Vegan Yogurt Recipes

Raspberry Yogurt Muffins
Lemon Cranberry Muffins
Banana Avocado Milkshake
Lemon Blueberry Popsicles

If you make this Dairy-Free Labneh or any othervegetarian stapleson Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along onInstagram,Facebook, andPinterest, purchase theOccasionally Eggs cookbook, orsubscribefor new posts via email.

Yield: 15

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Resting Time 1 day day

Total Time 1 day day 5 minutes minutes

5 from 2 votes

Ingredients

Metric – American

300 grams full-fat coconut yogurt* or Greek-style soya yogurt
½ teaspoon sea salt
Juice of one lemon ~ 3 tablespoons
Honey or maple syrup for topping optional

Instructions

Line a bowl with a nut milk bag, double layer of cheesecloth, or a finely woven tea towel.
Stir together the yogurt, salt and lemon juice. Pour the yogurt into the cheesecloth-lined bowl and wrap the cloth tightly around it, twisting at the top, and tie it firmly with a piece of string. Hang the yogurt over the bowl, or place the bundle into a sieve. Make sure there is enough room at the base of the bowl for any liquid that will collect there. You can give it a gentle squeeze at this point to remove some water, but stop if yogurt starts to come out the sides of the fabric.
300 grams full-fat coconut yogurt*, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, Juice of one lemon
Place the bundle, suspended over the bowl, into the refrigerator for 24-36 hours. The yogurt will lose excess water during the rest period. You can gently squeeze it a few more times to remove any remaining water during that time. Once the labneh is finished, it will have lost much of its liquid and will feel quite dry to the touch.
Place the finished labneh into a bowl, and mix it with a spoon to make it evenly creamy and smooth. Top it with the zest of a lemon, some honey, and bee pollen (or another liquid sweetener like maple syrup). Serve as is or keep it to make cream cheese frosting.
Honey or maple syrup for topping

Notes

* Try to find a brand that doesn’t have more than 3-4 ingredients – coconut or soya milk, a thickener (look for starches, not gums), and the culture. Some brands might add vanilla, but avoid sweetened varieties.

* For American cup measurements, please click the pink link text above the ingredient list that says ‘American’.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 Calories: 13kcal Carbohydrates: 2g Protein: 1g Fat: 2g Saturated Fat: 0.4g Sodium: 81mg Potassium: 0.02mg Fiber: 0.1g Sugar: 1g Vitamin C: 3mg Calcium: 26mg Iron: 0.001mg

Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.

Course: Appetizer, Dips and Sauces

Reader Interactions

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Comments

Anaheke says
May 11, 2020 at 10:05 pm

Omg, I just tried this recipe with coconut yogurt and it’s the bomb. I’m going to turn it into a sweet lemon cream cheese for my carrot / pineapple cake. Thanks for the inspiration🌺
Reply
Mrs Shakes says
February 23, 2019 at 10:59 pm

Do you think this would work with almond yogurt? What role does the lemon play, is it flavor or is it necessary?
Reply
- Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
  February 25, 2019 at 10:00 am
  
  I haven’t tried it with almond, but the concept is simply to remove extra liquid, so it hypothetically should work. The lemon largely creates the labneh flavour and I’d say it’s necessary to the recipe (otherwise you’re just making strained yogurt).
  Reply
Beyond says
February 23, 2019 at 10:21 am

can i use alpro Yogurt since thats the only brand available in my country
Reply
- Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
  February 25, 2019 at 10:01 am
  
  I think Alpro should work, but it won’t be coconut labneh. I think you’ll still get a similar consistency but it won’t be quite the same as using a really thick full fat coconut yogurt. I haven’t tried though!
  Reply
Gretchen says
September 25, 2018 at 7:27 am

Thanks for this recipe. I loved Harvest Moon (I live in Germany) until I started making my own recently. It is so easy! Now I am going to try your recipe for making cream cheese with my self made yogurt!
Reply
- Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
  September 25, 2018 at 7:38 am
  
  I’m so happy to hear that, Gretchen! I’m sure it’ll be perfect 🙂
  Reply
Saffia says
April 11, 2017 at 11:06 am

I love Harvest Moon products!
This labneh looks so good!
Reply
Unknown says
April 7, 2017 at 3:51 pm

I love labneh!!! This is such a great recipe!! Thanks for sharing!
Reply
Dana Sandonato says
April 7, 2017 at 1:15 pm

Fabulous photos as usual, Alex!
This recipe though, gosh. I feel like I can taste it. I've never had labneh buuuut I'm pretty sure that needs to change stat.
Kudos for giving up dairy; you're a stronger person than I am! Cheese is my weakness — dowdy cheeseballs included 😉
Reply
Justine Celina says
April 7, 2017 at 4:16 am

I'm so intrigued by this recipe, Alexandra. Absolutely stunning photos, too!
Reply
Farida says
April 3, 2017 at 10:19 am

As someone grew up in middle east where labneh is a common food, making it from coconut yogurt is so interesting! it´s a must try , thanks for sharing this! pinned!
Reply