January 3, 2026, 7:00 am | Read time: 5 minutes
A glance at the refrigerated section of your trusted supermarket—and you’ll notice how many different vegan yogurt alternatives fill the shelves. This often raises the question: Which are the best? At least for those looking to replace their yogurt with a healthy vegan alternative, a study provides the answer.
Veganism Is Booming
Vegan diets have been trending in Germany for years. According to statistics from the data and market research institute Statista, 1.47 million people in Germany identified as vegans in 2024.1 These are people who particularly avoid animal products in their diet. This increases the demand for healthy alternatives to dairy products like yogurt.
Researchers Analyze Vegan Yogurt Alternatives
Eating a balanced and varied vegan diet is not so easy. Many people find it particularly challenging to get nutrients from dairy products like cheese and yogurt. However, there are now numerous substitutes that try to match the originals in taste and texture. Choosing a healthy alternative is more complicated.
This is exactly the topic scientists have tackled by examining various yogurt alternatives for their nutrients.2 The nutritional values of yogurt, both plant-based and dairy-based, vary greatly. For this study, the researchers wanted to examine the key macro- and micronutrients of various plant-based and dairy yogurt options to compare their nutritional values.
Data Collected from Over 1,000 Different Yogurts
The sheer variety of substitute products is evident from the fact that the study included data from 150 vegan yogurts. However, this number was significantly surpassed by dairy-based yogurts: 1,074 different dairy yogurts were also included in the nutrient analysis. The information on the nutrients comes from a database called the Mintel Global New Products Database.
Based on this data, the so-called Nutrient Rich Foods Index (NRF) was determined. This index classifies foods as “healthy” or “unhealthy” based on their content of important nutrients and those nutrients that people should avoid. Useful nutrients include protein, fiber, calcium, and vitamin D. On the other hand, nutrients like saturated fats, sugar, and salt should be avoided. Salt, in particular, is not inherently harmful but can negatively affect some people’s health. Therefore, it’s better to consume salt sparingly. The higher the NRF index, the higher the nutrient density of a food relative to its calorie content.
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Almond Milk Yogurt with Particularly High Nutrient Density
The data analysis showed that vegan yogurt alternatives generally contain more fiber, less sugar, and less salt compared to dairy yogurts. Dairy yogurts, on the other hand, typically have more protein, calcium, and potassium than plant-based alternatives. According to the researchers, almond milk yogurt alternatives have a particularly high nutrient density. Thus, this variant ranked first in the evaluation scheme with the NRF index. The following ranking emerged for healthy yogurt alternatives:
- Almond Milk Yogurt
- Oat Milk Yogurt
- Low-fat or Fat-free Dairy Yogurt
- Cashew Milk Yogurt
- Coconut Yogurt
It’s remarkable that both almond milk yogurt and oat milk yogurt rank higher in nutrient density than the original dairy versions. However, the researchers emphasize that many plant-based alternatives need to be enriched with additives to improve their nutritional value.
What the Study Author Advises Consumers
“Future studies need to focus more on the overall nutrient composition of plant-based ingredients, which often require the addition of sugar, salt, and fat to provide the taste experience one usually expects from animal products,” says study author Prof. Dr. Alissa A. Nolden to the news portal Medical News Today. She advises consumers to be aware that plant-based alternatives have a different nutrient composition compared to animal foods. Therefore, one must adjust their diet accordingly and ensure adequate intake of protein, vitamin D, and other nutrients.
Conclusion from the Consumer Center
The Consumer Center of Lower Saxony looked at 17 vegan yogurts labeled as “natural” and also provided their conclusion on the nutrients.3 The yogurts were based on one of the following bases: soy, coconut, almond, or oat. Here’s what the Consumer Center found:
In terms of protein content, soy-based yogurts were the richest. Nutrition expert Constanze Rubach from the center added that consumers should not be impressed by claims like “high protein.” “Often, the protein values only resemble those of a conventional whole milk yogurt,” Rubach continued.
Regarding fat content, clearly, coconut-based yogurts contained twice as much fat as whole milk yogurts.
In terms of sugar content, vegan yogurts fare better than whole milk yogurts. Only oat-based yogurts have a similar sugar content to whole milk yogurts.
Additives: Most vegan alternatives contain additives, except for the organic variants. However, the expert reassures: “The additives used are harmless to health and ultimately help achieve a yogurt-like consistency. Nevertheless, with processed products, a short, understandable ingredient list indicates fewer unnecessary additives and often a more recommendable product.”