Recipes including curries and iced desserts often call for natural yogurt, but what do you do with anything leftover in the pot? Spoon it onto your morning granola, swirl through honey for a quick dessert, serve as a side to a spicy curry… or use it up in one of our clever ideas below.
Next, check out our recipes that make the most of natural yogurt collection, 17 ways with Greek yogurt and our best frozen yogurt recipes.
5 ways to use leftover natural yogurt
1. Fluffy scones
If a scone recipe calls for buttermilk, you can replace it with yogurt. Simply loosen the yogurt with 1 tbsp milk before using. Check out our best scone recipes here.
2. Meat marinade

Mix leftover yogurt with spices, garlic, lemon or herbs to create a moreish marinade for meat. We recommend coating chicken thighs in a mixture of yogurt, ground turmeric, grated ginger, garlic and seasoning. Yogurt tenderises the meat, allowing the flavours to penetrate.
3. Flatbreads or pizza bases
Mix equal quantities of natural yogurt and self-raising flour with a pinch of salt to make a dough. Press or roll into a flat disc, then use as a pizza base. Or, cook for a few minutes on each side in a dry frying pan until puffed and browned, then brush with garlic butter and serve with a curry. Try our best flatbread recipes.
4. Smoothie lollies
Blitz leftover yogurt with any fruit that needs to be used up, such as bananas or berries. Spoon into lolly moulds and freeze, or loosen with a little milk and enjoy as a smoothie.
5. Yogurt & tahini dressing
Yogurt and tahini make the start of a great dressing for roasted aubergines, salads, kofta or falafel. Mix 4 tbsp natural yogurt with 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp tahini, 1 small grated garlic clove, the zest and juice of ½ lemon and 2 tsp honey.
More ideas…
Natural yogurt recipes
Greek yogurt recipes
Frozen yogurt recipes
Kids’ ice lolly recipes