9 Substitutes for Greek Yogurt (for Baking, Breakfast Bowls, and Savory Dishes)

The recipe wants a cup of Greek yogurt for the marinade, the dip, or the muffin batter — and the tub in your fridge is empty, or you never bought it in the first place. Good news: Greek yogurt is one of the more replaceable ingredients out there, because its two defining traits, thickness and tang, are easy to fake with things you probably already have.

The catch is protein. Most people reach for Greek yogurt precisely because it is high in protein — roughly 15 to 20 grams per cup, versus about 8 for regular yogurt. Several popular swaps match the texture beautifully but quietly drop most of that protein, so if that was the point, it matters which one you pick.

Below, the substitutes are ordered from closest match to furthest, with exact ratios, the job each one is best for, and an honest note on what happens to the protein. There is also a quick protein ranking near the end so you can see the trade-offs at a glance.

The Quick List

• Skyr — a near-identical 1:1 swap with just as much protein
• Strained regular yogurt — homemade Greek yogurt if you have plain yogurt and time
• Blended cottage cheese — matches the thickness and beats the protein
• Sour cream — same tang and texture for cooking and baking, less protein
• Creme fraiche — the richest option, and the one that will not curdle in a hot pan
• Kefir — pourable and tangy, best for marinades, dressings, and smoothies
• Buttermilk — a thin, tangy stand-in for baking
• Blended silken tofu — the best dairy-free swap for dips and baking
• Coconut or other dairy-free yogurt — an easy vegan dollop for bowls

Skyr

• Swap: 1:1
• Best for: Everything — breakfast bowls, baking, marinades, and savory dollops
• Skip it for: Almost nothing; it is the closest match on this list
• Health notes: As much protein as Greek yogurt, or a little more

Skyr is technically an Icelandic strained cheese, but it looks, tastes, and behaves like a thick, mild Greek yogurt — so it swaps in cup for cup with no adjustments. If anything it is even thicker and slightly less tart, and it carries just as much protein, which makes it the one substitute that costs you nothing nutritionally. If your store has it, this is the easiest answer on the page.

Strained Regular Yogurt

• Swap: Strain about 2 cups of plain regular yogurt down to roughly 1 cup; then use 1:1
• Best for: Any use — you are literally making Greek yogurt
• Skip it for: When you need it in the next five minutes (straining takes hours)
• Health notes: Straining concentrates the protein, landing close to store-bought Greek yogurt

Greek yogurt is regular yogurt with the watery whey strained out, so if you have plain yogurt on hand you can make your own. Line a strainer with cheesecloth or a coffee filter, set it over a bowl, spoon in the yogurt, and refrigerate. In a few hours it firms up; overnight gets you thick, Greek-style yogurt. Expect the volume to shrink by more than half, so start with about twice what you need. Save the drained whey for smoothies or baking — it is protein-rich too. Use whole-milk yogurt for the richest result.

Blended Cottage Cheese

• Swap: 1:1, blended completely smooth first
• Best for: Baking, smoothies, dips, and savory sauces
• Skip it for: Recipes leavened with baking soda, unless you add acid (see below)
• Health notes: Even more protein than Greek yogurt — roughly 25 grams a cup

Cottage cheese is the swap for anyone who bought Greek yogurt for the protein, since it delivers even more. Straight from the tub it is lumpy, so blend it completely smooth in a blender or food processor first (a splash of milk helps), and strain it through a coffee filter if it looks watery. Then use it 1:1. The one caveat: cottage cheese is less acidic than Greek yogurt, so in a recipe that relies on baking soda for lift, whisk in a teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar to keep the leavening working.

Sour Cream

• Swap: 1:1
• Best for: Baking, dips, dollops on savory dishes, and creamy sauces
• Skip it for: A high-protein breakfast bowl, or if you are watching saturated fat
• Health notes: Similar tang, but far less protein and more fat than Greek yogurt

Sour cream is the most seamless texture-and-flavor match: same thick body, same pleasant tang, same 1:1 swap, and it makes baked goods lovely and moist. What it does not bring is protein — it has roughly the same modest amount as regular yogurt, with considerably more fat. For a taco topping, a coffee cake, or a dip that is not about macros, it is excellent. As a protein source, it is a step down, so make the swap knowing what changes.

Creme Fraiche

• Swap: 1:1
• Best for: Finishing hot sauces and soups, and rich savory dollops
• Skip it for: Protein, and low-fat cooking
• Health notes: The richest, highest-fat option here; low in protein

Creme fraiche is sour cream's mellower, higher-fat French cousin, and it has one trick the others lack: its high fat content means it will not curdle when you stir it into a hot, simmering sauce or soup. That makes it the pick when a recipe wanted Greek yogurt stirred into something hot and you are worried about it splitting. Use it 1:1. It is a treat-yourself swap, not a health upgrade — think of it as the flavor-and-texture choice for savory cooking.

Kefir

• Swap: 1:1 in liquid uses; for baking use about 3/4 cup kefir per cup of yogurt and hold back a little other liquid
• Best for: Marinades, salad dressings, smoothies, and pancake or quick-bread batters
• Skip it for: Dolloping or anywhere you need a thick, scoopable texture
• Health notes: Nearly as much protein as Greek yogurt, plus a broad range of gut-friendly cultures

Kefir is drinkable, pourable fermented milk — same tang as yogurt but the consistency of thin cream. That makes it a poor stand-in for a dollop, but a great one anywhere the yogurt was going to be thinned out anyway: tenderizing marinades, creamy dressings, smoothies, and batters. It keeps most of the protein and brings an especially diverse mix of live cultures. Because it is thinner, reduce other liquids slightly when baking with it.

Buttermilk

• Swap: 3/4 cup buttermilk per 1 cup Greek yogurt, plus a tablespoon of flour to thicken batter if needed
• Best for: Baking — pancakes, biscuits, quick breads, and cakes
• Skip it for: Dips, bowls, dollops, and anything served cold and thick
• Health notes: Low in protein; mainly there for tang and tenderness

Buttermilk shares Greek yogurt's acidity, which is what tenderizes crumb and reacts with baking soda, so it is a fine baking-only swap. Because it is much thinner, use a bit less and expect a looser batter; a spoonful of flour brings the consistency back if a recipe was counting on the yogurt's body. If you do not keep buttermilk around, see our buttermilk substitutes for a quick DIY version. Outside of baking, buttermilk is too runny to stand in.

Blended Silken Tofu

• Swap: 1:1, blended smooth, with 1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice to add tang
• Best for: Dairy-free dips, dressings, smoothies, and baking
• Skip it for: Recipes where you want real yogurt tang without adjusting, or a firm dollop
• Health notes: The best plant-based protein swap here, though less protein than Greek yogurt

Silken tofu is the go-to dairy-free swap because it blends into a genuinely creamy, neutral base with a little plant protein along for the ride. Puree it completely smooth, then add lemon juice or a splash of vinegar to mimic yogurt's tang (and, in baking-soda recipes, to keep the leavening active). It shines in creamy dips, dressings, and smoothies, and adds moisture to baked goods. If tofu usually disappoints you, our guide to cooking tofu so it tastes good applies here too — seasoning is everything.

Coconut or Other Dairy-Free Yogurt

• Swap: 1:1 (choose an unsweetened, plain variety)
• Best for: Vegan breakfast bowls, parfaits, and easy dollops
• Skip it for: A protein boost — most are low in protein unless labeled otherwise
• Health notes: Convenient and thick, but coconut- and oat-based versions carry little protein

Store-bought plant yogurts (coconut, almond, oat, or soy) are the no-effort dairy-free option, and they scoop and dollop much like the real thing. Soy-based versions hold the most protein; coconut and oat versions are creamy but low in it. Reach for an unsweetened, plain tub for cooking so you are not adding stealth sugar, and check the label if protein is the goal, since it varies a lot by brand.

The Protein Honesty Check

Since protein is the usual reason for buying Greek yogurt, here is where these swaps actually land, cup for cup:

• Keeps the protein: skyr, strained yogurt, blended cottage cheese (the highest of all), and kefir
• Loses most of it: sour cream, creme fraiche, buttermilk, and coconut or oat yogurt
• In between: blended silken tofu and soy-based yogurt keep some plant protein

None of this means the lower-protein swaps are bad — a dollop of sour cream on chili is perfect, and creme fraiche makes a better hot sauce than yogurt ever could. It just means the right pick depends on whether you are after texture, tang, or the protein specifically. If you track your protein, that difference is worth knowing before you swap.

This is exactly the kind of trade-off Eat Well Planner makes visible. Every recipe gets a nutrition score, and the Make It Healthier feature proposes swaps like these and verifies the real nutritional change with a calculator before you commit — so you can see precisely what trading Greek yogurt for sour cream (or cottage cheese) does to a dish's protein and fat, rather than guessing. If you would rather compare the tubs at the store, our guide to picking a Greek yogurt breaks down the labels.

What Not to Use

A few swaps look tempting but tend to backfire:

• Sweetened or flavored yogurt in savory recipes. Vanilla or fruit yogurt will make a marinade, dip, or sauce oddly sweet. Always use plain when the dish is savory.
• Mayonnaise as a straight 1:1 in baking. It works as a moisture-and-fat swap in some savory dishes, but it brings no tang and a lot of oil, so it is a poor match for recipes built around yogurt's acidity.
• Heavy cream or milk on their own. They have the richness or the liquid but none of the thickness or tang, so a dip or marinade falls flat. If cream is all you have, culture or acidify it first, or reach for one of the options above.

The through-line for Greek yogurt is to match the job, not just the look. Decide whether you need the thickness for a dollop, the acidity for baking, the pourability for a marinade, or the protein for your day, then pick the swap that nails that one thing — skyr or strained yogurt when you want an exact match, cottage cheese when protein is the point, creme fraiche when it is going into something hot.

Not sure which of these fits the exact recipe in front of you? That is what Eat Well Planner's AI recipe chat is for. Pull up your recipe, tell it you are out of Greek yogurt, and it will recommend the substitute that suits that dish, with your ingredients and method already in view. And if you are making something fully dairy-free, the recipe variations feature can rewrite the whole recipe with the swaps worked in, so you are not adjusting it line by line. Match the job, make the swap, and get back to cooking.