Why You Should Avoid Cooking With Nonfat Greek Yogurt

It's absolutely true that nonfat Greek yogurt is a protein powerhouse. Greek-style yogurt is made by straining out some of the extra water in the form of whey, meaning the remaining content is more concentrated in nutrition. But when you remove the fat as well, you're left with lots of protein. That's great for boosting your breakfast, but it's not so great for cooking. It turns out that fat molecules help keep those protein strands from clumping up by surrounding them so they don't stick together and become a curdled mess when the yogurt is heated.

This happens because proteins unwind and recombine when heated, clumping together and squeezing out water. That's good if you want to make cheese curds, but not if you've added a dollop of protein-packed nonfat Greek yogurt to your saucepan. The abundance of protein in nonfat Greek yogurt can result in grainy sauces and even make your creamy recipes lumpy when it's stirred into a hot sauce. Full fat and even lower fat 2% Greek yogurt are more heat-friendly thanks to the presence of milk fats in the mix.

That information might be good to have on your next shopping trip, but what if you need to work with what's on hand in the refrigerator right now? You can borrow a hack that keeps eggs fluffy when you scramble them: Stir a spoonful of cornstarch into your nonfat Greek yogurt. That has two benefits — stretching out the space between the proteins and adding the thickening power of starch, similar to how a velvety roux improves the texture of a sauce by holding on to moisture. The other trick you can try is stirring the yogurt in at the very end of cooking, and after the food has cooled down a bit. Not allowing the yogurt to cook keeps those clumps at bay.

While full-fat Greek yogurt is usually your best choice for cooking, remember it's also protein packed and with enough heat, even this more heat-friendly yogurt can curdle. Use the same caution you would with the nonfat version to get the smoothest sauces and creamy yogurt-laced soups.