Strained yogurt substitutes
Strained yogurt substitutes — 7 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Plain yogurt you strain yourself (hung curd)
2 cups plain full-fat yogurt yields about 1 cup strained yogurt
Set a sieve lined with cheesecloth, a paper coffee filter or a clean thin tea towel over a bowl with room underneath for the whey, spoon in the yogurt, cover it and refrigerate. Time is the only dial: 2 hours for Greek thickness, 6 to 12 hours for spreadable labneh, 24 hours for a firm curd you can roll into balls.
You almost certainly do not need to buy anything, because straining is something you do rather than something you shop for. Line a sieve with a coffee filter, a doubled paper towel or a clean thin tea towel, tip in plain full-fat yogurt, and refrigerate: two hours gives Greek thickness, six to twelve hours gives a spreadable labneh, twenty-four gives something close to cream cheese. Two cups of plain yogurt comes down to roughly one cup strained. If you are in a hurry, plain Greek yogurt is already this and needs no adjustment at all. What matters is why the recipe wants it strained: the missing water is what stops a dip going soupy, a pastry filling weeping and a sauce thinning out, so if you use yogurt straight from the tub, cut another liquid in the recipe by about a third and expect a looser result.
- Verdict —
- Works
- Best for —
- hung curd for shrikhand, dahi kebab and thick raita
Updated 19 Aug 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of strained yogurt | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain yogurt you strain yourself (hung curd)hung curd for shrikhand, dahi kebab and thick raita | 2 cups plain full-fat yogurt yields about 1 cup strained yogurtWorks | Works |
| 2 | Plain Greek yogurtany recipe calling for strained yogurt | Same amountWorks | Works |
| 3 | Labnehdips and mezze | Same amount, loosenedWith a teaspoon of milk or water per ¼ cup if the recipe needs it softerTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Skyrmarinades | Same amountTweak it | Tweak it |
| 5 | Full-fat quarkcheesecakes and baked desserts | Same amountTweak it | Tweak it |
| 6 | Unstrained plain yogurt, with the recipe adjustedcakes, muffins and quick breads | Same amount by volumeWith another liquid in the recipe cut by about a thirdTweak it | Tweak it |
| 7 | Sour cream or cream cheesecold dips and dressings | Same amountFor sour cream; for cream cheese, beat ¾ cup with ¼ cup milkTweak it | Tweak it |
Plain yogurt you strain yourself (hung curd)
similar taste and texture
Set a sieve lined with cheesecloth, a paper coffee filter or a clean thin tea towel over a bowl with room underneath for the whey, spoon in the yogurt, cover it and refrigerate. Time is the only dial: 2 hours for Greek thickness, 6 to 12 hours for spreadable labneh, 24 hours for a firm curd you can roll into balls.
- Best for
- hung curd for shrikhand, dahi kebab and thick raita, tzatziki and mezze dips, cake and pastry fillings, marinades that need to cling, any recipe that says thick yogurt
This is the real answer to the question and it costs nothing but time. Use plain whole-milk yogurt with live cultures and no gelatin, pectin or starch in it, because a stabilised yogurt is built to hold its water and will barely drip at all. Salt it lightly first for savoury use. Keep the whey that collects underneath, since it is mildly acidic and useful in bread dough, a brine or a smoothie. The only genuine drawback is that you lose about half the volume, so start with twice as much yogurt as the recipe asks for.
Plain Greek yogurt
similar taste and texture
The same ingredient sold ready-made, since commercial Greek yogurt is yogurt with the whey strained out. It slots in with no adjustment.
- Best for
- any recipe calling for strained yogurt, dips and sauces, cheesecakes and desserts, dolloping on curries and soups, baking
The fast option, with one thing to check on the tub. Products labelled Greek-style are often thickened with added milk protein or starch rather than actually strained; they taste fine but feel faintly gluey in a dip, and they will not drip any further if you try to strain them thicker. Buy full-fat for dips, sauces and desserts, because 0% versions read chalky and sharper and can turn grainy when warmed.
Labneh
similar taste, different texture
Strained yogurt taken several hours further, so it is thicker, saltier and tangier, closer to a soft fresh cheese than to yogurt.
- Best for
- dips and mezze, spreads and toast, savoury sauces, stuffing pastries
In a dip or a spread this is an upgrade rather than a compromise, because the extra concentration makes it richer and more savoury. In a batter, a smoothie or a marinade it is too stiff to distribute and needs thinning back toward yogurt consistency first. Shop-bought labneh is usually already salted, so taste it before you season the dish.
Skyr
similar taste, different texture
Icelandic skyr is drained the same way and stands up in a spoon, but it is made from skim milk, so it is very lean.
- Best for
- marinades, smoothies, breakfast bowls, high-protein swaps
The thickness is right and the tang is actually brighter and sharper, which suits a marinade well. What is missing is fat, so the mouthfeel is drier and slightly crumbly rather than creamy, and in a dip you notice it immediately. Whisk in a teaspoon of olive oil per half cup to put some richness back.
Full-fat quark
different taste, similar texture
A fresh drained curd cheese, as thick as strained yogurt but mild, milky and only faintly sour.
- Best for
- cheesecakes and baked desserts, dips, creamy sauces, pancake and bread batters
The body is spot on and the flavour is not: a tzatziki or a marinade made with quark tastes soft and a little flat where it should taste sharp, and a squeeze of lemon juice closes most of that gap. Its advantage is heat tolerance, since it has already lost most of its free water, so it holds together in a hot sauce better than yogurt does.
Unstrained plain yogurt, with the recipe adjusted
similar taste, different texture
Ordinary plain yogurt used as it comes, with the extra water accounted for somewhere else.
- Best for
- cakes, muffins and quick breads, batters, marinades, stirring into soups and curries off the heat
Fine wherever the yogurt is going into something wet anyway, and a bad idea where the thickness is the point. In a dip, a pastry filling, a cheesecake or a piped topping the mixture slumps and can weep a puddle of whey overnight. Pour off the liquid sitting on the surface of the tub before you measure, which buys you a little thickness for free.
Sour cream or cream cheese
different taste, similar texture
The dairy-aisle fallback when there is no yogurt of any kind in the house.
- Best for
- cold dips and dressings, frostings and cheesecake fillings, spreads
Both give you thickness and tang, but they get their body from butterfat rather than concentrated milk protein, so a dip comes out heavier and glossier and reads rich rather than fresh. Cream cheese is salted, which shows up in sweet recipes. Poor choice for a marinade: yogurt's lactic acid and live cultures are part of why it tenderises meat, and sour cream does not do the same work.
Questions
6 questionsIs strained yogurt just Greek yogurt?
In the shop, effectively yes: Greek yogurt is the retail name for yogurt with its whey strained off, so it swaps in 1:1 and you can stop reading. The reason recipes say strained yogurt instead is that the phrase describes a step you can do at home to any plain yogurt, to whatever thickness you want, which a sealed tub does not let you do. That matters when a recipe wants it thicker than commercial Greek yogurt goes, which is the case for labneh, shrikhand and anything you intend to pipe or roll.
How do I strain yogurt at home, and how long does it take?
Line a sieve with cheesecloth, a paper coffee filter or a clean thin tea towel, set it over a bowl with a couple of inches of clearance underneath, spoon in plain full-fat yogurt, cover it and refrigerate. Two hours gives Greek thickness, six to twelve hours gives spreadable labneh, twenty-four hours gives a firm curd. Expect to lose about half the volume, so start with two cups of yogurt for every cup you need.
Is hung curd the same as strained yogurt?
Yes. Hung curd is the South Asian name for exactly this: plain dahi tied in a muslin cloth and hung over a bowl until the whey drips out. Shrikhand, thick raita and dahi kebab all mean strained yogurt when they say hung curd. Full-fat Greek yogurt is the direct shop-bought equivalent, though hung curd made at home from whole-milk dahi usually tastes fresher and less sharp.
Can I use regular yogurt instead of strained yogurt?
Sometimes, with an adjustment. In a batter, a cake or a marinade the extra water rarely matters, so swap it 1:1. In a dip, a sauce, a cheesecake or a pastry filling it matters a lot: the mixture will be loose and can weep a puddle of whey overnight. Either strain it for a couple of hours or cut another liquid in the recipe by roughly a third, and pour off the liquid sitting on top of the tub before measuring.
My yogurt is not draining. What went wrong?
Almost always the yogurt rather than the method. Yogurts thickened with gelatin, pectin, starch or added milk protein are built to hold their water and will barely drip, so check for a short ingredients list of milk and cultures. The other two causes are a sieve sitting in its own whey, so the drained liquid soaks back in, and a cloth so thick that it clogs. Give it clearance and use cheesecloth or a coffee filter rather than a heavy towel.
Can I just leave it out?
Rarely, because in most recipes that call for it the strained yogurt is the dish rather than a seasoning. In tzatziki, labneh, shrikhand or a yogurt cake it supplies both the tang and the entire body. If you have no cultured dairy at all, the closest workaround is thick sour cream with a squeeze of lemon juice, and you should expect something richer, heavier and less fresh-tasting than the original.
Tips for substituting strained yogurt
7 tips- Straining does two separate things, and knowing which one your recipe cares about decides the swap. It removes water, which is what keeps a dip thick and a filling from leaking, and it concentrates the tang and the protein, which is why it tastes stronger than the yogurt you started with. A dip needs the first. A marinade mostly needs the second.
- Salt the yogurt lightly before you strain it for savoury use, about ¼ teaspoon per cup. The salt pulls whey out faster and seasons the curd all the way through instead of sitting on the surface.
- Straining time is the only control you need: 2 hours for Greek thickness, 6 to 12 hours for spreadable labneh, 24 hours for a firm curd you can roll into balls and keep under olive oil. Nothing else about the method changes.
- Stabilised yogurt will not strain. If the tub lists gelatin, pectin, modified starch or added milk protein, it is designed to hold its water and will sit in the sieve for hours doing nothing. Look for a short ingredients list: milk and live cultures.
- The whey that drains off is an ingredient, not waste. It is mildly acidic and full of flavour, so use it in place of water in bread or pizza dough, in a chicken brine, or as the liquid in a smoothie.
- Strained yogurt is more heat-tolerant than thin yogurt but it is not heat-proof. Whisk it smooth, take the pan off the boil, temper it with a ladle of the hot liquid, then stir it back in. A teaspoon of cornstarch whisked through it first makes it noticeably harder to split.
- Do not use strained or soured dairy to adjust the acidity of a canning, pickling, fermenting or curing recipe. Those recipes depend on measured acidity for safety, so follow tested instructions exactly and check National Center for Home Food Preservation guidance rather than improvising.