Zabadi substitute

Best substitute

Plain whole-milk yogurt

Use the same amount by volume as the zabadi you are replacing

Best for eating as a side with bread and olives

Close match

Plain whole-milk yogurt is zabadi, and swapping 1:1 is all you need to do. Choose a full-fat set yogurt rather than a stirred or low-fat one, because zabadi's richness comes from whole, often buffalo, milk. If your only option is Greek yogurt, whisk in a couple of tablespoons of milk per cup to loosen it, since Greek yogurt is strained and zabadi is not. Labneh thinned the same way also works, and for marinades or drinking, kefir does the job.

Other zabadi substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Greek yogurt thinned with milk or water
Different taste
Use ¾ cup Greek yogurt plus 2-4 tablespoons milk for every cup of zabadi
Strained yogurt loosened back to the soft, unstrained consistency of a cup of zabadi.
What changes
Best for
marinades, dips and sauces, baking and desserts, any dish where you want extra body
Good, provided you thin it. Undiluted Greek yogurt is far thicker than zabadi and will sit in a lump instead of spooning out softly, and it is usually more sour, so a dessert made with it tastes sharper than intended. The upside is that the higher protein makes it more stable in a hot dish and less prone to weeping in a marinade. Whisk smooth before thinning.
3Labneh thinned with milk
Close match
Use ½ cup labneh plus ¼ cup milk for every cup of zabadi
Levantine strained yogurt cheese let down to zabadi consistency.
What changes
Best for
rich yogurt sides, dips and mezze, sauces for grilled meat, spreading on bread
Closest to zabadi in richness, which makes it a good choice if you are trying to match buffalo-milk zabadi rather than ordinary cow-milk yogurt. It is much more concentrated, so it must be thinned, and it is often lightly salted, which is welcome in a savoury dish and wrong in a dessert. Check the label before using it in something sweet.
4Kefir
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount for drinking and marinades; not for spooning
Fermented milk drink cultured with bacteria and yeasts, thin, sour and faintly effervescent.
What changes
Best for
marinades, drinking, baking and batters, cold soups
Fine where zabadi is a liquid and poor where it is a solid. As a marinade it is arguably better, since the thinner consistency coats meat evenly and the acidity is comparable. As something to eat with a spoon it fails outright: it is pourable, sharper, and has a bready yeasty aroma that zabadi does not. It also has a faint fizz that reads as odd in a dessert.
5Sour cream
Different taste
Use the same amount with a squeeze of lemon juice per cup
Cultured cream, which shares zabadi's smooth thickness but is far richer and much less tangy.
What changes
Best for
sauces that will be warmed, rich dips, spooning over grilled meat or roast vegetables
The one real advantage is stability: because it is high in fat, it resists splitting in a warm sauce where yogurt curdles. The cost is that it tastes distinctly heavier and blander, and it will not read as zabadi in anything where the yogurt is meant to feel refreshing. Lemon juice restores most of the missing acidity but not the lactic depth.
6Skyr thinned with milk
Taste and texture differ
Use ⅔ cup skyr plus ⅓ cup milk for every cup of zabadi
Icelandic strained fresh dairy, very high in protein and very low in fat, loosened to zabadi thickness.
What changes
Best for
high-protein swaps, marinades, savoury sides, smoothies
The least like zabadi of the set options, because it is very lean where zabadi is rich, and quite sharply acidic where zabadi is gently tart. Even well thinned it tastes brisk and slightly chalky rather than creamy. Usable in savoury dishes and marinades; disappointing eaten plain unless you add honey or a spoonful of cream.

What is Zabadi?

Zabadi is Zabadi, also spelled zabady and called laban zabadi in Arabic, is Egyptian set yogurt: whole milk, often buffalo or a buffalo and cow mix, cultured and left to set undisturbed in small cups so it comes out thick, glossy, gently tart and unstrained.

Cooking tips

Zabadi is doing two things in an Egyptian meal: it supplies acid to cut through fat and spice, and it supplies cool creamy relief next to hot food. Match both. A lean, watery yogurt gets the acid but misses the richness, which is why full fat matters here more than in most substitutions.
Do not boil it. Zabadi and every yogurt substitute here will break into grainy curds if it hits a rolling simmer, so stir it in off the heat. If it must be cooked, whisk a teaspoon of cornstarch or flour into each cup first and temper by adding hot liquid to the yogurt before returning it to the pot.
Thin zabadi with cold water and a good pinch of salt and you have a laban-style drink; thin it with less water and add crushed garlic and dried mint and you have the sauce for grilled meat and koshari-adjacent plates. One tub covers several jobs, so buy generously.
In a marinade, the acid and the calcium in yogurt tenderise the surface of chicken and lamb over two to six hours, and it clings better than a thin acidic marinade. Longer than overnight and the exterior turns pasty and mealy, so do not leave it for days.
Egyptian zabadi is often made with buffalo milk, which is roughly twice the fat of cow's milk. If your substitute tastes thin next to what you remember, that is why, and a tablespoon of cream or a spoonful of labneh whisked in per cup is the fix rather than more yogurt.

Frequently asked questions

Is zabadi just plain yogurt?

Yes, essentially. Zabadi is the Arabic word for set yogurt, and an Egyptian recipe calling for zabadi means plain unsweetened yogurt. The only meaningful difference is the milk: traditional Egyptian zabadi often uses whole buffalo milk, which makes it richer and denser than a typical cow-milk yogurt. Buy the fullest-fat plain yogurt you can and you are there.

What is the difference between zabadi and laban?

Laban is used loosely and varies by country, but in Egypt laban usually means milk, laban zabadi means set yogurt, and laban rayeb refers to a naturally soured milk that is thinner and tangier. In the Levant laban often means a drinking yogurt. If a recipe says zabadi, use plain set yogurt; if it says a thin drinkable laban, thin the yogurt with water or use kefir.

Can I use Greek yogurt instead of zabadi?

Yes, but loosen it. Zabadi is unstrained, so it is softer and wetter than Greek yogurt, and a recipe balanced for zabadi will come out stiff and over-tart with Greek yogurt straight from the tub. Whisk in two to four tablespoons of milk or water per cup until it spoons out softly rather than holding a rigid shape.

Can I just leave zabadi out?

If it is served alongside the meal, you can, and the food is still fine, though noticeably heavier without the cool acidity to break it up. In a marinade or a batter you cannot, because it is providing the acid and the liquid; substitute something cultured, or in a real emergency use milk plus a tablespoon of lemon juice per cup for the acidity alone.

Can I make zabadi at home?

Yes, and it is the same as making any set yogurt. Heat whole milk to about 85 C to change the proteins, cool it to roughly 43 C, stir in a couple of tablespoons of live plain yogurt per litre, pour into cups, and hold it warm and undisturbed for four to eight hours until set, then chill. Use clean equipment and refrigerate promptly. Buffalo milk, if you can get it, gives the most authentic richness.

Related substitutes

More dairy substitutes

Zabadi substitute

Other zabadi substitutes

2Greek yogurt thinned with milk or water

3Labneh thinned with milk

4Kefir

5Sour cream

6Skyr thinned with milk