Yogurt and berry parfaits are a great brunch treat. You can use homemade granola (recipe for low-fat granola is below) or a store-bought granola to make it a really quick dish to serve. Layer your favorite type of yogurt (vanilla Greek yogurt is my favorite to use for parfaits) on the bottom of a glass. Add a layer of granola and then a layer of berries. Repeat the layering again (yogurt, granola and berries), ending with the berries on top.
Serve the yogurt parfaits in a clear glass so you can see all of the delicious layers. Use a lowball, martini or margarita glass for a stylish twist. Make them part of a brunch menu for a bridal shower, baby shower or Mother’s day. The granola can be made up to 1 week in advance. Assemble the yogurt parfaits shortly before serving so the granola still has some crunch left to it, though many people like how the yogurt softens the granola so if you do assemble then in advance give them a sprinkle of granola or chopped nuts to add a little crunchy topping.
Ingredients
- 3 C. old-fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- ½ tsp. lemon zest
- ½ tsp. orange zest or 1 Tbs. orange juice
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- 2 Tbs. maple syrup
- 3 oz. unsweetened apple juice concentrate
- 3 tbs. hot water
- 2/3 C. dried cranberries, blueberries & craisins (or your favorite combination of dried fruit)
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, toss together oats, almonds, zests, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, stir together maple syrup, apple juice concentrate and water. Pour the maple syrup mixture over the oat mixture and stir well.
- Spread the granola onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake until golden, about 25-30 minutes, tossing it every 10 minutes with a spatula so it takes evenly. Place the cookie sheet on a wire rack and cool completely. Once granola has cooled completely, break up any large chunks and add dried fruit. Store in an airtight container.
Did you know you can thicken any yogurt? Even low or no fat varieties.Its often called yogurt cheese. We like it so much we wrote a cookbook and guide to expand its uses. We even paid to have yogurt cheese analyzed in a lab for nutritional content. Yogurt cheese (or YoChee as we call it) is a wonderful versatile ingredient you can make at home to improve your own yogurt. It has substantial health and taste benefits (a creamy food which is low or no fat plus high protein and calcium). I hope you will take a look at,” Eat Well the YoChee Way” our guide and cookbook to this important food. It really increases the use of yogurt cheese to main courses, soups, sauces, desserts, and much more. (Nutritional content included). Our website YoChee.com contains a free yogurt cheese how – to slide show, nutrition information and free recipes.
This granola recipe is fantastic, Hip Hostess! I made it for Mother’s Day brunch this year and it was a hit. We set up a “make your own parfait” bar on the buffet table with greek and regular yogurt, fresh berries and the wonderful homemade granola. Our guests couldn’t get enough!