These Strawberry Yoghurt Protein Bars taste like one of my all-time favourite chocolates called “Yogurette” but are infinitely better for you.
Packed full of protein, fresh strawberries and 0% fat Greek yoghurt, encased in an irresistible dark chocolate shell, they are exactly the snack I want after a sweaty workout!
Why You Will Love This
Amazing way of getting your protein
I’m not sure about you, but I’m not particularly fond of the protein bars you can buy. They all taste oddly stodgy to me (although the protein wafers I recently found were pretty good!) and are not really what I crave after a workout that has me hot, exhausted, and craving something that just feels both cooling and healthy.
That’s where these Strawberry Yoghurt Protein Bars come into play. They have only 7 ingredients (more about them below) take 10 minutes to make plus some cooling time and taste like really fresh and healthy strawberry yoghurt with a crisp dark chocolate coating.
Each of them comes with about 5g protein and just 40 calories.
Know exactly what’s in them
Making your protein bars at home means you know exactly what goes into them. No preservatives, no fillers. Just protein powder, yoghurt, fruit and chocolate.
The Perfect Ice Cream Bar
Did you ever want an ice cream bar that’s also good for you? This is the one.
All the benefits of yoghurt with its calcium and probiotics .
Plus the much needed protein to build muscle, keep your bones healthy and reduce cravings
And of course the fibre and antioxidants of fresh strawberries, which we are using in two different forms here, these bars are a nutritional powerhouse.
Oh and dare I say it? Dark chocolate (within reason) is also pretty beneficial in its own right, containing lots of minerals and even reducing inflammation. But mainly: It makes me really happy to eat it.
Super Easy to Make
My Strawberry Yoghurt Protein Bars comes together within minutes. You don’t need any special equipment, though a blender like a Nutribullet is helpful for getting strawberry puree. But mashing them with a fork works fine too.
The rest is just a quick stir, transfer into a freezer proof flat container, wait a bit, cut into pieces and quickly coat with melted dark chocolate. A tiny bit more patience while they freeze again and you have your post workout (or anytime really) snacks ready for the week.
The Ingredients
Lets start with the obvious one: Protein Powder. I used MyProtein Strawberry here and loved it. But a good quality vanilla flavoured one will do just fine.
The strawberry flavour comes from both fresh and freeze dried strawberries. While you could use just fresh, I found that the tiny nuggets of freeze dried strawberries give these bars their striking resemblance to Yogurette, with their intense bursts of flavour in your mouth.
I found mine in snack packets from Holland & Barrett and (yes, you may call me a bit weird, but we gotta work with what we find) took 5 minutes to separate the strawberry from the peaches.
If you find them on their own, even better. Or just use the combo. I’m fairly sure the added peach will be delicious too. If you try it, let me know your thoughts!
One note on freeze dried fruit: They are like sponges soaking up any humidity in the air quickly. So chop them last minute before adding and keep the ones for decorating in an airtight container. Otherwise you’ll have a sticky clump instead of nicely defined crunchy pieces. Have a wild guess how I found out…
Fat free Greek yoghurt adds the classic Yogurette flavour base of course. You could use full fat, but personally I feel the protein powder adds so much creaminess, it’s just not necessary.
A tiny bit of honey and lemon juice round out the flavour and of course dark chocolate to coat them. I used a 70% dark chocolate here. I tried both Lindt and the Madagascar 70% from Lidl and loved them equally.
The Process
First clean and roughly chop your fresh strawberries. Either mash them with a fork or puree them for a few seconds in a blender.
Finely chop your freeze dried strawberries. Put a few aside for decorating later if you like.
In a medium bowl, mix all your ingredients except the dark chocolate until creamy and well combined.
Line a freezer proof container with a flat base with parchment paper, so you can easily take out and cut the whole thing later. Don’t skip the parchment paper, or you’ll have to scrape out the filling and eat it like ice cream. I mean…not that this would be the worst thing in the world. You can absolutely skip the chocolate covering and do that.
I use a medium sized Pyrex dish about 15x 7in, in which the Strawberry protein filling came up about 0.7in. But honestly, no need for exact science in this. Use what you have and cut them later.
Pour your Strawberry-protein cream into the prepared dish and freeze for at least 3h or until very solid. You’ll need it extremely cold to be able to coat it with chocolate.
When it’s frozen, take it out onto a chopping board and cut into bars with a sharp hot, but dry knife. I dipped mine into hot water in between cuts, then dried it with a towel, to avoid water crystals on the bars.
Put back into your container and freeze while you melt the chocolate.
Break or chop your dark chocolate and add to a microwave safe bowl. If you enjoy a slightly softer coating, you could add a teaspoon of coconut oil, but I love my bars really crisp, so I left it out.
Melt in quick 30 second bursts in the microwave, stirring in between or over a water bath on the stove, being careful that the bowl with the chocolate doesn’t touch the water. Stir until melted and creamy.
Transfer to a deep plate with flat bottom, so your bars can lie flat in the chocolate.
Line a small tray that fits into your freezer with parchment paper.
Take your Strawberry Yoghurt Protein Bars out of the freezer and, using 2 forks, quickly turn each one in the hot chocolate until fully coated, let the excess drip off and transfer to the prepared parchment lined tray.
If you want to decorate them with the freeze dried strawberry pieces, you gotta be quick and do it immediately after taking each bar out of the chcolate bath, as the chocolate will harden extremely fast. You want the pieces to stick to the just soft enough chocolate before it’s all crisp.
Put back into the freezer for an hour or so, before trying one. I found they taste best, if you give them a few minutes at room temperature to soften the inside just a little.
Enjoy your homemade healthy Strawberry Yoghurt Protein Bars.
Storing
Strawberry Yoghurt Protein Bars keep well in the freezer in a lidded container for up to 3 months. Not that there is any hope they will last that long. But you might want to make double, so they last a few weeks.
Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please rate, share, and comment. It helps me a lot.
Strawberry Yoghurt Protein Bars
These Strawberry Yoghurt Protein Bars taste like one of my all-time favourite chocolates called “Yogurette” but are infinitely better for you.
Packed full of protein, fresh strawberries and 0% fat Greek yoghurt, encased in an irresistible dark chocolate shell, they are exactly the snack I want after a sweaty workout!
3/4cupprotein powderI used MyProtein Whey Strawberry, but a good vanilla flavoured one will work fine too.
1cup0% fat Greek yoghurt
0.7oz20g freeze dried strawberriesfinely chopped
7ozchocolate70% cocoa content (or whatever kind you enjoy)
3tsphoney
1tbsplemon juice
Instructions
Prepare:
Line a freezer-proof container with parchment paper, ensuring the base is covered. This will allow for easy removal and cutting of the bars later.
Clean and roughly chop the fresh strawberries. Mash them with a fork or puree them in a blender until smooth.
Finely chop the freeze-dried strawberries. Set aside a small portion for decorating if desired.
Mix Ingredients:
In a medium bowl, combine the pureed fresh strawberries, protein powder, Greek yogurt, finely chopped freeze-dried strawberries, honey, and lemon juice. Mix until creamy and well combined.
Pour the strawberry-protein mixture into the prepared container. Spread it evenly and freeze for at least 3 hours or until very solid.
Coat with Chocolate:
Once frozen, remove the mixture from the container onto a chopping board. Use a sharp, hot, and dry knife to cut it into bars. Dip the knife into hot water between cuts and dry it with a towel to prevent water crystals on the bars. Return the bars to the container and freeze while preparing the chocolate coating.
Break or chop the dark chocolate and place it in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring in between, until melted and creamy. Alternatively, melt the chocolate over a water bath on the stove, ensuring the bowl doesn’t touch the water.
Notes
These bars keep well frozen in a freezer proof container or bag for up to 3 months.
Protein Rice Pudding has all the creamy decadence of the popular dessert, but with a healthy dose of protein. I’ve created 4 versions for you to choose from with different add-ins and toppings, so you have a healthy post workout meal ready for you any day.
On top of that, if you have an instant pot, this can be ready for you in the time you take a shower. No stirring and standing at the hob required!
Why You Will Love This
Instant Pot for Instant gratification
I’ve always loved the rice pudding my mom made for me when I was a kid, but rarely made it myself due to the stirring and watching and possibility of milk burning. Happened to me multiple times and if you ever had the small of burned milk in your kitchen, you know it isn’t pleasant.
All of this changed when I got my beloved Sage Fast Slow Pro. The notion of the pot just doing everything for me when it comes to both risotto and rice pudding was a revelation and opened a whole new range of dishes for me to enjoy, without dreading the ages of stirring.
All it takes is 10-12 minutes of cooking and a few minutes more for the pressure release, and you can use any instant pot you have, to get the perfect rice pudding. Even late evening cravings can be satisfied in minutes. You let it do the work for you, while you have your post workout shower, to enjoy a healthy, protein packed meal.
Can be made Vegan and Lactose free
Being lactose intolerant always left me queasy after eating things like rice pudding or oatmeal. Took me years to realise why that is (being essentially gaslit into not trusting your own feeling leaves marks, doesn’t it?).
Now I make all my dishes with various plant based milks and am just fine.
A Note on Protein Powder
I think I have said this many times on this blog, but I’ll include it here, as the protein powder is such an essential ingredient in this recipe: Despite being lactose intolerant, I do use Whey Protein powder from MyProtein.
This is neither affiliated nor sponsored. Just the powder I found to taste best after trying a fair few. If you never found one you enjoy, give this one a try.
I never had any issues with it and just can’t stomach the taste of the vegan ones. But if you have one you enjoy, you can of course use that.
Why Protein?
Protein is such an important building block for our bodies and its important to eat enough of it. Personally, as I don’t each much meat or legumes for that matter, I wouldn’t have enough in my diet to fulfil my bodies needs. Hence protein powder to the rescue. Preferably in sweet recipes.
How to vary your Protein Rice Pudding
While this Protein Rice Pudding is utterly delicious on its own, topped with just a bit of cinnamon sugar, there are so many more options, that I decided to give you a few here.
If you read any of my posts you probably stumbled over my way to lose weight and keep it stable and of course give my body the nutrition it needs, which is to include as many fruit and veggies as I can in every meal. This one is no exception.
There are plenty of fruit that go fantastic with milky or creamy dishes, so you can wildly pick and choose your favourites. I’m giving you just a few ideas here.
Cherry or Berry. Or Both.
My all-time favourite and a classic with rice pudding in Germany is cherry compote. Essentially sweet cherries briefly cooked with a tiny bit of water, to help them heat up and release their juices, then thickened with cornstarch. That’s as easy as it gets and works nicely with berries too. Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, or a mix of all would be lovely. Add a bit of vanilla and honey and you are set.
Rice Curd-ish with Pomegranate and Grapes
Another variation, borrowed from a co-worker from India are grapes and pomegranate and the rice pudding being enriched with yoghurt, bringing it into the direction of a favourite summer dish from India: Rice curd. The yoghurt adds even more protein, especially if you are using any type of Greek yoghurt.
A few pistachios sprinkled on top, a hint of cinnamon if you like will round this off nicely.
Black Forest or Chocolate Hazelnut
Now we can’t talk rice pudding without mentioning chocolate, can we?
I mean I love chocolate anything of course, and who wouldn’t, but here it’s just so incredibly easy to include it simply via protein powder flavour and, if you want it extra chocolatey (as I always do) a bit cocoa and a hit of espresso powder, to enhance the flavour even more.
Add some cherry compote or even fresh cherries and, if you are having this for dessert or feeling extra indulgent, some Kirsch (a German clear cherry liqueur), top with some whipped cream or coconut cream and you have yourself an irresistible treat.
Want to add some crunch to this one? Roasted and chopped hazelnuts instead of cherries would transform this into a sort of Ferrero Rocher experience. Or drizzle over some melted chocolate or slightly warmed Nutella, to have an utterly indulgent, yet still reasonably healthy dessert.
Mango-Coconut
Last but not least, a tropical mango-coconut rice pudding. You can either cook it straight from the start with coconut milk, or, as I did here, add some after cooking, for a gentle coconut flavour and stir in fresh mango pieces or mango puree. Or both.
Take it over the top with toasted coconut flakes (can I convince you to make maple-lime coconut chips just for this? It’s so worth it!) and enjoy being taken to a tropical island via dessert.
The Ingredients
Of course some of the ingredients with depend on the flavour combination you choose, but the basic recipe is always the same:
1 cup pudding rice or use arborio as alternative. Round corn rice is best suited for pudding, as the grains absorb more liquid and contain more starch than, say Basmati rice, resulting in creamier rice pudding. And creamy is what we want here.
4 cups liquid. You can use any type of milk you enjoy. If you aren’t lactose intolerant like me, whole milk is a great option. I’m using unsweetened almond milk to cook the rice in, then, after cooking, mix the protein powder with a bit of creamy soy or coconut milk, to add even more creaminess.
A pinch of salt – I’m a firm believer of adding a bit of salt to anything sweet. It balances and enhances the flavour of everything it touches. There is a good reason why salted caramel is so popular!
Protein Powder – This is my favourite way to get a high protein sweet meal. It sounds like a cheat, maybe it is. But I have yet to find a better way to add protein, sweetener, and whatever flavour you enjoy in one step to dishes. My Protein is my favourite brand, as it’s super creamy and doesn’t taste artificial. I mostly use the limited edition “Jelly Belly Buttered Popcorn”. Any good vanilla flavour would work too. Though I dread the day when this one reaches its time limit of the limited edition, as I’m utterly in love with it.
For the Black Forest version I used Gold Standard Whey Chocolate, as I have a ton left from before discovering MyProtein. It’s pretty decent, if less creamy.
Again, just to be clear: This is in no way sponsored or affiliated. Just what I use. Though if anyone from MyProtein reads this: Please sponsor me?
The Process
Pressure Cooker/ Instant Pot
If you have a pressure cooker/instant pot/Sage Fast Slow Pro, this couldn’t be any easier:
Add your rice and 3.5 cups of your milk of choice and pinch of salt to your cooker. Set to 10 minutes high pressure, then 10min auto release and let it do its thing while you get on with your day.
After the time is up, mix your chosen protein powder with the remaining half cup of milk or yoghurt until no lumps remain and stir it into your rice pudding. Don’t let it come to a boil after you mixed in the protein, or it might get a bit grainy.
If you make a bigger portion for several days, I would advocate for adding the protein-milk mix just before eating, as rice pudding has the habit of thickening in the fridge. And if you add too much liquid, the rice might essentially dissolve. If you love that, feel free of course.
Add your chosen fruits and flavourings, decorate, and top to your heart’s desire and enjoy hot or cold.
I often prepare a large portion at the start of the week, to have a super quick breakfast/dessert or even dinner (yep, I love sweet dinner! That’s my favourite way to satisfy sweet evening cravings: Make it a healthy dinner!).
You can have this Protein Rice Pudding straight from the fridge for hot summer days or simply re-heat it in the microwave.
On Stovetop:
While I’m plain too lazy to make this on the stovetop, you can absolutely do that too.
It will take about 20- 30 minutes of patient stirring and very gentle simmering to get creamy rice pudding.
Tips and Tricks
If you have no round corn rice, you can use Basmati. It might not get as creamy though
In India, Rice Curd is made by using ready cooked Basmati rice and stirring in “curd”, which is similar to yoghurt, but thinner. So if you are feeling even lazier or just have leftover rice to use up, either stir some plain yoghurt with protein powder into it and top with fruit for a refreshing summer treat. Or heat it up in the microwave, stir in some milk mixed with protein powder and top with whatever your heart desires.
A classic Thai version of this would be to boil the rice in coconut milk. To get the best flavour, use the drinking version, not a can.
You can make this also with black rice, which would look absolutely stunning, or brown rice for added fibre. For those versions follow the cooking instructions for your particular rice. Time and needed liquid may vary.
Want even more protein? Add some chia seeds or hemp hearts and top with more Greek yoghurt. I love the 0% fat version, as I feel the rice has plenty of creaminess already.
Need extra indulgence and want this to taste like the classic rice pudding dessert? Temper an egg yolk by adding a bit of warm milk at the end of the cooking process and stir into the rice, warming it through gently, to avoid curdling the egg. Add some butter to take it over the top. May I suggest browned butter if you do?
The 4 Different Versions
All amounts and instructions are given to make 4 portions of the same variation.
If you’d like to try all 4, as I did in the pictures, simply halve the amounts.
Except the cherry compote. I would always make the full 2 cups, as I love it so much, I happily eat it over everything or on its own. Plus just boiling half a cup is too much hassle for the output.
After your rice pudding is cooked mix 2 cups of milk/yoghurt/coconut milk with 4 scoops of your favourite protein powder. Depending on the version you are going for and stir into the rice until it reaches your preferred consistency.
If you find it too cold after that, feel free to briefly microwave to heat it up, but don’t let it come to a boil again, or your protein might curdle a bit. Which still tastes ok, but doesn’t look as inviting and creamy.
Cherry or Berry. Or Both.
Use about 2 cups of fresh or frozen sweet cherries or mixed berries together with 1 tbsp of sugar (brown or white), maybe a little lemon juice or vanilla extract or both, if you like. In a pot on the stove, bring them to a boil, adding about 2-3 tbsp water, to help them release their juices. Mix ½ tbsp cornstarch with 2 tbsp water in a separate container. Once your cherries or berries are hot and bubbling, pour in your cornstarch slurry while stirring. Bring once more to the boil and stir until it thickens. Take off the heat and your compote is ready.
I used this for both the cherry version and dusted it with a tiny bit of vanilla powder and in the Black Forest version.
Mix 2 cups of soy milk with a good vanilla protein powder until no clumps remain, Stir into the rice pudding.
Top with the cherry (or berry) compote and enjoy.
Rice Curd (-ish) with Protein, Pomegranate, Grapes and Pistachios
If using a fresh pomegranate, cut it in half crosswise. Tuck one half into a small freezer bag. Ideally with a zip and close it, with the open side of the pomegranate pointing down.
Now get a cooking spoon, Wood with the classic spoon shape works best I found.
Start smacking the top of the pomegranate until all seeds have tumbled into the bag.
Discard the empty shell and fish out any pieces of pith that might have fallen out.
Halve the grapes. Roughly chop the pistachios if using.
Mix 2 cups of yoghurt (I used 0% fat Greek yoghurt) with 4 scoops of a good vanilla protein powder until no lumps remain. Stir into the cooked rice pudding. Ideally after it has cooled a bit.
This version is particularly good cold on a hot summer day.
Mango-Coconut Protein Rice Pudding
Prepare your coconut chips if using.
Pre-heat your oven to 350°F/175°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix 1 cup of coconut chips with 1 tbsp maple syrup, a pinch of salt and the grated zest of 1 lime.
Spead onto the baking sheet and bake for about 10-12 min, stirring halfway, until golden brown.
Let them cool to crisp up while you prepare the mango. They will keep in an airtight container for about a week (if they last that long, as they are seriously more-ish). You will find reasons to make them again and again as snack or topping for sweets, cake, salad and even Thai soup or curries.
Peel your mango and chop into bite sized cubes.
Mix 2 cups of coconut milk (canned or from a tetra pack is both good) with 4 scoops of a good vanilla (or coconut) flavoured protein powder until no lumps remain.
Stir into the ready cooked rice pudding, top with mango and coconut chips.
Black Forest Protein Rice Pudding (or chocolate without the cherries)
Prepare the cherry compote as per instructions for the cherry version. If you feel extra indulgent, add some Kirsch.
Whisk some cream or coconut cream into soft peaks. If using coconut cream, make sure it’s very cold or it won’t hold its shape. I found cans of coconut whipping cream at a local health food store, but using just the firm layer from a can of cold coconut milk will do just fine.
Mix 2 cups of soy milk with 4 scoops of chocolate flavoured protein powder and 1 tbsp cocoa until no lumps remain. If you only have vanilla flavoured protein powder use that, but add 2-3 tbsp cocoa, depending on your preference.
Stir the chocolate protein mix into the cooked rice pudding.
In pretty glasses, layer some cherry compote, then rice pudding, finishing with more cherry compote and a large spoon or whipped cream or coconut cream.
Decorate with fresh cherry and chocolate shavings if you like. I simply used a vegetable peeler to create shavings from a piece of dark chocolate.
How to Store
As mentioned above, I often meal prep a big batch for the week and store it in a lidded container in the fridge. It will keep quite happily for about 3-4 days, depending on the milk you used.
If you want to mix it up, portion the Protein Rice Pudding into single portion jars and add your favourite toppings, to have an amazing meal to grab and go.
Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please rate, share and/or comment. It helps me a lot!
Protein Rice Pudding 4 Ways
Protein Rice Pudding has all the creamy decadence of the popular dessert, but with a healthy dose of protein. I’ve created 4 versions for you to choose from with different add-ins and toppings, so you have a healthy post workout meal ready for you any day.
On top of that, if you have an instant pot, this can be ready for you in the time you take a shower. No stirring and standing at the hob required!
3.5cupsunsweetened almond milkor milk of your choice
2cupssoy milkor any other milk of your choice. Coconut for the Coconut-Mango variation
4scoopsprotein powderI used MyProtein Whey Buttered Popcorn. Any good vanilla flavoured powder will work fine. Since this is the main flavour component, please use one you enjoy.
1pinchsalt
2tspvanilla extractoptional but lovely
Topping Versions
Cherry Protein Rice Pudding
2cupsof cherries
½tbspcornstarch
1tbspsugar
2cupssoy milk and 4 scoops vanilla protein powder as stated in basic version
Rice Curd-ish with Pomegranate and Grapes
1Pomegranateseeds only (see post on how to get them out without a mess)
1cupgrapeshalved
2cups0% fat Greek yoghurtinstead of the soy milk in the basic version
4scoopsvanilla protein powderas stated in the basic version
½cuppistachiosroughly chopped
Mango- Coconut Protein Rice Pudding
1cupcoconut chips
1tbspMaple syrup
1limegrated zest only
1mangochopped in bite sized cubes
2cupscoconut milkcanned or tetra pack
4scoops vanilla or coconut protein powder as stated in basic version
Black Forest Protein Rice Pudding
2cupsof cherries
½tbspcornstarch
1tbspsugar
1tbspKirschoptional
2cupssoy milk
4scoops chocolate protein powderinstead of vanilla as stated in basic version
1tbspcocoa
½cupwhipped cream or whipped coconut creamor to taste
1small piece dark chocolateshaved with vegetable peeler, to decorate
Instructions
Using a Pressure Cooker/Instant Pot/Sage Fast Slow Pro:
In the cooker, combine the rice, 3.5 cups of almond milk (or milk of your choice), and a pinch of salt.
Set the cooker to 10 minutes on high pressure, then allow for a 10-minute auto release.
While the rice cooks, mix the protein powder with the remaining 2 cups of milk until smooth.
After the pressure cooking cycle completes, stir the protein-milk mixture into the rice pudding gently. Avoid boiling after adding protein to prevent graininess.
If preparing a larger portion for multiple days, add the protein-milk mix just before serving to avoid over-thickening and potential rice dissolution. 1/2 cup of soy milk +1 scoop of protein powder per portion.
Customize with your chosen fruits and flavourings, and top with desired toppings.
Serve hot or cold. Refrigerate leftovers for future servings.
On the Stovetop:
In a saucepan, combine the rice, 3.5 cups of almond milk (or milk of your choice), and a pinch of salt.
Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Simmer for about 20-30 minutes, stirring frequently, until the rice pudding reaches a creamy consistency.
Follow steps 3-7 from the pressure cooker instructions to complete the dish.
Enjoy your protein-rich rice pudding as a quick breakfast, dessert, or even dinner option! Adjust toppings and flavourings to suit your preferences.
Cherry Protein Rice Pudding
Prepare the cherry compote by simmering cherries, sugar, and a splash of water until hot.
Mix cornstarch with water, then add to the cherries, boil and stir to thicken.
Mix soy milk and vanilla protein powder and stir into the cooked rice pudding.
Serve topped with cherry compote.
Rice Curd-ish with Pomegranate and Grapes
Extract pomegranate seeds. See post on how to get them out without a mess.
Halve grapes and chop pistachios.
Mix yogurt and vanilla protein powder, then stir into rice pudding.
Serve chilled, topped with pomegranate seeds, grapes, and pistachios.
Mango-CoconutProtein Rice Pudding
Mix coconut chips with maple syrup and lime zest, bake on a parchment lined baking sheet at 350°F/175°C for about 10min until golden.
Mix coconut milk and protein powder, then stir into rice pudding.
Serve topped with mango and coconut chips.
Black Forest Protein Rice Pudding
Prepare the cherry compote by simmering cherries, sugar, and a splash of water until boiling and cherries are hot.
Mix cornstarch with 2 tbsp water, then add to the cherries to thicken.
Add 1 tbsp Kirsch if desired
Mix soy milk with chocolate protein powder and cocoa.
Stir into cooked rice pudding.
Layer with cherry compote and top with whipped cream.
Decorate with chocolate shavings if you like.
Notes
The nutrition here is given for the basic Protein Rice pudding. It will vary slightly depending on the toppings, though the protein will remain roughly the same. Slightly more for the curd version due to the greek youghurt, slightly less for the coconut mango version, as the coconut milk has less protein than soy milk.How to StoreAs mentioned above, I often meal prep a big batch for the week and store it in a lidded container in the fridge. It will keep quite happily for about 3-5 days, depending on the milk you used. If you want to mix it up, portion the Protein Rice Pudding into single portion jars and add your favourite toppings, to have an amazing meal to grab and go.
Pistachio Muffins with Apricots and Protein have everything you could possibly want in a muffin: Crunchy, nutty pistachios, a soft and fluffy inside, studded with sweet-tart dried apricots and a crunchy brown sugar sprinkled top. All that with 7g protein per muffin and just 280cal. So you can have a yummy snack with your coffee and feel good about it!
Why You Want to Make Them
Are you going nuts for Pistachios too?
I’m honestly hooked recently. I got a big jar of pistachio butter from Bulk and it’s utterly delicious on pretty much everything. I spread it on some rice cakes, topped with blueberries as my evening sweet snack, stirred it in oatmeal with cherries, made Pistachio-Protein Crème Brulee and now these Pistachio Muffins with Apricots and Protein.
Of course Pistachios aren’t technically nuts, but rather the stone of a fruit, very similar to almonds, which explains their affinity for very similar foods almonds go with. I added some almond essence to these muffins, which underlines the Pistachio flavour rather perfectly.
Speaking of Protein
If you read a few of the sweet recipes on my blog, you probably noticed that I’m adding protein to many of them. Considering I’m not eating much meat and am not the biggest fan of legumes, so I don’t want to include them into every single meal. Yet, have an acute need to add more protein to my diet, to meet the target for muscle building and/or maintenance, which is at least around 1.2-1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, I keep looking for ways to increase my intake, without drinking shakes. Why not shakes you ask? They simply bore me.
I feel if I’m not eating or drinking something that is worth the calories, I’m wasting my time.
Is it a weird way to see food? Maybe.
But having lost 70lb taught me, that I’m working on an energy budget per day. Loving food and eating means, I want to spend it well. This does not include the same boring protein shake every day, but rather finding recipes to excite me and have me look forward to eating them.
That’s where Pistachio Muffins with Apricots and Protein come in: Something I really enjoy eating and am looking forward to, which also adds a nice portion of protein to my day.
Easy to Make
If you ever made muffins, you probably loved how easy they are. I know I do. The batter comes together in 10-15 minutes and that includes getting the ingredients out.
Well…unless your store cupboards are way too full, like mine, and you have to rummage around in them to find stuff. I knew I had dried apricots somewhere! *Empties half her pantry before finding the bag*
Lower calories than your average Muffin
Eating an average muffin, according to Google, you are looking at 340-424 calories. That is a fairly big chunk out of your daily budget, if you are watching your weight like I do.
Having gained a few pounds over Christmas (because I can’t be trusted around sweets), I’m currently trying to get rid of them again. But I really don’t want to go without a sweet treat per day! That would just leave me grumpy and missing something, which in turn means, once I lost the weight I’d go even more for sweets again. Not a good cycle.
So my solution is, to develop recipes that are sweet, not compromising in flavour, yet lower in calories than the standard versions. This is one of them.
Oh and I want them to have nutritional value too. High standards for sure.
These Pistachio Muffins with Apricots and Protein have only 280 calories per muffin, which is a nice bit of saving for one satisfying snack. Or even breakfast if you like.
The Ingredients
Looking at the typical Pistachio Muffin recipe, I noticed that most are using rather artificial pudding mix to accomplish taste and texture of them. I wanted natural taste though and not use some mix with barely any real pistachio in it.
That means my muffins aren’t bright green, since they have no colouring either, but instead mostly natural and nutritious ingredients.
Except the protein powder. Let’s be honest, it isn’t natural, but I feel the benefits outweigh that downside.
Note, these are just some of the ingredients and why I use them, not all, as most are still those of a classic muffin.
Let’s start with the obvious bit: Pistachio butter. I only replaced half of the butter with it, as nut butter has less fat than butter, which would have meant I needed to add more other fat back in, which wasn’t the idea.
Keeping half and adding a mix of sour cream and 0% fat Greek yoghurt gave me the moisture content I lost, by swapping part of the butter into Pistachio butter.
I also reduced both the flour and sugar by adding protein powder. Buttered Popcornflavoured in this case, though you can easily use vanilla.
I particularly love MyProtein (not sponsored or affiliated, though I wish it would be, I use it so much!), which adds lovely flavour and sweetness to my recipes, without any weird aftertaste.
You can safely replace about ¼ of the flour in a recipe with it, without any negative impact. Use more, and the results might be drier than intended.
I’m still using a mix of white and brown sugar, but less than usual, to keep the structure needed. The sugar mixed with the sweetener from the protein powder also means it still tastes just naturally sweet.
While looking into the secrets of Pistachio muffins, I found the pudding powder not only adds flavour and sweetness, but also a bit of cornflour, which will thicken the pudding, but add a lovely softness to muffin batter. So I replaced some of the flour with cornflour to achieve the same effect.
Nutrition and flavour wise, I prefer a mix of white flour for lightness and the typical muffin feel and whole wheat flour for some nutty flavour. If you can find it, use fine whole wheat flour, which is great for lighter pastry.
For even more flavour, I’m using a bit of almond extract, which is in the same flavour family as pistachio, making it a natural choice. Unless you have natural pistachio extract, which would be a fantastic replacement. But I couldn’t find any in my local supermarkets and wasn’t keen on ordering just for this recipe. Though…it’s in my head now, I still might. Has anyone tried it? What were your thoughts?
To reduce the sugar and up the fruit content, I swapped out 2 eggs for 2 bananas. You can choose to use just eggs for more protein but add a little more sugar.
For the add-ins I’m using dried apricots, as they are not adding a lot of additional water, which I’d have to account for if I’d be using fresh ones. But, since I found some fresh apricots at Tesco, I decided to add half a fruit on top of each muffin, which gave them an amazing fruity-fresh kick I loved.
They are purely optional though.
Also some chopped pistachios for extra crunch and more pistachio flavour.
Each muffin got a little sprinkling of demerara sugar on top, adding some sparkle, crunch, and sweetness, making the muffins extra special.
The Process
The one thing that makes all baking easier is, to have all the ingredients at room temperature. If you have fridge cold butter, it’s much harder to mix it with the sugar. Just melted however, will give you a greasy result.
Similar for the eggs, which, when cold, can lead to a curdled result while mixing into the soft butter.
So plan a little bit ahead by taking everything out of the fridge an hour or so before you plan to make your muffins.
Preheat your oven to 425°F/220°C and line a muffin tin with muffin cases. Or grease it thoroughly if you prefer. Personally I find muffin cases much easier to remove and they leave less to clean, which is always a plus in my book.
If you have 2 muffin tins, you’ll need both. Otherwise you might bake in 2 batches, as this recipe makes about 16 large muffins.
From there on it’s as easy as mixing the butter with the sugar until fluffy and white. Then, one by one, whisk the eggs and mashed bananas in until well incorporated.
Add the protein powder with the remaining wet ingredients, to make sure you have no protein lumps in your Pistachio Muffins with Apricots and Protein.
Now mix your dry ingredients, keeping back about 1-2 tbsp of the chopped pistachios for sprinkling on top, and add most of them to your batter. But not all. Keep a few tablespoons of the flour mix back, to coat the chopped apricots in. This is to prevent them from sinking to the bottom.
Gently fold your dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. A few lumps are fine. Don’t overmix, or your muffins will be tough from the gluten you developed.
Then add the flour coated apricots and fold them in too.
Divide the batter between the muffin molds, filling them all the way, so you get nice and high tops. I use an ice cream scoop for this, to make it very easy. Two tablespoons work too.
Sprinkle with the remaining chopped pistachios, lay a sliced fresh apricot half on top, if using, then sprinkle lightly with demerara sugar.
Now you might have looked at the high oven temperature and thought it might be a typo. It’s not. The high initial temperature is what gives you the beautiful high muffin tops, but it will be lowered after 5-7 minutes of baking, to the classic 350°F/175°C, to bake for another 15-17 minutes, depending on your oven.
Just don’t open the oven door, except once, around half of the baking time, to turn your muffin tin, should your oven bake unevenly.
Your Pistachio Muffins with Apricots and Protein are ready when the top is golden brown and toothpick comes out mostly clean, a few crumbs are ok.
Let them cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then take them out onto a wire rack.
Enjoy your fluffy, tangy, and crunchy Pistachio Muffins with Apricots and Protein with a nice cup of coffee or tea. They are also really good for breakfast.
Storing your Pistachio Muffins with Apricots and Protein
The muffins keep well in a tin or box for about 3 days.
They also freeze very well. I usually place most in freezer proof containers or small freezer bags and just air fry them for about 7 minutes when I want one. They taste like fresh!
Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please share and comment. It helps me a lot.
Pistachio Muffins with Apricots and Protein
Pistachio Muffins with Apricots and Protein have everything could possibly want in a muffin: Crunchy, nutty pistachios, a soft and fluffy inside, studded with sweet-tart dried apricots and a crunchy brown sugar sprinkled top. All that with 7g protein per muffin and just 280cal.
So you can have a yummy snack with your coffee and feel good about it!
½cupchopped pistachios1-2 tbsp kept for sprinkling on top
1tbspdemerara sugar for sprinkling
8fresh apricots for toppingoptional but delicious
Instructions
Ensure all ingredients are at room temperature for easier mixing. Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C. Line a muffin tin with cases or grease it.
In a large bowl, cream together ½ cup + 2tbsp softened butter, pistachio butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy and white.
Whisk in the eggs and mashed bananas, one at a time, until well incorporated. Add sour cream, Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Mix until smooth.
Combine the protein powder with the remaining wet ingredients to avoid lumps. Mix until well incorporated.
In a separate bowl, mix the white flour, whole wheat flour, cornflour, baking powder, and kosher salt. Reserve 1-2 tbsp of the flour mix to coat the chopped dried apricots and 1-2 tbsp chopped pistachios for topping the muffins.
Add most of the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and gently fold until just combined.
Toss the chopped dried apricots in the reserved flour mixture to prevent sinking. Fold them into the batter.
Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cases, filling them to the top. Use an ice cream scoop or two tablespoons for ease. Sprinkle the remaining chopped pistachios on top. Optionally, place a fresh apricot half, cut in slices on each muffin and sprinkle with demerara sugar.
Bake in the preheated oven for 5-7 minutes at 425°F/220°C, then reduce the temperature to 350°F/175°C and bake for an additional 15-17 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
Allow the muffins to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Serve and enjoy your fluffy, tangy, and crunchy Pistachio Muffins with Apricots and Protein with a cup of coffee or tea. They make a lovely breakfast treat too.
Caramelized Spiced Almonds taste like German Christmas Market, but have a smooth instead of bumpy caramel, with deep and rich caramel flavour. They form beautiful, shiny clusters of cinnamon-spice crunchiness, that are great for snacking, gifting or even topping your morning oatmeal with.
Don’t be scared of making caramel! It just takes a few minutes of patience.
Why You Want to Make Them
Reminds you of German Christmas Markets
If you ever visited a German Christmas market and loved the smell of it, these are a big part of what wafted through the air. Often just made with cinnamon and sugar, caramelised, and formed into nubbly crusted almonds by stirring constantly and stopping at the just right point, they are at the heart of every visit.
But that bumpy crust is also the tricky part, as you need to catch the exact moment between sugar crystals and caramel, to achieve it. Also, I tend to find it not particularly kind to my teeth, as it’s a rather thick and hard layer. And more sugar than caramel flavour.
So I changed my technique a little, to still give you the spicy, Christmassy flavour and scent, but a shiny and dark caramel with a bit more flavour to it.
Great Gift
The smoother caramel has another advantage over the classic Christmas Market almonds: It keeps longer. Usually the Candied almonds you’d buy on the market are a sticky mess the day after. These Caramelized Spiced Almonds can be kept in an airtight container for over a week. Which makes them a great gift to make ahead. And aren’t homemade, edible gifts the best ones anyway?
Doesn’t take long
These Caramelized Spiced Almonds take just about 10-15 minutes to make and aren’t hard by any means. 4 ingredients (I count the spice mix as one. Plus you could, if you wanted, just use cinnamon) and a few minutes of melting sugar are all they take.
The Ingredients
Almonds – For the most traditional treat you’ll need almonds. Ideally with their skin, as the caramel will adhere better than to skinned ones. Plus they keep more of their nutritional value.
I know…it’s a treat, but still, we can mix the delicious with the good for us!
You could use all sorts of other nuts and seeds you enjoy here too. I love cashews or macadamias, but even sunflower or pumpkin seeds work amazingly well.
Sugar – I’ve used soft brown sugar here, for it’s higher molasses content, resulting in an even deeper caramel flavour. Caster sugar would be more traditional, as it melts faster due to the size of the grains.
Spices – I’m using a mix of cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ground ginger and nutmeg here. Balanced with a pinch of salt. And some vanilla extract. You could use just cinnamon, and they will still be utterly delicious.
And that’s already it.
The Process
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Essentially you add the sugar and spices with a bit of water to a pan, let them come to a boil, then add the almonds.
Let it bubble away for a while, stirring now and then, until the water has evaporated, and the sugar crystallizes again. This is working as intended.
Now leave it on slightly lower heat, until the sugar begins to melt again. Gently fold over the almonds. Then leave to melt further. Be patient and wait until all the sugar is liquidized and transforming into a dark and shiny caramel. Stir again, so all almonds are coated evenly.
Once it has reached the desired darkness without burning, carefully pour the mass onto your parchment lined baking sheet and spread it out with a spatula. My ideal shape is mostly one layer of almonds with the occasional overlap. But arrange them however you enjoy them.
Be quick and careful though, the caramel is very hot and firms up quickly.
Let them cool entirely until crunchy and hard. Then break into smaller pieces and store in an airtight container for up to a week. The almonds will still be delicious after, but the caramel might start to soften a little and not look as shiny anymore.
Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please share and comment. It helps me a lot.
Caramelized Spiced Almonds
Caramelized Spiced Almonds taste like German Christmas Market, but have a smooth instead of bumpy caramel, with deep and rich caramel flavour. They form beautiful, shiny clusters of cinnamon-spice crunchiness, that are great for snacking, gifting or even topping your morning oatmeal with.
Don’t be scared of making caramel! It just takes a few minutes of patience.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Create Caramel Mixture:
In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, combine the soft brown sugar, water, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, ground allspice, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, ground clove, and a pinch of salt.
Bring to a Boil:
Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Allow it to bubble for a few minutes until the water has mostly evaporated, and the sugar starts to crystallize.
Add Almonds:
Gently stir in the raw almonds, ensuring they are well-coated with the crystallized sugar mixture.
Continue Cooking:
Let the almonds and sugar mixture cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. The sugar will re-melt and caramelize, creating a dark and shiny coating on the almonds. Be patient during this process.
Spread on Baking Sheet:
Once the caramel has reached the desired darkness without burning, quickly and carefully pour the almond mixture onto the prepared parchment-lined baking sheet. Use a spatula to spread it out, arranging the almonds into a mostly single layer with occasional overlaps.
Cool Completely:
Allow the caramelized almonds to cool completely on the baking sheet. The caramel will harden, resulting in a crunchy texture.
Break into Pieces:
Once fully cooled and hardened, break the caramelized almond mass into smaller, bite-sized pieces. Be cautious, as the caramel will be very hot.
Notes
Store:Store the caramelized spiced almonds in an airtight container for up to a week. While the almonds will remain delicious, note that the caramel may soften slightly and lose its shine over time. Enjoy your homemade treat!10 portionsCalories: Approximately 160 calories
Protein: Approximately 4 grams
Carbohydrates: Approximately 18 grams
Fat: Approximately 9 grams
Fiber: Approximately 2 gramsPlease note that these values are approximate and can vary based on specific brands and variations in ingredient measurements.
Nutrition
Calories: 160kcal
Nutrition Facts
Caramelized Spiced Almonds
Amount per Serving
Calories
160
% Daily Value*
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Super soft and fluffy, flavourful Sourdough Discard Naan breads, that are both easy to make and good for you due to the benefits of sourdough. The ingredients will probably already be in your store cupboard or fridge. These are incredibly versatile to use as flatbread recipe for all kinds of meals, including the Falafel Wraps I created them for, a quick pizza or to brush with garlic butter and enjoy them with a curry.
Why You Want to Make These
Flavour
Have you ever bought Naan bread in the supermarket, but after trying fresh Naan in an Indian restaurant, you feel they always fall short on the flavour and texture front? Yeah, me too.
I absolutely loved the super soft and fluffy flatbreads at an Indian place and nearly enjoyed them more than the Chicken Korma they came with. To me, Bread is a main part of a meal and I’d like it to be utterly delicious.
That’s why I make pretty much all of my bread at home. Being German and used to really good bread straight from the bakery around the corner, I always felt standard yeast bread doesn’t entirely live up to what I enjoy. After moving to Ireland, I realised that the lack of flavour was due to the fact that most breads in Germany include sourdough, which gives them a distinct gentle to strong tang, and layers of flavour, depending on how long you allow it to ferment before baking. After that realisation I started trying different recipes using it, including sweet baked goods with great success.
This Sourdough Discard Naan is no exception. Starting with a yeast based recipe from one of my all-time favourite blogs “Half Baked Harvest”, I modified it to include sourdough as it’s main raising ingredient and for flavour and am absolutely delighted with the results. Soft, fluffy, easy to wrap around anything you might decide to roll into them, with a very gentle tang from said sourdough, these are absolutely everything I want from bread.
Sourdough and long rising time make the bread very easy digestible, which is especially helpful for those of you that have a gluten sensitivity. Sourdough bread is known to have a much slower release of sugar, not spiking insulin as fast compared to white bread made with yeast or from the supermarket, meaning even diabetics can eat it (within reason).
It’s great if you are on a diet and don’t want to give up bread, as it’s very nutritious and makes you feel full longer.
It’s also very flexible and versatile when it comes generally to baked goods, so I use it in everything from bread to even brownies, as it adds so much in terms of flavour.
Flexible
The fact that the sourdough gets better with a slower rise and is happy to wait for you in the fridge for up to 48 hours makes these Sourdough Discard Naan breads incredibly flexible for meal prep or a family feast you are planning. You can do everything in advance except the frying of the bread.
Though I found that they keep really well in a bread tin, to be re-heated for a few seconds in the microwave when you want to enjoy them. So even that would be an option, to relax on workdays or when your guests are around.
Versatile
Sourdough Naan is a fantastic side not just for Indian curries, but pretty much everything that goes with soft and fluffy flatbread. That can be a stew, to mop up the juices, Falafel Wraps (Recipe coming soon) or even as a base for a super quick weekday pizza. Or of course very classic brushed with garlic butter, which makes them pretty irresistible.
You can use either these Sourdough Discard Naan or my Sourdough Flatbread with Feta in the upcoming Mezze Feast, depending on your preference and if you’d like to create wraps with Falafels or not.
The Ingredients
Besides the above mentioned Sourdough starter, you’ll need flour. I used a mix of plain white flour and whole wheat, to add some nutrition and nutty flavour.
You can use all plain white or bread flour here, for even softer, chewier Naans.
Even though I read that traditional Naan back in time was made with only whole wheat flour, I wouldn’t advise it, if you want to wrap anything into the flatbreads, as it tends to give a little firmer consistency.
Milk
I’m using Oat milk here, as I’m lactose intolerant, but you can use any kind of full fat milk. The fat content adds to the softness, which is why I’m not using unsweetened Almond milk or similar, to not change the consistency.
Butter
Butter gives these Naan breads their incredible softness and adds a lovely moisture to the dough. Plus of course flavour. I’m not using much, 4 tbsp are enough to give the desired effect.
You could use olive or neutral oil instead if you are vegan or rather avoid butter.
Greek Yoghurt
Greek Yoghurt, similar to the butter, adds to the softness and moisture of the bread and is essential to get the super pliable bread I’m aiming for. Full fat in this case, as that will help with all 3 of the above characteristics.
Yeast
In theory you wouldn’t need yeast here if you want to let the sourdough do it’s thing overnight. But I added it as I was in a bit of a hurry and wanted to eat the bread on the same day. The rise was rather fast and lively with yeast, so you can probably even leave it out if you prepare the dough early morning for dinner.
Baking Powder and Baking Soda
Similar to the yeast, but with even quicker rising abilities, you can give your Naan Bread a boost by adding these, if you have, say, only a few hours until you want to eat.
I ended up leaving them out, as they lose their functionality when left for a longer fermentation, which is what I usually aim for with sourdough. Just know it’s an option for getting fluffy Naan if you are in a hurry.
Honey
I’m using a little honey here to feed the yeast, which loves a little sweetness to wake up. Also to balance the tang from the sourdough.
You could use sugar instead, if you prefer.
Salt
One of the main differentiating ingredients between bland bread and really good bread is salt. Not much, but enough to give it some flavour. Just don’t mix it with the yeast at the start, as yeast will die immediately when touching salt. Instead mix it into the flour, so it’s less concentrated before coming in contact.
I’m using Kosher salt here, as pretty much always, because it gives me more control over the seasoning. If you use sea salt, use half of the given amount.
The Process
The Wet
Warm the milk in the microwave or in a pot for a moment, just to get it lukewarm and add the warm water. It should just feel very slightly warm to the touch and comfortable on the skin. Mix in the yeast and honey and let it stand for about 10 minutes, to activate the yeast. If you see some bubbles appearing after that time, your yeast is alive and will do its job. If not, it’s too old and won’t add any rise to your bread. If you have used your yeast recently and know it’s still fresh, you can skip this step and add milk, water and yeast together with the other wet ingredients.
Melt the Butter and let it cool to lukewarm or room temperature, so it doesn’t kill the yeast or sourdough on contact.
The Dry
Add first the flour, salt, baking powder and soda (if using) to a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Give the dry ingredients a good mix, to disperse the salt.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix briefly with a spoon. If your stand mixer manages to catch the flour from the sides easily, you can skip the spoon step. I noticed mine does a better job when I briefly pre-mix.
Kneading
Knead the dough on medium speed for about 8-10 minutes or until very smooth and elastic. To check if it’s ready and has developed enough gluten, perform the windowpane test.
The dough should at this point be smooth and reasonably easy to work with, but slightly sticky, which will change after it had time to rise. If you feel it’s too sticky, add a little flour at a time.
Shape into a smooth ball with your hands and put into a lightly oiled bowl. I often simply use the cleaned bowl of my stand mixer, as it has a lid attached, so I can let the dough rise at room temperature. If keeping it in the fridge overnight, I love a Tupperware bowl designed specifically for yeasted doughs, as the lid “plops” open once the dough has risen enough.
Shaping
Once your dough has risen to about double its size or, if you had it in the fridge, the next day, divide it into 8 equal pieces.Take each piece form it into a round bun.
At this point you can either roll them out right away or store in the fridge or freezer for another day.
I often store a few unbaked ones in my freezer, as they take only a few hours to thaw, so I can have homemade fresh Naan anytime.
Once you want to fry your Naan bread (which will take about 2-4 minutes per portion), lightly flour your work surface. Use either lightly floured rolling pin or, if you have one, a tortilla press lined with a cut open freezer bag, to get your Naan bread into shape.
You can aim either for an oval or round. They should be relatively thin without ripping. About ¼ inch thick is a good guideline. A tortilla press will achieve a pretty decent even round shape, while rolling pins tend to produce something more oval. But then, these are Naan breads and homemade, they are not supposed to look perfect.
Frying
Get a frying pan you have a lid for really hot on medium-high heat. Add a small bit of olive oil and rub it around the pan carefully with a bunched up paper towel, so you don’t burn yourself.
Add a rolled out Naan bread to the pan and cover with the lid immediately. This is where the magic happens.You’ll see the characteristic big bubbles appearing after about 1 minute.
Flip the bread and cook uncovered for another minute or two, until the bubbles on the now underside show golden browning.
To keep these really soft and pliable, I used a trick I learned from a friend: Take one large plate, cover with a clean kitchen towel, add the fried Sourdough Naan and wrap it with the towel, then cover with another large plate that is turned upside down. This will keep the steam and moisture inside, meaning your bread will be perfectly soft and warm until you are done frying.
Serving
If you’d like to brush them with garlic butter (I didn’t, since I made them for Falafel wraps), do so ideally right after frying and sprinkle with a few chopped herbs, such as Cilantro, if you like.
Enjoy your super soft and fluffy Sourdough Discard Naan in any way you like.
Meal Prep
The fact that the sourdough can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days allows for easy planning around mealtimes and days. The flavour only gets better during that time.
As mentioned above, you can freeze the divided dough in portions. Either in freezer bags or a freezer proof container.
Alternatively roll them out and store between layers of baking parchment and freeze like that, which allows for even quicker use.
Or, as last variant to freeze, fry all and freeze some of the readily fried ones in freezer bags once cooled, to always have a super quick homemade bread or pizza option.
Without freezing, these Naan Breads keep in an airtight container for about 3-4 days. Re-heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds. I did this in a special tortilla warmer than can go into the microwave, which gave me absolutely brilliant results. I got the warmer together with my tortilla press as an added benefit.
The Mezze Feast
Here are the recipes posted for the Mezze Feast so far. Mix and match whatever you like, use just one as super quick snack or dinner or all of them for one stunning feast.
Use either these Sourdough Discard Naans or the Sourdough Flatbread with Feta as your bread for it.
Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please share and comment. It helps me a lot.
Sourdough Discard Naan
Super soft and fluffy, flavourful Sourdough Naan breads, that are both easy to make and good for you due to the benefits of sourdough. The ingredients will probably already be in your store cupboard or fridge and the hands on time is just minutes. These are incredibly versatile to use as flatbread recipe for all kinds of recipes, including the Falafel Wraps I made them for. Or to brush with garlic butter and enjoy them with a curry.
Course Appetizer, Bread, Ingredient, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine Indian
Servings 8
Calories 309kcal
Ingredients
½cupoat milkor any full fat milk of your choice
¼cupwarm water
1tbsphoney
½tspactive dry yeast
1cupfull fat Greek yoghurt
1cupsourdough starteractive or discard
2.5cupsplain white flour
1cupwhole wheat flourideally fine
½tspkosher salthalf if using sea salt
4tbspbuttermelted and cooled to room temperature
If you want to fry your Sourdough Naan within 1-2h:
1tspbaking powder
1tspbaking soda
Instructions
Warm the milk in the microwave or in a pot until it's lukewarm. Add the warm water. It should feel slightly warm to the touch and comfortable on the skin. Mix in the yeast and honey and let it stand for about 10 minutes to activate the yeast. If you see bubbles forming, your yeast is alive and active.
Melt the butter and let it cool to lukewarm or room temperature to avoid killing the yeast or sourdough.
In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, add the white flour, whole wheat flour, salt, and optional baking powder and soda (if using). Mix the dry ingredients to disperse the salt evenly.
Add the remaining ingredients, including the yeast mixture and melted butter. Mix briefly with a spoon or in your stand mixer. If your stand mixer easily catches the flour from the sides, you can skip the initial spoon mixing.
Knead the dough on medium speed for about 8-10 minutes or until it becomes very smooth and elastic. To check if it's ready and has developed enough gluten, perform the windowpane test.
The dough should be smooth and slightly sticky at this point, but it will become easier to work with as it rises. If it feels too sticky, add a little flour at a time.
Shape the dough into a smooth ball with your hands and place it in a lightly oiled bowl for rising. You can use the bowl of your stand mixer or a suitable container with a lid. Let the dough rise at room temperature until it doubles in size. If you plan to refrigerate it overnight, use a large container, as the dough may expand significantly.
Once the dough has doubled in size, or the next day if refrigerated, divide it into 8 equal pieces. Take each piece and tuck the edges underneath to form a round bun with a smooth surface.
You can choose to roll them out immediately or store them in the fridge or freezer for later use. Frozen naan can be thawed in just a few hours for fresh naan anytime.
When you're ready to fry your naan bread, lightly flour your work surface. Use a lightly floured rolling pin or a tortilla press lined with a cut-open freezer bag to shape the naan. Aim for a relatively thin, oval or round shape, about ¼ inch thick.
Heat a frying pan with a lid on medium-high heat. Add a small amount of olive oil and rub it around the pan with a bunched-up paper towel.
Place a rolled-out naan in the pan and cover it with the lid immediately. Bubbles should start appearing after about 1 minute.
Flip the naan and cook uncovered for another 1-2 minutes until the underside shows golden browning and is cooked through.
To keep the naan soft and pliable, stack them between two large plates covered with a clean kitchen towel. This will help retain the steam and moisture, keeping the naan warm and soft until you're done frying.
If desired, brush the naan with garlic butter and sprinkle with chopped herbs, such as cilantro, right after frying.
Your homemade sourdough discard naan is now ready to be enjoyed!
Notes
Without freezing, these Naan Breads keep in an airtight container for about 3-4 days. Re-heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds. I did this in a special tortilla warmer than can go into the microwave, which gave me absolutely brilliant results.Calories per Portion: Approximately 309 calories
Protein per Portion: Approximately 9 grams
Carbohydrates per Portion: Approximately 53 grams
Fat per Portion: Approximately 6 grams
Sodium per Portion: Approximately 193 milligrams
Nutrition
Calories: 309kcal
Nutrition Facts
Sourdough Discard Naan
Amount per Serving
Calories
309
% Daily Value*
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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