Best of the bunch: Your guide to choosing yoghurt

Providing children with balanced and wholesome meals and snacks helps with growth and development. But when it comes to filling the trolley with nutritious foods for the family, this can be easier said than done!

Parents often find themselves searching through countless options in the supermarket aisles trying to choose the best of the bunch, decipher food labels and weigh up price tags.

Where does yoghurt fit in the weekly shop?

Yoghurt has earned its place as a valuable addition to a child's day and offers a wide range of benefits that can support wellbeing. This healthy staple is rich in essential nutrients such as bone-strengthening calcium, brain-boosting protein, and gut-loving probiotics.

Are all yoghurts healthy?

These days, yoghurts can range a lot between brands, with some containing more sugar and fat per serve than most ice creams on offer. This means that some yoghurts don’t stack up when it comes to providing healthy food for the family and the variety of flavours on offer can be quite overwhelming. Not to mention the many health claims (high protein, zero sugar, extra calcium) and serving sizes to catch our attention!

With all of this to consider, how do you confidently narrow it down and find the yoghurt that balances taste, cost, and nutrition?

Not sure where to start?

We understand it can be hard to know where to start, which is why we took on the challenge and scoured the shelves of popular supermarkets, comparing over 90 different yoghurts. We've crunched the numbers on all the nutrient info, including protein, saturated fats, sugar, and calcium to bring you the top performers in each category.

Which were the best yoghurt in each category?

In each category there was a top performer, or two, that stood out from the rest. These yoghurts typically contained high quantities of calcium and protein per serve whilst still being low in sugar and fat compared to other brands.

• Greek yoghurt – Chobani’s Plain 0.5% Fat Greek Yoghurt
• Reduced fat natural yoghurt – Yoguri Reduced Fat Greek Style 
• Plant-based yoghurt – Vitasoy Greek Style Soy Yoghurt Plain 450g
• Vanilla yoghurt – Chobani 0.5% Fat Greek Yoghurt Vanilla
• Strawberry yoghurt – Siggi’s 0.5% Fat Yoghurt Strawberry 150g
• Best value for money yoghurt – Brooklea 99% Fat Free Natural Yoghurt 1kg
• Best snack size plain yoghurt (includes pouch) – Chobani Plain 0.5% Fat Greek Yoghurt
• Best snack size flavoured yoghurt (includes pouch) – Siggi’s 0.5% Fat High Protein Yoghurt 

What’s the verdict?

We recommend you choose reduced fat natural/plain or reduced fat greek yoghurt varieties. The majority of yoghurts in these categories were brimming with calcium and protein without compromising in other areas, like having a high sugar content or added fats.    

Chobani and Yoguri natural yoghurt took out the trophy overall as these yoghurts are made with whole ingredients, are often low in sugar and fat, and are high in protein.

Other top notch yoghurts on offer in the low fat natural range were available from Mundella, Brooklea and Tamara Valley. The stand out for savings at the checkout was Brooklea 99% Fat Free Natural Yoghurt, at just $4 for a 1kg tub. This is a value-packed nutrition pocket rocket.

What about flavoured yoghurt?

When buying flavoured yoghurt, try and stick with the classics (vanilla and strawberry) and avoid the ones that sound more like a fancy dessert. No surprises that a chocolate custard flavoured yoghurt is going to be higher in sugar than other varieties. Look for those with less than 5g of sugar per 100g, whilst still offering a good amount of protein (5-10g per 100g) and calcium (100-150mg per 100g). 

Some of our top suggestions for jazzing up natural yoghurt

• Mix with mashed ripe banana and make single serve yoghurt pots

• Blend with frozen berries and a splash of milk and pack in a reusable pouch or a small drink bottle

• Add cocoa/cacao and a drizzle of honey to dollop on pikelets

• Layer with muesli, seeds and coconut to make breakfast cups

• Add vanilla and cinnamon or some jam or stewed fruit for a simple dessert (remember that a little goes a long way)

• Top with any fresh, frozen or tinned fruit and some chopped nuts or chia seeds for an easy afternoon tea

• Combine with milk and a touch of salt for a savoury lassi to enjoy alongside a curry

• Mix with wholegrain mustard, lemon and a touch of honey to create a tasty salad dressing

• Stir in cucumber, dill, garlic, lemon and pepper for a homemade tzatziki dip 

Picking the best of the bunch...

Whilst the top performers listed above were the stand outs when considering the full range of nutrients found in the one product, there were also yoghurts that stood out when looking at select nutrients (such as having the lowest sugar or the highest protein per serve).

Listed in the tables below are the best of the bunch across both dairy and plant based yoghurts, as well as those that didn’t stack up when it comes to providing the nutrients we want to see. 

Dairy Yoghurts

Plant Based Yoghurts 

Would you like to know more?

Do you want to know more about choosing the best of the bunch when it comes to yoghurt? Tune in to our BONUS podcast episode here.

If you are interested in finding our more about our comprehensive yoghurt study, contact us here and we will get in touch shortly.