Yogurt in Baking: Grams, Substitutions & Why Full-Fat Is Always Worth It

Yogurt deserves a permanent spot in every baker's refrigerator. It acts as a tenderiser, a leavening activator (its natural acidity reacts with baking soda), a moisture source and a fat carrier — all at once. This guide covers gram weights and substitution ratios for every common yogurt type.

Yogurt Gram Weights

Full-Fat vs Low-Fat: An Honest Assessment

Full-fat yogurt contains more emulsifying fats, which coat flour proteins more effectively and produce a more tender crumb. In testing both in identical muffin recipes:

• Full-fat yogurt muffins: stayed moist for 3 days, dome held its shape, noticeably tender crumb.
• Non-fat yogurt muffins: same recipe — domed then flattened slightly on cooling. Drier by day two. Denser crumb.

Our honest assessment: always use full-fat for baking. The calorie difference per muffin is approximately 15–20 calories. The quality difference is not negligible.

Yogurt as a Buttermilk Substitute

Plain yogurt is the single best substitute for buttermilk in baking. To substitute: thin 240g plain yogurt with 30ml (2 tbsp) milk to reach 270ml — which equals 1 cup of buttermilk by volume. The acidity is comparable, so baking soda reactions will be nearly identical.

Yogurt as a Sour Cream Substitute

Greek yogurt substitutes 1:1 for sour cream in baking by weight. In cheesecakes and dips, the result is virtually indistinguishable. In frostings, Greek yogurt produces a slightly looser consistency — add 10g extra icing sugar per 60g yogurt used.

Yogurt as an Oil Substitute

Replace up to half the oil in muffin and quick bread recipes with plain yogurt at a 1:0.75 ratio — meaning for every 100g oil, use 75g yogurt. This reduces fat content while maintaining moisture, though the crumb will be slightly denser.

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For more substitution guides, see our full baking tips collection. For exact butter weights, visit our butter to cups converter.

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