Everything you need to know about Greek yogurt and how it can meet your nutrition needs

It’s frequently recommended by dietitians and has become a key ingredient in viral recipes, from the two-ingredient Japanese cheesecake and TikTok’s Turkish-style pasta, to baked yogurt toast. But what should we be looking for on the label?

The protein content of Greek yogurt is about double the protein content of regular yogurt. Picture: iStock

Two-ingredient cheesecake. Turkish-style pasta. Baked yogurt toast. Bagels. These dishes have two things in common: They’ve trended on social media — and they’re all made using Greek yogurt. So far, so simple. We know that yogurt is a fermented dairy product and we’re all trying to include more fermented food in our diets, but the emphasis on Greek yogurt can be confusing. Are all yogurts the same or could we be making better yogurt choices?

While we’re ready to bookmark that recipe, put Greek yogurt on the shopping list and get set to trial the latest trend, it gets a little more complicated when we get to the supermarket dairy aisle. There’s just so much to choose from. Yogurts with fruit, yogurt designated for kids. Pots marked high protein, dairy free, low fat and lactose free. Corner yogurts with sprinkles, layered yogurts in jars, drinking yogurts and big 1kg tubs of natural, Greek and Greek-style yogurts. Lots of yogurt, but not all are created the same. They vary in the way that they are made, the nutritional benefits they offer — and the taste. So which one do you choose?

“We recommend Greek yogurt a lot to help people meet their nutrition needs,” says Ellen Roche, CORU-registered dietitian and founder of Nutri Vive Nutrition Consultancy

“Protein is probably one of the main reasons we recommend it, because the protein content of Greek yogurt is pretty much double the protein content of regular yogurt.”

While she notes that nutrition is not all about protein, she says that some “people find it hard to meet their protein needs, especially if they’re engaging in a lot of sports activities or they’re older adults — over 55 or over 60 — where their protein needs increase to keep their muscles strong. Then you have weight management. So many people are trying to manage their weight and the extra protein does help with satiety as well.”

Dietitian Ellen Roche: Opt for Greek rather than Greek-style options.

Roche, who often works with people who have digestive issues, points out that Greek yogurt is also slightly lower in sugar and natural lactose. “You’re talking one or two grams [of lactose] in the difference per 100 grams of Greek yogurt. It’s not a huge amount, but if someone has lactose intolerance, it can make quite a big difference to whether they can tolerate it. It’s a fine line but it can be the difference between someone being nauseous…and someone having a great day.”

Twenty years ago, when Roche was studying dietetics, she had a summer job in her home county of Wexford in the Yoplait yogurt factory, working on research and development in the lab there.

She points out that the difference between Greek yogurt and other plain yogurts is in the way that it is made. Milk is combined with yogurt cultures, and allowed to ferment so that the naturally occurring sugar — the lactose — gets converted to lactic acid, thickening the mixture and giving it a distinctive tart flavour. Greek yogurt undergoes another step. It is strained to remove the whey, making it more concentrated — hence the higher protein levels — and the end result is very thick and creamy.

Roche recommends watching out for Greek rather than Greek-style yogurt when shopping. “With Greek style, they’re mimicking the thicker texture of the Greek yogurt, but they’ve bypassed the straining process. So that’s why it’s not as concentrated in terms of protein content.”

When it comes to reading the labels in that yogurt aisle, “I’d just be looking for milk and the cultures,” says Roche, adding that some people find the tartness of plain natural Greek yogurt challenging initially.

“You don’t want yogurts with added sugar or artificial sweeteners,” Roche adds. “We’re trying to go natural where possible, so you can add your own fruit, something like vanilla extract or cinnamon, or you can use something like a low-sugar jam for the flavour as well.”

If you avoid flavoured varieties of Greek yogurt, you also avoid extra added sugar, although this might not be altogether clear from the numbers on the side of the pot.

Roche says that labels can be a little confusing.

“Natural Greek yogurt doesn’t have any added sugar but there can still be sugar on the label. It says there will be 3-5g of sugar in there for every 100g [of yogurt], but that is just lactose, naturally occurring milk sugar, and lactose doesn’t damage teeth. It reacts differently in the body than, say, your table sugar.”

In terms of plain or natural Greek yogurt, Roche recommends Tesco’s own-brand, Milbona from Lidl, the Brooklea from Aldi, Liberté, and Fage.

“The big question I get asked is, ‘which is healthier? Is it full fat, is it low fat, is it 5% fat?’ That is really head-wrecking for a lot of people because they don’t know what to go for. And there is a big difference in the nutrition content. I would say a lot depends on the goals.

“So when people are choosing a Greek yogurt, [watch the] fat content, because it’s going to influence the protein content a bit. Also, for all those watching their cholesterol, a lot of the research in the last number of years has shown that the fat content of milk, cheese and yogurt, whether it’s full fat, low fat, or 0%, doesn’t really influence our cholesterol.”

When it comes back to those viral recipes, does using Greek yogurt ensure that it counts as a healthy choice, or does the overall recipe matter more? “If you’re using base ingredients that aren’t healthy, you can’t make a dish that is super-healthy,” says Roche.

“But if you’re using Greek yogurt instead of cream or crème fraîche, it’s a lot lower in calories...saturated fat and it is higher in protein.”