Crème Brûlée is just ASKING to be lightened up with Greek yogurt! Greek yogurt is a terrific swap in many recipes, and I often like the Greek yogurt version better than the original.

I created about ten different crème brûlée recipes using Greek yogurt, and found three I liked. All are on this page. If you’d like to see more recipes, click here for my post on Fifty Shades of Crème Brûlée, which includes additional tutorials and variations on crème brûlée.

Before I jump into the recipes, let’s talk kitchen science! One of the keys to making this Greek yogurt swap successful is to know that if you are going to cook yogurt, you need to stabilize it. Otherwise, your lovely, thick Greek yogurt will will separate into whey (the liquid part) and curds. Not the crème brûlée effect you were going for! Here’s a nice article from Livestrong that explains this kitchen science in more detail.

One way to stabilize the yogurt is to use eggs. I tried a few methods, including cooking the yogurt in advance with egg whites. However, I found that the best and easiest way to stabilize the Greek yogurt is just to use the Classic Crème Brûlée recipe and swap out the heavy cream for Greek yogurt, one-for-one. This recipe already uses 6 eggs, which did a great job stabiliziing it. I had no problems with separation with this method. It was delicious! HOWEVER, the result was more like a cheesecake than a smooth and silky crème brûlée. I liked it about the same as crème brûlée (which is to say, I liked it a lot!), and my babysitter and daughter liked it even more. It is just really a different dessert than a crème brûlée, although it looks almost exactly the same, especially served in a ramekin with the crackled, carmelized top. I also think that it is a bit less sweet. If you want it sweeter, I would serve it with something with a hint of sweetness like strawberries sliced and sweetened with a teaspoon of sugar.

Another way to keep the yogurt stable is to not cook it in the first place! There are two recipes below for no-cook Greek yogurt crème brûlée.

What should you avoid? Don’t stick Greek yogurt, on its own, under a broiler to caramelize it. Ick. Your lovely thick Greek yogurt will turn into warm and chewy yogurt curds.

Alright, here we go! We’ll start with the Classic Crème Brûlée recipe, lightened up with Greek yogurt. Scroll down for Two No-Cook Greek Yogurt Crème Brûlée recipes.

Classic Crème Brûlée, Lightened-up with Greek Yogurt
Serves 3 to 4 depending on how full you make the ramekins! (easily doubles or triples for a crowd)

2 cups Greek yogurt (divided)
½ cup granulated sugar
6 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract (or beans from one vanilla bean)
Pinch of salt
4 tsp granulated sugar (for the topping)

Prepare the Pan

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Farenheit. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and remove racks above it if necessary.
2. Fill a large teakettle or pasta pot with water and put it on the stove to boil. You will use this soon for cooking the crème brûlée in a water bath (bain marie).
3. Using a pan with high sides (like a roasting pan), cover the bottom with a dish towel. This prevents the ramekins from sloshing about in the water bath when you remove the pan from the oven.

Prepare the Crème Brûlée Mixture

The challenge here is that you need heat to dissolve the sugar (and vanilla bean) into the yogurt. However, if the yogurt gets too hot it will curdle. And if the hot yogurt is added to the egg yolks, the eggs will scramble! So we’re going to heat half the yogurt gently with the sugar and vanilla bean, then cool this mixture down before adding it to the egg yolks. Make sure it doesn’t boil! Then we’ll strain the entire mixture to remove any solids that have formed.

1. Put 1 cup of yogurt in a small (2 quart) saucepan. Add the sugar. If you are using real vanilla beans, scrape the beans out of the pod and add the beans to the yogurt now. With a classic crème brûlée recipe you’d add the pod and strain it out later, but we’re not going to do that here because it will be too thick to strain. (If you are using vanilla extract you will add the extract later). The heat will dissolve the sugar and bring the flavor out of the vanilla. Heat until the sugar is dissolved, maybe about 5 minutes. Remove from stovetop and place mixture in refrigerator for about 15 minutes. Remember we are cooling it down so we don’t add hot liquid to the eggs.
2. Once the first mixture is in the refrigerator, add the 2^nd cup of yogurt to the egg yolks and stir with a whisk until combined. Don’t overstir- you don’t want it to be too frothy. If you are using vanilla extract, add that now.
3. Combine the two mixtures slowly, with a whisk.

Bake

We are using a bain marie (water bath) to cook our crème brûlées. Click here for more information about using a bain marie for a great crème brûlée.

1. Put the ramekins in the pan. Fill each ramekin about half to two-thirds full with the crème brûlée mixture, distributing the mixture evenly among the ramekins.
2. Slowly add the water to the pan, filling about 2/3 up the side of the crème brûlée ramekins, or about to the level of the mixture inside. Note that you can add the water first, then the ramekins, however, it is tough to gauge how high to fill the pan unless the ramekins are in the pan first. Make sure not to slosh water in the ramekins. If you do get some water on them, just blot them with a paper towel. Using a teakettle with a spout will make it easier.
3. Bake until the center of the custard is just set, about 35 minutes. A perfectly cooked crème brûlée at this point will look wiggly (but not liquid) in the center. The middle should be loose and moveable. Your crème brûlées will continue to cook once you take them out of the oven. You don’t want them too firm now, or they will be overcooked later.
4. When done, remove the pan from the oven and take the ramekins out of the pan by using tongs. Place them on a wire rack so they can cool evenly. Don’t leave them in the water bath or they’ll continue to cook.
5. After they’ve cooled down a bit, place the ramekins in the refrigerator for an hour or even overnight.

Caramelize the Sugar Top

Up to an hour or two prior to serving, remove ramekins from the refrigerator. If there is moisture on the top of the custard, blot it with a paper towel.

I tried this recipe with four types of sugars, including granulated white sugar, brown sugar, demerara sugar and turbinado sugar. I far preferred white granulated sugar. Click here for the reviews of each type of sugar.

Sprinkle the top of each crème brûlée with the granulated sugar. Use about 1 teaspoon of sugar per ramekin. Shake the ramekin gently to distribute the sugar. Turn the ramekin over and dump out excess sugar if necessary.

I tried several approaches for the crust, and the best way to get a nice crackly caramelized sugar crust is to use a kitchen torch. Use your kitchen torch to evenly heat the top. Use the tip of the blue flame, and move the torch evenly about. At first the sugar will melt and bubble, then it will brown. A few small burned spots are fine.

To really make the crust terrific, wait until the first sugared layer cools then add a second layer.