Fruit on the Bottom Yogurt Is Much Better When You DIY

Single-serving yogurt cups are without a doubt a genius snack invention, but I can’t get behind the fruit on the bottom version. Fruit on the bottom yogurt is where saccharine jams and limp pie fillings go to die. I declare we end the madness that is the mediocre fruit on the bottom yogurt cup (and cut down on our one-use plastic purchases) by making our own. DIY fruit on the bottom allows you to choose your own adventure, yogurt edition. From the consistency of the yogurt to the flavor, texture, and sweetness of the fruit, making your own fruit on the bottom yogurt cups is infinitely better than the store-bought alternative.

To make a work week’s worth of fruit on the bottom yogurt cups, locate 5 small glass jars with lids. Obviously the word “small” is relative, so let’s just say the jar should be less than 1 pint.

This next part is the fun bit: the fruit on the bottom itself. The options for what constitutes fruit on the bottom are limitless: homemade jam, chia jam, unopened apricot preserves you bought at a farmer’s market last summer, mashed fruit, macerated fruit, fruit that you threw in the blender, canned pumpkin, lemon curd, and canned cherry pie filling are a lot of options. There’s definitely an argument that crushed Froot Loops could count as fruit on the bottom, but I’m not going to get into that. You can also get busy with some granola, but that might make this more of a yogurt parfait than a fruit on the bottom cup, and that’s your cross to bear. Plop 2-4 tablespoons of your desired fruit mixture into the bottom of each jar.

As for yogurt, I invite you to be just as open minded as you were with the fruit. Try different types of plain or vanilla yogurt: Greek, creamline (also known as cream-top), Australian-style, European-style, skyr (which technically isn’t actually yogurt, but an Icelandic cultured dairy product—so I say it counts), or non-dairy yogurts galore (soy, coconut, almond, etc.). Cover the fruit with enough yogurt to fill each jar nearly to the brim. Tightly screw on the lid and stash yogurts in the fridge for no more than a week.

Here are a few really good fruit and yogurt blends:

Raspberry jam + Greek yogurt

Macerated blackberries + European-style yogurt

Mango blended with a squirt of honey + coconut yogurt

Apricot preserves + creamline yogurt

Lemon curd + skyr

Strawberry chia jam + Australian-style yogurt