Vegan Cashew Milk Yakult-Style Probiotic Drink

Affordable • Homemade • Plant-Based

At Wildhorse Homestead, we believe good food should be simple, nourishing, and accessible — even when you live regionally, grow your own produce, and choose to eat mostly plant-based.

This recipe was born from a very real challenge: wanting to nourish our bodies with plant-based foods without relying on expensive, highly processed supermarket products.

 Why We Make It Ourselves

When we shifted toward a predominantly plant-based diet, two problems became immediately obvious:

1. Cost & Access -Store-bought plant-based foods can be surprisingly expensive, and in regional Queensland they’re often inconsistent or hard to source. What should be a nourishing lifestyle can quickly become a luxury.
2. Quality & Processing – Many supermarket vegan products are made with:

• Low-quality or GMO ingredients
• Added sugars
• Chemical preservatives
• Highly processed stabilisers and flavour enhancers

For us, that defeats the purpose. We prefer food that is fresh, whole, and minimally processed — food that supports health rather than complicates it.

 A Better Alternative: Cashew Milk, Reimagined

This recipe starts with a simple vegan cashew milk, which can be made:

• On its own as a clean dairy milk replacement, or
• Enhanced with probiotics and prebiotics to create a Yakult-style fermented drink

If time allows, we always recommend soaking raw cashews overnight in filtered or distilled water rather than boiling them. Soaking gently softens the nuts while supporting activation, resulting in a smoother milk and greater nutritional value.

 Why Not Store-Bought Probiotic Drinks?

There are several vegan probiotic drinks available in Australia, similar in style to Yakult. While convenient, we found that many contain:

• High levels of added sugar
• Unnecessary additives
• A price tag that doesn’t reflect the ingredients

Making it at home allows you to control:

• Sweetness
• Fermentation time
• Ingredient quality
• Cost per serve

And the result? A fresh, lightly tangy, naturally sweet probiotic drink that tastes far better than the bottled versions.

 A Secret Ingredient in Our Vegan Cheese

This cashew milk isn’t just a drink — it’s also a key building block in our kitchen.

It forms the base of our super creamy, mild, grate-able vegan cheddar cheese (recipe llink coming soon), which has completely changed how we eat.

As lifelong cheese lovers, giving up dairy was one of the hardest parts of going plant-based. For a long time, we simply accepted a “no cheese” existence because the health benefits outweighed the enjoyment.

Now? Cheese is back on the plate — just in a form that our bodies actually love.

 Probiotics + Prebiotics = Balance

To turn this cashew milk into a probiotic drink, we add:

Vegan yogurt cultures for fermentation

Inulin (link is to the product I purchased, I am not receiving any commission for this recommendation), a prebiotic fibre that feeds beneficial gut bacteria.

Inulin also adds a gentle natural sweetness that beautifully balances the tang from fermentation. The result is a smooth, creamy drink that feels both nourishing and satisfying.

(If you’re curious about prebiotics and how they support gut health, we’ve included a reference link here.)

 Simple, Fast & Budget-Friendly

 Time: Around 15 minutes (plus soaking or fermenting time)

 Cost: *circa $4/Lt for this recipe v  $8-$10 for store-bought probiotic drinks (*2026/1 cost at Coles and a health food store online)

 Ingredients: See recipe below. 

 Taste: Fresh, mild, and beautifully creamy

This is one of those recipes that proves good food doesn’t need to be complicated — just intentional.

From Our Kitchen to Yours

We make this cashew milk Yakult-style drink regularly, and it’s become a staple in our home — for gut health, for cheese-making, and simply because it tastes amazing.

We hope it becomes a favourite in your kitchen too.

— Wildhorse Homestead