Finding the healthiest yogurts is a difficult task, as many of the most famous brands come complete with hidden sugars and additives.
Yogurts are already a staple in most people's kitchens, as much like healthy cereal, they're a quick and easy go-to for low-calorie breakfasts, dessert and afternoon snacks. But the debate around yogurt, everything from whether Greek yogurt is actually good for you to whether frozen yogurt is a good replacement for ice cream, carries on as myths around the food seem to be created and debunked almost every day.
To figure out the healthiest yogurts, we've ranked 17 different yogurts from best to worst. These rankings are based on the yogurts' nutritional values per 100g, looking particularly at calories, sugar and salt content. Particularly high or low values are spotlighted throughout, so you can pick the yogurt that works best for you.
Healthiest yogurts at a glance
The healthiest yogurt overall is St Helen’s Farm Low Fat Goats Milk Yogurt. As well as having the lowest sugar content of all the yogurts we evaluated, it also has the second lowest calorie count (by only 2 calories). It also scores well in fat and saturated fat as it only has trace amounts.
Best yogurt overall: St Helen’s Farm Low Fat Goats Milk Yogurt
Best yogurt for sugar content: St Helen’s Farm Low Fat Goats Milk Yogurt
Best yogurt for saturated fat content: Danone Light and Free Greek Style Peach Passion Fruit Yogurt
Muller Crunch Corner Toffee Hoops comes in as our least healthiest yogurt overall. With 16.8g of sugar per portion, it also has the highest calorie content of all the yogurts we reviewed.
Worst yogurt overall: Muller Crunch Corner Toffee Hoops
Worst yogurt for sugar content: Total Greek 0% Fat Free Yogurt with Honey
Worst yogurt for saturated fat content: Perle de Lait Coconut Yoghurt
With the help of nutritionist Dr Sana Khan, we've compared different varieties of yogurt ranging from kids' favourites like Munch Bunch and Petits Filous, well-known healthy yogurt brands like Onken and Danone, to other favourites like Greek yogurt, so you know which healthiest yogurts to bulk buy and those to leave on the shelf.
Dr Sana Khan says, "Yoghurt is a great source of protein but I would recommend the ones that are not packed with sugar. The one rated the best here is the probiotic goats milk yoghurt, which is live and has less sugar. It contains just 3.1g sugar per serving and also contains live bacteria which may help improve your gut health."
For an all round healthy breakfast, opt for a low-calorie Weetabix and a dollop of St Helen’s Farm Low Fat Goats Milk Yogurt.
Healthiest yoghurts ranked from best to worst
1. St Helen’s Farm Low Fat Goats Milk Yogurt
Healthiest yogurt overall and lowest in sugar
Rating for calorie-counters: 8.5/10 Calories: 47kcal per 100g Fat: 0.3g Saturated Fat: 0.2g Sugar: 3.9g Salt: 0.2g Price: £2.40 for 450g from Tesco
Verdict: Cow's milk doesn't necessarily agree with everyone's skin and digestion, but nut milks (cashew, almond, coconut) can be expensive. Goats' milk, however is relatively easy to find and easier on the purse, plus it's not as allergenic at cow's milk. St Helen's Farm specialises in it and the yogurts are delicious. Plus they're pretty good for us too. Two scoops of this with some berries in the morning and you'll be ready for anything.
Dr Sana Khan says, "Goats milk generally can be better tolerated by our GI system. This yogurt also contains probiotic cultures."
2. Rachel's Greek Style Natural Yoghurt
Rating for calorie-counters: 7/10 Calories: 109kcal per 100g Fat: 8.3g Saturated Fat: 5.2g Sugar: 5.0g Salt: 0.1g Price: £1.30 for 450g at Sainsbury's
Verdict: While Rachel's contains a rather sizeable amount of fat, it has a much lower quantity of sugar than many of the other yoghurts available.
Dr Sana Khan says, "This yogurt is great for a snack as it helps support blood sugar levels. It's not packed full of sugar and does contain some fat. You can add a portion of fresh fruit to this if you wish."
3. Yeo Valley Organic Natural Probiotic Yogurt
Rating for calorie-counters: 8/10 Calories: 82kcal per 100g Fat: 4.5g Saturated Fat: 2.9g Sugar: 5.6g Salt: 0.13g Price: £2.80 for 1kg at Tesco
Verdict: Yeo Valley is almost as famous for its advert as it is for its yogurt. As nutritional ratings go, this is fairly middle of the road. It's not particularly high in calories, fat or sugar as long as you're strict on enjoying 100g only per serving. The range of flavours also makes this brand an all-round winner with the whole family.
Dr Sana Khan says, "This yogurt contains gut health supporting live bacteria! With plain yoghurt options you have the option of adding fruit to it to make it more filling and nutrient dense. The fruit flavoured options already have a lot of sugar to start off with so don’t recommend adding fruit to it."