How To Sweeten Plain Greek Yogurt With Pantry Staples You Already Have

Unsweetened Greek yogurt provides you with full control of your breakfast's flavor. This DIY approach gives you greater control over the ingredients and sweetness level, which is especially appealing if you find store-bought flavored yogurts like strawberry, peach, and mango cloyingly sweet. Starting with a blank slate lets you add your own sweeteners, relying on products you already have in your pantry. 

But you may want to avoid crystalline sugars, such as granulated sugar or brown sugar, since they can add a grainy texture to your breakfast bowl or snack. Artificial sweeteners probably wouldn't do that, but you'd be forgiven if you're one of the many people to whom artificial sweeteners taste too bitter for addition to less astringent foodstuffs than tea and coffee. But drizzles of honey, maple syrup, or agave let you dress up plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt with your own add-ins for a cost-effective route that's more convenient than buying and storing numerous flavored containers.

If that's not enough, your wallet may also be a motivating factor. You can buy better-quality products from the company that makes Costco's Kirkland-brand Greek yogurt (a popular German brand) in bulk instead of stocking up on tons of little (really expensive) individual servings. Just add a teaspoon or so of honey, agave, or maple syrup to bring up the sweetness level, while still letting the tartness shine through. Any liquid sweetener works, but if you have more than one, know that each brings subtle but distinctly different tasting notes to your bowl.

Most of us have at least one, more likely two, and possibly all three of these basic sweeteners in the pantry at any given time — for adding to tea, drizzling on French toast, or making sweet marinades for the grill. Honey, agave, and maple syrup work equally well as a sweetener for plain yogurt. The subtle differences feature in texture and taste.

The thickest of the three, honey adds delicious ribbons of earthy, floral sweetness but doesn't blend as seamlessly as other options, which is a good thing if you like a little more texture. Both maple syrup and agave nectar are less viscous. You can easily mix them into yogurt until smooth and creamy. Maple syrup, depending on the grade, adds a signature rustic depth of flavor. Agave nectar — the sweetener that brings you the perfect margarita recipe, brings a more subtle flavor that won't steal the spotlight.