Yogurt Berry Parfaits

A Yogurt Berry Parfait makes for a delicious breakfast, snack, or dessert. It feels indulgent, but can actually be quite healthful!

This is one of our favorite Quick Things to Make for Dinner!

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Summer days call for cool-and-delicious, easy-to-prep, and loaded-with-fruit kind of breakfasts. Summer berries and stone fruit are simply calling your name. So, how can you start the day right?

With a yogurt berry parfait!

Yogurt Berry Parfait

One of my favorite breakfasts is a Yogurt Berry Parfait. I first learned to make one when I worked in a fancy bakery back in the 90s. I’m sure that we charged our patrons $5-$6 per serving even then. But, you can make your own scrumptious version at home for much, much less.

And really? This is super easy and no recipe really needed. Though, I’ve included one just to keep things simple.

What is a parfait?

A parfait is a French dessert, layered with frozen custard and fruit. In the US it’s similar to an ice cream sundae made with fruit or syrup.

There’s no reason not to serve a parfait for breakfast, just switch up the ingredients just a bit.

What is a Greek yogurt parfait?

A Greek yogurt parfait is a layered dessert in which plain Greek yogurt is substituted for the custard or ice cream that might be present in a dessert parfait. 

A yogurt parfait is perfect for breakfast, when served with fresh fruit and granola or nuts.

What fruits should you use in a yogurt parfait?

Any fruit you like is delicious in a parfait. Consider using:

• sliced bananas
• sliced strawberries
• blueberries – save extras to bake a batch of Lemon Blueberry Cookies!
• raspberries
• boysenberries
• pitted cherries
• pitted and chopped peaches, plums, nectarines, or apricots

How much does a yogurt parfait cost?

While it’s a common assumption that making something homemade is more cost effective, that isn’t always the case. Let’s see how this breaks down when being the ingredients at non-sale prices at a mid-range grocery store:

• Greek yogurt: $0.60 ($4.79/32 oz)
• granola: $0.31 ($2.49/140z box)
• berries: $0.57  ($4.99/10 oz)

This works out to about $1.48 per serving. 

Compared to a pre-made parfait at the grocery store (about $4.59) and one at Chick-fil-A $4.39, this is a great price. But, you can get it even lower.

How can you make this dish even more economical?

Stock up on plain yogurt on sale. This is the ideal frugal food, provided that you buy the ingredients on sale. I often buy plain yogurt for about 25-40 cents per serving. Oftentimes the flavored varieties are full of junk that you don’t need, like food starch and high fructose corn syrup. I find that by adding fresh fruit to the yogurt, I don’t mind its being plain. There’s quite a bit of taste difference amongst manufacturers, so try several different kinds until you find the brands you like.

Purchase berries on sale and in season. A good deal should be less than two dollars per pound. It is fine to use frozen mixed berries in this dish, so if that’s the best deal in town, so be it. (I don’t recommend frozen strawberries, however. They don’t thaw with good texture.)

Make your own granola. The recipe calls for granola. This can be extremely pricey. But, if you make your own granola or find a great cereal deal, you can keep the cost of this dish low. You can also substitute some other type of cereal if you prefer, like Rice Krispies. Be aware that the cereal won’t stay crisp for long, so you’ll have to eat it quickly. Granola holds its crunch much longer.

This post was originally published on April 23, 2009. It has been updated for content and clarity.