Why You Should Avoid Whole Foods' Plain Yogurt

Plain yogurt sounds boring, but the lot we tried during our plain yogurt ranking of seven store-bought brands yielded some really interesting results. We learned that some plain yogurts can taste like the feed the cattle were raised on (such as grass), while others are nearly sweet due to their creaminess. But the one plain yogurt that disappointed us most comes from Whole Foods' house brand, 365, which is known for consistently delivering poor taste in its generic line of products.

Our taste tester found that while it's not the worst yogurt in the world, per se, it's simply disappointing. They wrote, "The texture is gelatinous, on the thicker and stickier side than most, but still a little grainy. The flavor is just ... nothing. You get neither a round fattiness nor a sharp tang, just blah."

You can contrast that with our favorite pick, from Alexandre Family Farm, which was smooth and indulgent in comparison. This is the brand where we swore we could taste the grass-fed diet of the cows, and it turns out that those types of details yield a great product, unlike Whole Foods' 365 version.

Fortunately, if you find yourself with a plain yogurt that's none-too-stellar, you can use it in ways where you're not necessarily eating it plain. One beneficial use for yogurt in cooking is as part of a marinade. The natural lactic acid in the yogurt (which is a byproduct of the fermentation process) helps gently tenderize meat without turning it into mush. You can also season it, which will impart a coating of flavor to the meat itself. 

In that case, you're not just simply spooning it into your mouth. You can also use boring, plain yogurt as the base for homemade frozen yogurt. If you just want to mask its less appealing qualities, simply flavor it with lemon zest and dress it to the nines with fruit, granola, honey, or whatever you like. Or you can go in the opposite direction and turn it into a savory condiment for things like pita sandwiches. That's the benefit of buying a blank canvas, like plain yogurt, since it's unflavored on its own. 

So not all is lost. If you've already purchased a big ol' 32-ounce tub of the 365 Whole Foods' brand stuff, you've got plenty of options, but on its own, it's one brand we can't get behind. Almost anything else out there is naturally going to be a better use of your hard-earned money.