Parfait combos are endless and so much fun to come up with. It's all about layers of flavor!
Our family loves yogurt, granola, and fruit, at any time, and they love it even more when it all comes together in one delicious spoonful. And guess what? It only takes an extra few minutes to prepare it that way. It looks pretty and it's ready to eat when you're ready to enjoy it. You can customize this to your heart's content, too, and make it vegan and/or gluten-free if need be! It's an easy meal prep or a healthy snack.
Here are 3 of our favorite go-to weekend parfait combos for on-the-go breakfasts.
What is a Parfait?
In the United States, parfait refers to either the traditional French-style dessert or to a popular variant, the American parfait, made by layering parfait cream, ice cream, and/or fruit, usually in a tall clear glass. (It can also be in a shorter glass, depending on how big your parfait wants to be). The clear glass displays the layers of the dessert, much like an English trifle bowl does for the layers of a trifle dessert. The topping is created with whipped cream, fresh or canned fruit, and/or liqueurs.
How to Make A Parfait
A yogurt parfait with granola is easy: You just layer yogurt with granola, nuts, and/or fresh fruits such as peaches, strawberries, or blueberries. This version is sometimes called a yogurt parfait or fruit parfait and is often served for breakfast. But you can eat it any time of day; it also happens to make for a great afternoon snack, thanks to the protein.
Now I realize this looks nothing like a traditional French parfait. These parfait combos are sweet, bursting with flavor, creamy, vanilla-y, and crunchy, thanks to the granola. They're lightly sweetened. You can feel good about including this option in your weekend meal prep!
Parfaits make for some sweet grab-and-go meal prep, whether you eat this for breakfast, as a snack, as a light dessert, or even lunch. The ingredients in these combos are listed from bottom to top, and you just repeat the layers until the jar or glass is full.
Yogurt with Granola, Strawberries, and Pineapple
- Greek yogurt
- Granola
- Pineapple and sliced strawberries
Yogurt with Granola and Berries
- Greek yogurt
- Granola (or crushed up Clean Snax for extra flavor)
- Blueberries and raspberries
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Mango + Raspberry + Chia Seed
This one's vegan and comes to us from Crazy Vegan Kitchen!
Ingredients for Mango, Raspberry, and Chia Seed Yogurt
1 ½ cups soy milk (or other plant-based milk)
2 tablespoons, plus ½ teaspoon maple syrup, divided
Pinch of sea salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons chia seeds
1 mango, chopped
½ cup fresh raspberries
Substitutions and Alterations
Oh, parfaits are so easy to customize. We love fresh berries but frozen ones work great, too, especially if you are prepping ahead of time. They'll slowly defrost in the fridge.
We like to stick with plain, whole-milk Greek yogurt because it has more protein and less sugar, and it's a good idea to have some dietary fat with your dairy. Not everything has to be so low-fat all the time.
Almost any kind of fruit works well here, but ones that are juicy get extra points, we think. Pears and apples will taste good, but we love berries and tropical fruits such as mango, pineapple, papaya, and so forth. And oh, dare we mention peaches, nectarines, apricots, and plums? Their sweetness works so nicely against tart and creamy yogurt.
If you're out of granola, you can use any kind of crunchy, sturdy cereal with a yogurt parfait, or even just a layer of chopped nuts.
Tips for Parfait Combos
It's really easy for something like this to become very sweet and sugary, especially if you are looking at a granola that has a lot of sugar in it. If this is something you pay attention to, just be sure to read the label. The same advice goes for yogurt; it's why we stick with plain yogurt as much as possible because your average fruit-flavored yogurt has upwards of 15 grams of sugar; granted, about 5 of them are natural milk sugars, but much of it is added.
READ MORE RECIPES WITH YOGURT AND GRANOLA!
Greek Yogurt Cookie Dough Fruit Dip:
Easy Gluten-Free Fall Breakfast Granola
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Recipe--also gluten free!
