Don’t Throw away the Whey | 3 Great Uses for leftover whey



When you make greek yogurt you end up with delicious yogurt and whey. What do you do with the whey? What ways can you use your whey?

Lots of things. Whey is super good for you, so you don’t want to just be throwing it away. It’s full of protein (ehem whey protein powder). Whey also contains Potassium, B12, Thiamin, Selenium, and other important vitamins. If you’re lactose intolerant, whey is not for you because it contains quite a bit of lactose. Also, whey is low fat, so you can use it as a low fat replacement for milk. Here are just a few Whey recipe ideas.

Baking with whey:

Whey can replace buttermilk, milk, or water to make  pancakes, waffles, scones, cake, cookies, biscuits, the list goes on.

Whey can be used in conjunction with other liquids to make awesome pizza dough, bread,

Drinking whey:

Wikipedia says you can drink whey just straight up, but it’s kind of like drinking pee colored horrible. If you’re not much of a baker, you can still enjoy the nutritional benefits of the whey you harvested when you made greek yogurt.

Pour whey into smoothies. Freeze it in ice-trays and add the subsequent whey-cubes to smoothies. If you’re really adventurous you can try making old-fashioned whey beverages.

Cooking with whey:

Whey can replace dairy or water when cooking. Some delicious uses are: rice, macaroni and cheese, sauces, etc.

If you’re already committed to making greek yogurt, then you will have plenty of whey to experiment with in your cooking.  Share your culinary discoveries with us in the comments below.




35 thoughts on “Don’t Throw away the Whey | 3 Great Uses for leftover whey”

  • Chill the whey liquid and then add a pinch of salt (or as much as your taste buds allow). Consume as a refreshing salty drink on a hot sweaty day or after a workout. Enjoy.

  • Homemade ketchup.
    Real homemade ketchup is a fermented product that used to be a standard in American kitchens, along with homemade pickles, sauerkraut’s, relishes and other healthy and natural fermented products. It’s easy to make and delicious. Saves money too. Uses whey. Here’s a recipe, and I’m sure there are many other variations available…..
    4 cups tomato paste (best if from your own garden, and a great way to use up all those tomatoes!)
    1/2 cup honey or real maple syrup
    2/3 cup whey
    5 tbs. vinegar (apple cider is best)
    2 teas each allspice, sea salt
    1 teas each: clove powder, cumin, pepper
    Blend well until totally smooth and fill sterilized mason jars.
    Pour some additional whey over the top of each jar to cover.
    Loosely cover with lids or cloth and let sit, room temperature and undisturbed, for four days.
    Mix thoroughly before placing in fridge and will keep for several months.
    I use this as a base in my homemade BBQ sauce.
    There are never leftovers.
    Happy and healthy cookin’ y’all.

  • I used whey in everything I just made the best tasting chicken soup. My kids asked for a second helping. I also use it in making homemade tortillas & my coffe with Splenda yummmm!(:

  • I make a gallon of yogurt at a time which then makes 1/2 gallon of greek yogurt and 1/2 gallon of whey. Whey is really great to marinate meat to tenderize it. I feed it to my cat. We add it to frozen juice concentrate, fruit smoothies, and make whey lemonade. Ricotta is good to keep frozen in the freezer.

  • Indian Street Beverage

    3 cups cold yogurt whey
    the juice of 1 lemon (or lime)
    1 tablespoon maple syrup
    1/4 teaspoon cardamom (or more or less, to taste)

    Combine all of the ingredients in a jar and shake well.

    Found this on the Internet and it sounds delicious, though there is nothing “Indian” about maple syrup… 😉

      • yey!…i use honey …it tastes good…best in hot summers….refreshing drink..u can try mint or basil leaves in it!

    • This is actually really delicious and refreshing!

      I think the objection to drinking whey must be psychological, because it basically tastes like yogurt (which we all presumably like).

  • I’ve been making my own yogurt for years and have always thrown the whey down the plughole! Never again… ever. I’ve just made my first batch of Greek yogurt and the taste and texture is sublime. The whey is going in my post-workout protein smoothie from now on. Thank you 🙂

    • Hi Ash,

      Thanks for reading and your question on Whey. Yes, whey will eventually go bad so freezing is a great option. We have a lot of people who freeze them and use them in smoothies as well as some traditional Indian recipes. Thanks for reading about making greek yogurt.

      • I freeze whey in pint freezer ziplock bags. Fill with cup, 2 TBLS whey, because this is the amount I use in my bread making machine… Lay them flat in the freezer. Stacked this way, they take up little room and right amount ready when I need it! (I also freeze other liquids, sauces, peaches, hot sauce, etc), plastic bags for the convenience and space saving angle.

        • I have been storing my Hamburg like this for YEARS. I smash a little over a pound in zip lock freezer bags and stack away! I do this with soups, chowder and stocks!!

  • If both Greek yogurt and whey are good then why separate them in the first place itself.

    We can consume together as simple plain yogurt. Why all this then?

    • Rupert…for the same reason that we make butter, cheese, ice cream, half and half etc…because we like to eat milk in that changed form…

    • Simple, taste. If you want normal yogurt then don’t seperate, if you want a slightly sour yogurt, then make Greek. It’s all about making what you like, and then utilising an otherwise waste product.

  • I make brunost from the whey. Taste very refreshing as bread topping with strawberries or as addition to my usual muesli. Yummm!!!

  • M from Fiji and m indian.. n well you know indians dont want waste anything… what we do is add onion cut into small cubes and salt and fresh chillies chopped.. it is then chilled and served… itz 1 of our favourite beverage s especially on a hot day… some even add a bit of minced garlic to add that extra flavor.. we call it Mhata n it sure is an awesome drink..

  • I use this whey for making indian cheese. It makes the cheese very soft. I also use it to make smoothie thin

  • When making pancakes or bread, do you just use the whey as the liquid instead of buttermilk and can you heat the whey to activate the yeast and not hurt the whey?

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