5 Minute Creamy Sweet Lassi (Plain Lassi)

I love making creamy, sweet lassi recipe or plain lassi is easily made in 5 minutes and with a handful of ingredients.  This frothy classic sweet lassi (meethi lassi) is a yogurt based drink.

• Vegetarian, gluten-free, Vegan option
• Ready in 5 minutes
• Party favorite (I like to make it ahead of time)

What is sweet lassi?

Sweet lassi tastes like a creamy, sweet yogurt drink with notes of cardamom, saffron and/or rose water which are optionally added.

Yogurt is mixed with water, sugar and a few other ingredients to become a refreshing, easy drink. The top of the lassi is usually frothy.  It’s perfect for hot summer days and just any meal where you’d like a drink with cooling properties.

 There are many variations of lassi (pronounced luh-see), it is a very popular Indian drink.  Sweet versions include Mango Lassi, Rose Lassi, Kesar Lassi and Strawberry Lassi.  Really any fruit can be mixed in to make your own version of a creamy lassi, like peaches for a Peach Lassi..

 There is even a salty lassi! It’s called Masala Lassi and it includes cumin powder and salt or black salt.

 Ingredients & Substitutes

Three main ingredients are needed to make lassi.  The rest are optional. See the “Making the Lassi” section below for more notes on using the ingredients.

 Yogurt: The main ingredient is yogurt / curd.  The creamier, thicker lassi you want, the higher fat content yogurt you should use.  I recommend using whole milk plain yogurt or Greek Yogurt.  If I want a delicious rich lassi, I go all out and use Fage 5% Greek Yogurt. 

Milk or Water: Similar to above, if you want a creamier lassi, use whole milk.  If you’d like a lighter version, use 2% milk or water.

Sugar: Without it, there is no sweet in sweet lassi!  Feel free to use sugar alternatives that you enjoy.  Note, honey does not mix well with cold liquid so I don’t recommend using it here (you could boil it with milk and chill it).

Ice Cubes:  Optional if you plan on chilling the lassi but I think it tastes more “restaurant style” if blended in, especially if you are making a very thick lassi.

Half and half: Optional! I like the option of half and half (because most people have it on hand and it is made of half whole milk and half heavy cream) to up the level of creaminess easily, no matter the ingredients you have at home.

Mix-ins/Garnish: Optionally you can add mix ins such as rose water, ground cardamom seeds, saffron strands or rose syrup.

For garnish, crush a few rose petals, top with dry fruits such as crushed almonds or mint leaves. 

Note the longer you let strands of saffron soak in the lassi, the stronger the taste will become.

I love sprinkling a little cardamom powder and crushed rose petals on top before serving.  When you pick up the glass to take a sip you get a beautiful fragrances from the toppings before taking a sip of the creamy drink.

Variations

Sweet lassi without sugar: As noted above, you can use any sweetener you prefer.  Be careful with honey as it doesn’t blend with cold liquid well.

Vegan: Substitute with vegan yogurt and milk to make it vegan.  Oat milk is creamy and thick so I recommend using that.

Light version: See below for notes on making a lighter version.

How to make homemade sweet lassi

Making lassi is a choose your adventure recipe.

1. If you want a thick, creamy restaurant style lassi, go with all higher fat content ingredients.  For example, whole milk, whole milk plain yogurt, half & half and sugar.
2. If you want a middle of the road lassi, mix and match.  Maybe you will use whole milk yogurt, water, half and half (for a tiny bit of creaminess) and sugar.
3. Or, you could go for a lighter version.  In that case, maybe you will pick 2% Fage Greek Yogurt, water and sugar.

 If you are making it for a party, I suggest going for the whole milk plus whole milk yogurt route!

To make it just: Add all ingredients to a blender and blend!

The traditional way to make it is to use a wooden churner, but I just use a blender or immersion blender.  You could also use a wire whisk.  But, the blender gets it nice and frothy.

You can play around with the amount of water/milk as well to make a thicker lassi.  Less water and ice cubes will still result in a yummy drink.

Serving Suggestions

Cold lassi is usually served in tall glasses at restaurants. Traditionally they are often served in clay cups.

 Lassi goes along with any Indian food or meal.  It’s a great way to finish an Indian dinner as its sweet like a dessert.