Soy Froyo, Wherefore Art Thou?

Fro-yo girl here. Did you know that April is National Soy Foods Month? This is the month to celebrate the soybean and it made me miss soy frozen yogurt all the more. Anti-soy sentiment has been around for years, probably because most domestic soybean crops are genetically modified. But, there isn’t strong evidence that GMO-soybeans are harmful. In fact, soy has many health benefits. Soy is a complete protein that’s low in saturated fat. It may reduce levels of LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol), diabetes risk and the risk of some types of cancer.

Years ago, Loving Cup in San Francisco offered a soy base option for their hand-mixed froyo. But, since soy fell out of favor, they switched to a banana base and the last time I went, the vegan option was coconut based. Fraiche used to have a soy froyo but all their locations have closed, except for the one at SFO International Airport. Also, I think they switched to making vegan froyo using almond milk.

Tutti Frutti and 16 Handles are the only sizeable chains that have introduced soy froyo. Tutti Frutti may still offer soy froyo but I haven’t seen it there for years.

These are the places where you can still get soy froyo.

1. 16 Handles introduced its first soy flavor in 2014, Yo Soy Vanilla, followed by Yo Soy Chocolate. I’m not sure how often it’s offered now, especially since they’ve gone on to introduce other types of dairy-free froyo, including almond milk, coconut milk, cashew milk, and oat milk (new in 2020).
2. 21 Choices Frozen Yogurt (Claremont & Pasadena, CA): The soy froyo is made with organic soy milk and their flavors are all made in-house. Soy froyo is sometimes offered. Even if it isn’t there, they always have a dairy-free option. I like their peanut butter soy froyo.
3. Bishco (Gloucester, MA) is a cafe that also serves mix in froyo, including tofu froyo.
4. Cafe 472 (Boston, MA) serves pizza, sandwiches, salads, and froyo, including tofu frozen yogurt.
5. Cafe Podima (Boston, MA) is a pizza restaurant that also serves froyo. Tofu froyo is listed on the menu.
6. Chil (London, ON, Canada) claims to have Canada’s largest selection of froyo toppings and vegan froyo, had soy froyo but I’m not sure if they still offer it. They also have vegan froyo made with almond milk, oat milk, and quinoa milk. The single location is self-serve.
7. Citra (Seattle, WA) in Seattle’s University District has dairy-based froyo but it’s the soy froyo that gets the rave reviews. Try your froyo with snow ice.
8. Frozen By a Thousand Blessings (Australia), the first froyo shop in Australia to use biodynamic milk and yoghurt, offers two vegan soy-based flavors, Mango & Soy and Soy Strawberry. The froyo is self-serve.
9. Humphrey Yogart (Sherman Oaks, CA): Humphrey Yogart has been serving up old school mix in style froyo since 1984. They moved across the parking lot and into Gelson’s in 2016 but they brought their organic soy base option for mix in froyo with them. I like their matcha froyo that’s made with imported Japanese matcha powder.
10. Kushco Bistro (Salem, MA) is another greater Boston eatery that carries tofu froyo with mix-ins. I'm sensing a pattern here. Bishco and Kushco sound so similar. 
11. Moochie (Belgium) is a counter serve froyo chain that according to Happy Cow, offers vegan soy froyo. There’s even proof in the form of a picture.
12. Tutti Frutti (worldwide) started offering soybean frozen yogurt in 2012. The soybean froyo is made with non-GMO, US grown soybeans. Their range of 19 soy froyo flavors is the widest I’ve seen. Some of the soy flavors are Spiced Cake, Red Bean, Latte, Black Sesame, and Taro. And 10% of the sales go to the Real Green Project to help fight childhood hunger. I noticed that many Tutti Frutti locations don’t carry any soy flavors though. Tutti Frutti La Crescenta used to on a regular basis but then they closed (and moved). I haven’t been going to the new location, so I’m not sure how often they carry soy froyo.
13. Yo-Chi (Australia) is a self-serve froyo mini chain that sometimes offers a soy-based froyo. Banana Soybean is one of their soy flavors.
14. Yo-Get-It (Australia, China) has a variety of soy froyo flavors and a self-serve format. Soy froyo flavors include Banana, Chai, Mango, Passionfruit, and Wildberry.
15. YOMARO (Germany) offers a vegan soy froyo that gets good reviews, along with the vegan bubble waffles.
16. YOMG (Australia) started as a self-serve froyo shop and expanded into burgers. Their vegan soy froyo flavors include banana soy cinnamon and soy chai. They even have vegan burgers and vegan waffle cones.
17. Yumorama (Mexico) is a self-serve froyo chain that has a soy froyo option that’s also free of added sugars

Even though it isn’t froyo, I did want to give a shout out to the tofu flower soft serve at Big Softee in Monterey Park, CA. If you like tofu pudding, Big Softee’s version has the ginger syrup and flavor of tofu/soy milk that you’ll recognize. Uji Time has tofu soft serve too, but it isn’t as good as Big Softee’s.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.