All things considered, I fancy myself as a fairly simple individual. I wear jeans and a T-shirt on most days, bring my own brown bag lunch to work, and am as happy as a peach just sitting around and watching football on a Saturday night.
Given that I count Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Simple Man in my Top 25 songs of all-time, you might even find my picture next to “Simple” in your dictionary at some point in the near future.
You know what’s not simple, though? Yogurt. I mean, there are a gazillion yogurt companies, each of which produces a gazillion varieties and flavors.
Take Yoplait.
You’ve got your Light yogurt for the calorie counters. Then there’s your Original for the no-fussers. There’s the Lactose Free for those who “don’t do” milk, Greek yogurt for the those who couldn’t spend that summer “discovering themselves” in Europe, and Whips yogurt for those who’d rather just have mousse. There’s Go-Gurt for those of us still living out BMX dreams from the 90s, Light yogurt with Fiber for those who need help pooping and want to lose weight, and Trix Yogurt for kids, or just people who want to try to feed their bunnies dairy.
And now, there’s Yoplait Simplait Yogurt.
Psh. Like a silent “T” can ever be simple.
Yoplait Simplait Strawberry Yogurt has only six ingredients — cultured pasteurized Grade A milk, strawberries, sugar, corn starch, vegetable juice (for color), and natural flavor. I could’ve taken the simple route and picked up only the Simplait Yogurt to review, but I decided to complicate things, and possibly hurt my chances of seeing my mug in the dictionary, by comparing it with the Yoplait Original and Light versions to see if there was any difference.
Long story short, there was. As soon as I busted the caps tops of the Light, Original, and Simplait varieties of strawberry yogurt I bought, I immediately noticed contrasting consistencies. A small amount of water appeared to have risen to the top of the whole milk Yoplait yogurt, but otherwise it was thick and creamy, rising off my spoon with an almost frozen yogurt like consistency. The Original version appeared, to borrow from my extensive vocabulary, to hold a shape somewhere between gloopy and watery, owning a consistency similar to the thin slime Nickelodeon used to shoot at people during Figure it Out. As for the Light version, it’s more on the watery side.
The Simplait didn’t just put the other versions of Yoplait’s Strawberry yogurt to shame in terms of its creaminess, it also tasted much better. The sweetness is mild and milky, reminding me of fresh ice cream, where the Original’s sweetness is over-the-top and cloying while the Light’s version is artificial and tastes strongly of strawberry cough medicine. Both the Simplait and Original have solid strawberry flavors, but the real bits of tart strawberry seeds seem to taste truer with the added richness of full fat yogurt, as opposed to the more gel-like Strawberry puree that comes across as a little too processed in the Original.
I’ll be honest with you, I’m surprised – very surprised – by how much I ended up preferring the Simplait yogurt. It has a thick and creamy consistency equal to that of most Greek yogurts at a fraction of the price, while also owning a rich flavor that features unencumbered fruit flavor and even a little texture. True, it’s double the calories of light yogurt and has a few grams more saturated fat than the Original variety, but it’s a small price to pay for a simpler, and much more pleasing, final product. Heck, it might even compete with my picture for that future spot next to “Simple” in the dictionary.
(Nutrition Facts – 1 container – 200 calories, 7 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 100 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 24 grams of sugar, 7 grams of protein, and 20% calcium.)
Item: Yoplait Simplait Strawberry Yogurt
Purchased Price: 50 cents (on sale)
Size: 6 ounces
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros: Thick and creamy texture that puts non-Greek yogurts to shame. Milky richness that adds balance to mildly sweet strawberry flavor. Real chunks of berries. Costs just as much as yogurts filled with crap. Doesn’t taste like cough syrup.
Cons: More calories and fat than any light or nonfat yogurt. Strawberry flavor comes across as muted to those used to a diet of Coke Zero and Cap’n Crunch (guilty as charged). Losing my claim to a dictionary entry to a damn container of yogurt. Excessive female oriented marketing.
I have recently tried this version of Yoplait yogurt too and liked it the best of all their other types. I haven’t tried the strawberry yet but the peach and vanilla are really good….The blackberry was just so so.
I too grabbed a Vanilla Yoplait Simplait yogurt as I am a fan of the ‘Thick and Creamy’ line. I saw the gold lid and saw ‘Simplait’ with just 6 ingredients and thought well I will try it. And boy am I glad I did it is excellent! The consistency is rich and creamy – not happy about the extra sugar but man the creamy texture and taste won me over. Although, it was $.30 more each than the thick and creamy that I usually buy. I should try the Strawberry but was extremely impressed with the vanilla – simple.
Good stuff!
Sounds like a great idea, except they still load it with sugar. In fact, nearly half the calories come from sugar. Makes my teeth hurt just thinking about it.
Would it make your stomach hurt if half the calories came from fat 🙂
All Yoplait yogurt is super sweet but like I said this new variety just tastes better….Actually, I usually buy the Safeway brand Greek yogurt for flavor and cost.
If you really think about it, this is another one of those products where the “simple” or “back-to-the-basics” version SHOULD be the mainstream variety. Our food has gotten so fake over the years. I’m glad companies are going back to making real food again.
This coming from a guy who will eat basically anything, regardless of artificial content and additives.
LOVED this yogurt! 100% agree with your review & I might start buying Simplait over greek yogurt; it’s just that good
Simplait Strawberry also drops the carmine (crushed bugs) coloring ingredient.
Eating some blackberry right now – really, REALLY good. So good that I was kinda wishing I had a mini spatula to really scrape out all the yogurt stuck to the sides and bottom – a spoon just doesn’t cut it. =D
I was a bit put off by the color on opening – it had a definite gray cast to the purple I was expecting. Just goes to show how much the food industry has played with our expectations with all the added food colorings and such. Food SHOULDN’T be neon purple.
A good Greek yogurt is still way creamier and thicker – much better with a bit of fresh fruit and whatnot, but I’ll definitely be adding this to my shopping list for a treat.
Why is there cornstarch in yogurt? I wouldn’t touch this stuff. Yogurt should have milk and cultures, period.
I have a question that is there any animal product besides milk.What is natural Flavor in it. Would you please let me know? I can’t eat kosher gelatin. Thank you.
Rehana
I’m sorry, we can’t answer your question. We do not have any affiliation with Yoplait.
Loved this stuff. I wish it was the same price as regular. My local grocery store sells Simplait for $0.90 each… way too much without a coupon!
Simplait is my new favorite yogurt, and I’m now buying it instead of Greek. Simplait vanilla is the best vanilla yogurt I’ve ever tried. It has a simple true vanilla flavor that just tastes so fresh!
I love it too, and I’m buying as much of it as I can. I’m afraid it won’t last long though, since it’s full fat and it’s hard to find anything anymore that’s not nonfat. Even lowfat is getting rarer and rarer. The difference in flavor and creaminess is significant and a lovely pleasure. There are actually people out here who don’t need to lose weight and don’t want to be stuck with inferior-tasting nonfat products. The vanilla is the best yogurt I’ve ever had, and I’ve been eating yogurt for 40 years.
OMG I am in love with Simplait! I had mostly Yoplait in the fridge, but I would indulge in the now defunct Dannon La Creme vanilla. I was unhappy when it no longer appeared on the shelves, but then Yoplait had some new flavors I enjoyed. Then I see the Simplait vanilla and brought it home and wowwwwww it tastes just like the La Creme!!! I was overjoyed. And I have it everyday. Like the other flavors too, but vanilla is my favorite. It’s like a dessert yogurt. I know Greek yogurt is the big thing now, but I really don’t care for it. Simplait rocks! Thank you Yoplait!
Yoplait Simplait is “simply” the best tasting yogurt I’ve had in a long long time. I’m hooked; all the others can stay on the shelf. I don’t need key lime and coconut flavors; I could use less fat but it would be less tasty; this is IT. Goodbye to mediocre and hello rich indulgence. If you fear calories and fat, eat 1/2, I guarantee you’ll feel more satisfied than runny, water, cloyingly sweet chemical filled wannabes. Sorry for gushing; I just finished a strawberry simplait and I’m in heaven.
Love the Simplait but it is very hard to find. The taste is definitely better than any other yogart I have ever had. Can’t wait for more flavors to try. My favorite is the peach, so yummy.
This yogurt is quite comparable to a rich homemade naturally fermented yogurt. In other words, if you enjoy Simplait, I encourage you to try your hand at making your own yogurt simply by adding a spoonful of this yogurt to room temperature (gently pasteurized) whole milk and letting it sit in a dark and safe place with a thin cloth over the opening for a night and then setting it in the fridge to cool and set into a creamy lovely delicious yogurt that you can flavor any way you like! Anyway I was trulait blown away by the fresh and pure flavor of the new Simplait for $.69/each at my local safeway.
I was a huge fan of the vanilla custard yoplait for years. Then I could not find it anymore but finally found the new thick and creamy vanilla and grew to love that. Then, that disappeared last year and I was devistated until I tried the Simplait vanilla and eventually same thing..it became a staple for me. I could only find it in one Safeway store in town however so I had to buy alot when I did see it at that store. NOW. They have been out for over a month as and all the yoplaits yogurts in general are dwindling. What the heck is happening?! Is there a grocery chain that consistently carries the vanilla simplait consistently…in Wyoming? I’d even drive to no. Colorado!
I’ve been loving this yogurt since I found it, won’t buy any other kind anymore. But yeah, they are getting incredibly hard to find (I’m in the NY Nassau County area). A couple of supermarkets carried it. The one that I discovered it in was a small independent store. Disappeared for awhile but then got some more in last week on sale (3 for $2) and I bought most of what they had. I also found it at Target but they recently had a sale that I didn’t know about and stock was wiped out. I hope the Yoplait people are listening and gets this stuff out there!
And I would rather have Simplait than ice cream!
I agree, I love this yogurt, but it’s not really advertised and the amounts at the store seem to be dwindling, I hope they keep selling it. I prefer full fat and sugar instead of a bunch of chemicals. I normally buy 10-12 at a time.
MY COCKER spaniels and I love love love Simplait. I always let them lick the cup- why should even an ounce of this delicious food go to waste? But the last 2 times I visited my local Weis Market they told me they no longer carry it. I hope it is not discontinued. There were always only about 10 cups on the shelf. I often bought their whole supply. Please tell me it is available at other stores.
Ladies & Gentlemen:
I had a very bad experience today. I was at my grocery buying Yoplait 100 yogurt and I had a coupon from the Internet that said $1.00 back if you buy 5 of this particular kind. I bought and 4-pack and a single yoplait 100 and the coupon wouldn’t scan an the checker told me I had to buy 5 single carton 100 yogurts to use the coupon. This has never happened to me before and i’ve always been able to use this coupon buying a fourpack and a single.To make matters worse you have to buy $15 worth to get a coupon code to enter this contest they have. Therefore, I can’t buy even another brand of yogurt until I need $15 worth of groceries! To boot, I am a senior citizen and disabled. This should be printed on this coupon.
Terri C. Peace
Hi Terri: We have no affiliation with Yoplait, we just review food. Please visit their website yoplait.com to contact them.
LOVE the new lemon and raspberry with stevia. Great!
I thought Simplait was discontinued. Wish they’d bring it back!