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Thick and creamy homemade yogurt requires just two ingredients and a bit of patience. If I’d understood how simple it really is to make your own yogurt, I would have tried this years ago.
My kids are in heaven with the abundance of yogurt in our refrigerator lately and they’ve been eating it almost every day. Layered into a bowl with chunks of fruit and a sprinkling of fresh granola, this has become one of our favorite breakfasts.
Over the past few years, I’ve made a lot of things from scratch that I used to buy from the store. From salad dressings to spice mixes, ketchup, mayonnaise, salsas, syrups, peanut butter and jams.
There is an entire shelf in our refrigerator filled from jars of sauces, spreads, and dips that I used to buy from the store and I now make at home.
Once you’ve shaken together a jar of your own salad dressing, it’s a slippery delicious slope towards making your own barbecue sauces and marinades.
Next thing you know you’ll be trying your hand at yogurt! (This yogurt is so thick and scoop-able, I can turn the jars over without spilling a drop of yogurt.)
My sister started making yogurt for her family a few months ago and she told me countless times that yogurt was one of the easiest things ever to make. Then, a couple months ago, I was chatting with my friend Rebecca and I told her I was thinking about buying a yogurt maker.
She told me to try making the yogurt in my dehydrator first. (I had completely forgotten that was an option with the dehydrator I already had.) Thanks to them both for the encouragement, I’ve been making yogurt every week for a while now.
If you do not have a dehydrator or a yogurt maker, there are a number of alternative methods. You can use your oven, a crock-pot, a heating pad or plate, a warm spot in the house, even an electric blanket!
I usually double or quadruple this recipe and make 1/2 a gallon to a full gallon of yogurt at a time.
Thick, Creamy Homemade Yogurt
Ingredients
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 tablespoon yogurt *
- Optional stir-ins: maple syrup honey, jams, jellies, vanilla extract
Instructions
- Bring the milk to 190 degrees over medium heat, remove from the heat and allow the milk to cool to 110 degrees, this takes from 30-45 minutes in my kitchen most of the time. Stir in the yogurt. Pour through a strainer into a pitcher and pour into jars.
- Place in the dehydrator for 10 hours at 105 degrees. Alternatively, the yogurt can be finished in a yogurt maker for 8 hours. (Process according to the manufacturer's directions.) At the end of the warming time, chill in the refrigerator until ready to eat.
- If your jars have a little bit of whey (or watery liquid) in the top, just stir it into the finished yogurt right before eating. Sweeten to taste with honey, maple syrup, fruit jams or jellies. I like to add a tiny splash of vanilla extract as well. Enjoy!
- * You really do not need more yogurt than a tablespoon per quart of milk. The more yogurt you add, the more tangy the resulting yogurt will be. Additional yogurt won't thicken the yogurt more, it will simply affect the flavor.
ONE YEAR AGO TODAY: Pineapple Rice with Cilantro and Lime
TWO YEARS AGO TODAY: Glazed Salmon with Spicy Broccoli
I would love to try this in my dehydrator! What kind of yogurt do you use? I wondered if there is a difference in the kind you add.
I've used all different kinds of plain unsweetened yogurt, Nancy. Greek, European, plain generic yogurts, as long as it has live cultures listed in the ingredients and not a whole bunch of other things, it will work!
Yes, that's right, you can use any plain yogurt that has live cultures. Whole milk yogurt does better.and has no additives. I make my yogurt in my pure clay pot. Turns out thick naturally because the breathable pot lets just the water evaporate. I got mine from Miriams earthen cookware (online).
How long would that be in an oven or crock pot?
It's roughly the same amount of time. If you click the above links, you'll see that the full directions are included for each method.
thank you!
do you know the nutrition information?
Should be about the same nutritional information as store-bought yogurt, it will depend on the type of milk you use.
I just made my own yogurt for the first time a few weeks ago…it's amazing how much better it is compared to store bought!
I love all the little mismatched jars in the dehydrator, and your parfait is absolutely gorgeous!
Love homemade yogurt and yours looks so thick and creamy.
Holy cow! I did not realize it was so easy. You may have just inspired me.
You are absolutely right about making homemade products especially salad dressings. It would never occur to me at this point to purchase bottled dressing.
Great post. Thanks for sharing.
Velva
I've been putting off making my own yogurt for awhile now. I did not realize that yogurt was so easy to make. Great tips.
Just came across this and I want to try! Can I use fat free milk? Reduced fat milk?
Yes, you can! You can use whichever milk you prefer.
How long will the yogurt keep in the refrigerator?
It should be fine for several days, Debra. We go through it fast though, so I don't think we've ever tested it past that. Enjoy!
How can the yogurt be made thicker? Shall I remove the water that forms on the top once it’s all done?
Yes, that will help, Yasaman. You can also strain the excess liquid through a coffee filter if it still isn’t thick enough for you.
Thanks for this recipe, I have been so frustrated in the past trying to make homeade yoghurt and when I found yours, I am so glad I did, it’s really good!!
I’m so happy to hear it, Polly!
I have tried three times now and my yogurt turns out runny. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Linda, without being in your kitchen with you, I can’t really guess what went wrong. Are you using a dehydrator? or a yogurt maker? You’re using whole milk and a tablespoon of regular yogurt, right? Are you trying with just those things? or adding in additional ingredients for different flavors?
Looking forward to future recipes
Thank you, Mary.
I made it with a gallon of whole milk and it was perfect- I made it again using a half gallon of milk (Whole) and less than the cup ( 3T) of yogurt (4%) and it didn’t set – it’s like a thin batter consistency. Any idea what went wrong?
That’s interesting, Anne. I’m not sure why it wouldn’t worked differently if you didn’t change anything else. The quantity shouldn’t affect the results that way. Were you using the same equipment? And the same time frame?