Want to learn how to make yogurt? It is easy to make thick, creamy homemade yogurt, without any of the additives (guar gum, pectin, gelatin, milk powder, etc.) that are used to thicken store bought yogurt. You don’t even need a yogurt maker!
Why you should make yogurt
- It’s delicious!
- You can make yogurt without any special ingredients or kitchen tools.
- It can be used to make all sort of other cultured foods.
- If you want to get more probiotics, then yogurt is a great option because dairy helps probiotics survive digestion.
- Almost everyone likes yogurt. There are even vegan options for anyone who doesn’t eat dairy.
- Homemade yogurt is so much cheaper than store bought yogurt. Nothing is lost in making yogurt so a gallon of yogurt is literally the cost of a gallon of milk! (Perfect for a yogurt hungry families like mine!)
You don’t need a yogurt maker
You don’t need a yogurt maker to make yogurt. All you need to do is keep the yogurt relatively warm for at least 2 hours (and up to 24 hours if you like really sour yogurt). Here are some alternatives:
- I use a folding fermentation box (affiliate link) so that I can make a large volume of yogurt at once.
- Before I had my fermentation box I wrapped my jars of yogurt up in warm wool sweaters and left them on the shelf above my hot water heater. It took a little longer, but it always worked.
- You can keep yogurt warm by putting it in the oven with the oven light left on.
- Place jars of yogurt in a cooler to keep them warm.
- Use a slow cooker or instapot on the keep warm setting. I don’t recommend actually making yogurt in a slow cooker because it tends to burn on the bottom. Just put a few jars of yogurt into your slow cooker with 2″ of water to create a warm water bath.
How to Make Yogurt
Learn how to make yogurt. It is easier than you think! No special yogurt maker or culture required for a perfect bowl of thick, rich yogurt. Homemade yogurt is an affordable way to get a dose of probiotics!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Category: Yogurt
- Method: Fermented
- Cuisine: Probiotic
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp yogurt with live culture
- 2 cups of milk
Instructions
- Slowly heat your milk on the stove to 180 F (80 C). Whisk occasionally to keep the milk from scalding on the bottom of the pot. (Heating the milk causes the proteins to denature making for thicker yogurt. You could skip this step, but your yogurt won’t be as thick).
- Pour the hot milk into a glass jar and cool to 105 F (40C).
- When the milk has cooled, stir in the yogurt culture. If you are using store bought yogurt you may want to add up to 6 tbsp yogurt as they tend to have weaker cultures.
- Maintain at around 110F (40 C) until it is set to a pudding like consistency (for at least 2 hours, or if you like a sour yogurt then culture for up to 24 hours.)
Notes
- If you don’t have a thermometer
, then heat your yogurt until it whisks up nice and frothy, then cool it to just above room temperature. However, I recommend getting a thermometer if you want to make nice thick yogurt because heating the milk to 80C is key to thick yogurt.
- Homemade yogurt can be flavoured just like store bought yogurt. Add jam, fresh fruit, vanilla, or cinnamon. Delicious!
- Here’s my recipe for Greek yogurt or labneh. All you need to do is strain the yogurt to thicken it. The whey can be used for baking or as a starter culture for other ferments.
- If you want make cream-top yogurt, use non-homogenized milk. Or if you can’t find non-homogenized milk then add a few tablespoons of cream in the top of the jar before fermenting. It won’t be the same, but it will taste good!
, then heat your yogurt until it whisks up nice and frothy, then cool it to just above room temperature. However, I recommend getting a thermometer if you want to make nice thick yogurt because heating the milk to 80C is key to thick yogurt.Keywords: probiotic, healthy, affordable, easy, simple, breakfast, snack. lunch, dessert, waste free, gluten free, keto, anti-candida
Problems
If you don’t have thick yogurt after 8 hours then it’s likely due to one of the following common problems:
- Your yogurt starter didn’t actually have enough live bacteria in it -a possibility with a supermarket yogurt. (I use Greek Gods
and Liberte.)
- You added the yogurt starter before the milk cooled to 40C and accidentally cooked the bacteria.
- It wasn’t warm enough during the culturing.
This worked well! I did the ferment in the Instant Pot using the yogurt setting (my new kitchen toy!). I did have some trouble with the milk scalding on the bottom of the pot – turns out that my thermometer wasn’t working so the milk was actually much hotter than the thermometer was reading. I see some orange bits that I scraped from the bottom of the pot which are now in the yogurt, but they don’t seem to have affected the taste so I don’t mind.
★★★★★
My mom has the same problem with her instant pot. Sometimes it overheats, but it seems to happen randomly. I’m glad your yogurt worked out anyway!
What kind of milk should I use to make yogurt?
Whatever kind of milk you want! This recipe will work with goat milk, raw milk, pasteurized milk. The only kind of dairy that won’t work is UHT milk. Enjoy!
Hi Emillie
Thanks for writing up a simple no nonsense recipe.
I used organic “free range” milk and organic kefir. This resulted in a lighter consistency but have just refrigerated now so it probably will firm up a touch.
Thanks again
Chris
★★★★★