Whether you’re making regular or Greek yogurt, it’s time to learn How to Make Yogurt! It’s incredibly easy, requires virtually no prep work and the outcome will amaze you: Wonderfully thick, creamy, luxuriously delicious yogurt! This homemade yogurt recipe is SO good and SO easy, you’ll NEVER need to buy store-bought again!
How long does it take you to pour a gallon of milk into a slow cooker?  That’s how much prep time is involved in making this gloriously thick, rich, creamy Easy Homemade Yogurt recipe! And you have full control over its thickness – we’ll show you how to make Greek yogurt or regular yogurt, your choice!
Why Should I Make My Own Yogurt?
There are several advantages to making your own yogurt:  It tastes better, has a better texture, is MUCH CHEAPER, and it’s MUCH HEALTHIER than store-bought because it has a MUCH HIGHER PROBIOTIC CONTENT. Really, it’s a complete win-win!
What Kind of Milk Should I Use to Make Yogurt?
For the thickest, creamiest yogurt we recommend whole milk but you can also use 2% and even skim milk.
How to Make Greek Yogurt
The difference between making regular and Greek yogurt simply comes down to how long you strain it. More on that in the recipe below.
What Do I Need to Make Yogurt?
- Milk
- Plain yogurt (as a starter culture)
- Cheesecloth
- Thermometer
- Pot or Slow Cooker
- Colander
Besides milk you’ll need some plain yogurt as a starter culture for your initial batch. Then you can use yogurt from that batch for your next batch and so on. There is no need to buy a special starter culture, all you need is plain yogurt. The plain yogurt will act as a starter culture to introduce healthy bacteria/probiotics to your homemade yogurt. It is essential that the yogurt you use has live cultures in it. Most grocery stores sell plain yogurt with live cultures but just be sure to check the label on the container confirm that it has l. bulgaricus and s. thermophilus in it.
You will also need some cheesecloth to strain the yogurt (trust me, it’s much easier than it may initially sound).  I use and recommend this cheesecloth because it’s 100% unbleached cotton, is high grade, is very durable for multiple uses, and you get a ton of it. Overall it’s the best value I have found for the quality.
You’ll also need a thermometer.  Heating the milk to right temperature and then reducing it to the right temperature are both critical to the success of your yogurt.
The other item you’ll need is either a slow cooker or a large, heavy stock pot and a colander for straining.
© Piliphoto | Dreamstime
Slow Cooker or Stovetop to Make Yogurt?
You can use either with great success and the choice is entirely up to you.
Using a Slow Cooker:
Pros: The heating process is slow and gentle so there is no risk of scorching the milk and having to throw it all out. Plus it’s hands free and the milk can heat up over the course of a few hours while you’re doing other things.
Cons:  It takes a lot longer to heat up the milk than if you’re using a pot. But that’s only a disadvantage if you’re in a hurry.
Using a Stock Pot:
Pros: It’s much quicker than using a slow cooker. The milk heats up faster and then all you have to wait for is for it to cool back down and then set.
Cons:Â It requires your constant attention and as the milk gets hotter it requires constant stirring in order to prevent the milk from burning (and it can burn very easily if you’re not paying attention).
You can see that both have their pros and cons and it purely comes down to personal preference. I use and like both methods but generally use my slow cooker/crock pot more often because of the hands-free convenience of plugging it in and going about my daily tasks. Any crock pot or slow cooker will do the job. I use and love my Hamilton Beach Stay or Go 7 Quart Slow Cooker.
Do I Have to Bring the Temp to 180 F if I’m Using Pasteurized Milk?Â
Virtually every yogurt-making recipe will tell you to heat the milk to 180 degrees F before bringing it back down to 110 degrees F to inoculate it with a starter culture. Â The question you may ask yourself is, if I’m using pasteurized milk already do I need to heat it to 180 degrees or can I just skip that step?
Here’s what I’ve learned: Â Heating it to 180 degrees isn’t for the purpose of killing unwanted bacteria as much as it is for creating a thick texture. Â The heat changes the structure of the proteins in the milk and enables it to thicken into yogurt. Â I wanted to test that for myself and heated the milk to just a little over 110 degrees, added the starter culture, and proceeded from there. Â It hardly thickened at all. Â But when I heat it to 180 degrees, then let it cool to 110 degrees before adding the starter, it thickens up beautifully.
What is Whey?
That yellowish liquid that’s left over after you strain the yogurt….that’s called whey. When making homemade yogurt, you’ll always end up with some whey as a by-product.  The longer you strain the yogurt, the thicker it will get, the more whey it will yield.  If you strain it to full capacity for an extra thick Greek yogurt, you’ll end up with about 8 cups of whey, but every batch will be different.
Whey is milk minus the fats and solids. Â It’s basically water with lactose and protein. Â And it’s the protein that’s the valuable ingredient here. Â Milk contains two types of protein, casein and whey. Â Most of the casein ends up in the yogurt and the whey is in the liquid by-product.
How to Use Leftover Whey
I’m so glad you asked! Whey is a great source of protein and is used in powdered form in protein shakes and protein bars. But how can you this leftover liquid whey? Here are a few ideas:
- Use it in place of water when you’re making broth or soup for an extra rich broth.
- Use it in place of water for baking bread or pastries.
- Add it to your smoothies of an extra protein boost.
- If you have a vegetable garden, use it lower the pH level of your soil if you’re growing things that prefer soil with a higher acidity level, like tomatoes.
Can You Freeze Whey?
Yes, it can be frozen for up to 6 months.
Can I Make a Smaller Batch of Yogurt?Â
This recipe calls for a gallon of milk because this yogurt will keep for a good 2 weeks in the fridge, giving you plenty of time to finish it off. (Note that a gallon of milk won’t yield a gallon of yogurt. It will yield about 2 quarts of yogurt depending on how long you strain it.) If however you would prefer to make less you can absolutely cut the recipe in half and use a half gallon instead. Just be sure to remember to reserve enough of the yogurt to act as the starter for your next batch.
How Much Protein and Calories Are in My Yogurt?
This is a question I get frequently. Calorie count and protein content will depend on how much whey was removed in the straining process and there really isn’t a way to measure that. Even calories are hard guess because through the straining process the end product is much more condensed that the original milk product.  The best we can do is estimate.
© Fortyforks | Dreamstime
Homemade Yogurt Troubleshooting
“My yogurt didn’t set and I have yogurt soup!”
There may be an occasion or two when your yogurt doesn’t set properly.  I’ve made probably close to 50 batches and fortunately it’s only happened to me twice but it was nevertheless disappointing. Many factors can be at play for a failed batch, anything from the first step to the last. If you’ve done everything right and have followed every step correctly from start to finish, all I can say is that the yogurt-making process involves fragile live bacteria and sometimes, well, they have a mind and will of their own. And if you’re using store-bought yogurt as your starter culture, it may claim to have live bacteria that is…no longer live. The only thing to do is try again with a new batch. But just because it failed turning into yogurt doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy it.
Don’t throw out the “soup!”
Throughout Europe and other parts of the world you can get a variety of delicious plain and flavored yogurt drinks. You can drink your yogurt milk and you’ll still be benefitting from those healthy probiotics. Add some honey or flavored syrups or blend in some berries or fruits of your choice and enjoy it in smoothie form!
Ways to Eat Yogurt
The ideas are almost endless. Here are a few:
- Add fresh berries or cut up fresh fruits to enjoy with your yogurt along with a sprinkle of cinnamon and/or a drizzle of honey or maple syrup for a healthy breakfast or snack.
- Make parfaits with fresh fruit and granola.
- Blend it with fresh or frozen fruit or with nuts, peanut/cashew/almond butter, chocolate, etc. to make smoothies.
- Add other ingredients and seasonings to use as a sandwich, toast or bagel spreads.
- As the base of a savory dip for oven-baked chips, bread or raw veggies.
- As the base of a sweet dip for fresh fruits or toasted cinnamon pita strips.
- Use it in place of mayonnaise for ranch dressing and other creamy dressings.
- Make homemade tzatziki sauce.
- Replace sour cream and buttermilk with yogurt in baked goods like cakes, muffins, pancakes or our sweet potato pie.
- Make yogurt fruit popsicles.
- Use it in place of sour cream for things like tacos, enchiladas and burritos.
- Use it in place of mayonnaise for egg, tuna, chicken salad and potato salad.
The way I most commonly enjoy my yogurt is simply stirring in a spoonful of fruit preserves with a little powdered stevia for a healthy, low-carb treat to satisfy my sweet tooth. Another favorite way is to make vanilla yogurt by stirring in some high quality vanilla bean paste.
You’re going to love how rich and creamy this yogurt is – it’s almost like eating dessert!
© Corinna Gissemann | Dreamstime
How to Make Yogurt
Let’s get started!
IF USING A STOCK POT INSTEAD OF A SLOW COOKER:  If you’re in a hurry or don’t have a slow cooker you can use a stock pot. Simply heat the milk in a large stock pot over low to medium heat. Just be sure to stir it regularly, especially as it gets hotter, to prevent the milk from scorching. Then follow the rest of the instructions as written.
Pour the milk into the slow cooker and set it to HIGH. Go about your business, it’ll take at least 2 hours (usually longer) before the temperature’s up to 180 degrees. Use a thermometer to check the temperature.
Once the temperature is up to 180 degrees, turn off the slow cooker or stove top and let the milk cool to 110 degrees F. Â Again, go about your business, this will take at least another 2 hours.
Once the temperature is 110 degrees, mix a little of the warm milk into the room temperature starter yogurt, then gently but thoroughly stir it back into the milk using up and down, left and right motions (not circular). Close the lid and turn off the slow cooker.
Wrap a large bath towel around the slow cooker and let it sit undisturbed in a draft-free, room temperature (or warmer) area for 10-12 hours or overnight. If the environment is too cool the yogurt will not set.
When you remove the lid you’ll find that the milk has thickened and the whey has separated.
Look at that fabulous thick texture! Â The transformation is almost magical. Â You’ll be so excited the first time you make this! Â I still get excited every time I lift the lid.
Line a colander with some cheesecloth.
I currently use this cheesecloth. It’s great quality and you get a lot of it for an excellent price.
Pour the yogurt into the cheesecloth. Â If it doesn’t all fit (depending on the size of your colander), let the yogurt strain until there’s room enough to add the remaining yogurt, then continue to strain.
Depending on how thick you want the yogurt, this will take several hours. Â For thick Greek yogurt, you’ll end up straining it for at least 4 hours. Â That will also depend on the gauge of the cheesecloth. Â Set the colander on top of a large glass bowl. Â If leaving it to strain for several hours, you can put it in the fridge if you prefer and let it strain there.
See the liquid in the glass bowl above right?  That’s whey. See the section “How to Use Whey” for ideas.
Store the yogurt covered in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Â When you’re ready to make another batch, use some of the previous batch for the starter culture.
If fully strained to make Greek yogurt, you’ll end up with about 2 quarts (8 cups) of whey and 7-8 cups of Greek yogurt.
You’ll end up with less whey and more yogurt if you strain it less to make regular yogurt.
Cook with it, bake with it, eat it plain or with a variety of mix-ins, whatever your heart desires!
Enjoy!
Be sure to also check out our tutorials for how to make:
- Quark
- Mascarpone
- Sauerkraut
- Collard Kraut
How To Make Yogurt
Ingredients
- 1 gallon whole milk, 2% or skim milk (whole milk is recommended for thickest, creamiest results) (see note about using raw milk) *this method does NOT work with non-dairy alternatives
- 1 cup plain yogurt at room temperature, either from previous batch or store-bought (**The yogurt must have live cultures in it to work. Check the ingredients to make sure they include l. bulgaricus and s. thermophilus.)
- Equipment:
- Slow cooker or Pot
- Thermometer
- Cheesecloth
- Colander
Instructions
- IF USING A STOCK POT:  If you're in a hurry or don't have a slow cooker you can use a stock pot. Simply heat the milk in a large stock pot over low to medium heat. Just be sure to stir it regularly, especially as it gets hotter, to prevent the milk from scorching. Then follow the rest of the instructions as written.IF USING A SLOW COOKER: Pour the milk into a slow cooker set to HIGH and close the lid. It will take 2-3 hours before the temperature of the milk is up to 180 degrees F. Check it with an instant-read thermometer. Once it's at 180 degrees, turn off the slow cooker, close the lid, and let the milk cool to 110 degrees F. This will take another 2-3 hours. Once the temperature is between 110 and 115 degrees F, add some of the warm milk to the plain yogurt, stir to combine, and then gently but thoroughly stir the mixture back into the milk in the slow cooker using up and down, left and right motions (not circular).
- Close the lid, wrap the slow cooker or stock pot with a large bath towel, and let it sit undisturbed in a non-drafty place at room temperature (or warmer) for 10-12 hours or overnight. If the environment is too cool the yogurt will not set. During this process the milk will have thickened and the whey will have started separating from the milk.
- Line a colander with a cheesecloth and pour the yogurt into it. Set the colander over a large glass bowl and let it strain at room temperature for several hours, until you've achieved the desired thickness (length of straining time will also depend on the gauge of the cheesecloth. I use this cheesecloth - excellent quality and you get a lot of it for a great price) For thick Greek yogurt plan on at least 4 hours. You'll end up with about 8 cups of whey and 7-8 cups of Greek yogurt.
- Store the yogurt in the fridge in an airtight container, preferably a glass bowl for up to 2 weeks. When ready to make another batch of yogurt, use a cup of the previous batch as the starter culture.
Notes
**You don't have to use the slow cooker method. For a quicker method simply heat the milk in a large stock pot over low to medium heat. Just be sure to stir it regularly, especially as it gets hotter, to prevent the milk from scorching. Then follow the rest of the instructions as written.
Nutrition
First published on The Daring Gourmet June 2017
Laura @ Family Spice says
Being Persian, I grew up with homemade yogurt. I love the sourness of it. I never heard of making yogurt in a slow cooker – genius!
karen says
I have made this so many times! Though forgiving,here’s a few things that I discovered helped keep the unexpected surprises down:
-make sure everything the milk touches is sterile, including all goodies stired and measured with. Don’t forget the lid of the crockpot.
– make sure that isn’t close to anything else being gleemed with good bacteria, such as kombucha, keefer, pickles,saurkraut.
-Use an absolute minimum of metal contact.
-i usually cover it with a sterile two person beach towel that I only use for this.
– For some odd reason, weather seems to affect this, I started making it in san diego with no problem, but when I went to alabama, the high humidity even in carefully monitored comfortable setting sometimes changed the quality.
– it was almost worse to overheat the milk then impatiently not wait for it to cool properly. If it is too hot, then like yeast used for baking, it will die. If it is too cold, same thing.
-when I wrap the crockpot, I wrap the whole thing, including lifting it up to add insulation. Seems to like this process…then when I add the second towel, it is mostly as insulation on the bottom half.
– If it is a bit chilly outside, I keep it away from walls, always away from windows.
-NO sneak peeking! Every time you uncover it, it cools it too fast.
I also started making this when I started raising chickens. They absolutely love it, and it is GOOD for them, their health, and eggs, although I learned to serve this in small containers because they loved it so much they would huddle in the mass…
– my dogs adore it, and I have had no health issues with them since giving them a bit each day.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Karen, thanks so much for all of you insights! So interesting that you feed it to your dogs and chickens, that never would have occurred to me. We’re going to start raising our chickens in the next few months and I’ll have to remember this!
Annie @ Annie's Noms says
I didn’t realise it was so easy to make Greek Yoghurt! Going to have to try it :)
Claire Sommers says
I started making my own yogurt a couple years ago and Love the Greek yogurt. Mine is a slightly different process. I heat the milk up in the microwave. Probably becauee I don’t want to wait on the crockpot. Then I pour the milk into the crockpot and allow it to cool to 110. I only use 3 tablespoons of yogurt for the starter. I wrap it up in towels and put the crockpot in the oven with the oven light on. (the oven is not turned on) For straining I use industrial sized coffee filters inside my strainers. For me personally the cheesecloth was just a big pain in the butt. I feed the whey to my dogs. They love that and the yogurt too.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Claire, I think there was another reader that commented on using a microwave method as well and I appreciate your input!
Roxana says
Hi Claire,
Did you check the temperature in your oven with the light on? Mine gets to 100F – 120F degrees. Is that too hot? I am so anxious to try this! Does the towel protect it from overheating? I would have to put it in the oven also as our house is too cold. We are used to cooler temperatures here in Canada and it is already getting cold outside. Our house temperature is set between 65F to 70F. I’m afraid that would be too cold to leave on my counter.
Debbie says
Want to try this great recipe, but you do not mention how much “starter yogurt” is required.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Debbie! Scroll down to the bottom of the post, past the step-by-step preparation pics, and you’ll find the recipe box with that info.
Becky Davis says
I was looking for this question in the comments, but didn’t see it. Is it okay to use raw milk for this, since it sits at room temperature for so long?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Becky! Raw milk won’t work unfortunately. Our family exclusively buys local raw milk for drinking, but it won’t work the same for making yogurt. The problem is that the probiotics already present in raw milk will compete with the cultures you’re trying to grow in the homemade yogurt-making process – as a result it won’t thicken properly.
Chris Veale says
Hi Kimberly,
Thanks so much for this incredible recipe and advice. I have a slow cooker that takes 4 pints of milk, and have used that perfectly. I found that the HIGH setting was great to heat the milk up to 180 degrees, but the LOW and WARM settings were too high to keep it at a constant 110 degrees overnight. So I thought about it for a while, and set a programmable timer to switch on and off every 15 minutes (15 mins on and 15 mins off) and with the slow cooker setting on LOW it keeps the temperature at a constant 110 degrees over night perfectly. This makes beautiful yoghurt every time and I’ve sent your recipe to lots of my friends who are all starting to make their own now.
Keep up the good work, and thanks again for your wonderful web page.
Kind regards
Chris
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Chris, thanks for conducting that experiment and sharing the results. Thanks also for sharing my site with your friends and for you kind words, I really appreciate it!
chasingmytail says
First go and even though it did thicken its didnt set enough to obtain the curds. I used very fresh raw milk from our Jersey. Its very nice and I’ve packed it into the fridge. I used a Yeo Valley organic live yoghurt as starter but not sure if it was alive enough so I’ve bought a special yoghurt starter this time and will try again. I was also wondering if I over scorched it as when it reached 180f even after switching off it went higher and the edges of the pot were covered in a skin and slightly burnt.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hello! I’ve never heard of it scorching before, but that would have to do with your specific slow cooker (the settings/calibration may be a little off). Or it may have to do with the fact that it’s raw milk, I don’t know. Our family exclusively buys local raw milk for drinking, but it won’t work the same for making yogurt. The issue isn’t needing a special yogurt starter, any plain yogurt with live cultures from the store will do just fine. The problem is that the probiotics already present in raw milk will compete with the cultures you’re trying to grow in the homemade yogurt-making process – as a result it won’t thicken properly.
Roberta says
Thank you for this great post, and especially for your attentiveness to the comments. While I’ve long been making regular yogurt, I much prefer the flavor, texture and higher protein content of strained yogurt.
After reading your post and comments, I was left with the question: if all/most of the protein is in the whey, and you strain the whey, how does strained yogurt have such a high protein content? I found that there is a second protein, casein, which does not get strained with the whey. Is it from the protein, casein, then, which becomes more concentrated in strained yogurt? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casein
If anyone knows more about this, I would be highly interested!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Roberta, that’s tricky and a good point and I’ve amended one of my phrases. Without having a way to actually measure the protein in the whey and the resulting yogurt there’s no way of knowing what the protein content is. The whey is mostly water, lactose, other nutrients and some protein, how much I don’t know. But most of the protein is left in the yogurt and because the yogurt is so concentrated after all liquid has been strained out, a cup of yogurt has a higher protein content than a cup of milk, for example. My point about the whey is simply that it’s a byproduct with nutrients that can be used in a variety of ways rather than throwing it out.
Seth Hopkinson says
Worked for me, thanks for the help. I’m wondering how much protein is left in the whey as my main goal is to up my protein intake without powders and at a reasonable cost. Any idea on that?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Seth, that’s a great question. I don’t know what the protein content is, I just know that some of the protein is strained out in the whey. Whey is full of so many other great nutrients, too.
Elisabeth says
I just made greek yogurt. I may have gone wrong. My yogurt has a tan tent to it. Is this caused by over heating? Is it still oaky to eat? It tastes kind-a sweet but very greek yogurt like.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Elisabeth, wow, I have no idea. Simply heating milk wouldn’t cause it to turn tan. Did the milk burn on the bottom? As long as you used fresh milk and followed the directions it should be perfectly safe to eat, I’m just not sure why it would have turned tan.
Kathy says
I used a different slow cooker the last time I made yogurt and my yogurt had a tan color around the edge. I think the borrowed slow cooker got the milk hotter at the edge of the crock (cooked less evenly) than my regular crock pot. I didn’t think twice about whether to eat it – it tasted just fine.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That makes sense, Kathy, thanks for the update!
Addicted to yogurt says
This is my third post. I made my first batch in August. In the last month, I have made 12 batches of yogurt (can’t keep it in the house…and I live by myself?) using whole, 2%, 1%. All have been delicious and amazing. I constantly have the crockpot going with yogurt. I had to buy a second pot for other dishes and even had both going with yogurt in them a couple of times as I made extra for friends and family. My extended family is now on the homemade yogurt bandwagon as well. My elderly father would never eat yogurt and now devours this like there’s no tomorrow!
If you haven’t tried it yet, you must! There will be no turning back!!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Haha, this is awesome!! 12 batches in one month, holy cow! ;) Your friends and family are super lucky. You know, the main reason I don’t make it more often than I do is for the reason you mentioned – I need my crockpot for other things, too! But getting a second crockpot really is a great idea. You can find such inexpensive ones and that way you can always have some yogurt brewing while the other one is freed up for cooking meals. You’ve inspired me! :) Thanks so much for the feedback!
Patricia says
Hi Kimberly – what brand of cheesecloth do you use?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Patricia, I use this one and it does a great job.
Rebekah says
Kimberly
I’m making my first batch of yogurt this afternoon/eve. I would like some fruit in the bottom. When is the best time to do this? Is there anything special I need to do to the fruit? Do I use fresh/frozen?
Thanks! Rebekah
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Rebekah, adding fruit during the culturing process will interfere with it. Wait until the yogurt is completely set and strained, then add the fruit.
Amy says
I was so excited to try this out that I didn’t take the time into consideration! By the time I added the starter to the milk and wrapped it up overnight the total time would be 7 hours not the 10-12 hours. Have I ruined this or shall I leave it until I get home from work which would give it 18 hours? Is it ok to sit on the counter in the crockpot for that long…I guess I should have not jumped the gun so quickly!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Amy! Well, I can appreciate your enthusiasm because making your own yogurt IS exciting! Store-bought milk has been super pasteurized so 18 hours should be fine. I’ve seen recipes recommend an up to 18 hour incubation time. Let us know how it turns out!
Amy says
It came out amazing! I strained it overnight and am enjoying my first ever bowl of homemade yogurt. Thanks you so much for the recipe!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s awesome, Amy! Here’s to many more batches to come!