Making yogurt at home is easier than you might think, and it doesn’t require fancy equipment. If you’ve ever wondered how to make yogurt at home, you’ll be happy to know that with just two ingredients and a little patience, you can whip up a creamy delicious batch from scratch!
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Why Make Yogurt At Home
When you learn how to make yogurt from scratch, you control exactly what goes into it. There are not hidden sugars, no thickeners and no artificial flavors.
Making yogurt in your own kitchen is also very budget friendly. To get started, all you need is a gallon of milk and a bit of plain greek yogurt with live, active cultures. When your first batch is almost gone, use it to make another!
How to Make Yogurt Without a Yogurt Maker
- Heat the Milk – Pour the milk into a large pot (heavy bottom will help to keep it from scorching). Slowly heat the milk over medium heat until it reaches about 180ºF.
- Cool the Milk – I like to transfer the pot of milk to a sink filled with ice water. I put the entire pot down into the water, being careful to not get any water inside of the pot. Let the milk cool to around 110ºF. Keep a close eye on it because it will cool quickly sitting in the ice water.
- Add the Starter – Once the milk is cooled down to about 110ºF, whisk in the starter yogurt. Make sure you whisk it well to get out any lumps.
- Incubate – I pour my yogurt into quart sized mason jars. I put the lid on and then wrap them up in a clean bath towel. I keep mine overnight in the oven with the light on. Make sure you put a sticky note on the control panel so no one turns the oven on while your yogurt is inside.
- Chill (if you want) and enjoy! – The next morning, once the yogurt is thickened, refrigerate for a couple hours and enjoy! We often eat it right from the oven. It’s not hot but it’s also not cold either.
Learning how to make yogurt without a yogurt maker is a simple skill that can become a regular part of your kitchen routine. Once you try it, you might never go back to store bought yogurt again!
If you’d like to watch me make homemade yogurt for my own family, check out the video below! Skip to around 18:00 to see the process.
Looking for more homemade breakfast recipes? I have a bunch here!
Ingredients
Method
- Pour milk into a large, heavy bottomed pot.
- Heat milk over medium heat until it reaches about 180ºF.
- While the milk is warming, fill a large bowl or your sink with ice water.
- Once the milk reaches 180ºF, transfer the pot into the ice water, being careful not to get any water inside the pot.
- Cool the milk until the temperature reaches around 110ºF.
- Once cooled, whisk in the plain greek yogurt until there are no lumps.
- Pour the milk into glass storage containers (I use quart sized mason jars), cover with a lid and wrap in a clean bath towel.
- You can now leave them sit on the counter overnight. I like to leave them overnight inside my cold oven with the oven light turned on. Make sure to put a sticky note on the control panel so no one turns the oven on while your yogurt is incubating.
- In the morning, you should have thick, creamy yogurt. Enjoy straight from the jar or refrigerate to cool.
Have a blessed day, friend!
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