Homemade Yogurt Recipe
I got this recipe from my friend Tannen. I think it’s best when made with raw milk, but you can also use store-bought whole milk. This recipe does require a “starter” (a little bit of yogurt), but in the end it saves you money if you’re a big yogurt eating family!
Makes 1 gallon yogurt
1 gallon milk
1 cup plain yogurt
Directions: Pour milk into slow-cooker and cook on high for 3.5 hours. Turn off and let cool 3 hours. Take one cup of the warm milk out and mix with 1 cup plain yogurt. Add back in to rest of milk. Stir. Wrap crockpot with blanket or towel and let sit out 8-12 hours. Refrigerate and enjoy!
Notes: Yogurt will thicken in fridge. We like to top our yogurt with granola or fruit. You can also add some honey or maple syrup if you like yours a little sweeter. The consistency is more runny than store bought yogurt. You can also make a breakfast drink, smoothie, or popsicles out of it! Lots of options!
Photo: www.unsplash.com @peterhershey
How long is the yogurt good for in the fridge! I have been wanting to make my own for a long time and freeze some in cubes for smoothies and popsicles
I’m not exactly sure. Probably depends on the expiration on the milk and yogurt. Freezing it will help it keep longer for sure though!
Is there a way to get it a bit thicker?
We’d be using it strickly to eat as yogurt and not as a drink or popcicles. I’d like it thicker. Any thoughts?
I’ve heard you can add a little bit of gelatin, but I’ve never done that. Anyone else have thoughts?
You can add a 1/4 or 1/2 cup of whole milk powder to thicken it up a bit.
Or, to make greek style yogurt, you would need to strain the whey out of it by hanging it in cheesecloth over a bowl for a few hours or until it’s to your liking. It would lower your overall yield, though, so you may need to start with a doubled recipe of yogurt so that you end up with a decent amount!
you can simplify. I take raw milk, cook it until almost boiling (not 3h, more like 10 to 20 min), let it cool. I just try with a finger, around body temperature, put it in a jar, add yoghurt, stirr, leave it for half a day (or at least 4 hours). You put it in the fridge when you kile the taste of it. The quality depends on the milk and the yoghurt you add. Enjoying it for years.
Thanks for the tips! 🙂
Hi Jill,
Since you originally posted this, I have made yogurt about every 10 days tweaking it a bit (but I always give you credit for getting me started). I’d be glad to share the small changes I made to make it thicker and even more robust with good healthy probiotics, if you are interested.
I’d prefer to share it privately, as I am just not comfortable putting things on someone else’s blog.
Yay! Glad you’ve enjoyed it and yes! Feel free to share!
Jill,
Thanks for sharing your yogurt recipe. After I made it a few times I googled to learn how to make it thicker. The best one is to use less starter yogurt. Instead of a cup of yogurt to a gallon of milk, use only two tablespoons. (Sounds crazy, huh?) The reason they explained: “Using too much starter can crowd the bacteria, causing the bacteria to run out of ‘food’ before the yogurt completely ferments the milk. The result is often a thinner, sometimes bitter, yogurt.” Voila! That was the trick. Lots of good probiotics to keep us healthy!
We also do another little trick to turn it into Greek Yogurt. If interested, give me a shout.