How to make your own yogurt: A Step-by-step guide

Save money and learn how to make yogurt at home

Once you learn how to make your own yogurt, you’ll never want to buy from the grocery again. Not only does it save you some money, it’s also super easy to make.

Here’s what you’ll need:

half a gallon of milk (ideally whole or 2% milk for thicker yogurt)
half a cup of plain, unflavored yogurt (look for “Live Active Yogurt Cultures” in the ingredients list)
jam, fruit, honey, etc. for flavoring
a heavy pot (a Dutch oven is ideal) with a lid
a spatula
a measuring cup
awhisk
a candy thermometer

Photo: Pixabay

Here are the steps to make your own yogurt.

Step 1: Heat the milk

Pour the milk into the Dutch oven and set over medium to medium-high heat, stirring to prevent the milk from burning. Warm it to right below boiling—around 185ºF or 85ºC. If you don’t have a thermometer, just stir until your milk starts to froth.

Step 2: Cool the milk

You can do this by placing the Dutch oven in a cold water bath, stirring occasionally to prevent the milk from forming. You want to cool it until the milk is 110ºF (43ºC), but any temperature between 120ºF (49ºC) and 90ºF (32ºC) is good.

Read the rest of the instructions on the next page.

Step 3: Prepare your yogurt

Take a cup of the warm milk and pour into the yogurt. Whisk until smooth.

Step 4: Add yogurt

Add the yogurt into the milk. Whisk gently.

Step 5: Cover the Dutch oven

You want to keep your milk at around 110ºF, so you can place your milk in a turned-off oven to keep it warm, leaving the light on. Wrap the pot in towels to keep the Dutch oven insulated.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Step 6: Let the yogurt set

Leave it for at least 4 hours, but you can go as long as overnight.

Step 7: Cool the yogurt

Once the yogurt has set, remove from oven. You can whisk your yogurt gently to give it a more consistent texture. Homemade yogurt can keep in the fridge for around 2 weeks.

Step 8: Add optional flavorings

You can sweeten your yogurt with honey, jam, maple syrup, fresh fruit—go experiment! Remember to keep half a cup of yogurt unflavored for your next batch.

That’s it! Enjoy!

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Written by

Cristina Morales

DIYyoghurt