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All Day I Dream About Food

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March 9, 2010

Astonishingly easy homemade yogurt

This post may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Ask me what I did this weekend. Go on, ask me! Well, let’s see. I did some grocery shopping, had some friends over and…oh yes, that’s right, I made yogurt in my crockpot. No, really, I did! And it’s good. Really, really good. And easy. Really, really easy. I may never buy store-bought yogurt again.

I must give credit where credit is due. I never would have thought of making my own yogurt, but we eat so much of it that my husband wondered aloud one day whether we could make it ourselves. I rather shrugged it off, assuming it would be either quite difficult, or that it would involve a pricey piece of kitchen gadgetry. Now, let’s be clear, I have nothing against kitchen gadgetry, but we already own quite a bit of it. There are the standard kitchen workhorses, such as my KitchenAid stand mixer (oh, how I love you!), and our KitchenAid food processor (second in my heart only to the mixer). And then there are the myriad single-purpose items that live in the basement, take up space, and don’t see a whole lot of use (Froth and Sauce, anyone?).

But I guess the idea stuck with me and out of curiousity one day, I googled “homemade yogurt”, expecting all recipes to end with “and process in yogurt-maker according to manufacturer’s directions”. To my surprise, there were a number of sites indicating how to make yogurt without a yogurt-maker. As it turns out, all a yogurt-maker really does is incubate the milk/live culture mix at the right temperature until it thickens and the cultures multiply. There are other low-tech ways to do this, the easiest of which is in your crockpot. I found the best directions for it from a website called A Year of Slow Cooking, a really great blog with wonderful ideas and recipes for your slow cooker. I combined those directions with information from the Fias Co. Farm website about adding powdered milk to get a thicker consistency.

Now for the best part: several websites even had tips for making greek yogurt. Words cannot describe how much I love greek yogurt. This thick, creamy stuff saw me through the hard times of battling gestational diabetes, as its higher protein and lower carb content made it a perfect snack. I became a Chobani devotee, eating their plain yogurt with berries and nuts every day. I feel I owe them a debt of gratitude for their product. However, this won’t stop me from making my own and no longer buying theirs!

The results: I wasn’t certain it would work, especially since I accidentally set my crockpot to high when it was supposed to be on low. But it did work, and how! It is a lengthy process, but it take very little actual effort. The regular yogurt is almost identical in taste and consistency to store-bought plain yogurt, and my husband has been having it every morning for breakfast. Even the kids were diggin’ it with some strawberries and a little sugar. But the greek-style…oh, this is heavenly! I’d say it’s even better than my beloved Chobani – it’s a little less tangy, and wonderfully creamy and thick.

I am still reeling with astonishment at how well this worked, how little effort it took, and how we can now afford to support our family yogurt addiction in style. Chobani, you were good to me, and you will forever have a special place in my heart. We had a great relationship while it lasted. It’s not you, it’s me. I’ve discovered crockpot yogurt and I just can’t go back. I know you will make some other gestational diabetic a very happy woman. Unless, of course, she too discovers crockpot yogurt.

Homemade Crockpot Yogurt

1/2 gallon milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup powdered, non-fat milk
1/2 cup storebought yogurt (be sure it has certified active live cultures)

Pour milk into crockpot or slow cooker. Add powdered milk and stir to combine.

Turn crockpot to high for 2 1/2 hours (the original directions said low, but this worked so well for me, it’s what I will continue to do).

Unplug crockpot and let sit for 3 hours. Do not lift lid as this will allow heat to escape.

After three hours,scoop two cups of the milk into a bowl and whisk in storebought yogurt. Put this mixture back into the crockpot and stir to combine. Replace lid.

Wrap the whole, unplugged crockpot in a large, thick bath towel and leave to incubate for 8-12 hours.

Ta da! Homemade yogurt. And for the next go-round, you can use 1/2 cup of your own yogurt as the live culture starter.

For Greek Yogurt: Line a sieve or colander with coffee filters and place over a bowl. Pour in yogurt and let sit on counter or in fridge for 3-4 hours to drain.

Notes: The original batch made about the equivalent of two large containers of store-bought regular yogurt. When making greek yogurt, you get a lot less as you lose significant volume when the liquid (whey) drains out.

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Nutritional Disclaimer

Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.

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Comments

  1. Amanda says

    March 9, 2010 at 10:53 pm

    I'm totally going to try this! We just introduced Lilah to yogurt, and I would LOVE to feed her homemade stuff in stead of store-bought. I guess I don't know as much about yogurt as I thought – what is the difference between regular yogurt and Greek Yogurt?

    Reply
    • Alison R. says

      December 11, 2014 at 8:25 pm

      Greek yogurt is a thicker, more condensed version of traditional yogurt (achieved through the process of straining the liquid portion, or whey, out of the yogurt). As a side note, the whey can be strained off and used to make homemade sauerkraut in place of vinegar.

      Reply
  2. rachel says

    March 18, 2010 at 12:53 pm

    This sounds SO good Carolyn! I'm definitely going to make it soon. MMMmmmmm.

    Reply
  3. The Mixing Bowl Diary says

    November 22, 2010 at 7:59 pm

    have you tried making yogurt from soymilk or almond milk before? If so, any success????

    Reply
  4. Spatzli says

    January 31, 2015 at 12:36 pm

    I love your recipes, but just curious as to why the powdered milk? What does it do to the yogurt? Is it a stabilizer, or make it creamier?

    Reply
    • Carolyn says

      January 31, 2015 at 12:56 pm

      Stabilizer, makes it thicker.

      Reply
  5. Carrie says

    December 21, 2015 at 12:04 am

    This looks great Carolyn… I’m going to try it. Any idea how to count carbs with homemade yogurt?

    Reply
    • Carolyn says

      December 21, 2015 at 7:48 am

      No, but I figure it’s about the same as store-bought. Once you drain a lot of the whey for Greek yogurt, you get fewer carbs.

      Reply
      • Carrie says

        December 27, 2015 at 11:28 am

        Thanks. I’m excited to try!

        Reply
  6. Pollyana says

    September 18, 2017 at 10:44 am

    What would be the nutritional facts for this recipe?

    Reply
    • Carolyn says

      September 18, 2017 at 11:54 am

      No idea! 🙂

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. I Dream of Sahne Yogurt | The Atkins Gourmet says:
    June 13, 2013 at 5:32 pm

    […] for homemade yogurt recipes with cream but couldn’t find  a single one.  So I adapted this recipe from All Day I Dream about Food, which uses a crockpot,  (Carolyn has two posts on homemade […]

    Reply

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