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I seriously had no idea that making yogurt could be so easy. I really didn’t know. I feel betrayed and left behind. But now I’ve come into the light! Annie eats lots of yogurt. Barry and I don’t hate it either. It’s pretty yummy stuff, especially over some granola. But, I keep doing this thing where I read ingredient labels at the grocery store…..and then I get mad. And then I start talking to myself. And yes, the stock boy thinks I’m losing my mind. There is tons of junk in the yogurt you buy in the store! It’s true……and it’s dirty. Really, how can you mess yogurt up? And when you see how easy this is, you’ll start making your own. And you’ll KNOW what’s in your yogurt. And the stock boy will forget all about you – or at least I hope so. Get your crock pot and milk out and let’s culture! I love diversity. |
I used whole milk. We like full fat dairy, as you’ve already read. But you can use whatever milk you so desire. But trust me, the whole milk yogurt will just blow your mind. Pour ½ gallon of milk right into your crock pot. I used a 5 quart crock. Isn’t crock a fun word to say? |
You need to cook it on low for 2 ½ hours, if you’re using a 2 quart crock. If you’re using a larger crock, you’ll need to cook it 2 hours and 45 minutes. If you don’t, you’ll get “springy” yogurt. Crock. Crock. Bahahahahahaha! Okay, sorry. |
Choose your sweeteners. I used honey, REAL maple syrup, and vanilla. You can use sugar or stevia, just whatever floats your boat. You can also vary the flavor by using different extracts. I love vanilla though. We’re very close. Total, you’ll need ¾ cup to 1 cup of sweetener (I used ¾ cup) and 1 tablespoon of vanilla. Mix it into your milk with a whisk after you’ve cooked it for 2 ½ hours (or more). If you want plain yogurt, you can just leave this step out. We like our yogurt sweet though. If I need plain “yogurt” I just substitute kefir. |
You need to turn off the crock pot and unplug it. Why unplug? Because if you don’t, Annie will run by and turn the dial…..yes, it happens. The child loves buttons and dials. Let the milk cool in your crock pot, with the lid on, for three hours. |
There are too many times going on here. I had to make a note to remember when my yogurt was done. I’m really big on making lists. |
After three hours, remove 1 cup of the milk mixture and put it in a bowl. You’re going to add ½ cup of yogurt that has ACTIVE LIVE CULTURES in it. Dannon is a good brand for that. You’ll be able to see if it has live cultures by reading the label. After this, you’ll never have to buy yogurt again. Isn’t it liberating? I had this left over from Greek Yogurt that I made. |
Whisk it very well, then add the whole mixture back to your crock pot. Give it a good stir. Put the lid back on. |
Wrap your crock pot in two really thick towels. It’s going to sleep all night long and we don’t want it to get cold. Give it a kiss and a hug and go to bed. Nighty-night yogurt! You’ll leave it alone to rest for 8-12 hours. |
When you wake up, it will be done! It’s a miracle! You made yogurt! I ran to the bedroom to tell Barry and I stood in the doorway proclaiming “I HAVE MADE YOGURT!” And then I pounded my chest. It felt good. |
You’ll need to let it sit in the fridge for 8 hours to get a really good texture going on. It’s okay to eat some now though……I did. I stored mine in glass jars (of course). |
I went ahead and saved out ½ cup of this batch for making my next batch. That way we won’t accidentally eat it. That would be sad. |
Crock Pot Yogurt
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Hello Stacy, I love this idea. I have had fails in the past so I hope this works but I have a question. When you start the yogurt process in the beginning in the end you have a starter. You will use this starter to start another batch another time. Do you start with a new start everytime to make a new batch or do you use the old starter. I hope this is not a stupide question. Thank you for all you do.
Some people use the former batch. I usually forget. LOL So,I almost always end up using a new starter from the store.
Will this work with Lactaid milk?
I really don’t know.
If I want to make non fat Greek Yogurt, do I need to start with skim milk? Will it have enough fat in it?
Yes and yes!
What happens if you use a sweetened starter? I sweetened my last batch with honey so I would like to use that as my starter instead of having to buy one. Will it not turn out if I used the sweetened starter?
I’ve done it – should work just fine. You just have to make sure the yogurt has “live active cultures” and you’re good to go. 🙂
This might be a silly question, but when you wrap the crock pot in the towels is the lid still on it?
Yep! You need to keep the heat in.
I made the crock pot yogurt, and it turned out perfect. It is now draining so it will be thicker more like a greek yogurt. I put sugar in this batch. I am making the second batch now and I did not add any sweetner to it, I plan on using this as my sour cream. Because to me that is what it taste like. I was going to try the stove top yogurt, but I must confess, I’m an accountant and I work from home and well as most of you know it is tax season, so I didn’t want to have to do anything but set a timer and forget it. Thank you Stacy for all the great tips on being frugal and just doing things for yourself. My son and I made a starter for sourdough bread. We had a blast, that yeast was active and it just over flowed all over everywhere. My son is 12 and he loves to cook, and we both got a good laugh out of our “volcanoe sourdough starter” as it has now been called. And he loves the yogurt too.
Excellent! That is SO good to hear! 🙂 I need to make a batch of yogurt myself….
Argh – trying this today, but i just realized my 8-12 hour window puts me at staying up till midnight, or waking up at 4am – neither of which I want to do – what happens if I leave it for 3 extra hours?
Thank you google – found out is ok for up to 24 hours! sleep in, I shall!
Google saves my butt a lot.
🙂 The only thing is that the longer it cultures the more tart it gets.
Hi Stacy, can this be strained to make Greek yogurt as well? I’m thinking that might help with the runniness.
Yes! 🙂 It can and it works great. Annie doesn’t care for Greek Yogurt though, so I usually just leave it runny if I try this one. The other method that I use (stovetop) makes a thicker yogurt and it’s usually the only one I make now. 🙂
Thank you, Stacy! I think my crockpot may just not be quite up to snuff on the temperature. It has two settings: high, and whatever other temperature it feels like doing that day. I suppose one can’t expect much more for $5 at a thrift store, but it works for making stews, and that’s usually good enough for me :). I think I’ll stick to the stove-top/oven method for yogurt from now on.
Yes…the temperature thing is pretty important. You’ll likely have better success using the stovetop method. 🙂
Help! I put everything in at the right time, and it’s still liquid. What do I do with the half gallon of sweetened lukewarm milk on my counter?
🙁 Sarah, I’m not sure what to tell you. I’ve never had that happen with my crock pot version. I’ve had it happen with my stovetop version when I accidentally added the starter at the wrong time. Here’s a fix that I found at Food That Nourishes: http://foodthatnourishes.blogspot.com/2008/06/what-to-do-to-rescue-yogurt-that-doesnt.html
Ok. What did I do wrong? I did this exact thing, with whole milk even, and…I ended up with sour milk. With little clumps of gross floating in it.
I mean, I tentatively sipped a tiny spoonful of it, and it tasted like yogurt, but I could not get over how absolutely disgusting it looked to actually eat it, and I threw it all away. Four cups (I guess that’s the only thing I did differently, was I halved the recipe, because two people don’t eat that much yogurt) of expensive local whole milk down the drain! 🙁
I really want this to work! Do you think halving the recipe would have messed it up? Or what else do you think might have gone wrong? Or by “it’s thinner than the yogurt in the grocery store” do people really just mean that it’s completely liquid?
HALP!
No, it should not be liquid. I’ve had that problem once when I accidentally added the culture at the wrong time. If I were you, I’d try the other method I posted – it’s the only one I use now. Sometimes different crock pots don’t get the milk up to the right temperature…..and I’m also hesitant to mess with recipes like this (halving them) because I’m afraid it won’t work. Please try the stove top method and see how that works. Rest assured….you’re not the only one who’s made weird milk. 😉 I’m right there with ya.
Here is the other link: http://www.stacymakescents.com/homemade-yogurt
Thanks, Stacy. Yeah, in retrospect I shouldn’t have halved it, but it seemed so very easy and foolproof. Oops! I’m planning on trying the stovetop one next. I just like to fix-it-and-forget-it, ha.
Yay! At least I’m not the only one! ^_^
Well hey……I make mess ups all the time. So if you ever need a pick-me-up, you can come to me for one. 🙂
Stacy you are killing me 🙂 Instead of working, at work, I am devouring more things I want to add to my to do list when I get home 😉 (As if there is enough time in one day). I was reading at another blog about crock pot yogurt, then thought I remembered seeing you do this, and BAM, another hour of my work day sucked into something way more interesting than work 🙂
🙂 It’s a great way to start out. I make my the traditional way now and I like it a lot better. That recipe will come up soon. 🙂 Go back to work. Ha, ha!
Stacy, have you tried doubling this recipe? When I made mine it was really thin so I had to strain it and it didn’t leave us with very much. I was wondering if I could double it or if that would change the cooking time or anything. Also, I read online that it’s best to use pasturized (not ultrapasturized) milk but am not having much luck in finding any. I’m wondering if that is one reason it was so thin. Any thoughts?
Angie, I used milk from the grocery store and it worked fine. It’s not as thick as the store bought version of yogurt, but it was just fine for us. Plus, I know what was in it and nothing weird got added. I haven’t doubled it, but anytime you do something like that in the crock pot, it can mess with the times, etc.
I do know that I’ve read you can add powdered milk to get a thicker texture. That sounds like what you’re looking for. For a half gallon of milk you’ll need 1 cup of powdered milk. Just whisk it into the milk at the beginning of the recipe. I hope that works for you! 🙂
Yay- I can’t wait to try this one! I do have a question… I’m sure it won’t last long, but- do you know how long it will keep? Also, how long does the starter keep before you make a new batch? Thanks for sharing!!
Yogurt keeps a long time. It’s been “cultured.” My current batch is two weeks old and still going strong.
Can this cultured yogurt be stored in the freezer?
I have never stored yogurt in the freezer. Some dairy freezes well, but I usually don’t like the end result. 🙂
Excited about this. I didn’t even think about trying this, probably because I’m not much of a yogurt eater (texture thing, I think?) However, my husband eats it every day (M-F) and a few of my children like it too – so we go through 25+ a week. Although, I usually don’t let my children eat it frequently because it’s expensive, even though I purchase it on sale AND use coupons. Now, all I have to do, is get the “strawberry” flavor spot on and I’ll be set. Thanks, Stacy 🙂
p.s. Looking forward to the non-crock pot yogurt recipe, too.
This sounds awesome! We love yogurt and I need it for my health’s sake. this is going to save me so much money! thank you, Stacy!
I made yogurt earlier this week. I tried the crock pot method last year with 1% milk and it was pretty runny. I had to strain it to get it to be thick enough to eat. But the full fat non crock method I used this week was wonderful. I’m not a patient person, so I enjoyed getting the yogurt completely made in less than 4 hours. I wasn’t sure how much sweetener to add and which ones might cause the yogurt to not set up right, so I experimented. I used agave and sugar in different quarts. They both set up great. My boys would have liked it sweeter, but a spoonful of homemade jam makes it perfectly sweet.
hmmm I may try making this soon! Thanks!
Seriously, I can not believe this!!!!! THANK you for sharing.