Easiest Yogurt Recipe {Ever!} - TRINA HOLDEN (2024)

Do you wanna make your own rich, creamy yogurt at home? Are you ready for the simplest, easiest yogurt recipe ever? In this post I teach you my system so you can make successful yogurt as soon as today!

Easiest Yogurt Recipe {Ever!} - TRINA HOLDEN (1)

The Easy Way to Make Yogurt

1. Heating. Pour milk into a large sauce pan. The amount you use is up to you–I usually make 3 qts. of yogurt at a time, because that’s about how much we eat of it before it would spoil (your homemade yogurt will last 2-3 weeks.)Heat milk until it’s simmering–bubbles come to the surface, and it begins to form a ‘skin’ on top. Turn milk off.

Easiest Yogurt Recipe {Ever!} - TRINA HOLDEN (2)

3. Sterilizing. Pour the hot milk straight into the jars you want your finished yogurt in. I use gallon or quart jars. Use whatever size you want, but do use glass. I used to sterilize the jars separately, but realized that pouring the scalding hot milk into the jars effectively sterilizes them and saves me–and you!–a whole step! Sterilizing is important to make sure only the good bacteria you’ll add with the starter is what’s alive and growing.

Easiest Yogurt Recipe {Ever!} - TRINA HOLDEN (3)

3. Cooling. Let milk cool until you can comfortably dip your finger into it–warm, but not burning you. (This is about 115 degrees if you must know, but I like skipping the thermometer and just using my finger–saves me another thing to wash.)

If you don’t want to wait the hour or two for the milk to cool, you can hurry up this step by putting your jars into a saucepan or dishpan of cold tap water. I like to do this because this shrinks my yogurt making session to about the length of time it takes me to serve a meal, and I’m less likely to leave the kitchen and forget about it. Just keep checking the milk, because it cools pretty fast this way.

4. Adding Starter. When milk has cooled to a tolerable temperature, it’s time to add your starter. This is simply a bit of plain, store bought yogurt, or yogurt saved from your last batch. You will need 2-3 T. per quart jar, or a half a cup for a gallon. Stir the yogurt gently into the milk in the jars–emphasis on gently–you’re introducing the yogurt to the milk, not incorporating.

Easiest Yogurt Recipe {Ever!} - TRINA HOLDEN (4)

5. Incubating. Cap jar(s), and set into your saucepan or dish pan again. This time, fill the pan up with the hottest water you can get from your tap. You want the hot water to reach up to the level of the milk in the jars. This is how you will incubate your yogurt. Leave on counter 8-12 hours (all day, if you make it in the morning, all night if you make this before bed). At the end of that time, transfer yogurt to fridge to cool.

Easiest Yogurt Recipe {Ever!} - TRINA HOLDEN (5)

The finished yogurt will have thickened and have some separated whey on top. It will firm up further in the fridge.

Is it Really That Easy?

Now, a lot of people ask me if that little hot water bath is enough to incubate the yogurt–“don’t you have to switch out the water?” they wonder. And my answer? No, you don’t. I’ve been using this method of incubating yogurt for 5 years, and never had a batch that didn’t work. So, save yourself the trouble of putting your yogurt in the oven, dehydrator, or wherever else you’ve heard works, and just leave it on the counter (or in the sink) in a pan of water. It works great, I promise.

Special Circumstances:

  • If your house is on the chilly side, you may want to use a cooler as your incubation container–again filling it with hot water up to the level of the neck of the jars–the insulation of the cooler will keep the water and yogurt cozy even if your house isn’t. 🙂
  • It seems the only time this style of incubation doesn’t work is when making less than a quart of yogurt at a time–a small jar or amount just doesn’t hold the heat long enough to give the yogurt a good incubation. If you’re doing smaller jars or less than a quart of milk, again, try the cooler for an incubator, or look into making crockpot yogurt.

Also, if you want to use a thermometer, heat the milk to 185, and cool it to about 115.

Thick, Creamy, Plain Yogurt

The resulting yogurt is so thick and creamy, you’re gonna be amazed. And, you’ll notice I don’t add anything to my yogurt–no sweeteners or flavor. That’s because around here, yogurt is usually a vehicle for fresh or frozen fruit, or other yummy additives, and we find we don’t need the sweetener. If you do want to make a sweeter, vanilla flavored yogurt, you’ll find an equally simple recipe (that tells you the best time to add flavor and sweetner) in my book, Real Fast Food.

One more question I get a lot is…

What kind of milk do you need to use to make yogurt?

Ah, that’s the glory of it, people. This recipe works for raw milk, pasteurized and homogenized milk, and everything in between. Cow milk, Goat milk, Vicuna Milk–it works for all of them. (I haven’t tried the milk from a South American Camel, actually, but this method works for all animal milk!) As I mentioned in my post on What to Do If You Can’t Find or Afford Raw Milk, making store bought milk into yogurt is a great way to make the milk easier to digest, and it can also save you money!

Yogurt with plant or nut based milk is another method, and not one I’m familiar with, so, google away, friend!

Want to learn another fantastic, fermented treat you can make in your own kitchen? Why not try Kombucha?And, yes, I teach people to make kombucha, too–with videos of each step and amazing flavor formulas. My ecourse, Kombucha Made Easy, walks you through step by step–I select a limited number of students every few months–sign up here to be notified when the doors open!

Easiest Yogurt Recipe {Ever!} - TRINA HOLDEN (2024)

FAQs

What is the best milk for homemade yogurt? ›

Pasteurized milk is an excellent choice for making yogurt at home. HTST (High-Temperature Short Time) or Flash Pasteurized milk is heated to 161ºF and held there for 15 seconds. If your bottle of milk is labeled “pasteurized,” it has most likely been treated in this way.

What is the best yogurt to use as a starter for homemade yogurt? ›

A yogurt starter can be from any jar of store bought yogurt that says “active cultures” on the carton. Make sure your yogurt is plain (no sweeteners) and full fat for the best results (though I've heard low fat and even Greek yogurt will work fine as a starter as long as it has active cultures).

What is the best milk for making Greek yogurt? ›

You can use nearly any type of dairy milk to make Greek yogurt, but for best results, we recommend using whole pasteurized milk. Avoid ultra-pasteurized or UHT milk when making yogurt.

What makes Greek yogurt so creamy? ›

You'll notice that Greek yogurt is thicker. That's because whey, the watery liquid you see at the top of regular yogurt, is removed from the Greek variety through the straining process. That extra step gives Greek yogurt a creamier consistency.

How long does it take for raw milk to turn into yogurt? ›

Yogurt is made by heating the milk with a yogurt culture and then left to sit at a warm temperature to help the bacteria grow and cultivate. Raw milk yogurt needs to ferment for a minimum of 8 hours, up to 24 hours, at 110°F (43.3°C).

Can you sweeten milk before making yogurt? ›

If sweeteners are needed, we like to add them after the yogurt is set and chilled. We prefer not to add sugar before culturing to avoid feeding any undesirable bacteria. The beneficial lactic-acid producing flora are naturally well-equipped to feed on lactose, while other less desirable bacteria are not.

Why do you boil milk before making yogurt? ›

1. Pour milk of choice into a double boiler and heat to 180°F. This will kill competing bacteria, and the whey proteins will denature and coagulate to enhance the viscosity and texture of the final product. Maintain temperature for 10 minutes for thinner yogurt, 20 minutes for thicker yogurt.

Why add powdered milk when making yogurt? ›

One of the ways you can get a better firmness in yogurt is to add powdered milk. This increases the volume of milk solids, so the resulting yogurt is thicker.

Can I use sour cream as a yogurt starter? ›

When the milk has cooled to the right temperature, Lucia adds three or four tablespoons of sour cream as a starter for her homemade yogurt's culture, slowly mixing it in. She could also use the right amount of yogurt, taking advantage of her own homemade yogurt if she already had some on hand.

Is it cheaper to make your own yogurt? ›

You can even make yogurt from organic milk and save money. A $5 gallon of milk produces four quarts of yogurt, each of which costs only $1.25. Even if you pay $7 for a gallon of milk, a quart of yogurt made from that milk will only cost you $1.75.

Can you eat unlimited Greek yogurt? ›

Depending on the fat content of the yogurt, the calorie content could vary. Consuming one to two cups of low-fat Greek yogurt daily can be a healthy addition to your diet without making it difficult to maintain your weight.

How is nonfat Greek yogurt made? ›

To make fat-free yogurt, the milk goes through a process called homogenization and straining. After that, flavorings are added to make it tasty. To make sugar-free yogurt, lactose is broken down using enzymes, and sweeteners are added instead of sugar for taste.

What makes Greek yogurt nonfat? ›

The full-fat version is made with whole milk, while the nonfat or fat-free is made with skim. Nutritionally their fat content makes them very different, and while neither nonfat nor full-fat Greek yogurt is bad for you, there are situations where one might be a better choice.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Tyson Zemlak

Last Updated:

Views: 5550

Rating: 4.2 / 5 (43 voted)

Reviews: 90% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Tyson Zemlak

Birthday: 1992-03-17

Address: Apt. 662 96191 Quigley Dam, Kubview, MA 42013

Phone: +441678032891

Job: Community-Services Orchestrator

Hobby: Coffee roasting, Calligraphy, Metalworking, Fashion, Vehicle restoration, Shopping, Photography

Introduction: My name is Tyson Zemlak, I am a excited, light, sparkling, super, open, fair, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.