Learn how to make yogurt at home with this step-by-step tutorial. Use a heating pad, a slow cooker, an Instant Pot, and more with one of these easy homemade yogurt methods.
We go through a lot of yogurt in our house. Like applesauce or Energy Bites or Trail Mix, it’s an easy snack to grab.
But we don’t stop there! Yogurt bowls with fresh fruit and granola for breakfast, yogurt in smoothies, and even mixed into baked goods – yogurt is an ingredient in all sorts of things in my kitchen.
So, I was thrilled to learn that you can make homemade yogurt yourself. It’s a big frugal win for something we eat all the time!
Anyone who is looking to save money should consider learning how to make yogurt because it can save you TONS of money!
REASONS TO MAKE YOGURT AT HOME
Now that I’ve learned how to make yogurt at home, I’ll never go back! Here are several reasons why you should consider trying it too:
- It’s really easy. Just heat, stir, and wait.
- It’s mostly hands-off. You’re not stuck in the kitchen!
- You can adjust the level of tartness.
- You can flavor it however you want, and you control the sweetener.
- It’s much cheaper to make it yourself!
- Plus, there are several methods to make it, without a yogurt maker. Find which method works for you and run with it!
HOMEMADE YOGURT INGREDIENTS
You only need two basic ingredients for this homemade yogurt recipe:
- Warm milk (preferably whole cow’s milk) **. Any type of dairy milk will work. Using a higher fat milk like whole milk will give you thicker, creamier yogurt than low-fat or skim milk.
- Yogurt starter. This can be an actual yogurt starter culture like this or existing cultured yogurt. I usually get store-bought yogurt, which also helps the finished homemade yogurt to turn out thick and creamy. Look for the words “live active cultures” in the ingredients list.
** You can make a non-dairy milk yogurt, but the process is different. Please don’t follow this tutorial and expect it to be dairy free yogurt because it won’t turn out!
HOW TO MAKE YOGURT AT HOME
There are a few different methods for making whole milk yogurt at home, but I think the heating pad method is the easiest. The only catch is that you need a heating pad that has a MANUAL on/off switch like this one, not an auto-off function.
You certainly can work around this by being home to turn the heating pad back on, but that makes the process a little more hands-on. If that doesn’t bother you though, or if you have a heating pad that doesn’t automatically turn off, heating pad yogurt is a great method!
Step 1. Pour 1 gallon of milk into a large pot.
Step 2. Heat milk on medium high heat until the temperature reads 160F on a thermometer. This kills any bad bacteria in the milk so that only the good bacteria in the yogurt will grow. Whisk the milk occasionally so that it doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pot.
Step 3. Meanwhile, line the counter with a folded towel and the heating pad turned on low.
Step 4. Place four clean glass jars on the heating pad. Measure ¼ cup of cultured yogurt into each glass jar.
Step 5. Remove the milk from the heat when it reaches 160F and allow it to cool slightly, no cooler than 115 degrees. Pour the milk into the glass jars and stir well to combine it with the warmed yogurt.
Step 6. Cover the jars with 2 towels, creating an incubation station.
Step 7. Allow the yogurt to culture for 8-24 hours before moving the jars to the fridge to cool. The yogurt will get a thicker texture the longer you let it ferment.
Step 8. Enjoy thick, creamy, and delicious homemade yogurt!
Store yogurt in jars or airtight containers in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.
You can save a cup of your homemade yogurt to use as the starter for your next batch. If after a few batches your yogurt starts to taste not as tangy or takes longer to culture, it means the bacteria have weakened a bit. Just switch back to a cup of store-bought yogurt for the next batch.
HOW TO MAKE YOGURT USING OTHER METHODS
If you don’t have a heating pad, you can make yogurt yogurt using one of the following:
- Cooler
- Oven
- Slow cooker
- Instant Pot
- Dehydrator
The instructions are basically the same:
Step 1. Warm the milk.
Step 2. Add the yogurt starter and stir well.
Step 3. Divide into jars (optional) and let it culture for 8-24 hours.
WHERE your yogurt cultures is the only thing that’s different:
- Cooler. You’ll want to use a large cooler and add a pot of boiling water, then close the lid. That’s what will keep the temperature steady and warm.
- Oven. Keep the oven light on. This warm environment is the same reason why I use the oven light for the first rise in my Einkorn Sourdough Bread.
- Slow cooker. The lowest setting possible will keep it warm. Do be careful that your low setting isn’t medium heat… if the temperature is too warm, the yogurt won’t thicken and could burn instead.
- Instant Pot. Follow the directions that came with your machine. Many models like this one come with a specific “yogurt” function where it does the whole process for you, from heating to incubating!
- Dehydrator. Place the jars inside and set the temperature to 100-105F. I have this dehydrator that won’t work for this recipe, but if you have a model where you can remove the trays, you can easily fit the jars inside!
HOW TO MAKE YOGURT FLAVORED
You can add flavors to homemade plain yogurt AFTER the initial culture. You can easily add fresh fruit or sweeten it with maple syrup or honey. If you like vanilla yogurt, consider vanilla bean powder or vanilla-flavored stevia!
Mix any flavors in after culturing and before you put the yogurt into the fridge, or simply add them to a single serving as you dish the yogurt out.
YOGURT RECIPES
Now that you’ve made homemade yogurt, you can enjoy a bowl plain or use it in one of these yogurt recipes!
- 3-Ingredient Yogurt Popsicles
- Best Green Smoothie Recipe for Beginners
- Fruit and Yogurt Parfait with Granola
- Homemade Caesar Dressing (Without Using Mayo)
- I also use it to make the dressing for my Costco-Copycat Sweet Kale Salad
- Oatmeal Pancakes
- Applesauce Muffins
- Use yogurt as an egg substitute
- You can also make Greek yogurt
HOW TO MAKE YOGURT FROM YOGURT FAQS
How long does homemade yogurt last?
The longer the culture time, the longer homemade yogurt will last. I usually make four quarts of yogurt at a time with a full 24 hours, and it lasts me a month. If you won’t be able to eat it all before it goes bad, here’s how to freeze yogurt.
How to make yogurt from yogurt?
The live cultures in the starter or existing yogurt that you add to the warm milk grow throughout the whole batch during the culturing time because of the warm temperature. Those good bacteria provide all sorts of health benefits too!
How do you make thick yogurt at home?
The longer the ferment, the thicker the yogurt will be. If you want it to be super thick, make sure you let it culture for a full 24 hours! You can also strain yogurt with a cheesecloth using this tutorial for Greek yogurt.
Is it cheaper to make yogurt at home?
If you eat a lot of it, yes! One gallon of homemade yogurt costs as much as a gallon of milk and one cup of yogurt. I can get a gallon of whole milk for $3 at ALDI, and a cup of yogurt for about $1. That means I can make one gallon of yogurt for $4.
Compare this to the $4 it costs to buy one 32-ounce container of yogurt at the grocery store. You can save 75% – or $12 – every month!
Choosing what to make from scratch is one of the tips that I teach in my course Grocery Budget Bootcamp. Enrollment is currently closed, but If you need help saving on groceries, sign up here for the FREE Fight Inflation Workshop. I can’t wait to share three AMAZING sessions focused on saving money on groceries NOW – despite the rising cost of food!
MORE KITCHEN TUTORIALS
- How to Soak and Cook Dried Beans from Scratch
- Slow Cooker Chicken Stock
- How to Make Ice Cream Without a Machine
- Ultimate Guide to Freezing Bread and Other Baked Goods
- How to Make a Sourdough Starter
Fight Inflation Workshop!
Sign up for my FREE Fight Inflation Workshop and learn simple strategies to save money, even with rising food costs!WATCH HOW TO MAKE YOGURT
How to Make Yogurt
Learn how to make yogurt at home with this step-by-step tutorial. Use a heating pad, a slow cooker, an Instant Pot, and more with one of these easy homemade yogurt methods.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 24 hours
- Total Time: 24 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 quarts 1x
- Category: Snacks
- Method: Bowl
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 gallon of whole milk
- 1 cup whole yogurt
Instructions
- Pour 1 gallon of milk into a large pot.
- Heat milk on medium high heat until the milk reads 160F on a thermometer.
- Meanwhile, line the counter with a folded towel and heating pad turned on low.
- Line four clean glass jars on the heating pad. Measure ¼ cup of cultured yogurt into each glass jar.
- Remove the milk from the heat when it reaches 160F and allow it to cool to no cooler than 115 degrees. Pour into glass jars and stir well to combine warm milk with warmed yogurt.
- Cover the jars with 2 towels, creating an incubation station.
- Allow yogurt to culture for a full 24 hours before moving the jars to the fridge to cool.
- Enjoy thick, creamy, and delicious homemade yogurt!
Notes
How to make yogurt using other methods:
The recipe is basically the same:
1. Warm the milk.
2. Add the starter and stir well.
3. Divide into jars (optional) and let it culture for 8-24 hours.
**Step 3 – WHERE your yogurt cultures – is the only thing that’s different:
- Cooler. You’ll want to use a large cooler and add a pot of boiling water. That’s what will keep the temperature steady and warm.
- Oven. Keep the oven light on. (The same reason why I use the oven light for the first rise in my einkorn sourdough.)
- Slow cooker. The lowest setting possible will keep it warm. Do be careful that your low setting isn’t medium heat… if the temperature is too warm, the yogurt won’t thicken and could burn.
- Instant Pot. Follow the directions that came with your machine. Many models like this one come with a specific “yogurt” function where it does the whole process for you, from start to finish!
- Dehydrator. Place the jars inside and set the temperature to 100-105F. I have this dehydrator that won’t work for making yogurt, but if you have a model similar to this one where you can remove the trays, you can easily fit the jars inside!
Nutrition
- Calories: 118
I love your site and all the great recipes and tutorials!! I’ve been doing the yogurt for a while now, so easy and so delish!
I’m wondering: have you done DIY sour cream or cream cheese?
Thank you Tess! I haven’t made my own sour cream or cream cheese yet, but I’d like to someday!
The very very easiest way to make yogurt is with ultra filtered Natrel milk & an Instant pot. Whisk a couple of scoops of yogurt with probiotics with 3 qt. cold milk. Push yogurt button leave it alone for 6-12 hours (depending on how strong you like it). Strain out the whey (the longer you strain it the thicker it gets). That’s it that’s all. No heating-no cooling & no babysitting it
I am excited to try your recipe, but I have a question:
Can I use cream to make yogurt?
I have frozen raw cream stored in the fridge. Being alone, I can’t use the large containers of milk my farmer sales. So I stored this away last week to make kefir, but would rather have yogurt!
Thanks for your help
I am so happy to have found this heating pad method, and I can totally see how easy it might be once I try it! I actually have a yogurt maker, but it uses five 6oz jars. My kids can eat it all up in a day, so I have to make it daily! If I’m too tired or I forget, there’s no yogurt for school lunches and they get home hangry. The yogurt maker uses just a very gentle, barely there sort of heat. I can definitely recreate that with a heating pad and a pot! – and then maybe I can make three or four 1-litre mason jars at a time. So excited!
I’m so excited for you, Cindy! I hope this makes it all easier for you! ♥
I love these ideas!!! My daughter first got me into the natural, healthy thinking, and I’m slowly being converted. lol It takes me a while to make changes, but this method of heating pad, and oven light sounds right down my alley of simple, tried and true!!
Really want to make homemade yogurt! I am wondering why heat the milk to 160 degrees when it has to be about 115 to incubate?
Hi Greta,
We’re not 100% sure – that’s been the industry standard for quite some time. You could try the lower temp and see what happens. Circle back to let us know. 🙂
My family makes Greek yogurt all the time and it is delicious! Our recipe is similar to this but differs in two ways:
First, we use the oven light to cook the yogurt! It’s so simple! We make ours in the evening, and then line the oven rack with a couple of towels, and wrap the pot too. The power of just the oven light cooks the yogurt to perfection overnight. Second, we strain our yogurt. Once it comes out of the oven, we plop it into a strainer lined with a non terry cloth towel, and set it in a bowl in the fridge for a couple of hours. Our favorite toppings are honey and homemade granola!
I love the oven light method Mandy! I would totally to this, except our lightbulb went out, lol.
I learned how to make yogurt about a year ago. I make a gallon of it at a time. I use the heat pad method in my utility sink in the laundry room. I put down a folded towel the heat pad and then surround my full jars with pillows and even top it off with a pillow. I make sure I use quality yogurt with as many cultures as possible and it has never failed. A smoothie is about the only way I can get my husband to eat both yoghurt and fresh / frozen fruit! I like mine for breakfast with a little homemade jam stirred in.
I know this is an old post, but I’m just getting into the homemade bread, yogurt, and butter. Do you know if I can use milk that is about to go out of date or do I need fresh milk? Does the fermenting help preserve it? If so, this would be even better since we hardly ever finish a whole gallon of milk.
Hi Janell! Yes, you can use milk that’s about to expire. The fermenting changes the bacteria in the milk, so “bad” bacteria is replaced with “good” and it’ll be good in the fridge for 3-4 weeks (at least mine is). When I first started making yogurt, I’d buy a gallon, make yogurt with half (for smoothies & general eating) and leave the rest for drinking & coffee. That method worked great – just when it was about to go bad, we’d finish it up!
I don’t suppose you can make this with already spoiled milk? I have 3/4 gallon of raw milk that just turned because my milk-loving son (would go thru a gallon a week himself!) overnight decided he didn’t like the taste of milk. AAARGGHH!! Such a waste! I’m pretty sure I can’t use it, but thought I’d take a long shot.
I’ve never made it with spoiled milk before, but you could turn it into buttermilk or just make a big batch of something that uses milk. 🙂
I’d like to start making my own yogurt! The heating pad method seams great, however I live on a boat and during the winter I would not want to give up that much electricity (only have 30 amps- enough to run 2 electric heaters). My oven has no light (propane oven). Anyone out there have some creative ideas for me? I’m going to try both the heating pad and crockpot methods while it’s warm out 🙂
What about putting the culture near the heaters? You can also use the cooler method: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2012/05/29/making-homemade-yogurt-easy-picture-tutorial/
Side note – My husband would LOVE to live on a boat!
I am not on the grid, so making yogurt using electric would not be the best way to do it. Some mention doing it in the oven. Where will I find the directions for making it that way?. I love yogurt and would love to try making my own.
Barbara, I make yogurt in the oven, it’s really easy. I make my yogurt as usual and then put it in either a quart jar or split it between pint jars. I put the lids on the jars and place it in the oven as close to the oven light as I can get them. I leave them in the oven over night with ONLY the light on. The next morning I move them to the fridge. If I want Greek yogurt I strain it for a few hours before putting it in the fridge.
I need to be on low fat diet due to health issues. I use 1% milk for cooking & drinking. I buy 32 oz containers of non-fat Dannon yogurt & add my own fruit. Would like to try making my own yogurt. Can you use 1% milk to make your own yogurt?
Aww making yogurt seems so simple. I believe I will get my husband to help me this weekend and make a batch using the heating pad. He has a Poultry Science degree and has made yogurt and sour cream while in college, so I will be putting him to the test of helping me. 🙂 Can’t wait to try homemade yogurt, I love the stuff.
I think your honey has earned another do on his “honey-do” list. 😉
I’ve been making yogurt for almost a year now. I began with an Easiyo yogurt maker which quit working after a few months, I don’t think it was maintaining the needed warmth. Then I went to the heating pad method. About a month ago I switched to the oven method. I also switched to using pint Mason jars instead of quart jars. I fill my jars and set them on a baking sheet on the center rack of the oven as close to the oven light as I can get them. I leave the light on (oven OFF) over night and in the morning I have yogurt. I can then strain it but I really don’t need to, after refrigerating for a few hours, the yogurt is so firm I think I could hold the jar upside down without it pouring out, but I don’t want to take the chance that I spill any.
Most other tutorials I have read recommend heating only to 110 degrees. Seems like 180 would kill the good stuff???
Hi Jennifer,
If you’re starting with raw milk, heating to 110 preserves the healthy enzymes. If your milk is pasteurized, it’s already been heated high enough to kill the enzymes anyway, so heating it again to 180 won’t matter. 🙂
Aha. Thanks!!
On making your own yogurt, you mention milk powder in your method of preparation, but do not mention milk powder in your ingredients. How much milk powder do you use also?
I stopped used powdered milk in the prep and removed it from the ingredients, but forgot to take it out of the instructions. Thanks for the catch Willi!