I shared my experience with you the very first time I made my own crockpot yogurt over a year ago. Since then, I’ve figured out a few tricks and changed my methods so I now have a recipe to share with you!
Learn the Easy Steps to Make Homemade Crockpot Yogurt
Because it was a frugal experiment, I didn’t include my own recipe (I didn’t have one of my own just yet!). Instead, I linked to the recipe I used, which has now been taken offline.
So I figured it was about time I dedicated an entire post to my current crockpot yogurt recipe, as opposed to what I have been doing for the last few months… which is just directing people to my recipe in the comments (serious blogger shame moment, right there!)
You’ll like this recipe. It is cheap, easy, and extremely delicious! Put that slow cooker to use and make up a batch of your own homemade yogurt today!
🍓 Ingredients
If you’ve never made homemade yogurt before, you’re in for a real treat. We’ve already talked about the fact that it saves you money, but it also tastes fantastic as well. Let’s talk about the main ingredients you’re going to need to make your own yogurt in your slow cooker.
Milk: Milk is an and important ingredient because it makes your yogurt nice and silky smooth. The yogurt will turn out extra creamy if you use full-fat milk.
Sugar: You don’t need a ton of sugar, just a little bit to sweeten the yogurt up some. You could use your favorite sugar substitute or even honey.
Yogurt: To properly make yogurt, you do need to have at least an 8 oz yogurt starter. Any brand or variety of yogurt that you like will work perfectly for this.
Vanilla: A teaspoon of vanilla will make this yogurt extra yummy!
Cost Breakdown:
½ Gallon of Whole Milk: $1.95 Yogurt Starter (small container of store brand yogurt): $0.59 Sugar: $0.12 Vanilla: $0.06 Total First-time Cost: $2.72 for 48 ounces of yogurt.
Notes:
The total cost goes down to $2.13 after the first time since I can use the homemade yogurt as the yogurt starter.
Your cost may be lower. A gallon of milk costs about $4 in my area – so ½ gallon is a little under $2.
Homemade Crockpot Yogurt vs. Store Bought Yogurt Cost Comparison:
Equivalent amount of store-bought yogurt (1 ½ 32-oz containers): $3.43 Homemade first-time cost: $2.72 Homemade cost after first time: $2.13
After the first batch, your savings are $1.30 per batch.
If you go through one batch of yogurt per week, you’ll save $67.60 per year.
Here’s how to make your own!
How to Make Yogurt in the Crockpot
Economical and healthy option of how to make the yummiest yogurt in the crockpot.
1 8 oz yogurtsingle serve to use as a yogurt starter
1tbs vanilla
Instructions
Turn crockpot on low and pour in milk. Cover lid and let cook for 2 hours.
After the 2 hours, turn crock pot off and unplug. Leave lid on and let cool for 2 hours.
Pour yogurt starter in small bowl. Stir in vanilla extract and sweetener of choice. Ladle ½ cup of warm milk into a bowl. Stir gently until combined.
Pour into crockpot and combine using a gentle back and forth motion with the spoon or spatula to incorporate yogurt into the milk. Replace the lid. Leave crockpot off and wrap with a towel (I used two towels to make sure it is well insulated). Let sit overnight, for 12 to 18 hours.
Line colander with coffee filters and place colander over large bowl to catch the whey that will drain from the yogurt. Pour yogurt into colander, and transfer colander and bowl to fridge for 6 hours. the yogurt with thicken as the whey drains.
If you’d like to, save the whey for other purposes, like adding into homemade smoothie packs!
This recipe makes four to six cups of yogurt, depending on the desired thickness of the yogurt and the amount of whey you allow to drain from the yogurt.
Tips from readers:
I grabbed these tips from the comment section of the original, so I haven’t personally tried them, but they seem like great ideas for a thicker yogurt.
Add a pack of unflavored gelatin for a much thicker consistency
Add ½ cup of dried milk to the starter mix for a thicker yogurt
Tips from me:
Save ½ cup of prepared yogurt to use as the starter in your next batch.
If you’d like to use the yogurt for other uses such as a base for a dressing, dip or a marinade, leave out the sweeteners and vanilla. This allows you to get double the use out of your batch of yogurt! However, you will have to sweeten to taste when serving.
If the yogurt doesn’t thicken enough, allow it to drain longer. The more whey that is removed from the yogurt, the thicker the consistency will be.
Answers to some common questions:
If you can’t find plain yogurt, you can use vanilla.
You can use milk with a lower fat content, however, your yogurt may not be as thick.
You can use this recipe to make Greek style yogurt. You’ll need to use a cheesecloth instead of coffee filters when draining, and you’ll have to let it drain longer, probably overnight, which turns this into a 2-day-ish process (hence why I don’t take that route very often!)
If you have made your own crockpot yogurt, please share your tips and tricks in the comments below!
About Ginny
Hi! My name is Ginny and I know how busy life can be! I am a mom working hard to prepare healthy meals for my family that is always on the go!
This is now sitting under there blankets. Thank you for sharing!
Awesome!! Enjoy!