How to make your own yogurt in a crockpot

I don’t know about you, but I’m a huge fan of yogurt. My stomach doesn’t tolerate lactose very well, so I tend to buy Greek yogurt, which has less lactose and is a bit more expensive. I really wanted to start making my own yogurt, since I eat it for breakfast and as a snack during the day. After doing some research, I found a recipe that I liked and gave it a try. It turned out wonderfully well! I used the DIY crock pot yogurt method – it’s basic, only requires two ingredients, and makes a lot of yogurt. You’ll only spend $5-7 on materials (I’ll break down my costs for you at the end!) and you’ll end up with yogurt for a whole week, if not more. The nice thing about this method is that you can set your yogurt and let it cook itself overnight or while you’re at work. And, if you decide you have enough yogurt, it’s easy to make cheese or dip the rest! So let’s not waste time here. You are going to want to go out and make your own yogurt right after reading this!

What you will need:

• Milk (I used 1%)
• Plain yogurt (I also used 1%) with live cultures
• crock pot (any size, mine is 1.5 quarts)
• dark colored towel or blanket
• Cheesecloth (a clean, unbleached white t-shirt, sheet, or pillowcase will also work)
• strainer

Step 1:

For the milk in the slow cooker. Mine holds 1.5 quarts so I put in 4 cups of milk. Most larger crockpots should hold 8 cups comfortably. Leave a little extra room for the foam you’ll make, as well as the yogurt you’ll need to add.

Step 2:

Cover your slow cooker and turn it on low for about an hour. The milk should reach about 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 3:

Turn off the crockpot and let it sit for about 30 minutes; keep it covered. This should cool the milk to a comfortable 115-120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 4:

Add a small amount of yogurt to the mix to start the process. Since I used 4 cups of milk, I put in 1/4 cup of yogurt. If you used 8 cups of milk, add 1/2 cup and so on. You don’t need to add a lot of yogurt to start the yogurt making process.

Step 5:

Wrap the crockpot with your towel. The key is to make sure it stays warm in a dark, quiet environment. That’s when the bacteria will be most active.

Step 6:

Wait 6 to 12 hours. If you wait a shorter period of time, the yogurt will be more runny and not as acidic. It will have a higher lactose content. Waiting 10 to 12 hours will give you a thicker, stronger yogurt that is similar in taste and consistency to Greek yogurt.

Step 7:

Depending on how thick you like your yogurt, you’ll need to strain it a bit. You’ll notice that it’s still quite runny at this point, but that doesn’t mean you’ve done anything wrong.

I prepared a container to collect the whey and put a small strainer on top to strain the yogurt.

Step 8:

Next, place the cheesecloth over the strainer. I used an old pillowcase for mine. For your yogurt on. Don’t worry if some whey has already separated; it will leak again.

Tip: Whether you choose to use real chiffon or an alternative t-shirt/sheet, make sure the fabric isn’t treated with chemicals and hasn’t been recently washed with detergent. You don’t want your yogurt to taste like soap.

If you want a thicker yogurt, cover this and put it in the fridge. Let it drain for a few hours and you’ll end up with your own homemade Greek yogurt. If you want something similar to plain yogurt, strain it for just half an hour to an hour. You can test it from time to time to see how it shapes up.

Step 9:

Once you’re done, you can collect the serum and store it. Use it in place of milk in smoothies or baking recipes. Maybe one day I’ll try more stuff, but I used it in my protein shakes and it worked wonderfully!

As promised, here is the cost breakdown:

• 1 gallon of 1% milk (pasteurized, not organic): $2.99
• 1 quart of 1% plain yogurt: $2.99
• So for $6, you could make 16 cups of yogurt, or about 16 servings. That’s only about 38 cents for yogurt.

I’m sure I could do this for even less cost if I had found a better brand of milk and yogurt, or if I had a coupon. I’m not a big dairy consumer so I didn’t do much research. Still, I think I did pretty well.

You can also use half of your yogurt ingredients and do something different with the other half: make your own cheese, sauces, frozen yogurt, or do something totally crazy and creative. No matter what you choose, you’ll love experimenting with your own homemade yogurt. You’ll never want to buy yogurt from the store again!