Make Yogurt In Your Crock Pot
Edited on 10/5/09 to add: Since posting this I have also discovered that you can make raw yogurt on your counter top, without the use of a crock pot or yogurt maker. All you need is a starter and the super clear directions that come with it. Not only is it easier since you simply leave it on your counter top, but you also retain the benefits of the raw enzymes! You can find culture starters here.
I have tried other methods for making yogurt, but this is by far the easiest. I originally got this idea from Stephanie and use her basic recipe. Making your own yogurt is a frugal way to get some good probiotics into your family.
Here is the cost savings breakdown for us:
- Before: we would buy organic plain yogurt from Trader Joe’s: $3/quart
- Now: I make it out of our grass-fed raw milk from the farmer: $1.75/quart
- Savings = $1.25/quart x 2/week = savings of $2.50/week = savings of $130/year
Trader Joe’s is the cheapest organic yogurt you can find. The health food store sells it for $4.50/quart. For me, it is definitely worth the savings to do the five minutes of total work involved in making yogurt in the crock pot.
Crock Pot Yogurt
Recipe notes: This recipe uses a 2 quart crock. In using a 4 or 4 1/2 quart crock I found the yogurt to have a bit of a "springy" texture. I was able to alleviate this by heating the milk an additional 15 minutes for a total of 2 hours and 45 minutes.
- Turn your crock pot to low and pour in 1/2 gallon of milk.
- Heat on low for 2 hours and 30 minutes.
- Once 2 hours and 30 minutes have elapsed turn your crock pot off and unplug it. Let the milk cool in the crock with the lid on for 3 hours.
- After 3 hours remove 1-2 cups of the warmed milk and place in a bowl. To that add 1/2 cup of yogurt with live active cultures and mix very well.
- Pour the yogurt-milk mixture back into the milk and whisk thoroughly.
- Place the cover back on the crock and wrap the entire crock pot in a thick bath towel or two.
- Let it culture overnight, 8-12 hours.
- In the morning stir yogurt (if desired) and store in glass quart jars or a container of your choice.
- For optimum texture, refrigerate for at least 8 hours before using.
I’ve never done this and have actually been thinking about it. It seems so easy! I’ll be back to write all down. Thanks!
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i agree that homemade yogurt is so easy and worth the little bit of time for the monetary savings, but i didn’t like the crock pot method. i just heat then cool and incubate in my little cooler.
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Wow. Out of all the biblical womanhood frugal friday links, yours stuck out to me. Yogurt in the crockpot? Cool!
This sounds like it would be really really simple. I may have to give it a try.
Do you just leave the whole amount plain then add what you like when you eat or use it?
Thanks for this post, I’ll have to go check out stephanies post also.!.
I’ve never tried the crockpot method. I use a heating pad and a 1/2 gallon jar. We eat a lot of yogurt here and making it at home is so much healthier and possibly cheaper than store bought for us, but maybe not, because it looks like our raw milk is more expensive in our area than yours.
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This sounds so easy, I’m trying it this weekend.
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Thank you so much for posting your recipe. I can’t wait to give it a try. I also want to say how much I *love* your photos with each post. Very beautiful.
Thanks for the recipe. I am going to give it a try tomorrow.
Writing this one done!! Thanks for sharing!! Have a great weekend!!
Shalom!
down!! LOL……time for bed!! I’ll write it tomorrow!!
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Looks good and sounds very economical! This has been on my to do list, I just need to do it!!!!!
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Can you use skim milk or does it need to be a more fattening kind? Also, you only heat it at the beginning right? After 3 hours of cooling, why wrap it in towels, it will be room temp at that point right? What do the towels do? I want to try this, but can’t figure out how it works, sorry!
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Shannon — If you’re heating the milk up to 180, doesn’t that mean that you’ve killed off any of the living enzymes in the raw milk? They start dying at about 116F. So, it seems like if you’re heating your milk first, you’re essentially pasteurizing it. If that’s the case, why not use pasteurized milk? (I agree unhomogenized is best.)
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Oh, I had the same results as you. I tried to make raw milk yogurt keeping it raw since I’d read about others doing that online, but it came out soooooo runny with a few clumpy spots. We were still able to use it to soak flour (back when I ate bread and made all our own), but it really couldn’t be eaten as yogurt.
We do have access to pastuerized grass-fed milk, though. (Organic Valley Texas Pastures). I use it in my cooking because it’s about $1/gallon cheaper than my raw milk. We save the raw milk to drink.
My husband likes yogurt so much, but it’s expensive, so I don’t actually buy it that often.
I made this yogurt last night. It was not quite as thick as the store-bought stuff, but quite good and I’m so glad that it was wayyyy cheaper!
I have a question–how long would you say this lasts? I don’t think it will last very long, considering how tasty it is (and my yogurt-loving DH), but I guess I’m more concerned about saving a 1/2 cup of it to use on the next batch…at least that’s how I imagine doing it. Is that what you do? Does that work?
I’m hoping not to have to buy yogurt again! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks! I am so excited. My husband thinks I’m nuts, how completely giddy I get over stuff like this….but he doesn’t complain when it all (OK, almost all…I’ve had a few disasters!) tastes sooo good 🙂
Thanks again!
Can we use flavored yogurt? I don’t have any plain on hand, but I will if I need to. I love this way by the way, it’s the easiest I’ve found! I wish there were away without too much heat though!
I just made this yogurt yesterday. I opened up the crock pot this morning and I was shocked! I left it last night as milk and this morning it’s yogurt. I’m thrilled!
This is my first time to make any cultured food, I’m so happy it actually worked. It couldn’t have been easier, thanks for this great recipe!
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THANK YOU! I could live on yogurt… really…
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OK, I tried this out and the results were less than edible. I can tell SOMETHING happened in there, because its no longer milk. Its basically watery goo at this point, the consistency of raw egg white. Any idea what could have gone wrong?
I made this using 2% milk and non fat dannon plain active culture yogurt. Runny? yes – I lined a colander with coffee filters, poured the “soup” in and let it drain for a few hours. Mixed some of the liquid back in to reach the consistency i wanted. It simply “peels” off of the coffee filters. And incredibly yummy!! Cant wait to make my next batch – think i’ll try heating it on the stove top instead of in crock pot (to save time)
okay 2 hours 30 min in my 4 quart crockpot and the milk was burnt smelling and brown around the edges. Soooo disappointed. When you say the “low” setting do you mean low or “keep warm”?
Like Keira, I made this last weekend and also just got a goo slightly thicker than milk, even though I had also added an unflavored gelaton packet to the mix to thicken it. I tried the coffee filter/colander (sp?) trick, and all that accomplished was that I was able to watch it slooowwwly going down the drain…
Could you make yogurt in the crockpot using coconut milk? I’m trying to be as dairy-free as possible. I don’t care if the starter/culture contains a bit of dairy, but I want the bulk of the yogurt to be made from coconut milk, either the canned kind or the new So Delicious kind that comes in 64 oz containers and is intended to be consumed like regular milk.
I make my own yogurt too, although I just let it ferment in a cooler for three hours. Totally easy, cheap, and it produces no trash. I love it!
Mine ferments right in the glass mason jars, so I can just put it right into the fridge after it’s done.
I have made my own yogurt off-and-on for a while now, but last time was a total flop. I think the cultures didn’t stay warm enough. Anyway, I am definitely interested in this method and will be trying it soon! I do have a question though, my crockpot has an insulated carrying case, do you think that would be adequate, or should I still stuff a towel around it inside the case?
How do you flavor the yogurt?
Thanks so much! I look forward to trying this!
Hi! Has anyone ever tried this with a milk alternative such as almond milk, hemp milk, or even coconut milk? I’m curious about the consistency. Also, how long will this homemade yogurt store for?
I’m a bit confused and this may sound stupid … why are you “making yogurt” but still buying plain yogurt at the store?!?!?! Why not just use the yogurt you bought?
Great idea using the crockpot, I actually have a yogurt maker, but this seems really easy also.
Hi, I tried your recipe this week and am passing it along. I wanted to let you know that I linked to you this morning. Thanks for the recipe!!
(Yep! I’m a guy!!!!) I stumbled on this whole series of websites because I was just given a tomato plant….Be My Baby Gene Pool, by name….which I thought was weird as all dickens. A simple Google search found only two references and one was buried deep in homesteadblogger.com. That site led me to………! Well, you all know the seductive paths that can develop from a mere mouse click.
In any event, I had to smile when i saw the note about losing the use of a gas stove with a pilot light. My old Caloric of 40+ years has two, one for the broiler as well, and I discovered this wondefull coincidence of 110 degree temps by accident and have been making yoghurt for years. To answer a few posters questions: I use dry powder fat-free milk and have almost never had a failure.
3 cups of dry milk, few drops of vanilla flavoring, 2 tbsps of sugar (my wife’s preference), enough water to make a little over 7 cups and only a heaping teaspoon of any of a number of commercial yoghurts whisked in…even some with fruit on the bottom although I try to take off only the pure culture.
I have been using re-cycled yoghurt containers for years so that’s the reason for the less-than-1/2 gallon final volume. Pour it in the 8 containers, stick it in my “magic oven” overnight (usually about 8-9 hours) and it’s done.
(Ladies, I really enjoyed your conversations. Glad I found this serendipitously.
Ok, I made this last week. It came out a little thin. I strained it in some muslin over a colander and it came out like greek yogurt which is exactly what I was looking for. So I’m really happy.
A couple things though. I have an oval crock pot and I put it on initially for the 2.5 hours. It smelled a little burnt but looked and ended up tasting fine.
Also looking back over the directions are you supposed to leave the lid on during the initial heating? I did but it doesn’t say. It just mentions letting it cool with the lid on after the initial 2.5 hours. Maybe this is why it smelled burnt? Too hot with the lid on? My crock pot doesn’t have a warm setting. Low, high, or off.
Thanks for any input.
Thank you so much!
I have a really old-school crockpot (it was probably state-of-the-art back in 1976) and I was not sure how my yogurt would come out.
I woke up this morning, checked it out and it was beautiful.
Is this crockpot yogurt adequate for soaking grains?
Thanks.
Thought I’d share my process which has never failed me. It sounds complicated but is not. It takes just under 5 hours from start to finish and makes 10-11 cups of low fat plain yogurt.
Ingredients:
1/2 gal of 1% milk (regular, store bought)
2/3 cup non-fat dry milk powder (makes a thicker yogurt)
1/4 cup Dannon non-fat, plain yogurt
Utensils:
Large stew pot and lid
Large sauce pan
Cooking thermometer (range of at least 100-200 F)
Measuring cup
Whisk
Canning jars and lids (or other containers)
Stirring spoon
Oven (mine has a dehydration mode)
Clean dishtowel
Sink
Process:
I put the canning jars, lids and rings and whisk in a large stew pot with 1 inch of water in the bottom, cover it and bring it to a boil, then boil for 10 minutes. Remove from the stew pot and place on the clean dishtowel. This sterilizes these items. I’m told you could skip this step but it does help ensure the right bacteria are incubated.
Preheat the oven. My oven has a dehydration feature which allows me to set the temperature very low. I set it to 108F which I measured and it holds the oven between ~105 and 120F.
Mix the milk and non-fat dry milk powder in the sauce pan and heat with almost constant stirring to 200F. Use your thermometer to check. Do NOT boil the milk. I’m told you don’t have to heat this high. Hold the milk at 200F for 1o minutes. This entire process takes about 20 minutes.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and place it in the sink with several inches of cold water in it. Stir frequently as the temperature drops. When the temp reaches ~115F, remove the sauce pan from the cold water bath.
Pour ~1 cup into a clean measuring cup. Add ~ 1/4 cup of the Dannon yogurt. Stir gently to distribute the yogurt in the milk. Add this back to the milk in the saucepan. Stir gently to distribute the culture throughout the milk.
Pour the milk mixture into the canning jars. Leave some room at the top to add your flavorings later. Place the lids (and rings) on the jars. Place the jars in the oven and come back in 4 hours. It will be done. Cool on the counter top and then store in the refrigerator.
It keeps for several weeks.
This creates a yogurt with the consistency very similar to the major store bought brands. You can stir in whatever flavoring you like: jam, chocolate syrup, maple syrup, orange juice, malted milk powder, fresh fruit, vanilla, lemon juice, whatever strikes your fancy.
Can you describe step-by-step how you make yogurt in a cooler? Thanks!
Pamela
I made this last night for the first time and it turned out perfect. I’ve made yogurt on the stovetop several times and had varied results but generally not great. This was so much easier! I was a little nervous so I used my candy thermometer to check the temps and the milk was at 185 deg at 2.5 hours in the crockpot and exactly 110 after three hours of cooling. Perfect!
Thanks so much for a great recipe.
I made this last weekend and added a step to make it Greek Style (thicker) and I am now addicted to the stuff. I will most likely be making it again this weekend. It was way too delicious and easy.
Thank you so much, I never would have thought it could be that easy!
Hey all,
If you get watery goo as some call it – slightly thicker than milk but not the smell of taste of yoghurt – chances are you heated it too high at the initial step and killed your yoghurt culture.
I’m not sure the active bacterium in your yoghurt would replicate in any alternative milk to cow’s milk. I’d doubt it would thicken.
Speaking of thickening, I’ve made this yoghurt many times and its great. What could I add to thicken it though? Could cornstarch work?
-L
WHEN DO YOU ADD THE FLAVORS/SWEETENERS/FRUIT THAT YOU PREFER? I.E.-HONEY, BERRIES, ETC.