Published: · Modified: by Kristina Tipps · This post may contain affiliate links for which I earn a small commission.
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This simple guide for how to make creamy homemade Greek yogurt without a yogurt maker requires two easy ingredients and a few everyday kitchen items. So ditch the store bought Greek yogurt and make this healthier, more flavorful recipe at home!
"I made this just like you said and it was gone in two days!"
Table Of Contents
- How To Make Greek Yogurt
- Chef's Tips
- Recipe FAQs
- Ways to Use Greek Yogurt
- Recipe
- Recipe Reviews
How To Make Greek Yogurt
Making Greek yogurt at home is not only a less expensive way to enjoy this tasty, snack, it's healthier and super simple to do with just a few basic kitchen tools and 2 ingredients. Knowing how to make yogurt at home is also a feat to brag about because it seems so complicated, but I promise it's not!
What Is Greek Yogurt?
Greek yogurt, also known as strained yogurt, is a type of yogurt that has undergone a straining process to remove a portion of its whey (the liquid component of yogurt). This straining process results in a thicker, creamier yogurt with a higher protein content compared to regular yogurt. Greek yogurt is known for its rich and creamy texture, which makes it a popular choice for eating as a snack, mixing into smoothies, or using as a base for sauces, dressings, and desserts.
What You Need To Make Homemade Yogurt
To make Greek yogurt at home you need a heavy pot with a lid (such as a dutch oven), a digital thermometer, a whisk, a skimmer spoon, and a heavy towel for incubation. You'll need 8 cups of milk and ⅔ cups of plain Greek yogurt to use as your starter. For low fat yogurt, you can use plain nonfat, reduced fat or low fat dairy milk.
Step-By-Step Instructions
To make Greek yogurt, milk is first heated and then inoculated with bacterial cultures from a starter yogurt (yes, you need yogurt to make yogurt!) The bacterial cultures ferment the lactose in the milk, which causes it to thicken and develop its characteristic tangy flavor. After fermentation (incubation), the yogurt is strained through a cheesecloth or fine mesh to separate the liquid whey from the solids. This straining process removes whey, lactose, and some of the water content, resulting in a thicker yogurt with a higher concentration of proteins, fats, and other nutrients.
STEP 1: In a large dutch oven or heavy pot with a lid, heat8 cups whole milkover medium heat, stirring often until it reaches 200°F, being careful not to let the milk burn on the bottom of the pot.*If milk begins to form a film on top, remove it using a slotted spoon and discard, as many times as necessary.
STEP 2: Turn off the heat and let cool to 135°F. While cooling, continue to remove any layer of film that forms.
STEP 3: When the warm milk reaches 135°F, transfer about 2 cups to a measuring cup and add⅔ cup plain Greek yogurt. Whisk until smooth. *Cooling the milk takes about 20 minutes, but depends on how warm your kitchen is.
STEP 4: Pour the milk and yogurt mixture into the large pot of warm milk and whisk vigorously until incorporated, being careful not to scrape the bottom. Sometimes the milk will burn and if you scrape the bottom, the small chunks that come off will not incorporate into the yogurt— leaving you with clumps in the final product.
STEP 5: Cover and wrap in a large bath towel to incubate. Preheat your oven to the lowest temperature possible for a few minutes, then turn it off. Place the towel wrapped pot of yogurt mixture into the turned off oven. Leave the oven light on to provide an additional source of warmth. (*see notes for additional ideas). Allow to incubate untouched for 10-12 hours. If not straining, transfer yogurt to storage containers and refrigerate.
STEP 6 (optional) When done, place a cheesecloth over a mesh strainer and put the strainer over a large bowl. Scoop the yogurt into the strainer and let strain from 30 minutes to 24 hours in the refrigerator, depending on how thick you'd like the yogurt. Transfer to containers for storage and refrigerate.
How To Store
Homemade yogurt keeps in the fridge for 3-4 weeks in an airtight covered container.
How To Keep Yogurt Warm When Fermenting
There are a few methods for keeping yogurt warm enough to ferment effectively.
OVEN: Preheat your oven to the lowest temperature possible (usually around 170°F or 75°C) for a few minutes, then turn it off. Place the towel wrapped pot of yogurt mixture into the turned off oven. Leave the oven light on to provide an additional source of warmth.
SLOW COOKER: You can use a slow cooker as an alternative to the oven. Turn the slow cooker to the low setting for about 10 minutes to warm it up. Turn it off and pour the yogurt mixture into the slow cooker and cover. Then wrap it in the towel to maintain maintain the warmth and let the yogurt incubate for the full 10-12 hours.
HEATING PAD: If you have a heating pad or electric blanket, you can place it under the pot to maintain a consistent temperature. Set the heating pad or electric blanket to the low setting and check the temperature periodically to ensure it remains in the desired range.
Chef's Tips
- The 10 tablespoons of yogurt is called a starter yogurt. You should choose a plain yogurt that you like, because your final product will taste similar to it. I choose a Greek yogurt because this creates a thicker initial yogurt and limits the amount of time straining. Plan to save some of your homemade yogurt to use as the starter for your next batch.
- The total time it takes to make homemade Greek yogurt is about 2 days. You want to set aside about an hour for the process of heating and cooling the milk, 10 to 12 hours to ferment and up to 24 hours for straining.
- Find a warm spot in your home that maintains a consistent temperature to appropriately ferment the yogurt. The ideal temperature for yogurt to remain at while incubating is between 100°F to 110°F.
Recipe FAQs
Is It Cheaper To Make Greek Yogurt At Home?
Making yogurt at home is generally less expensive than buying it from a grocery store. This recipe yields about 64 ounces of yogurt and costs only as much as the 8 cups of milk and starter yogurt. For me, 64 ounces of store bought Greek yogurt costs about $10.
Can I Use Low Fat Or Skim Milk?
Yes, for a lower fat yogurt you can use lower fat dairy milks.
Do I Need To Strain The Yogurt?
Greek yogurt is made by straining out the whey, which creates a thick and creamy texture. You should strain it from anywhere between 30 minutes to 24 hours depending on how thick you want it to be. However, you can choose not to strain the yogurt to create a less thick, traditional American style yogurt.
What To Do With Leftover Whey?
Don't waste the whey that is strained from the yogurt! Whey is a great addition to smoothies, pancakes, waffles, breads and more.
Ways to Use Greek Yogurt
My favorite way to enjoy plain yogurt is to drizzle it with honey or add fresh fruit. But there are countless ways to use it as part of everyday recipes and meals in addition to a snack on it's own.
- Make it part of your favorite breakfast, such as a topping for almond milk pancakes, fluffy oat milk pancakes or cottage cheese waffles.
- As a thickener in recipes like mashed sweet potatoes, mashed cauliflower and mashed potatoes.
- Smoothies, such as pineapple banana, banana peach, spinach strawberry, mango pineapple or strawberry banana.
- To make homemade mango popsicles or pina colada popsicles.
- Make a summer berry salad with a cinnamon honey yogurt dressing.
- In creamy soups, like slow cooker loaded potato soup.
- Add to muffins to make them soft and fluffy, like these morning glory muffins.
- Add to breads to make them light and tender, such as a savory tomato basil bread.
- In milkshakes, like a healthy mango milkshake or peach milkshake.
If you enjoyed this recipe, make sure to give it a star rating and let me know what you thought in the comments! And follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for more delicious recipes!
Recipe
Homemade Greek Yogurt
Kristina Tipps
This super-simple creamy homemade yogurt requires just milk, a starter yogurt, a thermometer, and pot. No need for special yogurt-making tools. Ditch the store-bought yogurt and easily make your own!
4.49 from 86 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 45 minutes minutes
Resting Time 10 hours hours
Total Time 10 hours hours 45 minutes minutes
Course Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine American, Mediterranean
Servings 8
Calories 161 kcal
Equipment
Bath towel
cheesecloth optional
heating pad optional
Ingredients
- 8 cups whole milk *see notes for other milk varieties
- ⅔ cup plain Greek yogurt or one single serving 5 ounce container
Instructions
In a large dutch oven or heavy pot with a lid, heat 8 cups whole milk over medium heat, stirring often until it reaches 200°F, being careful not to let the milk burn on the bottom of the pot. *If milk begins to form a film on top, remove it using a slotted spoon and discard, as many times as necessary.
Turn off the heat and let cool to 135°F. While cooling, continue to remove any layer of film that forms.
When the warm milk reaches 135°F, transfer about 2 cups to a measuring cup and add ⅔ cup plain Greek yogurt . Whisk until smooth.
Pour the milk and yogurt mixture into the large pot of warm milk and whisk vigorously until incorporated, being careful not to scrape the bottom.
Cover and wrap in a large bath towel to incubate. Preheat your oven to the lowest temperature possible (usually around 170°F or 75°C) for a few minutes, then turn it off. Place the towel wrapped pot of yogurt mixture into the turned off oven. Leave the oven light on to provide an additional source of warmth. (*see notes for additional ideas). Allow to incubate untouched for 10-12 hours. If not straining, transfer yogurt to storage containers and refrigerate.
OPTIONAL: When done, place a cheesecloth over a mesh strainer and put the strainer over a large bowl. Scoop the yogurt into the strainer and let strain from 30 minutes to 24 hours, depending on how thick you'd like the yogurt.
Notes
Homemade yogurt keeps in the fridge for 3-4 weeks in an airtight covered container.
Additional Fermentation Methods
SLOW COOKER: You can use a slow cooker as an alternative to the oven. Turn the slow cooker to the low setting for about 10 minutes to warm it up. Turn it off and pour the yogurt mixture into the slow cooker and cover. Then wrap it in the towel to maintain maintain the warmth and let the yogurt incubate for the full 10-12 hours.
HEATING PAD: If you have a heating pad or electric blanket, you can place it under the pot to maintain a consistent temperature. Set the heating pad or electric blanket to the low setting and check the temperature periodically to ensure it remains in the desired range.
Nutrition
Serving: 8ozCalories: 161kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 10gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 100mgPotassium: 366mgSugar: 12gVitamin A: 406IUCalcium: 322mg
Did you try this recipe?Give a shout out to @tastyovenrecipes or tag #tastyovenrecipes!
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Melinda Byers
I made this just like you said and it was gone in two days! Now I am wondering if you can also make it with almond milk or not.
Thanks so much!Reply
Kristina Tipps
So glad you liked it! I have made yogurt with almond milk, but it takes a bit more practice to get it just right for you. You will need a thickener. I have used gelatin as my thickener in the past (I believe about 1 tbsp per 4 cups of milk). It also may take more time to set in the fridge. You'll have to experiment with it a little bit, to get almond milk yogurt to be as thick and creamy as you'd like it to be.
Reply
Lisa B Wheeler
I do this with heating to 180 degrees and cooling to 120, adding 1/2 c of yogurt - can be with active cultures from store, or from previous batch. I place in styrofoam cooler with gallon of hot tap water, cover pan with towel, and leave in cooler for 8 hours.
Reply
Dennis
I use a 1.5-gallon commercial coffee filter and a salad spinner to strain. Not the mess of cheese cloth. But I use a full gallon of milk not 8 cups and a instant pot. I imagine 8 cups could be done with a smaller coffee filter but perhaps not the standard 12 cup filter.
Reply
Julia
I followed the recipe and my yogurt came out so liquidy… I was so excited for it to come out creamy…. What could have happened?Reply
Jamie
How did you save so much money with this? I’ve been considering making it ourselves because the one we usually get is constantly out of stock but when I did the quick math it looks like it would only save maybe $2.59 a gallon. We do only get organic dairy. Is that the difference or am I missing something?
Reply
Kristina
We stopped buying individual containers, which can be a dollar or more a piece. We also go through a couple quarts of yogurt a week (now homemade) so it ends up being a big savings! I'd say we went from buying 20 individual containers, so $20 a week, to using a gallon of milk per week to make it homemade. A gallon of milk by me is about $3. So I roughly spend $3-5 on yogurt a week now. 🙂
Reply
Liana Olivier
Hi I live in south africa in a rural farming area. I have made homemade yogurt before on the same basis as your I just used milk straight from our dairy (raw milk). For the incubation period, I just put my pot in my wonderbag. .My question is can I freely eat the yogurt for weightloss or am I restricted to a sertain amount per day. Looking forward to hearing from you
LianasReply
Kristina
Hi Liana, I am not a dietician so I can't really speak to the benefits of eating yogurt for weight loss. But from my understanding, you should eat yogurt in moderation, as with most dairy products it tends to contain a good portion of fat.
Reply
Mickey
What can I do to make the yogurt fat free or reduced fat free?
Reply
Kristina
Hi Mickey. You can use skim milk or reduced fat milk. Once the yogurt is done incubating, use a cheesecloth to strain out extra liquid if you'd like it to be thicker. Line a strainer with cheesecloth and put that over a large bowl. Pour the yogurt into the lined strainer and allow extra liquid to drain into the bowl. You can strain as much or as little liquid as you'd like. This liquid is whey and can be used for extra protein in other recipes, like smoothies.
Reply
Hoy
My milk has cooled to 135F, it feels very hot to touch. I usually add the culture when it feels warm, close to body temperature. Adding the culture at this temperature won't kill the bacteria in the yoghurt?
Reply
Kristina
Hi Hoy, It should not as this is how I always make it. However, if you are concerned and don't want to take any chances, you can wait til it's a little cooler.
Reply
Anonymous
Did you used the yogurt straight out of the fridge or room temperature yogurt to mix with milk?
Reply
Kristina
You can use yogurt straight out of the fridge.
Reply
Sarah Louise Pointing
Hi, can I double check the degrees is in Celsius? Thanks!
Sarah
Reply
Kristina
Sarah- it is in Fahrenheit. So sorry for the confusion! I've updated the recipe to make this clear.
Reply
Mariam
I made some yogurt, but with a lemon as a yogurt starter. Turns out good. Thanks for the tips about the oven with the lights on.
Reply
Michael Giblhauser
A lemon is not a yogurt starter. Yogurt contains a particular
strain of microbes, which the lemons do not provide.
The lemon contains some acid (citric acid), but that will
only make your milk sour. And sour milk is not yogurt.Reply
Trina
I have a yummy honey greek yogurt I'd like to use as a starter. You mention using plain because the final product will take on the flavor of the original starter. I want that flavor so is it ok to use the honey greek yogurt for a starter?
Reply
Kristina
Sure!
Gina
That's the creamiest looking yogurt I've ever seen, can't wait to give this a try!Reply
Allyssa
Thanks a bunch for this greek yogurt recipe! love it!Reply
Claudia Lamascolo
What a delicious combination of flavors and everything we love, a must try soon!Reply
Saif
I love greek yogurt. I use it on my shawarma, grilled meat and sandwiches.Reply
Kechi
This yogurt looks creamy; I love the simplicity of this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing.Reply
Danielle Wolter
I have been dying to try to make my own yogurt. You've made this sound so easy, I can't wait to try!Reply
Chels
My oven doesn't have the option to turn the light on, what do you suggest as an alternative incubation method?
Reply
Kristina
You could try a few different things.
1. Set the yogurt on top of a heating pad that's turned on to low, still wrapping it in a towel too.
2. Fill a pot larger than the one the yogurt is in with water that is 125 degrees. Set the yogurt pot inside it and wrap both with a towel.You could even incubate it outside on a warm sunny day. You'd wrap the yogurt in a heavy towel and put it in direct sunlight.
Reply
Kristi
My son wants strawberry yogurt. How/when could I incorporate flavors to this recipe? Thanks
Reply
AVes
Excited to try this! Your “serving and storing” section only mentions serving, though... how much does this make? How long does it last? Thanks!
Reply
Kristina
Hi Aves, I am so glad you are going to try it. This is the only way we ever make and eat yogurt! I've updated my post to answer your questions, and to make it a bit more easy to follow. This recipe makes two large 32 ounce containers, so 8 cups of yogurt total. If you want less yogurt, you can cut the recipe in half and follow the instructions as they're written. It will last for 3-4 weeks in the fridge- longer if you keep it off the door and tucked in the back.
Reply
Anonymous
I used to make yogurt in a yogurt maker years ago. I like this recipe more. It's really simple and creamy without any straining. Awesome and healthy!Reply
