Crock Pot or Slow Cooker Yogurt
on Sep 17, 2017, Updated Feb 24, 2022
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Slow cooker yogurt is an easy, healthy and inexpensive way to make homemade yogurt without a yogurt maker. Prepare it in five minutes, go to bed, and wake up to a freshly made breakfast!
I have a few more yogurt recipes that you will enjoy. 4 Ingredient Healthy Strawberry Frozen Yogurt (5 minute recipe!), Homemade Fruit on the Bottom Yogurt Cups and 5 Easy Healthy Yogurt Bowl Ideas are all winners.
How to Make Slow Cooker Yogurt
Yogurt can be expensive and often times it has a long list of artificial colors, flavors, and who knows what else. So here is a super easy recipe to make your own slow cooker yogurt. It is plain yogurt, but you can add honey, jams, fresh fruit, and just about anything else you like. I also use it in place of sour cream in most recipes. This is a great way to to get organic yogurt on the cheap. You can buy a carton of organic milk and turn it into yogurt for about half the price of organic yogurt.
The recipe is so easy that it practically makes itself. You just have to commit a little time to the process! You essentially just use your slow cooker to scald the milk and then the heavy warm crock radiates heat all night long to help culture your new batch of yogurt. The hands-on time is about 5 minutes, though the waiting time is about 15 hours. I like to start this in the afternoon so that it’s ready to sit for its long 8-12 hour warm resting period overnight. We then wake up to fresh yogurt and I’ll serve it with fresh fruit and some homemade granola.
I really recommend straining this yogurt through 3-4 layers of cheese cloth for a few hours too. This helps it to thicken up to a more “Greek yogurt” consistency which my kids prefer (and it’s easier to eat). I explained more of how I do that in the tips and tricks section. Before you know it, you’ll know how to make homemade yogurt with your eyes closed.
Tips and Tricks for making Slow Cooker Yogurt
- I’d highly recommend getting a little instant-read thermometer to make homemade yogurt – it’s all about the temperature! I use this $10 thermometer all the time.
- The goal is to scald the milk which takes place around 180 degrees. So you could check it with a thermometer the first time to see if the “warm” setting is warm enough or if maybe an hour and 45 minutes would work on low. Once you figure it out, I don’t think you would have to use the thermometer every time.
- After the milk is scalded, the waiting time is meant to bring the milk down to around 115-110 degrees so that it’s still warm but won’t kill your yogurt culture!
- You don’t have to buy commercial plain yogurt every time. Just save 1/2 cup of your own yogurt for the starter for the next batch.
- I really recommend straining this yogurt through 3-4 layers of cheese cloth for a few hours, too. This helps it to thicken up to a more “Greek yogurt” consistency which my kids prefer (and it’s easier to eat). I simply set a large colander in a bowl, line it with cheese cloth, and then pour my yogurt in from the slow cooker. I cover it with a clean dish towel and let it sit for a few hours until it’s the consistency that I like. Do note that the yogurt will also thicken some when refrigerated. Play around with it until you figure out how thick or how thin you prefer your yogurt and make notes. That’s the perk of cooking from scratch – you get a product that is truly customized to your preferences.
How long does homemade yogurt last?
Homemade yogurt is generally good for eating for up to 2 weeks when properly stored in the refrigerator.
Do I have to buy store bought yogurt every time in order to make homemade yogurt?
You don’t have to buy commercial plain yogurt every time. Just save 1/2 cup of your own yogurt for the starter for the next batch.
How can I make homemade yogurt thicker:
There’s a few ways to make your yogurt thicker!
- Use whole milk instead of 2% or skim. The higher milk fat lends to a thicker yogurt.
- Stick it in the fridge. Your yogurt with thicken up some as it gets cold.
- Strain your yogurt. By removing some of the whey, you are left with a thicker Greek style yogurt.
- I strain my yogurt 2 ways, one is by straining the yogurt through 3-4 layers of cheese cloth for a few hours, too. Simply set a large colander in a bowl, line it with cheese cloth, and then pour yogurt in from the slow cooker. Cover it with a clean dish towel and let it sit for a few hours until it’s the consistency that you like. Do note that the yogurt will also thicken some when refrigerated. Play around with it until you figure out how thick or how thin you prefer your yogurt and make notes. That’s the perk of cooking from scratch – you get a product that is truly customized to your preferences.
- The second way I strain my yogurt is new to me, but I’m loving it. I just got a stainless steel yogurt strainer and it’s awesome. I just stick the tube in my yogurt after the incubation time and let it rest about 2 hours. Then the middle fills with the whey and you ladle it out. I normally do this a in three spots down the middle of the slow cooker (over the course of the morning or so) before placing it in the fridge and it works so great. The tube I just rinse off or you can stick it in the dishwasher. It’s a cool thing that if you make yogurt a lot, it’s great to have (it works in the 6 and 8 quart Instant Pots too!).
Slow Cooker Yogurt
- Total Time: 12 hrs 5min
- Yield: Makes 8 Cups 1x
Description
Slow cooker yogurt is an easy, healthy and inexpensive way to make homemade yogurt without a yogurt maker. Prepare in five minutes, go to bed, and wake up to a freshly made breakfast!
Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon (8 cups) whole milk (you’ll get a thinner product with a lower fat content milk)
- 1/2 cup commercial plain yogurt that says “Live and Active Cultures” on the tub (I have great success with Mountain High yogurt for my culture)
Instructions
- In a large crock pot, add the milk. Add the lid.Turn it on low for around 2 1/2 hours*.
- After that time has passed, unplug the crock pot and let it sit for 3 hours. I always set a timer for these or I don’t remember.
- After the 3 hours has passed, stir in the 1/2 cup of yogurt. Replace the lid of the crock pot and cover with 2 big towels or a blanket. Let rest for 8 to 12 hours (overnight works well). In the morning you’ll have yogurt!
- Place it in a 1/2 gallon mason jar and refrigerate for a few hours before serving. It will thicken up in the fridge. Keep a 1/2 cup of this yogurt for your next batch and say goodbye to buying yogurt!
- You can also let the yogurt strain in cheese cloth in the fridge for a few hours and you’ll get a thicker Greek yogurt!
Notes
- *The goal is to scald the milk which takes place around 180 degrees. So you could check it with a thermometer the first time to see if the “warm” setting is warm enough or if maybe an hour and 45 minutes would work on low. Once you figure it out, I don’t think you would have to use the thermometer every time.
- After the milk is scalded the waiting time is menat to bring the milk down to around 115-110 degrees so that it’s still warm but won’t kill your yogurt culture!
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 12 hrs
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Yogurt recipes that are worth a try:
- Soft and Puffy Greek Yogurt Sugar Cookies
- 5 Easy Healthy Yogurt Bowl Ideas
- 4 Ingredient Healthy Strawberry Frozen Yogurt (5 minute recipe!)
- Homemade Fruit on the Bottom Yogurt Cups
My batch turned out thin and pretty sweet. Is that normal? I was expecting some tang so I’m wondering if it failed. I used half and half and a nice organic grass fed yogurt(which was also pretty sweet). I think I added the culture at 105 so maybe my milk was too cold?
This is pretty normal. Have you put it in the fridge yet? That really helps it to firm up. And I’m surprised it is sweet! Mine is always really tart. Maybe I should find your starter 🙂
when i let it sit for 8-12 hrs do i put it in the fridge??
No, leave it wrapped up in a blanket on the counter so that the cultures from your yogurt can multiply and turn the milk into yogurt!
The whey (what drains out) is a great soup-base or addition to a soup– not really milk, and full of good things that you paid for when you bought the milk and the starter yogurt.,
Thanks for all the directions and commentary.
How do you strain it? I don’t understand that step.
I didn’t talk about that much huh! So I just like a colander with 2 or 3 layers of cheese cloth, set it in a bowl, add my yogurt to the colander, and then let it drain, covered, in the fridge, overnight. This lets the whey soak out and drain into the bowl and you’ll end up with a much thicker yogurt! Does that make sense? Let me know if you try it!
I do have a crockpot but prefer to make my yogurt in a yogurt maker….it is just simpler for me and less fuss. I use skim milk but add a 1 1/2 cups of powdered milk while bringing my milk up to the 180 degrees. I also add about 1T of agave to the mixture. I put in fridge to bring down to the 105 – 110 degrees. I then add the 1/2 cup of plain yogurt with live cultures. Place in my 8 individual cups … set the timer and when complete I put the cups in the fridge. I get nice thick yogury and can add anything I want for additional flavor. I do eat this plain most of the time. The yogurt maker was bought online through Walmart…was about $22 and well I no longer purchase yogurt and in a two person household this is just right for us.
Hi! I was so excited to make this yesterday. I checked everything with a thermometer (Up to 180, cool to 110) but this morning I don’t have anything thick that even looks like yogurt. I feel like I now have to throw away a 1/2 gallon of whole milk! Bummed. I read your comments so I must be doing something wrong. Is it to scald at 180 degrees for the whole 2.5 hours? That could have been my problem as I had my Ninja crockpot on low and added 30 minutes as it still wasn’t to 180 degrees yet after the 2.5 hours. I will try this again if I can find the answer to why I only have sour smelling milk. Thanks!
Do you know if your thermometer is right?? You can check it’s calibration by sticking it in pot of boiling water and it should read 212 degrees. I just did this a year or so ago and realized that my was off by a whopping 12 degrees (it’s a cheap one). That explains why I ruined so many batch of candy! Also, is your milk overly pasteurized? What culture did you use for your starter? I’d make cottage cheese with the milk if I were you (just search cottage cheese and you’ll find the how to on my blog). Does that help?! I sure hope so, no one like a recipe with poor results. Let me know friend!
Respectfully, you did not answer Sam’s question. Please try again. Here it is:
“scald at 180 degrees for the whole 2.5 hours?”
I came here looking for the answer to that exact answer. All the instructions here say “scold the milk” and say I should scold it at 180f but If any of them specify how long to hold at that temp, I’ve missed it and I apologize.
But would you please answer it again? Thank you.
No you don’t have to keep it at temperature for that time, you just need to get the milk up to 180 degrees and then it needs to sit without additional heat for about 2.5 hours while it cools off enough to have the starter added. So get it up to that temperature but you don’t need to maintain that temperature.
Was wondering after putting it in the jar in the fridge, will the watery stuff and the yogurt seperate enough that the yogurt will be thicker, or do you actually have to strain it to make greek yogurt?
Sometimes a bit of the whey will separate on it’s own and you can kind of dump it off, but straining really is the best option. You won’t get a true greek style yogurt with out straining it, that’s for sure. Good luck Beth!
I just tried this for the first time. It seems like it worked, however the yogurt is very very sour. 1) Is there something I can add to make it taste less sour? 2) Is there something I should do differently next time to prevent it from being so sour? Thanks!
Hey you! What kind of milk did you use? Normally the more fat the milk has in it the better the flavor. Also, you could let it sit shorter than overnight. If the yougurt is set in say 6 hours then you could put it in the fridge and slow down the cultures that are making the yogurt. Hope that helps!
Could I replace the whole milk with raw goat milk?
Yep, but after cooking it won’t be raw 🙂 I have done it with raw milk though it was excellent!
I found you site through Pinterst. I love it! I started the crock pot yogurt yesterday. It turned out pretty watery but am hoping it will thicken up in the fridge. I can’t wait to make the granola and other recipes. Thank you for sharing!
Can you use almond or coconut milk in place of the dairy milk?
I don’t think so but I really don’t know…