DIY Crock Pot Yogurt

Yogurt is a favorite in my house, and between the 4 of us we could easily go through a gallon of yogurt in a week. That’s outrageously expensive! Not to mention that there’s a lot of filler and sugar in some commercial yogurts. If I get yogurt, I want yogurt… not corn starch and corn syrup!

So I came across a bunch of different recipes on Pinterest and I was confident I’d end up with a half gallon or chunky milk that no one would eat/ drink. I was pleasantly surprised when I ended up with a half gallon of delicious yogurt for right around $1.75.

I tried about 4 different recipes and trial and error (read: a half gallon of slightly-thinker-than-milk “yogurt” that no one was sure whether to drink or to eat with a spoon) and found a recipes that I found works best for me.

Fair warning: This WILL take anywhere between 13 1/2 and 17 1/2 hours.

Ingredients:

1/2 gallon (8 cups) whole milk (preferably raw milk! But anything that doesn’t have rBST hormones or is organic would be great.)
4 oz. ( or just 1 of the single serving cups from the store) organic greek yogurt
1 crock pot

Directions:

Put 1/2 gallon of milk in the crockpot (this one is my favorite) on LOW for 2 hours 45 minutes
Once the time is up, unplug the crockpot and let cool for another 2 hours 45 minutes
Then mix about a cup of the warm milk with the greek yogurt cup, then put that in with the rest of the milk in the crock pot.
Wrap the crock pot in a few towels or blankets (this lets it cool slowly and evenly) and leave it alone for 8-12 hours. 8 hours will make it thinner and 12 hours makes it more like greek yogurt in consistency.
After you’re happy with the consistency, put the yogurt in your containers and refrigerate. It will get slightly thicker in the fridge, but not by much.

And VOILA you have your own yogurt!

Sweeten with honey or maple syrup, add some fresh fruit or granola, and enjoy!