After my fairly successful attempt at making homemade toothpaste, I was inspired to try homemade yogurt in my crockpot.
I’ve made yogurt on the stove and in a yogurt maker before, but I’ve always worried that it wouldn’t turn out right in the crock pot. Don’t ask me why!
And now I’m wondering why I was scared to try… because folks, if you haven’t done this before, it is SO easy.
It felt almost too easy — like I was cheating or something! 
Why you’ll love Making Yogurt in a Crockpot
If you want the nutritional benefits of homemade yogurt without a huge mess or hassle, you will love the ease of making it in a slow cooker!
With almost no hands-on time, you can enjoy a huge batch of homemade yogurt without any extra sugar, additives, or preservatives.
You can eat the yogurt plain, or make flavored yogurt by mixing in your favorite fruits (or even some homemade jam!)
Oh… and it’s SOOOOOO much less expensive than buying organic whole milk yogurt from the store!
Slow Cooker Yogurt Ingredients you’ll need
- 1/2 gallon milk (whole milk will make the yogurt thicker, but any milk will work.)
- 1/2 cup plain unflavored yogurt (any kind with live active cultures will work. Be sure to save a half cup of this batch of homemade yogurt to use as a starter next time!)
I’d picked up a half gallon of whole organic milk marked down to $1.99 at the health food store, so I used that for the milk. And I used plain Greek yogurt for the starter because that’s what I had on hand.
How to Make Yogurt in a Crock Pot
1. Pour the full half gallon of milk into your slow cooker and turn it on low. Cook it for 2 hours and 45 minutes (set the timer to remember to turn it off!)
2. After 2 hours and 45 minutes, turn the crock pot off and let it sit for 3 hours.
3. Spoon a cup of the warm milk into a small bowl and add the half cup of yogurt to it. Mix thoroughly.
4. Dump this mixture back into the milk in the slow cooker and mix it around well.
5. Put the lid back on your slow cooker and wrap the crock pot with a large beach towel or blanket (make sure the crock pot is unplugged and turned off!).
Yes, I know, it sounds a little ridiculous to wrap a crock pot with a beach towel, but I did some research online and it seems that the experts recommend this step as it helps keep the heat in the crock pot and allows it to cool more slowly.
6. Let the beach towel-wrapped crock pot sit for 8-12 hours (or overnight). At this point, the yogurt should be thickened.
7. Spoon yogurt into jars or plastic containers and refrigerate for a few hours before eating.
This will keep for one to two weeks in the refrigerator. Be sure to save a half cup to use as a starter for your next batch of homemade yogurt.
The recipe requires very little effort on your part, but it takes a long time to make — I started it yesterday morning and it wasn’t done until I woke up this morning.
So, if you want to try this, I’d recommend doing it on a day when you’ll be home all day.
And you might want to set a timer to remind you when you need to go do something to it. You certainly don’t want to waste a whole half gallon of milk!
My beautiful bowl of homemade yogurt. I had some for a snack this afternoon with dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, and chocolate chips sprinkled over it and it was delicious!
Yogurt Slow Cooker Storage Directions
We recommend storing this yogurt in glass food storage containers to reduce the risk of any unwanted bacteria getting into the yogurt. Choose containers that have tight-fitting lids.
You can also store them in mason jars — which is especially pretty if you’re giving them as gifts!
Our favorite ways to serve Slow Cooker Yogurt
We love eating this yogurt with fresh fruit and granola! It’s such a tasty treat!
Variations of Making Yogurt in a Crock Pot
This homemade yogurt is great to use to make Homemade Go-Gurts!
You can also use these tips from Andrea Dekker to make thicker Greek Yogurt or Yogurt Cheese.
Slow Cooker Yogurt
Ingredients
- ½ galon whole milk
- ½ cup plain yogurt must be unsweetened
Instructions
- Pour the milk into your slow cooker and turn it on low. Cook it for 2 hours and 45 minutes.
- After 2 hours and 45 minutes, turn the crock pot off and let it sit for 3 hours.
- Spoon a cup of the warm milk into a small bowl and add the half cup of yogurt to it. Mix thoroughly.
- Dump this mixture back into the milk in the slow cooker and mix it around well.
- Put the lid back on your slow cooker and wrap the crock pot with a large beach towel or blanket (make sure the crock pot is unplugged and turned off!).
- Let the beach-towel-wrapped crock pot sit for 8-12 hours (or overnight). At this point, the yogurt should be thickened.
- Spoon yogurt into jars or plastic containers and refrigerate for a few hours before eating.
- Save 1/2 cup of this new yogurt to use as the "starter" for your next batch.