Homemade Yogurt (without a Yogurt Maker)

A glass bowl of homemade yogurt topped with granola, strawberries, and blueberries on a striped napkin. Nearby is a jar of granola.

Rich, creamy and delicious, homemade yogurt is a nourishing staple anyone can make with just two simple ingredients, no yogurt maker needed!

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Clean Eating Breakfast

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Prep Time: 1 30

Cook Time: 12

Total Time: 13 30

Servings: servings (1/2 gallon)

Calories: 103kcal

Author: Violet Parcha

Ingredients

1/2 gallon milk
1/4 cup yogurt or powdered starter

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.
Pour the milk into a large pot and heat slowly on the stovetop on medium-low heat, stirring frequently.
1/2 gallon milk
Once it gets close to boiling and bubbles begin to form around the edges (180 degrees if you're using a thermometer), place it in the oven for 30 minutes.
Turn off the oven, leaving the door ajar so it can cool.
If you are using yogurt as a starter, remove it from the fridge so it can come to room temperature.
1/4 cup yogurt or powdered starter
Remove the hot milk from the oven, and let it cool without stirring until you can move your finger back and forth 10 times without getting burnt (it will still be pretty hot). This should be about 110 degrees.
Once the milk has cooled enough, stir in the room-temperature yogurt starter.
Place the lid on the pot and wrap it in a large towel. Then put the pot in the oven and turn on the oven light.
Let the yogurt ferment undisturbed for approximately 8-12 hours, then remove from the oven.
There will likely be some liquid whey in the pot along with the yogurt, so whisk it together until it's smooth.
Place the yogurt in an airtight container in the fridge. As it sits in the fridge it will continue to thicken slightly for the first number of hours.

Notes

Homemade yogurt starter options:

Store-bought yogurt with active cultures that doesn’t have any flavorings or sweeteners.
Homemade yogurt from your previous batch. Make sure that it’s not older than a week! Also, if you started your first batch from store-bought yogurt, you will likely only be able use your homemade yogurt as a starter for a few batches before it stops working.
Powdered commercial or heirloom starter. Commercial starters are for one-time use. However, heirloom cultures will allow you to continue using each batch of yogurt to start the next indefinitely.

Milk options:

This recipe for traditional yogurt uses regular whole milk.

If it has been processed beyond pasteurization and/or homogenization (such as lactose-free milk), it will not work as well for yogurt. While you can use low-fat or skim milk, the yogurt will have a much thinner, more drinkable consistency. Also, this recipe is not designed for dairy-free milks.

Nutrition