How To Make Homemade Greek Yogurt

Why make yogurt at home?

Quality commercially-made yogurt can be expensive to buy. Make it yourself and you can customize the flavors and sweetness. You can also adjust the tartness, thickness, fat content, and texture.

How long does it take to make yogurt?

Does it seem like a lot of work? Now that I have my system down, actual hands-on time is less than 15 minutes.

Do I need a yogurt maker to make yogurt?

The yogurt maker is easy and foolproof. Most of them only make individual servings. They are not practical for making Greek yogurt since yogurt needs to be strained after the yogurt is set.

The directions given here and shown in the video are perfect for making family-sized batches.

Will these directions work for a nut or grain milk?

No. The process is somewhat different and usually requires a special starter.

Step 1: Fill a heat-safe container with milk.

Use a microwave-safe glass pitcher for the microwave or a large pan.

Step 2: Heat milk.

Heat the milk to between 170˚ and 180˚ degrees F. A quick-read thermometer like this one or this smaller and cheaper model (paid links) helps to make sure you don’t mess up this important step

For 2 quarts of milk, heating will probably take between 15-19 minutes in the microwave depending on the wattage of your oven. 

What about using an Instant Pot?

Some people like to use their Instant Pot to heat and incubate the milk. It works great if you don’t mind babysitting the process a little and don’t need your pressure cooker to make dinner tonight.

Why you should not skip the heating step: 

Heating is essential to unravel the proteins so they will behave during the incubation process. The result? Thicker yogurt.

A thermometer will ensure you get the temperatures correct.

Step 3: Let the milk cool down.

The temperature of the milk needs to drop back to somewhere between 100-110˚F.

If the milk is too hot when you go to the next step, it will kill the yogurt starter. The result will be milk at the end of the incubation period.

Don’t panic!

If you let the temperature slide down to 80 or 90˚ F, don’t worry. Add your starter and proceed as normal. It will simply take a bit longer for the yogurt babies to start the party. Or, you can gently heat the milk back to 100˚ F if you’re in a hurry.

Looks like the temperature of this milk has come back to 105˚F. We are ready for the next step.

Step 4: Whisk 1-2 tablespoons of starter into cooled milk.

Add a small amount of cooled milk to a spoonful of “starter.” Whisk until smooth.

Stir the starter into the cooled milk.

1. What is a starter?

A starter contains live cultures, whether present in edible yogurt (homemade or commercially-sold) or freeze-dried form. It must be added to heated and cooled milk to make yogurt out of milk.

2. Can I use a jar of my favorite yogurt at the store?

Yes, if it’s unflavored. However, the yogurt should be very fresh and contain live cultures, but no additives such as gelatin or fillers.

3. What is the difference between using commercially-processed yogurt from the store and a traditional starter, usually sold in a freeze-dried form?

This is a big topic, but let me try to make it easy.

4. Can I use yogurt from a previous batch of homemade yogurt?

Yes, as long as it is not more than a week to 10 days old. If you are using commercial yogurt for a starter, I recommend you buy a new “starter” yogurt from the store every 3-4 batches.

5. Do I have to warm up the starter before adding it to my cooled-down milk?

No. I’ve seen many tutorials that tell you to let your starter come to room temperature. However, little yogurt bodies don’t seem to mind jumping straight off the diving board into warm milk as long as it is not over 115˚ F. I’ve made 100’s of batches of successful yogurt using a straight-out-of-the-fridge starter.

6. If I want to make Greek yogurt, do I have to use Greek yogurt as my starter or will regular unflavored yogurt work?

No. It doesn’t matter. The only difference between Greek yogurt and regular yogurt is that the former has been strained to make it thicker.

Step 5: Loosely cover milk and incubate.

Incubate inoculated milk for 5-10 hours at 100-110˚ F. Whatever system you use needs to hold the temperature steady.

How long does yogurt need to incubate?

It depends…

• Do you want it to be tart or mild? The longer you incubate, the more tart your yogurt will be. I usually incubate for 5-6 hours. Some people go as long as 24 hours.
• What temperature is your incubation system? The hotter it is, the quicker your yogurt will set and the more tart your yogurt will taste.
  • But there’s a trade-off. The higher the incubation temperature, the more chance of “skin” forming across the top.
  • You will also see excessive whey. Strain it off if you don’t want to stir it back in. (See directions below.) Go much higher than 112-115˚F and the little yogurt bodies will die.
  • I find 100˚F to be optimal. A half-gallon of milk with a fresh and vigorous starter will set in 5-6 hours. The yogurt will taste mild.

Step 6: When yogurt is set, remove from incubation.

How can I tell if the yogurt is set?

Good question and for some, the hardest part of the entire process.  You will learn from experience when it “looks right.”

Finished yogurt should look set–as in gelatinous-looking, even though you have added no gelatin to the milk. If you take a spoon full out of the middle, it should stand up on its own.

What is the watery liquid I see on top?

There may be a watery, slightly yellow liquid on top called “whey.” That’s OK. Pour off the whey or stir it back in–your choice.

If you pour it off and want to save it, here are some ideas for what to do with fresh yogurt whey.

Step 7: Chill yogurt or strain it for thicker Greek yogurt.

At this point, you could chill the yogurt for 2-3 hours before eating it. Or, you can make it thicker (Greek yogurt) and strain it.

Step 1: Transfer yogurt into a strainer.

Cheesecloth is the traditional way to strain yogurt. In my opinion, there are better options. Check out these posts about using coffee filters, a fine mesh colander, or a yogurt pouch.

Line a colander with a pouch (or cheesecloth or coffee filter).

Yogurt will “break” when you spoon it out of the original bowl. Don’t worry if it looks more like cottage cheese.

Step 2: Let the yogurt drain until it is as thick as the way you dream about it.

If using a pouch, you can pull the bag tight and hang it. If using cheesecloth or a coffee filter, set the lined colander back over the original bowl to catch the whey (seen in the bottom of the Pyrex pitcher) that drains off.

Step 3: Separate the strained yogurt from the strainer and into the original bowl.

Empty the golden liquid you collected and dispose of it. Or store this whey in the fridge and make good use of it later.

It may look curdled like cottage cheese. That’s normal. You can chill and eat as is or proceed to step 4 and whip it. When chilled the texture should feel smooth on your tongue. If it doesn’t, see the troubleshooting guide below.

Step 4: If desired, process Greek yogurt until creamy smooth

Use a good whisk to beat until smooth. If you are doing a large amount, try using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment.

Important Reminder

Before going to step 5 below, remember to save a small portion of unflavored yogurt to use as a starter for your next batch.

Step 5: Add flavoring.

Now is the appropriate time to add any fruit, flavorings, or sweeteners. The yogurt may appear thinner than you hoped at this point. Forge on. It will thicken up when chilled.