Greek Recipes
How To Make Greek Yogurt
Prep
20 minutes
Yield
2 cups
Did you know it was so easy to make your own Greek Yogurt? This recipe takes 2-ingredients, and it's so delicious.
There is nothing more rewarding than making a staple ingredient in your fridge yourself, from scratch. This Greek Yogurt recipe takes some time to make but it’s totally worth it. It tastes SO much better than what you find in the store, and you can enjoy it knowing that you made it yourself. This guide will teach you exactly how to make Greek yogurt.
❤️ Why You’ll Love About This Greek Yogurt Recipe
- Healthy: Greek yogurt is a great source of protein and can be such a versatile ingredient to use in baking and cooking
- 2-Ingredients: This Greek Yogurt recipe only takes 2-ingredients to make – milk and Greek yogurt
- Easy: Although this is a time-consuming process as it requires resting time, the actual prep is only 20-minutes
🍲 Ingredients
Milk – Greek Yogurt requires whole milk in order to make it thick and creamy. Full-fat Greek yogurt is made with whole milk while nonfat or fat-free is made with skim milk.
Greek Yogurt – In order to make yogurt you’ll need a starter. You can buy powdered starter but just using some store-bought yogurt works just as well.
👩🍳 How to Make Greek Yogurt
2. To a medium pot add the milk and put on medium-high heat. Heat, stirring fairly often to keep skin from forming on top/milk from burning. Use a thermometer to determine when it hits 180F and remove the pot from the heat when it does
🪄 Tips and Tricks
- If you don’t have an oven to use to keep the yogurt warm, you can use a warmed but turned-off and unplugged crockpot. Pour the milk and yogurt mixture into there and then cover with the lid. Wrap the crockpot in a towel and leave it for 8-12 hours. Then follow the remaining instructions starting from putting this mixture into the fridge for 2 hours (transfer to a bowl).
🗒 Variations
- Add in fruit to your Greek Yogurt to sweeten it up. I love pureed or even whole raspberries or strawberries
- Add honey to the final product if you find plain yogurt too bitter
- Use this Greek Yogurt as a healthier substitute for ingredients such as mayo or sour cream
🗒 Best served with
- Use it to make Greek Tzatziki Sauce
- Yogurt Parfait with Granola
👝 How to Store Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container or mason jar in the fridge for up to two weeks.
🤔 Common Questions
Totally! It’s less wasteful, it’s creamier, fresher, and most importantly, more cost-effective.
Absolutely! It’s a quick and easy way to make your yogurt last longer. You can put it in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
A cheesecloth will be the easiest but you can try coffee filters or strong paper towels. However, both of these options can break easily when wet so they may end up causing you a headache.
How To Make Greek Yogurt
Your Greek mommy that is. 😍 Step into my kitchen to learn how to make yummy Greek food. 🍽️💃
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup plain full fat Greek yogurt (with live and active cultures)
- 4 cups whole milk
- 4-5 pieces of cheesecloth
Instructions
- In a small bowl add 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt and set aside.
- To a medium pot add the milk and put on medium-high heat. Heat, stirring fairly often to keep a skin from forming on top / milk from burning. Use a thermometer to determine when it hits 180F and remove the pot from the heat when it does
- Pour the milk into a bowl and let it cool until it reaches 115F. Stir it a few times to prevent a skin from forming on top of the milk.
- Once it reaches 115F, scoop out 1/2 cup into the bowl with plain Greek yogurt and stir to thoroughly combine. Pour this mixture back into the bowl with the milk and stir to fully combine.
- Cover the bowl with cling wrap and put the warmest towel you have around it. Place it on a baking sheet.
- Turn the oven to 150F for 5 minutes and then turn it off. Turn the oven light on and put the towel wrapped bowl on a baking sheet in the oven. Let sit for at least 8 hours and up to 12 hours. *See notes below for other resting options than the oven*Then remove from the oven and refrigerate for about 2 hours until the yogurt is cold.
- Place a large strainer over a bowl and line it with 4-5 layers of cheesecloth. Pour the yogurt into the strainer and then cover the bowl with cling wrap or cheesecloth. OR place in a cheesecloth and hang it over a bowl. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours to overnight, depending on how thick you want it. The longer you leave it, the thicker it will be.
Video
Notes
- If you don’t have an oven to use to keep the yogurt warm, you can use a warmed but turned off and unplugged crockpot. Pour the milk and yogurt mixture into there and then cover with the lid. Wrap the crockpot in a towel and leave it for 8-12 hours. Then follow the remaining instructions starting from putting this mixture into the fridge for 2 hours (transfer to a bowl).
- Enjoy Greek yogurt for breakfast or use it to make Greek Tzatziki Sauce
Looking forward to making this. Have you used other types “milk” ie: sheep, soy, almond? I didn’t see any comment about using a starter once you have made the initial recipe. Finally, have you ever used a heating pad to keep the yogurt warm? Proofing things is a challenge in my home. Thanks for the great recipes. Keep them coming!
Hey Millie! I haven’t tried other milks yet but it will be on our list! Yes, so the starter would work the same way as you did for the initial recipe. 1/3 cup of the yoghurt. Then you’re sorted. It’s in the notes I believe. As for proofing, did you see the note about the slowcooker notes or using an oven?
Thanks for the comments. I’m going to try sheep’s milk this week with the crockpot. Should be fun!
please report back ok!!?!?
EXCELLENT! Thanks for shareing!
Thank you so much!
Your recipe is much too hard. I never strain mine and I leave the yogurt that I mix in the milk out over night to get stronger. By the way my parents were from Turkey (Greek). They make great yogurt also.
I did do that. That’s lovely.