How to Make Greek Yogurt



Homemade Greek Yogurt in mason jars

Making yogurt is easy. Making greek yogurt is equally easy! In order to make greek yogurt you need only an old clean tee-shirt, space in your fridge, and a couple of hours to relax, watch a movie, whatever you want to do. The industry that has arisen around home yogurt making is pretty impressive (you can check out some reviews of the Greek yogurt makers we have tried), but you don’t need anything more than some basic kitchen necessities if you want to make delicious, pro-biotic, natural, organic, authentic Greek Yogurt right at home.

What you need to make greek yogurt:

4 cup or greater glass or plastic measuring cup (with a lid is helpful, but not necessary)

2 Tablespoons live culture yogurt (You can get it from you local grocery store), or yogurt culture packet

If you’re using a yogurt culture packet you will need 2 tablespoons milk set aside in a little bowl for use later.

4 cups of milk, the higher the fat content, the better.

6 cup saucepan or pot

Whisk

Piece of an old tee-shirt, cheese cloth, or a tea towel (the kind that is not made out of terry cloth) Alternatively I highly recommend this special greek yogurt strainer (Have been using for over 5 years)

Optional: 1/4-1/3 cup powdered milk

 

Making greek yogurt:

Note: These instructions are for 4 cups of milk, but you can make it in larger batches, if you want. 4 cups is just a manageable amount of milk to work with.

Step 1: Scald the milk Time 3-7 minutes

First you have to scald/pasteurize your milk. This means pouring 4 cups of milk into your saucepan and, over high heat, bring it almost to a boil. This will take about 3 minutes if the milk is at room temperature or 5-7 minutes if it’s just out of the fridge. As the milk is just starting to bubble around the edges of the saucepan, remove from the burner. Put a lid on the pan if you want, and then walk away.

You also have the option of adding the powdered milk now, and whisking it in, or doing it later. It doesn’t matter.

Step 2: Let the milk cool Time 45mins-1hour

Come back periodically over the next hour or so until the pan has cooled down to about 108-115 degrees. You don’t need a thermometer for this, you can just use your fingers. When you can hold your fingertips to the side of the pan, for ten seconds without burning them you know it is ready. If you didn’t add the powdered milk before, you can add it now, or not at all.

Step 3: Add the bacteria Time 1-2 minutes

If you’re using yogurt culture packets, now you add the packet to the 2 tablespoons and stir and then pour into the saucepan. If using the 2 tablespoons of live culture yogurt, pour it into the saucepan.

Stir the saucepan of now culture rich milk with a whisk, and then pour back into your glass or plastic cup measure. If your measure cup has a lid, put it on, if not that’s fine.

Step 4: Keep the mixture at 118 degrees Time 4-12 hours

Turn on the oven light, and turn the oven on to warm. After about 2-4 minutes turn off the oven and then place the measuring cup in the oven. This is the most important step to try to keep your yogurt above 115 degrees. An oven light often will produce enough heat to keep your oven pleasantly warm and allow you to peer in at the whole ecosystem you’ve just created. However I do recommend  wrapping a towel or putting it in a tea cozy for insurance. Not maintaining the temperature is the number 1 reason why you yogurt would not succeed.

Walk away for 4-12 hours. During this time you can use a wireless thermometer that will alert you when the temperature is getting too high or low.

When you wake up from the delightful nap you’ve just taken, remove the yogurt from the oven, and turn off the oven light. You can test if the yogurt is done when you tilt the measuring cup and the yogurt moves away from the side in one mass.

PRO TIP: If you are getting serious about yogurt making it is very much worth investing in a a way to keep your milk warm during fermentation. I recommend a scalable solution that can adapt to small and large batches as your interest grows. I have been using the Wonderbag for over 4 years. Perfect temperature control and flexible and also supports a good cause!

Step 5: Strain the yogurttime 2-4 hours

Now you get to make greek yogurt.

Take the cloth that you have designated for the straining–tee-shirt, tea towel, or cheese cloth–stretch it over top of a bowl. Keep the cloth in place with several rubberbands stretched around the outside of the bowl. Then pour your yogurt onto the strainer you’ve created. Place the bowl and suspended yogurt into the refrigerator. Let the yogurt drain for a couple of hours. The longer you let it drain the thicker the yogurt.

Walk away or read about what to do with your left over whey

You’re done!

When the yogurt has drained long enough, or when you remember that you forgot about it go to the fridge and remove the delicious ready to eat yogurt.

Remove the rubber bands and gather up the edges of the yogurt cloth. Avoid submerging the yogurt in all that delicious whey you’ve drained off. Put the yogurt in an air tight container and refrigerate until you want to eat it.

 

One more thing!

We are a fan of yogurt makers since we make greek yogurt weekly, like gallons and gallons, and we have reviewed a few greek yogurt makers and you can read about the best greek yogurt makers we have found that work great with our recipe.

Now you have delicious homemade greek yogurt. Make sure to go check out some quick and easy greek yogurt recipes that we have collected for you.



125 thoughts on “How to Make Greek Yogurt”

  • Thank you for this easy-to-follow recipe. Can you use plain yogurt as the starter, or is it a special yogurt starter?

    • Thanks Jessica for the comment. In regards to your question, you can use plain yogurt as a starter as long as it contains a”Live Culture” Many plain yogurts do not contain a live culture which is what you will need to start your greek yogurt. So when buying a yogurt make sure to check if live culture is listed on the container. Most of the major greek yogurt brands contain live cultures so they are a pretty safe bet, but you will have to look more closely when using a plain yogurt. In short, yes it is possible. Let us know how your greek yogurt turns out.

        • Not sure if it matters to you, but it’s likely they make their yogurt from milk from cows that have been given the Rbst growth hormone. It is also likely that their cows have been fed GMO corn and GMO soy. I believe all that passes through the cows milk to the consumer.

          • GMO Corn and GMO soy does not pass through the organism consuming it. The proteins and DNA in the corn and soy are degraded by the acids in the stomach. There is no scientific evidence that states otherwise. Not to mention even if residual DNA from the corn or soy somehow managed to make it into your milk it is still harmless because your stomach acid would break it down into its simplest parts and your body would never know that what you consumed had been genetically modified.

        • P.S. Only way to really avoid both is to buy organic greek yogurt. You can find greek yogurt that comes from milk that the cows haven’t been given the RBST growth hormone easy enough. The manufacturer will state it on the container if they haven’t. If it’s not there, then it does come from RBST milk, which causes organ damage and premature maturation in children, and provides consumers with a lot of unnecessary antibiotics, which were given to the cows given the RBST shots (so they’d produce more milk) to prevent mastitis. The GMO corn and soy carry with them a host of other problems–you can see the list here:

          http://www.sott.net/article/264517-First-long-term-study-released-on-pigs-cattle-who-eat-GMO-soy-and-corn-offers-frightening-results

          • The Aldi brand, Friendly Farms, although not organic, is rBST free and contains live cultures.

          • Just because the us rBST on the cow does not mean the milk will contain antibiotics. Milk is tested for antibiotics from a sample taken when it is picked up at the farm. There are too many antibiotic allergies to let them into the processed milk supply – plus antibiotics int he milk will hurt/stop the commercial cheese/yogurt process.
            Either way avoid rBST produced milk and even the utra-pasturised stuff.

          • tom what about supporting an industry thats a major part in the destruction of this beatiful world our race has taken for granted. but besides that speaking more specifially from a selfish pov and in terms of health omega 6 is probably the leading factor in all disease.

        • The Scalding process is not in fact to pasteurize the milk but rather to change the proteins again so they are more likely to ferment and therefore make a more thick and solid first yogurt. Enjoy!

      • I have a locally made yogurt which boasts “live cultures” but it is flavored with honey. Would this also be an option as a starter?

    • In fact, almost all yogurts you see in supermarkets have live cultures: the beneficial effects of the live culture (acidopholus) on the digestive system is one of the important reasons people eat yogurt. Maybe some of those individually packaged fruity ones don’t have live cultures, but I know that Dannon and Yoplait do; and all the quart sized plain yogurts do, even the generic supermarket brands. What a lot of the commercial brands also have are thickeners, like starches, pectin, agar agar, etc. (These won’t hurt you, but some of them add extra carbohydrates. They still work fine as starter for a new batch of yogurt.)

    • Make it in a 100% natural clay pot…. you can get the best, thick and silky yogurt without straining or stress.. good luck.

      • Hi David,

        The ratio is in general about 2 to 1. So for 1 liter of milk you should get about 500 mL of creamy greek yogurt. Of course that varies depending on how long you choose to strain the yogurt. Happy yogurt making.

    • Thanks for the easy recipe.Can you use plain yogurt as the starter,or is it a special yogurt starter?

    • I make own yogurt using a tablespoonful from my last batch as a starter. I used a Yeo Valley live yogurt as my first starter. I use skimmed UHT milk so I can just put it straight into my yogurt maker (purchased from eBay (new) for £6.00) and a tablespoon of dried milk to make it thicker. I leave it to ‘cook’ for about 15 hours. If I want it thicker I toss it into a piece of muslin over a bowl and let it strain to obtain the required thickness. If I want it to resemble clotted cream I strain it to the max. Thr whey that’s strained off is very healthy and I use it for scones and cakes or smoothies so nothing wasted! Hope this is of some use to someone. Glenys

    • I see a bit of nit picking here..how about not doing that, folks! I often thicken regular yogurt by placing it in a coffee filter nested into a strainer, works well,.

  • I have made yoghurt at home for years, but I prefer the regular unstrained variety, not Greek style, but what you do with it after it ferments is beside the point. You DO NOT have to heat the milk until it is almost boiling and let it cool down. It takes me about 5 minutes to prepare a batch. I use a 1-quart yoghurt maker, but anything that heats the mixture to the prescribed temperature. Before getting the yoghurt maker on line for about $20, I used a slow cooker connected to a variac (a variable voltage transformer) to reduce the a.c. line voltage to produce just the right temperature as measured with a thermometer. Here is my method.

    1. Take 1% fat, ultra-pasteurised organic milk from the refrigerator and pour into the container.

    2. Place the container of milk in the microwave oven. Run the micro until it comes to temperature. Mine takes exactly 3 minutes with the oven on high. You will have to experiment with yours using a thermometer to determine the exact warming time, but once determined, just use the timer on the micro.

    3. Add a heaping teaspoon full of plain yoghurt. Make sure it is the real stuff with active yoghurt culture. I use regular Plain Dannon (not the low or no fat).

    4. Allow to ferment 16-18 hours. I have found 12 hours is not long enough for regular yoghurt. Fermenting time may be different for Greek style. This will require experimentation, since I never try to make the Greek style.

    5. If you like regular yoghurt, put it in the fridge overnight and enjoy. To make Greek yoghurt, strain just as described in the recipe in this article.

    Greek yoghurt is exactly the same as regular, except that the whey has been removed by centrifuge or straining. I once purchased a coup of Greek style, and used it for starter. The outcome was precisely the same as using regular plain yoghurt for starter.

    I usually purchase one quart of plain yoghurt for starter. When that runs out, I use a batch of home-made for starter. But I find third generation less tasty, so I only make two generations out of fresh starter. I usually save only about a third of a quart of starter, because an entire quart tends to go bad and mould before it is used up.

    • Not once did you ever tell us the temperatures you used. Why bother writing all of that and not give the temperatures so we can use them?

      • The temperatures I use are these:
        Bring the milk up to 180° F.

        Take it off the heat and let it cool to 120° F.

        Now mix in the starter (I use already made yogurt).

        To keep it warm, I use a small ice chest. I pour warm (115°) water into the ice chest aobut 3 inches deep and set the containers in that.

        Don (above) says he lets his yogurt ferment for 18–20 hours. That seems pretty long to me.

        I do mine for about 4 hours and it comes out fine. I check the temperature with a thermometer after about an hour and a half and, if it is getting down toward 95° I add some boiling water to the bath to heat it up a bit. Usually I only need to add boiling water once.

        • I also heat my milk to 190 and do just as everyone has stated here. I then fill my, not yet yogurt into small jam jars and put them on a cookie sheet in my oven on 110 and leave them in for about 4 hours. The jars are sealed but I pour off the whey which I drink and the yogurt turns out delish. To eat I usually pour a bit of our home grown honey or fruit I have processed from our own trees. Doesn’t get much better than that.

      • yeah Joe she did give the temperatures you just make sure that the milk is right below boiling cattl that then maybe you should go to a beginners yogurt making website and it’s supposed to be cooled down to where you can just touch the pan and feel that the temperature is correct

    • Don,

      You say to microwave for 3 minutes. That won’t get the milk up to 185 degrees. I microwave mine for 15 to 18 minutes, checking every 1 to 2 minutes. If you boil the milk, your yogurt will be grainy.
      I make full cream yogurt, using half & half, whipping cream or a mix of milk and half & half. If I let it “cook” for 8 to 10 hours it can be gelid and a little runny. If I let it “cook” for 11 hours, it is like custard.
      Additionally, I add two teaspoons of sugar to the heated milk, to offset the tartness of the finished yogurt. With a little honey, it is delicious!

  • What if I overheat milk ? I left the room for a minute and came back and it was boiling ferociously ! Also my first batch is creamy but not tangy like store bought

    • Freshly made yoghurt isn’t all that tangy. The longer it sits (in the fridge), the more tangy it will get.

    • I knew a vegan that did, but he started by replacing milk a little at a time and kept his culture going, eventually even his starter was soy.

  • Loved your article – grateful for it. This is such valuable information. It is so economical and healthy.

    Have also been making yoghurt for quite a few years. Temperature is not super sensitive except you dont want to go over 108 which could kill your culture. Lower temps can work fine but maybe take a little longer. I have made it in 1.5 gal covered stainless pot and once cooled (can lower temp a little quicker by putting the pot in a sink of cold water), then I stir in the culture and put the pot in a warm kitchen window or warm up the water in the sink. My culture is a cup of cream top trader joes plain yoghurt (or a cup of leftovers from the previous batch). Mine has set up in a few hours, then I ladle it out into quart plastic leftover containers and keep it out on the counter for more hours.

    Best thing about the yoghurt is it has become a healthy substitute for ice cream.

    Next task is conquering natto making. If you correct my grammar, I aint gonna change it.

    Much cheers Jim

  • After straining the yogurt is the whey suitable for making fresh ricotta cheese as you can with the whey after making fresh mozzarella cheese (hate to see that whey going to waste)?

    • Hi Lane,
      Thanks for reading the blog and commenting. You can check out our article 3 Great Uses for leftover whey on some uses for the whey. In general there is less protein left behind in yogurt whey which makes it less fruitful for ricotta cheese making. That being said I have made ricotta from my leftover whey from my homemade greek yogurt, so it is possible but it usually only yields a couple of tablespoons worth on a batch this size. Give it a try and let us know how it works out.

  • I learned from a friend of mine who is from India. Almost 75-80% of the indian household makes their own yogurt at Home.
    I have learned this and perfected it. I make about 6 cups at a time.
    I take the milk )1% or 2% – does not matter if you use whole Milk) boil it in a corning ware in the Microwave. Make sure that the milk comes to boiling. Let it cool for safe handling.
    Transfer the milk to a stainless steel vessel. Let the milk cool to medium hot.
    I cant tell the temperature – I stick my clean finger in the milk and if it is bearable hot thats good.
    It should not be luke warm.
    Take 4-5 teaspoons of yogurt culture that is whisked with a spoon to a creamy consistency.
    Add this to the warm milk and stir it well to mix the culture with the milk uniformly.
    Cover the vessel with a plate and put it inside the oven and turn the lights on.
    In about 6-8 hours the milk should set as Yogurt.
    Leave it in the fridge for about 6-8 hours to chill, and once chilled it is ready to eat.
    This is the best yogurt – healthy – no additives and not gooey like Dannon and other brands and healthy.
    Question to the Author of this Article – In what way is this Yogurt different from Greek Yogurt, Can I buy Greek Yogurt (there is a brand called Kefir or something) and use the culture to make as above and it will be Greek Yogurt. In fact I made some a couple of months back when I ran out of culture.

    • HI Txrr,

      Thanks so much for reading our blog and comment. We are super excited that you are making homemade yogurt. In response to your question the only difference between your yogurt and homemade greek yogurt is the process of straining. So if you follow step 5 in our tutorial which is about straining the yogurt that process will transform your yogurt into greek yogurt. You can use a special strainer or something as simple as a clean t-shirt to do it. Then you will end up with rich, thick and creamy greek yogurt. Happy yogurt making.

      • I made my first batch of Greek yoghurt last evening. It is in the fridge wheying out right now.

        I used the ceramic crock pot in the microwave to bring the milk temp up to 170 degrees which took about 30 minutes. Transferred the milk into a stainless steel stock pot for the slow heat rise to 180 degrees on the stove top. My crock pot came with a plastic lid which, inverted, also fits my SS stock pot.

        Last month, when I was making fruit jellies that required a 122 degrees set, I drilled a hole in the center of the plastic lid through which I can insert the probe of my Taylor digital thermometer. The probe reaches into the heating milk whereby I can control the heat to exactly 180 degrees.

        • Exciting John, we are so excited that more and more people are making greek yogurt at home and sharing their recipes and tips. Happy yogurt making!

    • Vicky,
      Your yogurt will be grainy if you boil the milk. It detracts from the finished product.
      Take it up to 185 degrees, then cool it to 100-110 degrees, before adding your culture.
      Happy yogurt making.

    • Aziz,

      While you can buy store yogurt and strain it to produce greek style yogurt, you risk all the additives and thickeners in commercial yogurt. Home made is tastes better and you can adjust your recipe to suit you. Also home made is cheaper.
      I have made yogurt that csn be more like cream cheese, or less solid, just by adjusting how long it cooks.
      Cheers!

  • Hi, this looks easy enough, but I”m wondering if you have the nutrirtional informatin. I’m interested in making some low-fat greek yogurt for my fruit smooties. Any thoughts?

  • Thanks to everyone above for their recipes (for both plain yogurt and the Greek) — I wish I had read this before I had bought the yogurt maker!! Can’t wait to start making my own.

    • Susan,
      I too bought a yogurt maker, and still consider it to be one of our smartest buys. Yes, you can make yogurt without a cooker, but the cooker takes out the guesswork, and gives consistant results.
      Which after all, is what you want.
      I make full cream yogurt using heavy whipping cream or half & half. I don’t worry about the fat content (I’m 65, and I’ve been eating butter, and bacon and using cream on my cereal or in cooking, most of my life. I’m pretty healthy, not overweight, and my cholesterol is not high) I want yogurt that tastes good.
      Let me know if you want the recipe, I’ll post it.

      • I would like to know how you use heavy whipping cream. I’m in Japan and half and half does not exist. But, I line thick creamy!
        Thanks.

  • Hi,

    Thank you for the recipe. I had been meaning to make my own yogurt for some time now and am pleased that I was successful on my first try! However, I have two questions. First, how does preparing the yogurt without placing a lid on the cup affect the process? And second, and most importantly, I was wondering if, by always taking some yogurt from the previous batches to make the next batch, the yogurt taken would go bad, thus ruining the new batch of yogurt?

    Thank you in advance for your reply.

    • No it will not. Generations upon generations of people have used the same cultures, sometimes transporting them as nothing more than a dried smear on a piece of cloth.

  • I have been making Greek Yogurt for years … use to live on Crete. A little different making it here in the States but, I love it and no need to milk a goat! Lol, lol. I have done all of what you stated with a couple of differences. After my fourth starter, I add liquid acidophiles (about two teaspoons) to my next three batches to revitalize AND give my culture a “SUPER CHARGE”. Works great and keeps my homemade healthy … VERY healthy. *When warming, I have always just placed my yogurt container/containers on a heating pad (which is placed on a folded bath towel)) and then wrapped a few bath towels around the sides and tops of the containers. Put the Heating Pad on warm/low -lowest setting- on my counter ….. (usually do it right at bed time) …. go to bed and in the morning proceed with the directions you have for straining it, place MY HEALTHY GREEK YOGURT in containers and into the fridge. “WAH-LA”, let it chilllllllll get myself a bowl of it with a little squeeze of lemon and drizzle honey, then I sit back, slowly indulge in each spoonful and drift off to HEAVEN’S GATES! 🙂 *** HOPE THIS HELPED SOME! BLESSINGS!

  • Instead of wasting energy putting the mixture in the oven or faffing around with tea towels, use a large wide-mouthed thermos flask to maintain temperature.

  • Hi there

    Thank you for such a well informed article. Because I am dieting I was wondering if you could outline what the nutritional benefits are of this particular make of greek yoghurt? Thanks.

    • Hi Imran,

      I am not sure (I have never had mine tested) but the nutritional facts should be pretty comparable to most store bought yogurt. Making greek yogurt at home is more about saving money and knowing exactly what goes into your yogurt rather than changing the nutritional value substantially. I hope this helps! Thanks for reading our blog on how to make greek yogurt!

  • It’s been 8 hours and my milk still looks like liquid. Shouldn’t it be thick by now? Can I fix it or did I over heat it? Any suggestions would help

    • Minna,

      What kind of milk are you using, and did you heat the milk up to 185 degrees and cool to 100-110 before putting in your starter culture? If the milk is too hot it kills the bacteria culture and you don’t get yogurt. Overheating the milk makes the yogurt grainy. If you are using a higher fat content milk, 8 hours may not be enough time. I hope this helps.

    • Hi Corinne,

      Thanks for posting. You can keep your homemade greek yogurt in the fridge about as long as store bought greek yogurt 2-3 weeks. To keep your culture healthy so that you do not have to keep buying starter, however, you will want to make a new batch every 6-7 days (it can just be a cup or so.) This will keep your greek yogurt culture alive and fresh. Happy greek yogurt making!

  • I can’t wait to try this out! We live in Italy and they sell unpasteurized milk here. Would that work better than already pasteurized milk?

    • Hi Rosa,

      I have never tried it since it is illegal to buy unpasteurized milk in my home state. I have heard that it is quite easy to make greek yogurt from unpasteurized milk. The main concern is been super hygienic and starting the process as soon as you can after the milk comes from the cow or goat. Let us know how it turns out.

  • Back on the farm, 40 years ago, we had a Holstein cow and made lots of yogurt. The way we made it turned out like Greek yogurt, but we didn’t strain it. Unless we were trying to make cheese out of it and heated it up, there was almost no whey. We added about two-thirds cup of non-instant fat-free powdered milk per quart of whole milk, which essentially doubled the amount of milk solids. The yogurt was very thick and creamy! One of the things I love about Greek yogurt is that it reminds me so much of the yogurt I made, back then!

    I’m glad you know about the used of whey! I’ve seen other homemade yogurt recipes that say to throw it out!

  • Thanks for all the useful tips! I have been making yogurt for years, taught to me by my grandfather. The greek yogurt sold in stores is typically higher in protein than regular yogurt. So If you are making greek yogurt at home and straining off the whey, (which contains more protein than the yogurt) is greek homemade yogurt higher in protein content than regular homemade yogurt? I would appreciate your input. Thanks!

  • Darn – I think the dog got into the fridge and ate all the yogurt. Sneaky beast that she is, I only just noticed today that most of it was gone. She must have had difficulty with the spoon she used. And getting the lid of the canister back on must have been worthy of a Youtube episode.

    Now I have to make more. I probably have enough left for a yogurt starter for the next yogo. Luckily, I was at the grocer’s today and bought 2 gallons of milk instead of the usual one gallon. ESP?

  • I used to make yogurt years ago and the pilot light on the gas oven was all you needed. I am going to try this for Greek Yogurt.

    One question, why do you need to scald the milk? Can you just warm to 108 and start from there? The milk has already been pasteurized.

    • Hi Debbie,
      It is true that the milk has been pasteurized, but that was at the processing plant. Your milk has since traveled many miles to get to you as well as when you open it up it can be exposed to bacteria that are not so much harmful but could impart a funky flavor to your greek yogurt. That being said it is still unlikely with certain types of milk. If you are using milk that has undergone Ultra High Temperature (UHT) Pasteurization scalding the milk is not really necessary. You can check out our quick no scald greek yogurt recipe for a step by step guide without scalding the milk. Hope this helps!

  • Do you have to scald the milk? Why is this necessary since its already pasturized? Can’t I just warm the milk to a lower temp, enough to allow culture growth, and if so, what temp should i bring it to? Thank you

    • Hi Brandi,
      It is true that the milk has been pasteurized, but that was at the processing plant. Your milk has since traveled many miles to get to you as well as when you open it up it can be exposed to bacteria that are not so much harmful but could impart a funky flavor to your greek yogurt. That being said it is still unlikely with certain types of milk. If you are using milk that has undergone Ultra High Temperature (UHT) Pasteurization scalding the milk is not really necessary. The temperature to heat it to if you did not want to scald it is 108 degrees. You can check out our quick no scald greek yogurt recipe for a step by step guide without scalding the milk. Hope this helps! Thanks for reading!

  • Hey, I was wondering if you could make this nonfat by using nonfat milk. Are there alternatives to milk that you could use, like almond milk?

    • Jacki,

      Yes you can use lactose free milk, but since the conversion into yogurt converts the lactose already, why not use regular milk. Most lactose intolerant people can eat yogurt.
      The reality of “lactose intolerance” is that mother nature uses this to wean us off mothers milk. Any culture that didn’t domesticate mammals, like cows, sheep, goats, and use their milk for food, never developed a “tolerance for lactose”. It isn’t that a lot of people are “lactose intolerant”, it is that not too many people are lactose tolerant. Europeans are, aisians aren’t.
      Sorry about the history lesson. Short answer, yes use lactose free milk.

  • You don’t need anything fancy. Heat up milk… Not boiling bit warm. Mix in 2 tsb of yougurt and put on top of your froedge. Yes this is warm enough. Keep for overnight and then put in fridge. I normally make it in the same 500 ml tub it comes in

  • Hi!..I see some wonderful things about making/using yogurt here…so here is my two cents` worth:

    one container (170 grams) unflavored yogurt (I use a national brand), FROZEN!
    remove the frozen yogurt from the container, place it in a standard kitchen sieve until thawed (save the whey)… use the yogurt for thickening in sauces/soups, or for salad dressings. If you are trying to get away from mayonaise this is just the thing! This also works well as a substitute for sour cream..and in beef stew it is a dream….

    I believe the freezing breaks-open the cels of the yogurt and releases more of the water than is possible in normal straining. After stirring, the results are perhaps not as creamy as Greek yogurt, but the flavor is outstanding for cooking… enjoy!

  • The whey that separates from the yogurt doesn’t need to be wasted. It makes a Healthy, cool and refreshing drink to beat the heat, and avoid dehydration. We drink it a lot in Pakistan. Add salt and pepper if you like.

  • Aloha. I have not read all the comments but was checking on how to make Greek yogurt vs. plain old yogurt. I guess that I have been making “Greek” yogurt for years as I add powdered milk to the mixture. I use a heating pad (on “low” or “medium” heat) in a foam ice chest as the “incubator” and one-quart mason jars to hold the mixture. Works like a charm and is an inexpensive alternative to commercial yogurt makers. Hint: don’t fill the jars to the top as they may overflow during processing (leave perhaps 3/4″ of space) and put the lids on loosely. I usually leave the jars in the chest overnight or about 12 hours.

    • Marilyn,
      The only differance between regular yogurt and greek, is that “greek” is strained to remove some of the whey, which thickens the yogurt.

  • Hi there I was wondering how do I do the fermenting process as I don’t own an oven . I would love to make Greek yogurt , never had it before …..looking forward to your thoughts on my dilemma …. Thank you in advance.

  • I’m wondering now just what the difference is between ‘Greek yogurt’ and ‘labneh? I began making yogurt in the 70s – gas stove with a pilot light and loads of towels around my big pasta-cooking pot. Worked fine. Then my husband introduced me to labneh. Yum! But not cheap. While visiting his extended family in Syria, I saw the women dumping store-bought yogurt into pillow-cases and hanging the thing over the sink overnight to make labneh. So, I came home and decided I could dump plain yogurt into a paper Melita coffee filter and have both my labneh and the whey, which my darling loves. So, what is the difference between Greek yogurt and lebneh?? From what I read – your recipe and others, there’s none.

  • Hi wondering if you could slightly sweeten it with all natural honey? if so at what point would you suggest doing so?

  • Could I use almond milk instead of regular milk in an effort to make it vegan? Thank you, and thanks for this wonderful recipe.

  • I tried your recipe and am perplexed by what happened. After heating the milk, I whisked in some skim milk and let it cool as per instructions. I then put about 3/4 of the mix into a ceramic baking dish with a lid. I know you said to use plastic or glass, but the only thing I had with a lid was ceramic (non-absorbing), and I saw that other websites suggested ceramic. I then ran out of room in the ceramic dish so I put the rest into a small glass bowl. I put them both in the oven at approximately the setting you said (my oven doesn’t show precise numbers like that).

    I checked after four hours, neither were ready. After another hour, the glass mix was ready, and after straining it produced a lovely thick yoghurt. The one with the lid on was still very liquid. I left it in for 9 hours, and it barely did anything. I took it out for a bit to cool. Then I put it in overnight again, and it thickened a little. After straining, it wasn’t yoghurty, it was more like a thin smoothie. I don’t really understand what happened, because they were both from the same heated milk! Any idea what happened??

    P.S. Sorry to spell it “yoghurt”, but I’m in Australia, and that is correct here. Just in case it bothered you…

  • Now a veteran of more than 15 batches of yogurt since I first found this site in January 2014. I’ve crossed several bridges since then in tuning how I make the yogurt. If I may . . .

    I started using the slow cooker ceramic bowl in the microwave then trying to remove it with a couple of towels and transferring the 180°F milk into a SS pot. That was too hazardous. The ceramic bowl handles were small, the towel was slippery and unwieldy when tilting the bowl to pour the milk into the SS pot.

    I use my cook top range with two large SS pots now, as a double boiler. Use enough water to float the upper pot when the gallon of milk is in it. I use a candy thermometer in the milk to watch the temp and as I bring the milk up to 180°F. Then place the SS pot into the 1/2 filled sink of cold water. Stirring the milk around and swirling the water in the sink with my other hand, (I’m really coordinated) the milk temp will drop to 115°F to 120°F in about 5 minutes. Then add the 1/4 cup yogurt from the previous batch; cover the pot and pop it into the (preheated to 110°F) oven overnite with the oven lites on. I’ve found that keeping the temp around 105°F to 110°F is about all one can do.

    I strain the yogurt in my pasta strainer that was a part of the SS pot I heat the milk in. The pasta strainer is lined with the back 1/2 of a clean (important) t-shirt held on the edges of the pasta strainer with spring loaded clothespins. 3 hours in the fridge = Greek style yogurt.

    • Oh – another bridge I crossed. I never could figure out what to do with all that whey I collect. I did figger it out last evening. I tried mixing some into the dog food for my two outside kennel dogs and my Parson Russell Terrier house buddy. They scarfed it up like it was a Twinkie. A protein bonanza! Problem solved.

      • Oh what a great Idea! i put the whey into pancakes for the kids.Used it in place of any liquid.
        I left my yogurt straining overnight, and it came out as thick as cream cheese.
        Not too sour. So I guess I need to let it sit in the fridge for a while.
        From 1/2 gallon of milk, we got 1 quart of yogurt. 1 quart of whey.
        I sweeten it with honey when I serve it, along with berries.
        Yummy!!!

  • Just read your update John, I had been thinking that the mutts would love it too! and my cat just loves yoghurt, so maybe he’ll like whey.

    I made my first batch of real yoghurt last night. I bought the culture of a website (Bulgarian Starter Culture) as it sounded pretty fancy 🙂 Took about 12 – 16 hours for it to set but I was pretty lazy about it. I only sat it in the sink with some warm water and covered it with a tea towel. I occasionally topped it up with some more water now and again, but eventually got tired of doing that and went to bed and wished it luck!

    I got up this morning and it looks pretty thick. It tastes a little bland but is very creamy. I read it gets more acidic as it sits so I think the taste will improve within a day or two.
    I made 2 litres from devondale UHT milk (thats ultra heat treated, long life milk). Apparently UHT milk makes the most fantastically creamy yoghurt as it has also been a little dehydrated from processing. And its cheap!

    I scooped out half of it and am going to try the greek style on that, and maybe throw in some fresh strawberries with a little syrup….. so healthy!!! (did someone say extra sugar?) Its the thought that counts eh?

  • Strangely people here seem to be fond of buying cultures or yogurt. Back in India no one buys it unless its an emergency and it is eaten almost daily. Heat the milk. Should be warm to put on ur palm not hot. Put a spoon ful of live culture into say approx 500 to 600 ml of milk. Stir well. Cover it. Let it stand still. If u live in a warm place which is above 25 degrees celcius check after 8 hrs. If a colder place. Wrap up the bowl with a cloth and keep it below a bulb. Check after 24 hrs. Take out a spoon ful or more of yogurt for next batch before u use this batch. Keep it refrigerated. This goes on and on till you screw up somewhere.

  • Thanks for this great site. A question on the powdered milk – what’s the purpose/benefit of adding it? Is non-fat powdered milk okay?

    • Hi Stephanie,

      The idea is to thicken up your yogurt by adding more protein to the mix. Non-fat is fine give it try and let us know how it turned out.
      Happy yogurt making!

  • I’m making yogurt for the first time and I put it in the over as instructed, but my alarm keeps going off telling me that my yogurt is getting warmer. I think I’ve managed to get it back, but I’m wondering, if I’m supposed to keep it at 108, what happens if it gets hotter than that?

    • Hi Rachel,
      The temperature can get as high as 118 or so with out killing the yogurt bacteria so that is your real limit. 108 is simply an ideal temperature for your yogurt culture to grow at. You can also check out some greek yogurt makers that we have reviewed that help maintain a consistent temperature. Happy yogurt making.

  • Thanks for your straightforward guide. I LIKE that you don’t have specific temps. The “touch the pan for 10 seconds” works great for me. I used to do the “baby milk safe drop on the wrist” test, but yours worked too. I used one gallon of raw milk, and a locally-produced organic plain yogurt as my starter. I put the yogurt into 5 wide-mouth quart Mason jars in a cooler chest lined with towels and a clay heating pad inside, and left it over night. For the straining, I put a bit of cheesecloth into the mouth of five more quart Mason jars secured with rubber bands. The yogurt flowed through completely in half an hour without refrigeration, and I had very thick Greek yogurt. Then I refrigerated what turned out to be just short of 2 quarts Greek yogurt and 2-3 quarts whey. Caveat: I tried the suggestion of using the whey to cook rice. It was really unappealing, although it tasted lemony, as Greek rice can in restaurants. Must be the high gluten content. The whey-rice was good for my very old collie, though, who’s challenging to entice to eat. She needs the nutrients, so I felt good about that. I’ll use the rest for cooking beans or hummus from scratch. Thanks again!

    Thanks again.

  • Dear all i came here to find out how to make Greek yogurt, In the past while make yogurt i used a thermos flask (1 ltr) I always keep UHT milk in the cupboard for emergencies, But it too makes fantastic Yogurt But without all the time wasting , because you do not even have to bring it to the boil, just heat it to blood temperature ,pour in the thermos and add your live culture, leave on the work surface overnight, pour into a container and refrigerate and within a few hour you have nice thick creamy yogurt

  • Question – i make home made yogurt all the time and use a tbsp of regular yogurt of my choice.. however to make greek yogurt – would it not be just easier to buy your favorite brand of yogurt and strain it??

    • Indeed it is easier but in my experience it does not taste as good as the homemade stuff and in general offers no cost savings given the cost of regular yogurt compared to milk. But in a pinch its great!

  • I’ve been reading about making greek yogurt because I’m becoming more health conscience for my family and I try to save money where ever I can. Some recipes call for dry milk while others don’t or list it as optional. What is the use of dry milk when making your own yogurt?

    • Hi Autumn,

      Thanks for posting. The reason some people call for dried-milk is in an attempt to have your yogurt turn out thicker and creamier. The idea behind it is that you add more protein to the milk. We have tried it with mixed results. Whatever you do you want to make sure you mix the dried-milk in well so as to avoid clumps. Happy yogurt making!

    • To get more tang you need to let it ferment longer at the 118 temperature. The longer you maintain it at the 115-118 degree F range over 4 hours the tangier it will get.

  • I am so glad that I found this website. Can’t wait to get started on making my own Greek yogurt. I eat store bought almost every day and at $4.19 for 500 grams it gets pretty expensive. I would like to add a couple of teaspoons of sugar and a bit of vanilla during the process and I am wondering at what point I can do this. Just a wee bit of sweetness without adding a lot of calories.

  • I buy organic milk, pasteurized (but not homogenized). Since it’s already pasteurized, can I just warm it when starting the process?

    • I still recommend scalding but it’s worth experimenting with the milk that you have. I have had milks that will work with just heating to 118 degrees F and starting the process there with success. On the other hand I have had an equal amount of pasteurized milks that have failed using this method. In general I have found that scalding will guarantee success every time so is best if you are using a milk you are unfamiliar with. Hope that helps!

  • I’m using an old yoghurt maker, similar to an easiyo to incubate my yoghurt. I found it in a cupboard yesterday and figured I’d give it a go since I forgot to buy yoghurt with my groceries! Should the water I sit the container in be boiling? What temperature does the container need to be kept at for the incubation period?

  • I love Greek style yogurt & use it for everything! In place of sour cream, cream cheese.. I used to strain Fage & made healthy, low calorie (decadently rich) cheescakes, garlic, wine, Alfredo sauce for lobster raviolis… My dinner guests would hesitate at these dishes untill, I plugged my ingrediants into my cookbook software & it easy will figure the individual serving nutritional analysis… Then everyone wa.Ted a 2nd piece of cheesecake!.. I started making my own yogurt about 1 year ago.. I bought a 2qt yogurt cooker & a 2 qt yogurt strainer… I always have straining & another 2 qts setting up, so I never run out… I feed all the whey to my French Bulldog, which cured her yeasty ears, allergies, & best of all.. all Bulldog breds are GASSY smelly dogs.. whey poured over her food or a couple tablespoons of yogurt, cured that problem imediately! She smells so good now.. I can take her in the car, with the windows up!!! So feed the whey to your animals its so good for them!! Kitty & the dog Love it…

  • The only question I have is- how do I determine the nutrition content of my finished product? e.g. how many calories, protein, fat, ect.. are in the finished product.

  • have been following the process since last 15 years and today I came to know that final outcome has a name i. e. Greek Yogurt. Now I want to know the difference between this Greek Yogurt and lebnah. I find it same except the fact that straining process is longer for lebnah. Thanks

  • What about flavors? My main reason for wanting to make my own is that my favorite Dannon greek yogurt flavor, orange creme, is never available anymore. What kind of flavor mediums can be used and when should it be added? Thanks so much!

  • Hi. I’m currently on a low carb diet. Please, will a cup of my homemade Greek yoghurt made from any full cream milk compromise my low carb diet?

  • I have been making yogurt for a long, long time. Used to use goats milk when I had goats when my children were young. I came to this site to see how to make Greek Yogurt. Turns out it’s the same process that I have been using to make yogurt cheese. I just hang the bag of yogurt over a bowl in the refrigerator and let the whey drain for a few days, becomes like cream cheese after a few days.

    I don’t get all involved with temperatures and equipment though. I just have two large insulated water or tea(or what have you) coolers. I begin the process by removing the twist on lids, and pour into both a goodly amount(my whistling stove top tea water pot) of boiling water, and replace the lids, tightly. Then I take a gallon of milk, whole milk or goats milk and pour it into two copper bottom pots. Then I heat the milk on high medium and stir frequently to avoid burning the milk on the bottom of the pan. All I do is check the temperature every once in a while by taking a drop or so of the milk on my stirring spoon and dripping it onto my skin in the crook of my elbow, much like you would test a baby bottle, on your wrist would probably work too. When it feels hot and not just warm I add the yogurt starter. I use a small container of plain yogurt that I buy at the store, divided between the two pots. I stir that in and check my temperature again, if it hasn’t changed due to the cold starter I go to the next step, but if the temperature of the mixture has dropped I let it warm back up, again using the skin test method. Then I take the lids off of the insulated water coolers, one at a time, to preserve their temperatures and dump the still hot, hot water out of them and immediately fill them with the milk-yogurt mixture and immediately replace the lid and tighten it down. When both are full, I let them sit over night or all day. Works great. But, you should start with a new batch of starter every 3-5 batches. Costs me about 80 cents.

    I never heat the milk to 180 degrees or anything like that, just skin tested hot. Not warm, but, just above that. Seems to work just fine. To make cheese I do as I said above, now I’ll just let it hang for a few hours to get Greek Yogurt.

  • I HAVE A YOGURT MAKER WITH THE LITTLE GLASSES THAT YOU PLUG IN DONT HAVE ANY DIRECTIONS TO USE AND TH E TIME TO KEEP IN THE GLASSES HOW LONG.

  • Hi Bill,Can you make one? Lol, I would buy it 😉Actually lately I have been using half n’ half cream for my yogurt, so I don’t drip it because it’s already thick. For whole milk or goats milk though, it would still be something I’d invest in.

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