In this post, I’ll show you how easy it is to make homemade yogurt! All you need is some milk, and some leftover yogurt and you’re good to go! My recipe makes 1 liter (4 cups, 1000 grams) of plain yogurt and costs me $2.48 (in January of 2024). The yogurt at the grocery store costs about $4.99 on sale for 650 grams, so if you eat a lot of yogurt, it’s so much more cost-effective to make it at home – and of course, homemade is always better!

I’ve included the video instructions at the end of the post if you’d like to see how I make my 2-Ingredient Yogurt!

Ingredients for my Homemade Yogurt

Here are the two ingredients: milk and leftover yogurt. How easy! I would recommend that 2% milk be the lowest fat content you use. If you use skim or even 1%, there is a risk that the yogurt will not set well. Even at 2%, it’s slightly runny but it works.

Making The Yogurt

The first step is to heat your milk. You want to reach a temperature of 200 F (93 C). Whisk constantly as it heats up so that it doesn’t burn. If you’ve ever burned milk before, you know that odor is NOT pleasant. We want the temperature to reach 200F so that it will kill any lingering “bad” bacteria that may be in the milk. Once it reaches temperature, keep a good eye on it, because it may very well boil over!

Place your pot into a sink of cold water, and whisk often. Bring the temperature of the milk down to 105-110F (40-45C). You can let the milk cool on the counter, but it cools so much faster in a cold water bath. Keep your eye on the milk at this stage, it takes about 5 minutes to hit your target temperature. If you don’t cool the milk, the high heat will kill the bacteria in the starter and you won’t end up with yogurt, you’ll end up with warm milk.

Adding starter to milk to make yogurt part 1

Adding starter to milk to make yogurt part 2

photo of mixing starter into yogurt part 1

photo of mixing starter into yogurt part 2

Put a few large spoonfuls of your leftover yogurt into a bowl. Add one ladle full of the warm milk and whisk well. Pour the yogurt starter mix back into your pot and whisk well.

Next, pour your yogurt into jars. I use Mason jars.

Incubate The Yogurt

Incubate for 8 hours. There are several methods to incubate your yogurt. If you have a yogurt maker, well, it’s a no-brainer! I don’t, so I use a heating pad on medium heat. I wrap the jars in tea towels to keep them warm. You could also wrap them in towels and leave them in the oven with the oven light on. Eight hours later, put your jars in the fridge overnight to allow the yogurt to set.

Homemade Yogurt! Wasn’t that easy? I use yogurt in my fruit shakes, it’s so delicious and healthy – and great for the gut too! I just toss some yogurt, strawberries, and a little maple syrup into my blender for a yummy breakfast!

Notes

Always remember to keep some of your yogurt to start your next batch!
I use this yogurt as a substitute for sour cream.
If you’ve never had homemade yogurt, you’ll notice it’s a little more runny than grocery store yogurt. That’s because this homemade yogurt contains NO chemicals or gelatin.
Homemade yogurt is a little more sour, so have some maple syrup handy if you like your yogurt sweet!

2-Ingredient Yogurt

Recipe by Rain Frances

Servings

servings

Easy 2-Ingredient Yogurt! Homemade is always the best!

Ingredients

One liter (4 cups) of whole or 2% milk
A few large spoonfuls of leftover yogurt

Directions

Heat your milk to 200F (93C), whisking often.
Place your pot into a sink of cold water, whisk often and bring the temperature of the milk down to 105-110F (40-45C).
Put a few spoonfuls of your leftover yogurt into a bowl. Add one ladle full of the warm milk and whisk well. Pour the yogurt starter mix back into your pot and whisk well.
Pour your yogurt into jars.
Incubate for 8 hours. When done, put your jars in the fridge overnight to allow the yogurt to set.

Recipe Video Instructions

Notes

Milk with a fat content of less than 2% runs the risk of not setting.
There are several ways to incubate the yogurt. I use a heating pad set on medium heat and I wrap the jars in tea towels. You could also use a yogurt maker; or wrap the jars in towels and leave them in the oven with the oven light on.
Always remember to keep some yogurt as a starter for your next batch!
Homemade yogurt contains no preservatives or gelatin, therefore it has a more runny texture. It’s also a little more sour, so have your favorite sweetener handy if you like your yogurt sweet!