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This is your foolproof guide to making healthy homemade Greek yogurt. With just two simple ingredients and basic kitchen tools, you can enjoy homemade Greek yogurt that is healthier and more flavorful than store-bought versions.
save this recipe!Milk is made up of casein and whey. While whey is the watery substance left when the milk curdles, casein is what curdles and is used to make cheese and yogurt! And the best part? This process is incredibly easy to do at home!
Hundreds of people have used this recipe to successfully make yogurt in their kitchens—yours next?
- Control the ingredients: No thickeners or added sugars—just milk and live cultures (aka yogurt).
- Budget-friendly: A quart of homemade yogurt costs a fraction of the store-bought stuff.
- Double-duty: You also get whey (the leftover liquid), which you can use in smoothies, bread, or cooking grains.
Reader rating
“I just gave it my first go and it turned out perfect! Never dreamed making yogurt was so easy!” —Nicole
Just 2 Ingredients
Yogurt is a fermentation (just like kefir, kombucha, and kimchi), meaning it’s created by adding some bacteria (yogurt) to a sugar-containing substance (milk) and letting the bacteria eat up the sugar. So to make yogurt at home, you’ll just need 2 ingredients:
- Yogurt: Use a good-quality yogurt with live or active cultures listed on the label. (After this first batch, all future batches can use what you made as the yogurt starter. You’ll never need to buy it again!)
- Milk: Whole-fat milk produces the best texture for homemade yogurt.
This is just an overview; jump to the recipe card for measurements!
The process is simple
This is just an overview; jump to the recipe card for full printable instructions and step-by-step photos!
- Heat the milk: Warm milk to 185–200°F. This changes its proteins so the yogurt thickens properly.
- Cool it down: Quickly cool to 100–110°F. This is the ideal temp for activating the yogurt cultures.
- Add the starter: Whisk in live culture yogurt to introduce the bacteria that make yogurt.
- Ferment: Cover and let sit in a warm spot (like the oven with the light on) for 4–8 hours to thicken and develop tang.
- Strain (optional): For Greek yogurt, strain in the fridge until it reaches your preferred consistency.
- Store and enjoy: Chill and use as you would store-bought yogurt—sweet or savory!
Tips For Success
Keep it warm: The oven light should be enough, but if your kitchen’s cold, turn the oven on for one minute every few hours to gently rewarm.
Tanginess depends on time: A 4-hour ferment makes mild yogurt. Closer to 8 hours = tangier.
Save some as a starter: You can use a few tablespoons of your homemade batch as a starter for the next one.
More than just for breakfast
Use your freshly made Greek yogurt to whip up Spinach Artichoke Dip or Healthy French Onion Dip. And my favorite way to use Greek yogurt? In this quick and easy tzatziki sauce!
How to Make Greek Yogurt (No Special Equipment)
Equipment
- Medium pot with lid, aim for the heaviest/thickest pot you have
- Kitchen thermometer
- Quart-sized jar or bowl
- Mesh sieve
- Cheesecloth or thin dishcloth, coffee filters, paper towels etc. placed inside a mesh strainer
Ingredients
- 4 cups whole milk, 960 mL
- ¼ cup plain store-bought yogurt, ensure the container says “live” or “active” cultures, 60 g
Instructions
- Heat Milk: Place 4 cups whole milk in a medium pot and heat to 185-200°F (85-93°C), stirring frequently to preventing a skin from forming.
- Cool Bath: Transfer the pot with milk to an ice bath (I filled my sink with ice and water), to cool milk to 100-110°F (37-43°C).
- Mix: Add ¼ cup plain store-bought yogurt to the cooled milk and whisk well to combine.
- Ferment: Cover jar or bowl with a lid, wrap in a moist, warm towel to keep in heat, and place in oven. Turn on oven light to keep warm, and let the bacteria do its yogurt making magic for 4 to 8 hours (or overnight).*
- Strain: You can eat the yogurt like this, or strain it to make Greek yogurt. To strain, line a mesh sieve with cheesecloth (or paper towels, coffee filters etc), and pour yogurt in. Place over a large bowl and let strain in the fridge for a few hours (or overnight), until it’s reach a consistency you like.
- Serve chilled with your favorite yogurt toppings, or use it in a recipe as you would store-bought yogurt!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
So easy!! I used the instant pot, yogurt setting. Also rubbed an ice cube on the bottom of the pot before boiling the milk to keep it from scorching. so delicious !! Thank you
I was very precise and took the milk slowly through 85-93degC, stirring almost continuously. Similarly after plunging into iced water. I poured off a half cup at 43degC, mixed well with a few tablespoons of Greek yoghurt in a large fermenting jar then added remaining milk while still above 37degC. I used the light in the oven method overnight, giving a few minute long bursts to supplement the light. Next morning the entire jar had just over a litre of perfectly creamy Greek yoghurt. No need to strain, it was so thick. A tiny bit of liquid on day 3 but no more than shop bought Greek yoghurt. My wife preferred mine in a blind test “creamier”. I made two tubs of Tzatziki and had a couple of bowls of yoghurt with fresh picked raspberries and a little honey. MMMmmmmm. Fantastic and very easy recipe. I’ve just made another batch, but this time I used the leftover yoghurt around the jar to start it. Fingers crossed.
I was actually going to ask if you could use previously made yogurt to make another batch. How did it turn out? I would love to do this so I never have to go to the store for yogurt again!
It turrned out just fine too.
The information given is good for abeginer and precisely
This recipe sounds so easy – thank you for sharing it! I started making my own kefir a few months ago and would like to try my hand at making yogurt now. Do you happen to know if kefir can be used in place of yogurt as a starter?
I haven’t tried so I can’t be certain, but I think it would need to be yogurt just so you can introduce the right strains of bacteria 🙂
I tried your recipe and it was very tasty.
Thank you Sarah, for the steps and directions.
Question: I live in rural area and I got fresh milk from the farmers and the added yogurt to the lukewarm milk is store bought regular yogurt dose the yogurt I just made conceder organic?
Thank you
Yes it should be considered organic if those were the ingredients you used! 😀
I love the video tutorial, however, I feel like I’m misunderstanding something. I notice after you mix the yogurt and splash of milk together, you top the rest of your jar off with the milk. What do you do with the rest of the milk? I thought you used all of the milk with the small amount of yogurt. Would love to hear suggestions.
Yep you use all of the milk! The first splash is to temper it, then you add the rest 🙂
Thanks, but please Sarah I’d love to have a private chat with you about yoghurt. Mind sending me a ‘hi’ to my mail and then I can reply..thanks
can you keep the mix warm by using your oven proofing setting?
Yes! 😀
It Seems good. I will try to make it
Nice one