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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!
This was my first time making homemade yogurt. I used 2% a2 Milk & Fage 5% Greek Yogurt. I found it to be quite slimy so I sprinkled a little sea salt and strained it for several days turning it into Greek yogurt cream cheese. It’s absolutely delicious, thank you for sharing your recipe!
Great to hear you got it working, Lynn! 😀
and just to say – I’ll never buy yogurt again and also to say there’s no reason you can’t use the some of the whey as a starter for your next batch. I’ve done both and it’s exactly the same result.
Brilliant! Thanks so much for the tip, June! 😀
I made the yogurt and it came out beautifully. However, I didn’t put it in the fridge immediately as I wanted to strain it to make the Greek yogurt, and left it on the counter while the cheese cloth dried. Did I just ruin the yogurt(I put both in the fridge just in case they’d be fine… With dead bacteria)
I don’t think that would have ruined it! With that said I do usually strain to make Greek yogurt (or even cheese) in the fridge to prevent food borne illness.
I have a question about your recipe for making Greek Yogurt. Can you save 1/4 c of the yogurt made to make another batch? I’d also like to know, if you only make 2 cups of yogurt at a time, would you use 1/8 c yogurt or still the 14/?
Yep, you can use the yogurt you made to start the next batch! And as long as you keep the ratios the same, you can scale the recipe up or down.
Hi, how long would this greek yogurt be good for when stored in an airtight container in the fridge?
About 2 weeks!
Hi Sarah
What a joy it is to read your posts! I’m curios though to know if you can make dubble cream greek yogurt? How?
Have a blessed day
Ansie
Now that’s a good question! I’m really not sure and have never tried it, sorry about that!
If I wanted to flavor the yogurt say with vanilla or almond extract when would that be added and how much would I add?
Add it after straining the Greek yogurt 🙂 And I’d probably do about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per 4 cups of yogurt!
Thank you for responding. I have my jar in the oven now. We shall see what happens in 4-8 hrs!! 😉
YAY! Enjoy! 😀
A sous vide machine makes precision yogurt-making very easy. I set the machine at 190 F and let the machine pasteurize the milk, with zero possibility of scalding. When the milk reached 190 F, I dumped the hot water and set the machine to 100 F and refilled the bath and placed the milk container in the bath. As soon as the milk is at 100 F, I’ mix it with 1/4 cup of yogurt and hold it at 100 F for the next 6 hours. The whole process takes about 10 minutes of attention.
SO AWESOME! Thanks for dropping in to let us know how it went. I’m sure other people will be excited to try this method! 😀
Can we make kefir with non dairy milk? e.g. Coconut milk