Homemade yogurt in the Crockpot!

Yes, you really can make delicious, creamy yogurt at home, in your crockpot!  It's true!

I was a bit of a skeptic myself.  I had seen this on several blogs as well as on Pinterest, but I was always a tad leery about it.  Could I really make homemade yogurt?  What if I messed it up, and wasted a half of a gallon of milk?

Well, I decided to throw caution to the wind and give it a try.  And let me tell you... I am so glad I did! 

The results were stellar!  We all enjoyed a bowl, along with a drizzle of honey, some homemade granola, and a few sliced cherries. 

 

Homemade Crockpot Yogurt:

• 1/2 gallon of whole milk.  We used pasteurized, but I'd eventually like to go to using raw milk.

• 1/2 cup yogurt starter--any yogurt with live cultures.  I started with Stonyfield organic.  You can use store bought for the first batch, and use a 1/2 cup of your homemade yogurt for your starter in subsequent batches.

Directions:

• Pour your 1/2 gallon of milk into your crockpot and cover with lid.  Turn it on low and let sit for 2 hours and 45 minutes.  (We have the large crockpot, but I've seen that your can do this for 2 hours in the smaller ones.)
• Turn your crockpot off, and unplug.  Allow your milk to sit for 3 hours.
• Next, spoon 1-2 cups of your milk into a mixing bowl, and whisk it together with your 1/2 cup of yogurt starter.
• Add the mixture back into your crockpot and whisk well, to distribute the live cultures so that they can grow.
• Put your lid back on your crockpot and wrap in a couple of thick beach towels.  This helps to trap the heat.
• Allow the crockpot to sit undisturbed for 8-12 hours.
• At this point, you now have homemade yogurt!  Stir the yogurt and transfer into storage containers.  Refrigerate before serving.

We really enjoyed this yogurt, and I'm planning on making this regularly.  Next time, I think I'll even strain some to make greek yogurt as well as some homemade cream cheese! 

Making our own yogurt is such a money saver!  I can make a half gallon of yogurt for less than what I'd pay for a quart of the store bought stuff!



Enjoy!