Crock Pot or Slow Cooker Yogurt
on Sep 17, 2017, Updated Apr 17, 2025
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It’s so easy to make silky smooth Slow Cooker Yogurt at home with just two ingredients and prep time of only 5 minutes! This simple recipe saves money, reduces waste, and delivers fresh yogurt without any additives or preservatives.
🥛Just 5 minutes of prep, and then slow cooker does the rest while you sleep. Such an easy way to get another option for homemade breakfast or snacks into your meal rotation!
My 2 Best Tips For Making Slow Cooker Yogurt
- Temperature Matters: The first time you make this recipe, use a thermometer to verify your slow cooker’s heating pattern. The ideal temperature for yogurt cultures is 110-115°F (43-46°C). Too hot and you’ll kill the cultures; too cool and they won’t activate properly.
- Quality Starters Make Quality Yogurt: Choose a high-quality plain yogurt with live active cultures for your beginning starter. Brands like Mountain High, Fage, or Chobani work well. Then you can start saving your own starter from each of your homemade batches. After a few batches, you may notice your yogurt becoming less thick—this is the time to introduce a fresh commercial starter.
🩷 Melissa
I like to start this in the afternoon so that it’s ready to sit for its long 8-12 hour warm resting period overnight. We then wake up to fresh yogurt, and I’ll serve it with fresh fruit and some homemade granola.
This is a great way to to get organic yogurt on the cheap. You can buy a carton of organic milk and turn it into yogurt for about half the price of organic yogurt.
It is plain yogurt, but you can add honey, jams, fresh fruit, and just about anything else you like. I also use it in place of sour cream in most recipes.
Slow Cooker Yogurt
Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon (8 cups) whole milk (you'll get a thinner product with a lower fat content milk)
- 1/2 cup commercial plain yogurt that says “Live and Active Cultures” on the tub, I have great success with Mountain High yogurt for my culture.
Instructions
- In a large crock pot, add the milk. Add the lid. Turn it on low for around 2 ½ hours.
- After that time has passed, unplug the crock pot and let it sit for 3 hours. I always set a timer for these or I don’t remember.
- After the 3 hours has passed, stir in the ½ cup of yogurt. Replace the lid of the crock pot and cover with two big towels or a blanket. Let rest for 8 to 12 hours (overnight works well). In the morning you'll have yogurt!
- Place it in a half-gallon mason jar and refrigerate for a few hours before serving. It will thicken up in the fridge. Keep a ½ cup of this yogurt for your next batch and say goodbye to buying yogurt!
- You can also let the yogurt strain in cheese cloth in the fridge for a few hours and you'll get a thicker Greek yogurt.
Video
Notes
- I highly recommend getting a little instant-read thermometer to make homemade yogurt since it’s all about the temperature.
- The goal is to scald the milk which takes place around 180°F. Check it with a thermometer the first time to see if the “warm” setting is warm enough or if maybe an hour and 45 minutes would work on low. Once you figure it out, I don’t think you would have to use the thermometer every time.
- After the milk is scalded, the waiting time is meant to bring the milk down to around 110-115°F so it’s still warm but won’t kill your yogurt culture.
- Serve with fresh fruit and granola
- Make yogurt bowls: 5 Easy Healthy Yogurt Bowl Ideas
- Homemade Fruit on the Bottom Yogurt Cups
- 4 Ingredient Healthy Strawberry Frozen Yogurt (5 minute recipe!)
- It also goes great in smoothies like my Key Lime Pie Smoothie, Strawberry Kiwi Smoothie, or Avocado Smoothie.
- Or try it in these amazing Soft and Puffy Greek Yogurt Sugar Cookies!
Nutrition
Recipe FAQs
Homemade yogurt typically stays fresh in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks when stored in an airtight container. The flavor may become more tart over time as the cultures continue to slowly develop.
Several factors can affect thickness: using ultra-pasteurized milk, milk with lower fat content, culture that wasn’t active enough, or temperature issues during incubation. For thicker yogurt, try using whole milk, ensuring proper temperatures are maintained, or strain the finished yogurt through cheesecloth.
After your yogurt is made, simply line a fine-mesh strainer with cheesecloth, place it over a bowl, and pour in your finished yogurt. Allow it to drain in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours for a thicker Greek-style yogurt. The longer it strains, the thicker it becomes.
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Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
I have made this eight times and will continue making it. I think I get a better, thicker (I drain mine) tastier yogurt. If I were to buy the price stuff at the grocery I’d pay $6 and I make it for less than $2.50 (I always buy a 5.3 oz store brand for a starter.) That means I am saving $3.50 or more every time I make it. I have started experimenting using yogurt in other recipes, blue cheese dressing on a salad is awesome and you don’t have to skimp since it is healthy.
Hi Melissa, thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Good quality yogurt without all the added junk has gotten so expensive! I’ve tried this in me and my daughter absolutely love it. I was curious though how long can I expect it to keep? I’d like to make it a week ahead of time.
It’s a really similar time frame as commercial yogurt, about a week in the fridge but most of the time if it starts to grow stuff I just scrape off the top and continue… but that might just be me.
It took my crock pot 5.5 hours to scald the milk to 180° on low. Not sure if anyone else has ever had this issue. My crock pot does not have a warm setting, just low and high. I will be setting a very late alarm tonight to mix the yogurt in lol
You can always try to scald it on high next time to see if it goes faster…
I usually don’t leave comments….. This is absolutely the best yogurt ever! I have been wanting to try making yogurt but all the timing and temps were intimidating. The crockpot rocks! Thank you for this delicious recipe. NO more store bought yogurt!!
I’m so happy at how easy this yogurt was to make! I’ve seen recipes using an instant pot but didn’t want to buy one. I used 2% milk and a individual cup of Great Value brand non fat, plain Greek yogurt (close to a 1/2 cup). I’m glad I read through the comments first! Using my crock liner (with lid) I left it in the oven with the light on over night. The yogurt was super thick and creamy. I strained the whey out with a cheese cloth lined colander over a bowl, left it for an hour that way in the oven with the light on. I got a quart of whey and over 32 oz of Greek style yogurt! I’m looking forward to using it in smoothies for a protein boost!
Update: to cut time you can heat the milk on the stove top to 180°, pre-heat your crock pot on warm with the lid on. Once milk cools to 100°, pour into crockpot and monitor the temperature. Once steady at 100°c, move crock (with the lid on) to oven with the light on overnight (12-15 hours). I’ve also had success with using the whey from my first batch of yogurt to culture the next two batches, it makes for a more sour/tangy yogurt. If you prefer a more mild “zing” use the homemade yogurt or store bought to culture.
I just finished making this for the fourth time. I am hooked. I have NEVER seen such creamy, I mean really creamy yogurt. Not solid and gelatinous looking. You don’t have to stir it just scoop it. The taste is the best. (FYI for 30+ years I lived in NY about twenty five minutes from Chobani Yogurt was born. I’ve eaten some yogurt.)
That’s awesome! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment!
I’m so excited about this recipe. Thanks for sharing. I made this last night, and I awoke to great tasting yogurt! I immediately put it to strain for thicker greek version. After a couple of hours, my yogurt was so creamily and “fluffy” even. The texture is really nice, Thanks to the people that suggested putting it in the oven with the light on overnight. I never knew the light would give off such heat (I never use it really). I think that made the difference. I haven’t acquired a taste yet for plain yogurt, so I did add 1/3 cup powdered sugar and a couple tsp of vanilla in when I added my yogurt starter. I’ve made yogurt in the instant pot and I really like this way better. Seems easier to me. I think because my instant pot (Pampered Chef) only goes to 6 hr timer and you need it to go to at least 8 hours. Plus, I really need to watch it during the scald portion or it forms a skim. I didn’t need to do anything extra here except to set a timer to complete the next step. I have made notes on my copy of the recipe to remind myself I need to start this at 4:30 pm in order to put it in the oven by 10:00 pm (when I usually go to bed). I do believe this is my new way of making my yogurt from here on out. Question to others- do you think I need to wrap it in the towels if I put in the oven with the light? I’m thinking no, but appreciate the wisdom of others.
I don’t think you’d need to towels if you are putting it in the oven!
Can I use coconut or almond milk for a dairy free yogurt? And stevia to sweeten it so it’s keto?
I haven’t tried it with alternative milks, you’ll have to let us know. And once it’s made you can sweeten it with whatever you’d like!
Not sure what I did wrong but followed all directions and times using my digital thermometer. Just as liquid as when i started. Smells like yogurt but nithing whatsoever to strain. Do you have to use organic milk? Can I use whole milk from the store? I used plain yogurt without sugar but can’t find anything about live culture on it. I bet this is the problem. Guess i could freeze this for treats for the dog.
You can use a variety of milks and you do have to use a yogurt with a live and active culture in it or it won’t have what it needs to make yogurt.
Chris, I bet it was the yogurt you used. You need LIVE cultures. Your yogurt didn’t “grow”. Try FAGE yogurt. Or look at a nature food store. Good Luck! Homemade yogurt is well-worth the effort.
Jessica, when did you add the heavy cream? Before or after scalding the milk?
I add heavy cream after I have strained my yogurt. I put it in my stand alone mixer, add some heavy cream and whip it up. It turns out very creamy. Hope it helps.