Crock Pot or Slow Cooker Yogurt
on Sep 17, 2017, Updated Apr 17, 2025
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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.
More Healthy Snack Recipes to Consider
Healthy Snacks
Medjool Date Protein Bites: No-Bake Sweet Treat
Healthy Snacks
Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls
Healthy Snacks
Almond Butter Protein Balls
Healthy Snacks
No-Bake Coconut Protein Balls
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
I just purchased the “Cold Brew Coffee and Tea Maker Stainless Steel Filter With Lid for Mason Jars” to use as a strainer for my homemade yogurt and it works perfectly! It can be found at masonjarlifestyle.com. Consider adding the link to your site since it is no longer possible to purchase the strainer you show on your site. I purchasd the quart size which is almost identical to the one you show. Approximately $17 depending on shipping and tax.
Where did you get the stainless steel strainer featured in the picture.
I just bought it on amazon, it fits in my Instant pot, I use it for mashed potatoes in it!
Can I use Greek yogurt instead
As long as it has live and active cultures you can use it, Greek yogurt normally works great!
Tried for the first time last week– yummy! With the amount of yogurt my family eats, I’ve calculated that I’ll be saving approximately $60 a month by making it at home, which is INSANE!
My first batch was a little wonky. Half of it came out a little grainy (still good flavor, just not great texture) but the other half of it was super thick and creamy and PERFECT. I did 2.5 hours on low. I’m thinking maybe my crockpot heated the bottom layer too quickly so this time I’m going to try to do .5 on the warm setting first, then the other 2 hours on low. Hopefully that’ll prevent that layer of grainy texture. I’ll have to play around with it 🙂
Either way, never going back to store bought! Thank you for this recipe!!
When my gallon of milk has cooled down to 115 degrees, I add a container of GREEK GODS yogurt (7 different biotic cultures) plus one Dynamic Biotics capsule from Stonehenge Health (16 different biotic strains). Thoroughly mix it and put it in pint jars that I put in a fruit dryer to keep them warm. The yogurt thickens quickly and beautifully; no need to filter it. It has a mild taste. Usually I use fresh goat milk but my goats have dried up so I used whole cow’s milk a week ago and it was fine. Next time I plan on using a crock pot to see how it works. What kind of crock pot do you recommend?
First time yogurt maker here, this was so simple and very very delicious. I had a gallon of raw milk that needed to be used so I made the whole gallon. (Gifting some to others). I added some vanilla extract and honey to taste. LAWWWWWD when I tell you this is fantastic. Guys, I mean really really fantastic.
I make it with raw milk most of the time too and it is soooo good!
Can this recipe be doubled?
Yes if it will all fit in your slow cooker!
Hi. It would help massively if you stated what temperature you are using. F or C.
First time yogurt maker here, and I was so pleased how everything turned out, even with a goof up.
I followed timing but not temperature and realized I added a starter in when it was still too hot, so put an additional starter in once at ideal temp, and all turned out great.
I used whole milk, and strained off about a quart of whey water. Looking forward to figuring out ways to use.
We flavored half the batch with homemade strawberry jelly, which was super easy prep.
My only question is about the starter- if you keep adding a held 1/2 cup from a previous batch, aren’t you essentially adding a little bit of really old milk over time? Does the yogurt making process remedy this?
I’ve made this 3-4 times over the past month. I’m so happy with the yogurt this recipe produces.
My slow cooker (rather old) takes just under 3 hrs on High to reach 180°. By the time I’ve cooled the milk, added the starter yogurt, let it rest for 12 hrs, and strain it (I prefer Greek style). It takes a solid 24 hrs from behind to end.
Totally worth it! I end up with with over 1 kg of yogurt that is creamy and delicious. All for the cost of a half gallon of whole milk!