Make Yogurt at Home — Gateway to Homemade Dairy Products
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No special starters are necessary to make yogurt at home. A dedicated yogurt maker is fun to use but not necessary. There are many ways to make delicious, high-quality yogurt in most home kitchens. In fact, yogurt may be made off-grid-style over an outdoor fire and an insulated cooler.
Start Here or There??
Many folks feel that butter-making is the door through which homemakers begin to produce all sorts of delicious dairy products at home. It is true that learning to make butter is a fairly easy journey. Moving heavy cream until it turns into butter is pretty much the extent of the process. Butter may be produced using an electric mixer, a non-electric churn like this one or just a glass jar.
Of course, there is the washing and then the storage of the butter. Check it this blog I wrote for Lehman’s hardware in Amish Country, Ohio, about Butter-making 101.
The flavor and nutritional value of homemade butter may be increased with a simple additional step in the process. Learn how to make butter at home and also learn the tip to improve its flavor and nutritional value with my Better Butter course.
After nearly 37 years of homemaking in my own home and helping my Mama for 18 years before that, I am grateful that I’ve learned my way around a kitchen pretty well. One suggestion that I share with homemakers who desire to begin producing dairy products at home is to begin with yogurt-making rather than butter. Or, conquer both in the same week, if you wish!
Why Make Yogurt at Home?
- cost
- health
- ingredients
- ease
Cost
Let’s compare the cost of no-frill, basic, plain whole yogurt with comparable quality whole milk from Kroger. (Prices reflect June 20, 2026 at Murfreesboro, TN, Kroger.)
- 16 oz. plain yogurt, $1.44
- similar quality whole milk to make same amount of yogurt, $0.48
Consume twice that amount per week?
- Store-bought: 32 oz. plain yogurt, $2.88
- Homemade: 32 oz. yogurt, $0.96
How about using raw milk from your own well-managed, grass-fed cow or herd share?
- 32 oz. well-managed raw milk, $3.00 (on average)
- 32 oz. store-bought comparable quality yogurt, $7
Health
What a probiotic powerhouse yogurt is! This is likely its most famous claim to fame. Yogurt is made using live bacterial cultures which are very beneficial to the digestive system.
Yogurt is a source of vitamins and minerals which support energy levels, bone and heart health — vitamins A and B12, calcium, potassium, iodine, and phosphorus. Also, in yogurt is magnesium which helps with muscle cramps and promotes better sleep.
One cup of 2% fat Greek yogurt contains 19g protein.
Source.
Ingredients
The quality and taste of any food are the direct results of the ingredients used in the dish.
It’s simple. The better quality milk that is used, the better quality yogurt is produced. When yogurt is made at home with the best milk that is available to the homemaker, the resulting yogurt will reflect this quality.
Many commercially produced yogurts contain ingredients that are questionable. Fillers, stabilizers, additives, preservatives are found in the ingredients list. Most yogurts are sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners.
Homemade yogurt may be sweetened with honey, maple syrup, natural stevia, fruit purée or sweetener of choice.
No special starters are necessary to make yogurt at home. Just use a good quality plain, unsweetened yogurt that has “live active cultures.” I have used a vanilla-flavored yogurt when I couldn’t find plain and it worked fine.
Mammal milk (cow, sheep, goat) is the only type I recommend using to make homemade yogurt. I have tested using nut milk and you can see the failed result in this video.
Ease
As I travel from state-to-state teaching cooking and kitchen skills, I encourage my audience that “anyone with a wrist can make yogurt.” The process is fairly simple, especially if the slow cooker is used. That is our go-to method and has been since our youngest two children were just learning to talk. Our three youngest kiddos could make slow cooker yogurt on their own at young ages. Check out this popular 59-second video to see how our daughter explains the process.
Yogurt may be made with or without electricity and in most home situations.
For centuries, this traditional, fermented milk product has been enjoyed for sustenance and health.
Our favorite and easiest method to make yogurt is using the slow cooker. We use this one.
Ways to Make Yogurt at Home
- slow cooker method (video tutorial)
- stovetop
- insulated cooler, non-electric option (blog tutorial)
- electric yogurt machine (video tutorial)
- instant pressure cooker
Learn more about yogurt making in this blog I wrote for Lehman’s in Amish Country, Ohio.
Ways to Use Yogurt
- as is, with sweeteners: maple syrup, honey, fruit or fruit purée, stevia
- smoothies
- frozen with fruit in popsicle molds
- strained to make Greek yogurt
- strained longer time to make soft cheese, a cream cheese substitute
- make labneh with yogurt cheese (a delightful soft cheese that is delicious on pizza, sandwiches, or just with a spoon) Learn to make labneh with my video here.
- dips, sauces like taziki
- refreshing Persian drink called doogh
- sour cream substitute
- buttermilk substitute in some recipes such as muffins and Southern cornbread
- marinate and tenderize meat
- pour old yogurt into drain to add good bacteria to septic tank
To learn more about yogurt making and how to strain yogurt, check out these fan-favorite videos on Heritage Ways YouTube.
How to Make Slow Cooker Yogurt
Family Favorite Recipes
Years ago my Mr. Patient and children encouraged me to write down many of their favorite recipes in one book. My first cookbook, From Katie’s Kitchen, Vol. One, includes 205 of the recipes that they requested. This book has become a fan favorite with Heritage Ways homemakers world-wide. Get your copy HERE and start making many of the recipes that our family has been cooking for generations.
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The Heritage Ways Diligent Homemaker’s Commitment
As Diligent Homemakers, we do the best we can with the resources we have at the time. These resources include our time, physical health and energy, money and possessions. We commit to using these God-given resources to the best of our abilities and give ourselves grace in the process.
Lazy hands make for poverty but diligent hands bring wealth.
Proverbs 10:4 of The Holy Bible, NIV
Count your blessings and know you are loved,
Mrs. Katie of Heritage Ways
