Homemade Fat Free Greek Yogurt

Learn how to make Greek yogurt with this easy recipe! The only equipment you need is your crock pot or slow cooker. This homemade Greek yogurt recipe is fat free and turns out much sweeter than the store bought version. My kids love this with some fresh fruit and granola for breakfast.  Read on for my beginner tips to making yogurt at home….

Make this homemade Greek yogurt.  Make it now!   You will never go back to buying it because the end result is so much sweeter.  The super tart flavor of store bought is what many people don’t like about Greek yogurt, but this is so smooth and delicious.  Not to mention, it is loads cheaper to make yourself.

There are so many variations of this recipe out there, but after much research with a bunch of trial and error batches done in my kitchen, this is my trusted end result. Using an oven to make yogurt sometimes worked for me but many times failed.  And please don’t waste your money buying a yogurt maker.  All you need is your classic crock pot or slow cooker for the process to work perfectly!  Plus, all you do is dump it all in and walk away.

If you don’t want a fat free yogurt, you can certainly make this with higher fat milk.  Also, be creative with what you mix in with your yogurt.  My kids favorite is my homemade strawberry freezer jam but you can easily recreate your favorite flavors at home.  For me, nothing beats a dash of vanilla, some fresh fruit, and my favorite homemade granola!

If you are just learning how to make Greek yogurt at home, here are a few tips and tricks to be sure it turns out perfect!  Don’t let the details scare you off because it is EXTREMELY simple. The details are there just to make sure you are successful!

How to Make Greek Yogurt

1. Only use live Greek yogurt for your culture –  Your culture is simply a small container of store-bought plain greek yogurt, but not all yogurts that are sold in the store are live, so double check your labels.  If it isn’t live, you will end up with soup!
2. Use pasteurized milk but not ultra pasteurized milk –  the ultra won’t work because any spores that would become yogurt have been killed.
3. Use a thermometer to test the temperature of your base before adding your culture – you need it between 110 – 120 degrees.  Too hot and you will kill the yogurt cultures and too cool will not allow the cultures to grow.  I just use my meat thermometer.  No need to buy anything fancy!
4. Keep your crockpot warm for as long as possible after you turn it off –  simply wrap your crockpot with a heavy blanket and let it sit overnight. That extra step keeps your mixture warm enough so that it becomes yogurt.  If your home is especially cold, you might want to try adding an electric heating pad before you wrap it up.

Homemade Greek Yogurt – Fat Free

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How to make Greek yogurt at home!

• Yield: 9 Cups 1x

Ingredients

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• 1/2 gallon (8 C) skim milk
• 1 C nonfat powdered milk
• 1 C store bought plain nonfat greek yogurt

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Instructions

1. Combine the milk and powdered milk in your crock pot.  Heat on high for around 2 to 2 1/2 hours until the milk is at least 180 degrees.
2. Leave the cover on (or a skin will form on top) and allow the mixture to cool about 2 hours until it is around 110 degrees but be sure it is below 120 degrees or it will kill the active yogurt cultures you are about to add.  It helps to occasionally open the lid as it cools and stir to allow the heat to escape faster.
3. Remove a couple ladles of the warm milk mixture and whisk in the store bought yogurt until smooth.  Add this mixture into the warm milk in the crock and whisk until completely mixed.  Promptly cover your crock and wrap your crock pot with a thick blanket or two.  Your desire is to keep this mixture warm for as long as possible.  Allow it to sit 8 – 12 hours.
4. You can now either eat your yogurt as is or strain it in some cheesecloth or coffee filter to remove some of the excess whey.  That will result in a thicker yogurt.  I carefully transfer it to a rubbermaid container without mixing it.  As it sits, the excess whey will rise to the sides which you can then remove with a spoon.  Each time I get some yogurt out, I remove any whey that has pooled.
5. Add your favorite toppings:  jelly or jam, honey, nuts, granola, fresh fruit (whole or pureed), maple syrup or other sweetener.

• Author: Carole
• Category: breakfast
• Cuisine: Greek

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/9th
• Calories: 126
• Sugar: 19g
• Sodium: 161mg
• Fat: 0g
• Saturated Fat: 0g
• Unsaturated Fat: 0g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 19g
• Fiber: 0g
• Protein: 12g
• Cholesterol: 7mg

Keywords: healthy, homemade