Crock Pot Yogurt

Typically, we don’t cook dairy items in the crock pot, especially not on low, because we don’t want to run the risk of spoilage. But when you are making yogurt, this is exactly what you want to happen! I was skeptical of making yogurt in the crock pot, but a friend of mine asked me to give it a go, so I did. And I’m thrilled with this delicious, healthy snack!

There are so few ingredients in this that you won’t believe how good it will actually turn out. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. You need time to make this recipe… there are three separate steps. I started mine at 11 am and it was finally done at midnight.

2. It sounds silly, but you actually need to buy yogurt in order to make yogurt. Much like a sourdough bread, you need a “starter” to get the process going and plain yogurt has the live cultures needed to make this work. Once you make your first big batch of crock pot yogurt, you can save the last cup of it to use in the next batch and then the next and the next…

3. Regular yogurt is TART! But you don’t need to add high fructose corn syrup, food dyes, sugar or junk to make this yogurt yummy. But be prepared that your first taste will be fresh tasting.

4. This is not the recipe to try and be homemade and low-fat. Use whole milk and yogurt to have the best final product. But it’s worth it and one serving is a great snack or breakfast, especially when you use a variety of add-ins to adapt the flavor.

Ingredients:

1/2 gallon whole milk

1 c. plain yogurt

3 T. honey (local, if possible)

1 T. vanilla

Pour milk into crock pot and cook on low for 2.5 hours. Turn crock pot off and let it sit undisturbed on the counter for 3 hours.  Then add in yogurt and stir into lumps are gone. Cover crock pot with a big dish towel to keep all moisture inside and let it sit for another 8 hours.  Add honey and vanilla to the yogurt and stir. The yogurt is now finished and should be transferred to an air-tight container and stored in the refrigerator until eaten.

Save the last cup of this batch to use at the starter yogurt in your next batch.

Other great add-ins would be cut-up strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, canned crushed pineapple, chocolate chips, jelly/jam or any combination of all these great flavors!

(This recipe is based off of a fellow blogger’s A Year of Slow Cooking.)