Christy’s Crock Pot Yogurt
Written by Rachel, Posted in Breakfast, Condiments, Crock Pot
My friend Christy and I have been talking a lot about cooking. We share the same love for most things food. I asked her to do a guest post about something to do with breakfast. I can’t wait to try her recipe!
Here’s Christy…
My name is Christy. I am a wife, a mom to four kids, and I love to cook. Since our oldest child was born almost twelve years ago, I have discovered that cooking is like therapy for me. When I put the time and energy into planning and preparing healthy meals for my family, it truly feeds my soul. I credit much of this love to my mom, who inspired me to bake apple pies and stew whole chickens when I was in high school, and to this day remains one of the best cooks I know! When we were together at her house this summer, my mom made homemade yogurt in her crock-pot, and I was sold! Though I had dabbled with yogurt-making a couple of years ago, I found it to be too labor intensive for the amount it yielded and the clean-up required. However, the crock-pot method is easy, you can make a half-gallon at a time and the clean-up is a breeze! Plus, I am sold on how economical it is and the creamy, rich texture – you can’t buy yogurt like this. We use plain yogurt at our house in many different ways – for breakfast with fruit, honey, and granola; to make hearty oatmeal pancakes; as a substitute for mayonnaise or sour cream in some cases; and as a snack sweetened with maple syrup and vanilla.
Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon milk (I use whole, but have heard it works with 2% and skim as well)
- 2 T plain yogurt*
Instructions
- Pour milk into crock-pot and turn on high. Heat milk until it reaches 180-190 degrees, about 2-3 hours. Once you do this two or three times, you should be able to determine how long this takes in your crock-pot and you won't have to check the temperature every time.
- Allow milk to cool with the lid off until it reaches 110 degrees, between 1-1 ½ hours. Again, use a thermometer the first few times, and it will give you a good idea for future batches.
- Remove about 2 c. of milk and whisk in the 2 T of plain yogurt until well incorporated. Add this back into the crock-pot and whisk gently.
- Place lid back on crock-pot. Wrap crock-pot (or just the insert, if yours has a removable crock) with a thick towel and place in oven with the oven light on.
- Allow crock-pot to sit, undisturbed for 8-12 hours. The longer you allow the yogurt to incubate, the thicker it will be. Ideally, you can time this to be overnight.
- Scoop yogurt out of crock-pot, refrigerate and enjoy!
Notes
*You can save the yogurt you make as the starter for the next batch for a few times. Every so often, it pays to buy some fresh starter. I like to use Fage Plain Greek Yogurt.
