From scratch · Dairy
Plain yogurt
A quart of milk and a few spoonfuls of yogurt with live cultures, kept warm for 6 to 8 hours.
✋ 15 min hands-on
⏱ 10 hr 10 min start to finish
🍽 About 1 quart (4 cups).
ContainsMilk.
Ingredients
- 4 cup whole milk, pasteurized
- 3 tbsp plain yogurt (whole milk), plain, with live active cultures (store-bought or from your last batch)
Time
Hands-on time is when you’re busy; the rest is rising, simmering, chilling or cooling, when you can do something else.
| Step | Hands-on | Waiting |
|---|---|---|
| Heat and hold the milk | 10 min | 25 min |
| Cool the milk and stir in the starter | 5 min | 30 min |
| Keep warm while it sets | – | 7 hr |
| Chill | – | 2 hr |
| In all | 15 min | 9 hr 55 min |
How long it keeps
- Refrigerator: 1 to 2 weeks (NDSU); WSU Extension gives 10 to 21 days for yogurt made with care.
- Freezer: 1 to 2 months (NDSU); it turns grainy, so use thawed yogurt in smoothies and baking.
Nutrition
Estimated from the ingredients’ USDA FoodData Central numbers.
Steps
You’ll need: heavy pot, thermometer, clean jars or a bowl with a lid, a warm spot: oven with the light on, a cooler with warm water, or a multicooker’s yogurt setting.
- Heat the milk in a heavy pot over medium, stirring often, to 180°F. Hold it near 180°F for 10 minutes for thinner yogurt or 20 for thicker, stirring.
- Cool it to 108 to 112°F; set the pot in a sink of cold water to speed it up.
- Stir a little warm milk into the starter yogurt, then stir that back into the pot. Pour into clean jars and cover.
- Keep it at 108 to 112°F, undisturbed, 6 to 8 hours, until it sets like soft custard.
- Refrigerate it as soon as it sets; chilling stops it from getting more sour. It firms up as it chills.
- Save 3 tablespoons to start the next batch within 5 to 7 days. After 5 or 6 batches, start again with fresh store-bought yogurt.
⚖️ ScalingUse 2 to 3 teaspoons of starter per cup of milk (WSU). More starter doesn’t make it set faster; it can make it sour.
🛡 SafetyUse pasteurized milk and very clean jars and spoons (WSU).
Good to knowFor thicker yogurt, stir some nonfat dry milk powder into the cold milk before heating (WSU).
Sources
- Yogurt Made Simple (FS173E), Washington State University Extension, 2015. Accessed 2026-10-25.
- Food Storage Guide (FN579), NDSU Extension, reviewed January 2023. Accessed 2026-10-25.