5 Minute Greek Yogurt Recipe

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This easy 5 minute greek yogurt recipe will save you a lot of money! It tastes just like the name brand greek yogurt varieties and all you need is a little bit of yogurt to get started. After that, your homemade yogurt can be used to make more and more batches.

My kids go through yogurt like crazy and we try to only have plain greek yogurt rather than the flavored varieties with a ton of added sugar. Just top this yogurt with some honey and it is the perfect treat. You can also make parfaits or make a bowl of yogurt, granola, fresh berries and honey as a healthy breakfast. We use this 5 minutes greek yogurt recipe all the time. 

I love time-saving techniques like this one. This method of preparing homemade yogurt takes only 5 minutes of your time.  Keep in mind it takes roughly 8 hours for milk to turn into yogurt, and another 8 hours for the yogurt to chill in the refrigerator. This means that from start to finish, you will have yogurt that is ready to eat in 16 hours. 

To make homemade greek yogurt at home you will need a cup of yogurt (I know – sounds strange to need yogurt to make yogurt, but think of it as a “starter” like making sourdough bread or brewing beer.) You can reuse your new yogurt culture for subsequent batches, so this is for your first batch only. I just bought a single serving of plain greek yogurt from the grocery store.

In addition to the yogurt starter, you will also need some milk or dry milk powder. I always keep a large container of 100% real instant nonfat dry milk powder at home for emergencies.

How to Make Homemade Greek Yogurt:

If you are using dry milk, simply mix one cup of milk powder per cup of hot water. However, if you like your yogurt less thick and creamy (more like traditional Yoplait style), use only 1 cup of dry milk powder per 3 cups of water. Use hot water so the dry milk powder has an easier time turning into liquid milk.

Keep in mind, you will need a yogurt maker. I have the Euro Cuisine Yogurt Maker which I love. It makes about 2 quarts of yogurt at a time. The recipe calls for 2 quarts of milk, and because Greek Yogurt is a thicker style yogurt, in total you will be mixing 4 cups of nonfat dry milk powder with 4 cups of hot water. This makes the yogurt thick and creamy.

I make one quart of milk at a time so I can easily shake it up in my half gallon mason jar.

Directions:

1. Drop one cup of 0% Fage Greek yogurt into the 2 quart yogurt making container and mix in about 2 cups of your milk.
2. Whisk the mixture to get all the yogurt cultures swimming about in the yogurt, then pour the rest of the milk into the 2 quart yogurt container, filling it up all the way to the top, but leave a millimeter or two of room for the lid to fit snugly over, creating a comfortable seal.
3. Next, place the yogurt container into the yogurt maker.  
4. Place the lid over the container, and then place the lid over the yogurt maker.
5. Plug the device in and let it run for 8 hours exactly.

Total Cost:

With the starter yogurt from the store costing around $1.50 and the 4 cups of dry milk powder costing roughly $2.00, the total cost for 8 cups of yogurt ends up being only $3.50.  However, if you went the Yoplait style yogurt route using less dry milk powder, the total cost of making 2 quarts of yogurt comes out to $2.50.

The coolest thing about yogurt is that you can reuse the culture again the next time you want to make yogurt, so you don’t have to run to the store!  This means the cost of your next batch goes down by $1.50 (or the cost of the store bought yogurt). It is like a living organism that keeps well in your refrigerator and constantly produces food for you, like a plant.