Crock Pot Greek Yogurt

Yogurt!! Ahhh creamy, velvety deliciousness! We go through a lot of yogurt in our house. My kids eat it every day for snack and almost daily for lunch. I make a lot of recipes using greek yogurt, that are sooo delicious. It is expensive to buy yogurt constantly, but I think I found a solution – CROCK POT GREEK YOGURT!!! I was so excited when I found this recipe over at A year of slowcooking.

Here are some reasons why I love Greek yogurt!

• It fills you up.
• It has luxurious texture.
• It’s thicker and creamier than regular yogurt.
• My kids love it.
• It is full of calcium and protein.
• It’s good for the digestive system, because it has tons of probiotics.

9 Reasons why making it yourself is a great idea.

• You can throw it in the crock pot at night and it is ready in the morning for breakfast or snacks.
• It’s A LOT cheaper – a Greek yogurt from the grocery store is 1.59 each, this method is only .30 per yogurt.
• You help our planet, by using glass or plastic reusable containers.
• You can flavor it to your liking with fresh fruit, Agave Syrup, cinnamon, granola, sugar free Jam, pure maple syrup etc.
• Because you’re growing your own cultures, you know they are active and what the length of the shelf-life is about 7 days from when you make it.
• It will have a lot less Sugar:  Most yogurts have 5 teaspoons of sugar in a 6 oz. yogurt!  Flavoring yogurt yourself allows you to control the amount of sugar you add.
• No Strange ingredients: Pectin, Artificial coloring/flavors, modified corn starch, high fructose corn syrup, Aspartame, gelatin, citric acid, and many other additives can be found on yogurt labels in your local grocery store.
• You can choose a local organic milk source that you trust.
• It’s VERY easy to make and the kids think it is cool!!

Homemade Greek Yogurt

Creamy delicious Crock Pot Greek Yogurt!

Crock Pot Greek Yogurt

Makes about 4 cups

Ingredients

• 8 cups (half-gallon) of whole, 1%, 2% or skim Pasteurized Milk, but do NOT use ultra-pasteurized it won’t work.
• 1/2 cup store-bought natural plain yogurt, you can use Dannon, Chobani, Fage etc.  (Once you have made your own, you can use that as a starter)
• You can also use 1 gallon of milk and 1 cup of yogurt, just heat the milk for 3 hours instead of 2 1/2  on step 2. The rest of the steps are the same.
  

Cooking tools

• 4 quart Crock pot
• Wisk
• Measuring cup
• Paper towels or cheese cloth ( I prefer the paper towel method)
  
• Ladle
• Containers to put yogurt in
• thick bath towel
• a timer

Directions

1. Make your yogurt on a weekend day when you are home to monitor.

2. Plug in your crock pot and turn to low. Add a half gallon of milk. Cover and cook on low for 2 1/2 hours.

3. Unplug your crock pot. Leave the cover on, and let it sit for 3 hours.

4. When 3 hours have passed, scoop out 2 cups of the warmish milk and put it in a bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup of store-bought live/active culture yogurt. Then dump the bowl contents back into the crock pot. Wisk to combine.

5. Put the lid back on your crock pot. Keep it unplugged, and wrap a heavy bath towel all the way around the crock for insulation

6. Go to bed or let it sit for 8 hours.

7. In the morning, the yogurt will have thickened to the consistency of low-fat plain yogurt.

8. Place Cheese cloth or paper towels into a colander and ladle the yogurt into it, place the colander into a big bowl or in the sink.

9. Let it sit for 1 hr until thick and creamy.

10. Chill in a plastic container(s) in the refrigerator. Your fresh yogurt will last 7-10 days. Save 1/2 cup as a starter to make a new batch.

I use these containers for everything! They are BPA free and hold 1/2 cup of yogurt or 4 oz.

11. Flavor to fit your taste, you can also use this in place of sour cream.

Nutritional Info:

(if made with skim milk)

Nutritional Stats per 6 ounce serving: (2 points +)

• Calories 90
• Total Fat 0
• Cholesterol 0
• Sodium 65 mg
• Carbohydrates 7 g
• Fiber 0 g
• Sugars 7 g
• Protein 15 g