How to Make Yogurt in a Dehydrator

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Do you go through quite a bit of yogurt in your home? I’m always looking for new ways to use my kitchen appliances and today I’m going to share with you how to make yogurt in a dehydrator!

Do you go through quite a bit of yogurt in your home? I'm always looking for new ways to use my kitchen appliances and today I'm going to share with you how to make yogurt in a dehydrator! #homemadeyogurt #dehydrator #makeyourownyogurt #yogurtrecipe

How to Make Yogurt in a Dehydrator

Are you a big yogurt eater? There are so many ways to use yogurt for breakfast, cooking, and snack time!

We’ve especially liked to eat it in our smoothies. I’ve made yogurt in my crockpot before but I’d heard of making yogurt in the dehydrator and since I just love my dehydrator I really wanted to try it!

Today I’m sharing with you my tutorial on how we make yogurt in our dehydrator. It’s so simple and you don’t need any extra yogurt-making equipment as long as you already have a dehydrator!

Dehydrator Yogurt

What You Need:

  • 1 qt. milk (raw or whole)
  • 2 Tablespoon cultured yogurt
  • dehydrator

Start by pouring your milk into a saucepan. You will need to stir this constantly until it gets up to temperature.

You are looking to get your milk up to 180 F. This is the point where the milk will froth.

Once you get the 180F, remove the milk from heat and stir until it comes down to between 110 – 120F. Add in your cultured yogurt. (Or yogurt starter) Make sure that your yogurt starter was room temperature before you add it in. Stir well.

Place in containers that will fit in your dehydrator. Mine came with these containers that fit right on the shelves. Make sure you add lids or cover the containers.

Set your dehydrator at 110F. I set my timer for 7 hours but it actually needed 9 hours.

If you aren’t a fan of the *lighter* yogurt, you can strain and make it thicker after it has finished. Store in the fridge.

Need to print off this recipe for how to make yogurt in a dehydrator? Grab it below!

Dehydrator Yogurt

Ingredients

  • 1 quart milk raw or whole
  • 2 Tablespoon cultured yogurt

Instructions

  1. Start by pouring your milk into a saucepan. You will need to stir this constantly until it gets up to temperature.
  2. You are looking to get your milk up to 180 This is the point where the milk will froth.
  3. Once you get the 180F, remove the milk from heat and stir until it comes down to between 110 - 120Add in your cultured yogurt. (Or yogurt starte) Make sure that your yogurt starter was room temperature before you add it in. Stir well.

  4. Place in containers that will fit in your dehydrator. Mine came with these containers that fit right on the shelves. Make sure you add lids or cover the containers.
  5. Set your dehydrator at 110I set my timer for 7 hours but it actually needed 9 hours.
  6. If you aren't a fan of the *lighter* yogurt, you can strain and make it thicker after it has finished. Store in the fridge.

Recipe Notes

You may need to add a bit of sugar to your yogurt to help it get thicker.

Need some yummy recipes to use your yogurt in besides eating it plain? Here are some of our favorites!

Are you into yogurt making or want to try some other ways to make yogurt? Here’s my Traditional Yogurt Recipe and my recipe for How to Make Yogurt in a Crockpot.

Do you make your own yogurt? Would you ever try this dehydrator yogurt?

This blog post on Making Yogurt in a Dehydrator was originally published on Little House Living in September 2012. It has been updated as of September 2019.

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31 Comments

  1. We make our own yogurt too….our vanilla is really like a dessert. I add some gelatin to the milk before I boil it, some sugar and vanilla once I take it off the heat. It is creamy and thick and doesn’t last long. 🙂

  2. Wow, plain gelatin? I’ll have to try that one of these times. I make my own and strain it for Greek yogurt. But it’s never creamy like store yogurt. Any ideas? I like using 2%.

    1. The way I get the thick Greek yogurt is to go about heating the milk, adding the starter that same as above. I then pour the liquid mixture into a bowl with a sealable lid. (I use a ton of yogurt so I use a half gallon of milk and 1/2 cup of yogurt)

      I wrap that bowl in some warm towels and put it somewhere it will stay reasonably warm for 14 hours or so. It should be all jelled up by then. What I then do is put some folded paper towels over the top, covering all the yogurt. Let them soak up the top layer of yogurt and get wet, stick it in the fridge for a few hours. After that it should be a *little* bit firmer. Leave the paper towels over the yogurt. Place some clean dish towels or face clothes on top of the paper towels and seal up…back into the fridge.

      Every few hours you can change out the cloth towels. They will be quite wet. Do that a few times and then peel back the paper towel. VIOLA, it is think can creamy just like sour cream. When you use some, smooth the top of the yogurt back down and put a paper towel over it again.

  3. Home made is soooo much better! I use the crock pot & oven light method. Whole milk works better then 2% & you can also use powdered milk to thicken also. There is so many ways to do it without a maker, just experiment till you find the best method for you.

  4. Ive been wanting to do this but I don’t have the cups for my dehydrator! I need to read this post. Can you do it without the cups?

  5. Misty, as long as you have some kind of container that will fit in your dehydrator it will work. Doesn’t need to be anything special.

  6. When I used to use my dehydrator I also used the trick of adding some powered milk to thicken 2 percent. Works great.

  7. So thankful to read these comments. I tried making yogurt last week in the crockpot. Mine turned back to liquid when I tried to add fruit to it—even though it spooned out creamy and thick. I used 2%…will try gelatin and whole milk next. Any suggestions for adding fruit/flavors without thinning?

    1. I prefer to add the fruit afterwards when the yogurt is done. But that’s mostly because we eat most of it plain so I don’t add a lot of fruit anyways….

  8. I’m not a fan of adding powdered milk only because I don’t like the taste of it. Many don’t mind it though.

  9. Question. I’ve made yogurt in my yogurt maker but never in the dehydrator. If anyone has used both methods, would you mind telling me your preference? Would you say one works better than the other? Should I rid myself of an appliance I don’t need and stick with the dehydrator?

    Thanks!

      1. Off topic here but have you made “Craisins” w/ it? Thinking about purchasing a dehydrator…my little ones love Craisins but they are so high to buy in the store.

  10. I liked your idea of making yogurt in the dehydrator, but am concerned about your use of plastic with a heat source. I always use glass, corning ware or pyrex in cases like this. BPA is everywhere so do be cautious with the items
    you use. I do love your site and have learned so much from it.

  11. I bought my husband a yogurt maker awhile back. He loves it and will eat a jar of yogurt w/ mango juice for breakfast every day w/o any problems.
    the problem… is me. 🙂
    It’s just… gross. It has the consistancy of honey w/o the stickiness.
    I know people say to add milk powder, but what I really really want is for it to be the consistancy of the custard yoplaits. that’s really the only way I’ll eat it. Does anyone have any ideas?
    (I’m thinking of putting up a blog post of my own about it)
    Thanks!!

  12. Hi
    I’m going to try make yogurt for the first time tomorrow. Does the time needed in the dehydrator depend on the sixe of the container? Can I use glass bottles instead of plastic?
    Thanks
    Anne

    1. Yes, you may have to adjust the time in the dehydrator based on your containers, glass or plastic. Just keep on eye on it and you will be able to tell when it’s the consistency you want it to be.

      1. Thanks Merissa
        I think I could’ve left it a bit longer in the dehydrator as it was still a bit runny this morning. But it hadn’t been in the fridge for long so I’ll check again in the morning when I have breakfast & see if it’s set better.
        Was exciting to make my own for the first time.

        1. It can also depend on how runny your starter yogurt culture was….just keep that in mind too. You can also add in some dry milk to thick it up while it’s “drying” also.

  13. Has anyone used just powdered milk to make their yogurt, if so how did it turn out?

    Also if I want to add flavoring to the yogurt when is the best time to do it?

  14. Hi,
    When I leave out my starter yogurt to get to room temp it separates a bit and some watery liquid comes off. Do I add this to the milk or strain it off?
    Thanks
    Grainne

  15. Do you have a recipe for making COCONUT milk yogurt? I’m on an autoimmune protocal (AIP) where I cannot have dairy. I MISS my yogurt! I have a dehydrator and a crockpot and can use either one. I have tried making yogurt using coconut milk in the can (kind of worked) and homemade coconut milk using organic coconut flaked (that was a total failure. Any help will be appreciated. Thank you.

    1. I haven’t tried almond milk with this but as long as you have something with probiotics in it to add into the yogurt it may work. The consistency may not be the same as with regular milk though.