How to Make Yogurt in a Dehydrator
Why Should I Make my Own Yogurt?
If you’re like me, you’re trying to eat healthier, higher-quality foods without breaking the bank. You may be on a gut-health journey, trying to fix your microbiome, or just improve your health in general. Maybe you are also trying to stretch your dollars to get more out of your grocery budget.
Homemade yogurt is the answer to all of those situations! By making your own yogurt, you can choose high-quality ingredients, ferment it as long as you would like, flavor it to your liking, and save money to boot! For the effort this homemade yogurt takes, it is well-worth the benefits. It is a probiotic powerhouse free of gums, thickeners, microplastics, and additives. If you are considering getting a dehydrator, here is one more use for it!
Choosing High-quality Ingredients
Making your own yogurt helps save you money, which might free up a little space in your budget to get higher-quality ingredients. You really just need 2 ingredients: milk and a yogurt starter.
Raw milk skips a lot of processing, which can lead to lower levels of heavy metals. Also, since raw milk skips pasteurization, it is higher in certain vitamins and enzymes. As far as milk goes, raw is the cream of the crop in my opinion. (You can still pasteurize it yourself if you’re worried about bacteria!) But not everybody has access to raw milk, so your best bet at the grocery store is going to be organic and/or grass-fed milk.
In the case of yogurt starters, you have many options. You can opt to buy an actual yogurt starter, or you can use any yogurt made with live and active cultures. Again, there are lots of options here in either camp.
What is a Yogurt Starter?
A yogurt starter is a blend of good bacteria that is used to convert the milk to yogurt. The bacteria feed on the lactose in the milk and convert it to lactic acid, which is what causes the tangy taste in yogurt. Different cultures (groups of bacteria) will lead to different qualities in the yogurt. (They also impart different health benefits.) Ultimately, you want a variety of good bacteria in your gut microbiome, so experiment away! Some people have even had success using a probiotic capsule to make yogurt, although this will only work if the probiotic is live and active.
Choosing Fermentation Time
Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of high-quality yogurts out there! But even the yogurts with high quality ingredients haven’t been fermented for very long. Yogurt companies benefit from making as much yogurt as they can in as little time as possible. This means less fermentation time.
So what happens when you let your yogurt ferment for longer periods of time? Essentially, the good bacteria multiply. As they multiply, they consume more and more of the lactose. So, a longer fermentation time means more probiotics, and less lactose. This is a win-win in my book, especially for those sensitive to lactose!
How to Make Homemade Yogurt in a Dehydrator
The yogurt making process is pretty simple, first you will pasteurize your milk, then allow it to cool. After it cools, add your yogurt starter, and let it ferment. Here is a step-by-step breakdown of how to make easy homemade yogurt! The time needed for this recipe will vary based on how long you decide to ferment your yogurt. You can also adjust the amount of milk you use if you want more or less yogurt.
- Pour 8 cups of milk into your pot
Make sure to choose a pot that is big enough for this amount of milk, or you will risk making a big mess of your stovetop. I flew too close to the sun with this pot, save yourself the trouble and size up your pot!
- Pasteurize the milk
Pasteurize the milk by heating it to 180° F, or 83° C. For a thicker yogurt, you can heat the milk to 195° F, or 90°C. Allowing the milk boil at these high temperatures for 10 minutes will lead to a thicker yogurt.
- Cool the milk
Cool the milk to 110° F, or 43° C. Remove the top layer of the milk that has formed a skin. Remove a cup of cooled milk and add the yogurt starter. Mix it well, then return it to the main pot and mix everything together. Or if you’re opting for less dishes, like me, you can add it straight to the pot as long as you stir well!
- Ferment in the Dehydrator
Pour the milk mixed with yogurt starter into individual glasses or jars, and place the lid on. Set the temperature on the dehydrator to 110° F (43° C). Now select your preferred fermentation time. You need at least 6 hours, but 24 hours drastically increases the probiotic content.
- Chill and Enjoy!
After your fermentation period is complete, place the jars in the refrigerator to chill. You want to wait until after the yogurt is chilled to add any sweeteners to avoid feeding unwanted bacteria. For the most versatile options, you can leave the yogurt plain and flavor it as needed, or you can sweeten and flavor the whole batch at once. You are going to love this chocolate-coated peanut butter yogurt, the recipe is below!
How to Flavor Homemade Yogurt
Flavoring homemade yogurt is really simple. If you use yogurt for savory recipes like turkish eggs, or for sauces and dressings like tatziki sauce, keep some of the yogurt plain. In a pinch, plain yogurt can even be used as a substitute for sour cream in recipes.
To flavor your yogurt, you can use any sweetener you love. This alcohol-free stevia extract doesn’t spike my blood sugar and is super easy to add. You can also flavor your yogurt with fruit! Go for a “fruit on the bottom” method by making a fruit compote. Just chop up your fruit of choice, add water and a little sugar, and boil! Then you can place that compote on the bottom of the jar and mix it in when you’re ready.
Another option is to add your favorite protein powder. This not only adds yummy flavor, it also increases the protein content. There are endless options and customizations. I like to make simple syrup to add to my water kefir drinks. Those same simple syrups can add the perfect flavor and sweetness to your yogurt. You can get creative and try all kinds of flavor combinations! Or you can get hooked on chocolate peanut butter yogurt like I did, haha.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Yogurt Recipe
Chocolate Peanut Butter Yogurt
After you have made yogurt in the dehydrator, try this recipe out! Dark chocolate is filled with polyphenols, which are known to improve gut health and microbiome. Coconut oil is also amazing for gut health, and can even fight candida overgrowth. I ferment my yogurt for 24 hours, which leads to a much tangier yogurt, but this flavor combination makes it irresistible. It's tasty, gut-healthy, and easy to make. Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think!
Ingredients
- 1 Cup of Homemade Yogurt
- 1/4 Cup of Peanut Butter Powder
- 1 tsp Sweetener of choice
- 2-3 pieces of Dark chocolate
- 1 tsp of Coconut oil
Instructions
- To make homemade yogurt, begin by measuring 8 cups of milk and pouring into a pot.
- Pasteurize the milk by boiling to 180° F (83°C)
- Allow the milk to cool to 110° F (43° C), then add your starter. To do this, remove about 1 cup of the cooled milk and mix well with the starter. Then pour it back into the main pot to mix with the rest of the cooled milk.
- Pour this mixture into glass jars and place into the dehydrator.
- Set the fermentation temperature to 110° F (43° C)
- Allow the yogurt to ferment for at least 6 hours, but up to 24 hours.
- Chill the finished yogurt
- When you are ready to eat your yogurt, add 1 cup into a bowl.
- Add 1/4 cup of peanut butter powder
- Add sweetener to taste
- Create a chocolate shell by melting dark chocolate and coconut oil together. Pour this melty goodness over the top of the peanut butter-flavored yogurt and chill in the freezer.
- Once cooled, the chocolate will harden and your delicious, gut-healing yogurt is ready to enjoy!
Notes
Sweetener: As always, organic, non-gmo options are best. If you are trying to heal your gut, avoiding actual sugar may be best. I love to use an alcohol-free stevia extract, it just takes about one dropper-full.
Dark chocolate: To get the most polyphenols possible, shoot for a chocolate that is at least 70% dark. Again, the quality and ingredients matter. The highest-quality chocolates are regenerative-farmed, organic, and have very simple ingredients.
Peanut butter: If you don't have peanut butter powder, you can also add regular peanut butter. Either way, make sure to stir really well to make sure you don't have any clumps.
Milk: I recommend using a full-fat milk. This is the most nutritionally complete, and will lead to a better consistency of yogurt. Using grass-fed milk will lead to a better ratio of omega-3's to omega-6's, and in general is better for you. I can't emphasize this enough, the quality of ingredients MATTERS, especially if you are on a gut-health journey.
Nutrition Information
Yield
1Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 383Total Fat 18gSaturated Fat 11gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 19mgSodium 176mgCarbohydrates 30gFiber 3gSugar 26gProtein 25g
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy but isn't always accurate.
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Good information. Interesting way of using a dehydrator. I have one, but a different model for drying my fondant pieces for cake decorating. 😊🙏
Thank you, Nurainie! We gotta get our money’s worth out of these appliances, right?!
I had no idea this could be done!! Saving for later!
I am so excited for you to give it a try, I think you’ll love it!
Smiled at your Icarus reference, super cute! And love PB&Chocolate as a flavor combo. I’ll surely be hooked same as use once I start!
Thanks Jenni! Oh yeah, it’s the best treat!
I’ve been wanting to make yogurt at home! Saving this for later!
Yay, let me know how it goes for you!
Pinning to keep this for later. Great information! Thank you for sharing!
I love how you can use so many different ways to make yogurt! I would have never thought to use my dehydrator. Thanks!