Love yogurt, but hate all the garbage additives in the store-bought stuff these days? You are going to love today’s recipe! This homemade vanilla yogurt is so easy to make and it tastes so good!
Making homemade vanilla yogurt doesn’t have to be hard! In fact, it’s a whole lot easier than I thought it would be when I first set out to make my own. And besides the fact that it is so easy to make, it’s delicious and so much better.
So, let’s head into the kitchen and make some yogurt!
You’re going to love it!
How to Make Homemade Vanilla Yogurt
Ingredients:
- 1 gallon of milk
- 1 cup yogurt starter – I used Cabot Vanilla Greek Yogurt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons vanilla powder or extract – I prefer to use the powder because it blends better and doesn’t add unnecessary liquid, but extract works great if it’s what you have on hand
- 1 gallon boiling water
Supplies:
- Stockpot or Dutch Oven
- Thermometer
- Additional stockpot
- Quart jars with lids and rings
- Cooler
First, pour the milk into a big, stockpot or dutch oven and bring it up to temperature on medium heat. You’ll want the milk to be around 185 degrees Fahrenheit, so I do recommend using a thermometer.
Now that you’ve reached the appropriate temperature, it’s time to cool off your milk. Place a heavy bottomed stockpot in the sink, with the drain closed.
Pour the hot milk into the new pot. Fill the sink with cold water, making sure not to splash any into the milk. Cool the milk to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
Add the sugar and vanilla powder or extract to the milk and stir to combine.
Scoop that yummy yogurt into 4 quart jars. Cover with lids and rings.
Place jars into a cooler.
Pour 1 gallon of boiling water into the bottom of the cooler and close the lid.
Allow the yogurt to rest for 3 hours, then move it to the refrigerator and enjoy when chilled.
That’s it! It’s so simple I don’t know why I didn’t start making my own homemade vanilla yogurt long ago!
It would’ve saved me a whole lotta money and a whole lot of migraines from the aspartame in the processed garbage. But, now that I know how to make it myself, I may never buy it in the store again!
Homemade Vanilla Yogurt

Ingredients
- 1 gallon of milk
- 1 cup yogurt starter (I used Cabot Vanilla Greek Yogurt)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons vanilla powder or extract
- 1 gallon boiling water
Instructions
- Pour milk into a large stockpot or dutch oven.
- Heat to 185 degrees Fahrenheit on medium temperature, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Place the pot of hot milk into a sink full of cold water. Cool to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Add yogurt starter to the hot milk and whisk to combine.
- Add sugar and vanilla powder or extract to the mixture and combine.
- Use a ladle to scoop the yogurt mixture into 4, clean and sanitized, quart jars. Cover with lids and rings.
- Place jars into a cooler.
- Pour 1 gallon of boiling water into the cooler.
- Close the cooler and allow the yogurt to rest for 3 hours.
- After 3 hours, remove the yogurt jars from the cooler and store in the refrigerator.
I hope you’ve enjoyed making your own homemade vanilla yogurt! It tastes so good and it’s so much better for you than the store-bought stuff!
You might also like:
- How to Make Your Own Yogurt in a Crockpot
- Country Kitchen Overnight Oats with Yogurt
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread with Greek Yogurt
Have an Awesome Day!
~Vanessa

Vanessa Hamlin is the owner and founder of Food Life Design and VLHamlinDesign. With her passion for frugal living and homesteading, Vanessa loves to write about easy recipes, making money, gardening, home remedies and everything else that a good life entails! When she’s not writing for Food Life Design or creating products for VLHamlinDesign, you’ll find Vanessa reading, drawing, gardening, cooking or spending time with her family.