Homemade yogurt couldn’t be easier, especially when you use sous vide! I’ve developed a sous vide yogurt recipe that’s done entirely using sous vide, no stovetop.
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Everyday I think of something new to do with sous vide.
I’ve recently gotten into cheese making and have been thinking about how so many elements of the process would benefit from sous vide. I decided to test that theory with yogurt up first!
There are lots of other recipes for sous vide yogurt out there, but my recipe is special. Those other recipes? They require you also use your stove top. That means dirtying more dishes, more hands on work, and it’s just annoying.
My sous vide yogurt recipe? It uses sous vide from start to finish. No stovetop, no other cooking methods period.
Why use sous vide to make yogurt?
Sous vide is the perfect method for making things like yogurt, sour cream, and cheese because you have to bring milk to such precise temperatures throughout the process.
It’s really difficult to control temperatures on the stove top – you’ll be way too low, then suddenly way too high and your milk is boiling and you’ve ruined it. Not so with sous vide!
What type of milk and yogurt should I use to make yogurt?
You only need two ingredients to make yogurt: milk and a starter yogurt. Once you’ve made your first batch, you can continue using that yogurt as your starter yogurt.
For the milk, get high quality, whole milk. If you’re in Portland or Seattle, I get amazing milk delivered from Milk Run.
For the yogurt, you need yogurt with live, active cultures. This is very important! Your homemade yogurt will have a similar texture as your starter yogurt, so use one you like the texture of. I used Nancy’s, which I also got from Milk Run.
What equipment do I need to make sous vide yogurt?
Don’t worry, you don’t need much!
For your sous vide setup, you’ll need:
- An Immersion Circulator (I love my Vesta Precision Imersa Elite!)
- A heat proof container (I love Cambro containers)
Outside of that, you’ll need:
- High quality whole milk
- Yogurt with live, active cultures
- A large jar
- A food scale (we have had this one for like 6 years and have put it through the RINGER, highly recommend)
Optional but recommended:
- Silicone oven gloves (to protect your hands when you dunk them in the hot water!)
- Stainless steel whisk (the most sterile option, good when you’re dealing with bacteria!)
- Thermometer (if you’re a perfectionist and want to check your temps as you go)
How to Make Sous Vide Yogurt
There are a couple more steps than your typical sous vide cook, but for the most part this process is very hands off.
There are not set amounts of milk and yogurt. I created this recipe so you could make as much or as little yogurt as you want! That does mean there’s some math, though.
- Preheat your water bath to 180 degrees F.
- When your water bath is preheated, set your jar on a scale and make sure it’s zeroed out. Set it to grams. Pour milk until the jar is about 2/3 full. Make a note of how many grams of milk you added.
- Put the lid loosely on the jar and add to the water bath. The water should go past the height of the milk but doesn’t need to cover the top of the jar (it’s okay if it does, though). Cook for 30 minutes at this temp.
- Reduce the heat to 110 degrees F. To speed this up, add ice to the water bath. Once the water bath is 110 degrees F, let the milk sit in the water bath for 15 minutes.
- Multiply the number of grams of milk you added to the jar by .05. This is how many grams of yogurt you need to measure out.
- Remove the jar from the water bath and whisk in the yogurt. Return the lid, add back to bath, and cook for 5 hours at 110 degrees F.
That’s it! You’ve made yogurt! Well, I guess I’d definitely let it chill in the fridge for awhile before eating it, but you get it.
What to Make with your Sous Vide Yogurt
Top it with your favorites, like granola, fresh fruit, and honey, and enjoy it for breakfast or use it to make a sauce for your favorite dinners.
- Spiced Yogurt Chicken
- Lemon Yogurt Cake with Grapefruit Icing
- Coriander and Yogurt Chicken
- Greek Meatballs with Feta Tatziki
Sous Vide Yogurt Recipe
You can also view this recipe as a step-by-step web story.
Get the Recipe:
Sous Vide Yogurt
Ingredients
Food:
- 730 grams High quality whole milk
- 37 grams Yogurt with live, active cultures
Equipment:
- Immersion circulator
- Food scale
- Large jar
Instructions
- Preheat your water bath to 180 degrees F.
- When your water bath is preheated, set your jar on a scale and make sure it's zeroed out. Set it to grams. Pour milk until the jar is about 2/3 full. Make a note of how many grams of milk you added.
- Put the lid loosely on the jar and add to the water bath. The water should go past the height of the milk but doesn't need to cover the top of the jar (it's okay if it does, though). Cook for 30 minutes at this temp.
- Reduce the heat to 110 degrees F. To speed this up, add ice to the water bath. Once the water bath is 110 degrees F, let the milk sit in the water bath for 15 minutes.
- Multiply the number of grams of milk you added to the jar by .05. This is how many grams of yogurt you need to measure out using the food scale.
- Remove the jar from the water bath and whisk in the yogurt. Return the lid, add back to bath, and cook for 5 hours at 110 degrees F.
- Remove the jar from the water bath and put in your fridge. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, until it's chilled.
This turned out great, EXCEPT, it’s important not to put a cold mason jar with milk into hot water. They break. Instead, place the milk in the mason jar and put it into the water bath when you start heating the water. That way it warms up gradually and preserves the jar.
Hi Chelsea,
This worked out just fine; I was looking for a way to gently heat my milk and guessed there must be a sous vide solution – and found yours!
I put the jar in the water before heating to avoid cracking. I suggest your visitors set the initial timer for at least one hour as it takes a while for the milk to reach the temp of the sous vide or use a thermometer in the milk itself.
Finally for your metric readers, it’s 84C for the initial temp and 44C for the ferment.
Cheers!
Chris