No fuss, healthy, drinkable yogurt for 60-80% cheaper than Gogurt and other store bought portable yogurts! These all natural strawberry and blueberry syrup recipes can be added to homemade yogurt or plain yogurt from the store for a great breakfast or snack that kids and adults alike will love!
Confession: I am a former Crock Pot hater.
Friends would gasp in horror when I admitted I didn’t add one to my wedding registry, which made me wonder if there was more to the allure of the slow cooker than the not-so-flavorful, canned soup-based recipes I had tasted. There was, of course, and I have since made peace with my hand-me-down Crock Pot, learning which simple dishes (hello, slow cooker Pulled Pork!) and soups (like this Real Texas Chili) suit our preferences.
My latest slow cooker adventure is homemade yogurt. After reading that yogurt could be made in the crock pot, I was too curious not to try it.
Crock Pot Drinkable Yogurt – Easy & Cheap!
This no fuss method of yogurt takes (lots of) time, but requires almost no effort, and is about 60% cheaper than the store-bought organic yogurt I used to buy, which means my husband loved it before he even tasted it! That percentage jumps to about 80% cheaper if you compare it to the leading store brand of drinkable organic yogurt!
Even if you choose to shortcut making your own yogurt and just add the syrups to plain, store bought yogurt, you’ll likely still come out ahead on the price.
How To Make Drinkable Yogurt
I use my Creamy Homemade Yogurt in the Crock Pot as a base, but you could also use plain yogurt from the store. Just add a spoon or two of strawberry or blueberry yogurt to each serving and, voila! Easy, all natural drinkable yogurt!
These blueberry and strawberry syrup recipes are simple to make and can be stored in the fridge for a quick addition to future batches. These are fantastic for kids, but drinking yogurt is a portable and fun way for busy adults to get in some gut healthy probiotics, too!
Follow the steps below for either strawberry or blueberry syrup.
Tips For Making Drinkable Yogurt
- If homemade syrups sound like a chore, I assure you they’re not! I use frozen fruit and just set a timer to allow the mixture to reduce down a bit while I tend to other things. Once it’s done, I add a splash of vanilla and strain before stirring it into the yogurt.
- If you don’t use all the syrup or want to have some on hand to speed things up next time then you can store them in the fridge for about a week s or freeze them for a day you need them.
- I reserve the remaining (unstrained) syrup for topping pancakes or oatmeal.
- I used pasteurized milk for this recipe, but this article has some helpful tips on making yogurt from raw milk.
Strawberry Drinkable Yogurt
Ingredients
- 1 bag 10oz frozen whole strawberries
- 2/3 cup raw honey
- 1/3 cup pomegranate juice or other pink/red juice
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 6-8 oz Plain yogurt
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except vanilla and yogurt into a large saucepan.
- Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce to a low boil until mixture has reduced by 1/3 or more, according to your preferred thickness. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
- Strain 1-2 Tbsp of liquid from the syrup and stir into yogurt. Store the remaining syrup in the fridge or freezer for later use.
Notes
Blueberry Drinkable Yogurt
Ingredients
- 1 10 oz bag frozen wild blueberries the lil tiny ones
- 1 cup honey
- 3 Tbsp orange juice or water
- 1/2 tsp orange or lemon zest
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 6-8 oz Plain Yogurt
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except vanilla and yogurt into a large saucepan.
- Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce to a low boil until mixture has reduced by 1/3 or more, according to your preferred thickness. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
- Strain 1-2 Tbsp of liquid from the syrup and stir into yogurt. Store the remaining syrup in the fridge or freezer for later use.
Notes
Do you have a recipe for vanilla yogurt?
Yes! You can add vanilla and a little maple or honey to my creamy homemade yogurt (slow cooker recipe)!
Hi! I”m just reading this post two years after it was posted! Any new tricks found to make it just a bit thicker? I used 2% milk and it was still quite thin. Thanks!
Thanks for your question, Mike! I did later develop a recipe for Creamy Homemade Yogurt in the Crock Pot that was a bit thicker.
Also, Kristel left a comment on this post suggesting that using less starter yogurt (she uses 1/2 tsp starter per cup of milk) lends to a thicker yogurt.
I hope that helps!
I have made homemade yogurt with raw milk in the past. I need to get back to making it again. I use an insulated cooler with 105 degree water. It’s a little thing, but my family doesn’t mind. My children would really enjoy drinkable yogurt. The ones you find in stores are filled with ingredients I don’t give my family. I have pinned this and am looking forward to making it soon. I found you at the Unprocessed Fridays party at Girl Meets Nourishment. I’m looking forward to following you from now on.
Thanks, Nicky. My kids love this stuff, and I hope yours do too!
Just browsed, pinned and followed your boards….looking forward to seeing more. 🙂
This looks so good. I personally, hardly ever eat yogurt. I buy it occasionally and it goes bad before I can finish it.
I do however, have a nephew, that literally goes ecstatic when he sees yogurt. He eats 2-3 yogurts at a time. I sent this to my sister-in-law as it might be a really good / cost effective option for them.
He sounds like my son – I can hardly make this stuff fast enough to keep up with him! Thanks for the comment, and I hope your nephew enjoys the recipe! 🙂
{p.s. I’m browsing your “Runners Tell All” series now to get some motivation for my new resolve to get back on track with fitness – thanks! 🙂 }
Yay for you getting back into running! It’s super hard to start again but worth it once you get going. I am at week 2 of getting back into running and reading everyone’s stories was really encouraging to me.
How timely – I’m finishing up a post on this topic that I hope to post tomorrow! Here’s to “it’s never too late!” 🙂
I make yogurt in this exact same way! If I want thicker yogurt, I just line a colander with a coffee filter and let the whey drain out into a bowl set underneath. It makes the batch smaller, but it works great. And you can use the whey for other things. 🙂 My husband and kids like their yogurt plain–but I am all excited to give the drinkable, flavored yogurt a try! I never buy the drinkable yogurt from the store… but really it’s the only way I *like* yogurt! So thank you!!! 🙂 ~ Christine @ Once Upon a… Read more »
Great idea, Christine – thanks for visiting, and for the helpful comment! 🙂
We are total yogurt nuts in our house. Plain, parfait or in a smoothie. Thanks for the great recipes. I’ll have to give these a try! ~Tammy @wildruffle.com
We are too! The cost savings alone of this one was a draw for our yogurt-loving crew, but we’ve really had fun with all the flavor variations too. 🙂
Looks delish! I would mind trying to make the vanilla one. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Sounds delicious, my grandkids would love this! Thanks for sharing at Jenni Mullinix!
Thanks for stopping by and for the comment, Debbie!
My yogurt also used to turn out too thin. I learned from a Russian to use less starter yogurt and that seemed to make a difference. I use about 1/2 tsp yogurt per cup of milk. There might be other variables in the way I make yogurt that make it thicker. I also make it in the crockpot but I pour the milk directly into 6 jars (glass peanut butter jars) that I set in an inch of water in the bottom of the crockpot. I heat on high until the milk reaches 180 degrees. I remove the jars and… Read more »
Thanks for the tips, Kristel – I wouldn’t have guessed less starter would thicken it, but I’ll definitely give that a try. And I love your PB jar setup – sounds like it replicates those fancy yogurt making machines pretty well! 🙂