A rich homemade lactose-free yogurt means you get to enjoy real dairy yogurt without the pain of eating dairy - and all it takes is just one night of hands-off "work". Give it a try today!
I have moved countries four times in my life. I have changed homes many more times. In every newly inhabited space, the acclimatization process wasn't easy; it took me time to get used to the new walls, the temperature, the people and, of course, the food.
On my family's first night in Israel, I tasted a revelation. The texture, the coolness, the flavor and, of course, the slight hint of fruit in that plastic yogurt cup nearly blew my six-year-old mind. Now, before you click the exit button and get the hell out of dodge ("what kind of a food writer talks about yogurt as a revelation??"), hear me out. Until that point, I had never tasted yogurt.
Don't get me wrong - I came to Israel fully acquainted with the tart, thirst-quenching taste of kefir, a cultured dairy drink favoured among many post-Soviet nations (I think the idea of pretty much letting milk go bad on the counter and then still drinking it was definitely the saviour of many a Soviet household during the food rationing days). Yet I was also deeply familiar with the nausea it would provoke in my small six-year-old stomach, a feeling that would arise just as soon as I smelled the vile concoction.
So as you can imagine, my parents really weren't very hopeful upon that first night in a new country, following a harrowing 20-something-hour flight, with their sweating, scowling eldest daughter looking at them with eyes that practically spelled hunger, and nothing to offer her but yogurt, jello cups and fresh fruit (I was also not a big fan of jello cups). But they took the risk, and after sufficient complaining, I relented… and so began a decades-long affair with sour dairy.
That is pretty much how I felt the same day I made my first lactose-free yogurt. You see, since I realized I couldn't consume lactose anymore, what I missed the most wasn't fresh milk, pungent cheese, or rich butter. I missed all those things, for sure, but what I dreamt about every afternoon was my customary cup of yogurt. No soy yogurt came even close to that mythical taste: fresh and cooling, with a sourness that can be easily tamed with just a dab of honey or jam. I just had to find a solution, or risk living life without yogurt.
And you wouldn't want that, would you?
Next time, what do we do with all of that leftover whey?
Step-by-step lactose-free yogurt story!
See our step-by-step lactose-free yogurt story to find out how to make this delicious treat.
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Recipe
Tried and loved this recipe? Please leave a 5-star review below! Your reviews mean a lot to me, so if you've got any questions, please let me know in a comment.
Lactose-free yogurt
Ingredients
- 1 litre of lactose-free milk The percentage doesn't really matter, though I go for 2 per cent. This is now fairly easily available in North America. In other countries, unfortunately, this ingredient presents more of a challenge
- 1 cup of pre-made yogurt with live cultures (most regular yogurt is fine, but aim for full fat and absolutely no flavoured stuff!)
- a big pot
- a big glass bowl or casserole dish with a lid
- a warm spot: on top of your fridge the inside of your turned-off oven with only the lamp on, or even a plastic cooler with blankets.
Instructions
- Fill a clean sink halfway with very cold water. Go on, you can even dunk some ice cubes in there.
- Take your cup of yogurt out of the fridge and let it rest at room temperature.
- Pour all of your milk into a big pot, and set it to medium-high. Cover the lid, and sit and watch the pot. They say a watched pot never boils, and you don't want this thing to come to a full boil. After 5 minutes, test the milk by placing a very clean finger in the pot and then dabbing that drop on the outside of your other palm. When the milk feels hot and is very gently starting to bubble in the pot, take it off the stove (this could take anywhere between five and fifteen minutes).
- Alternative: you may also want to invest in a thermometer. The ready milk should measure about 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Take the lid off and place the pot in the half-full sink. Wait about 10 minutes before you start the same testing. This time, the milk should feel cool to touch.
- On a fancy thermometer, this would be about 100 degrees Farenheit.
- Now, pour your milk into the clean glass bowl. Dump a cup of room-temperature yogurt into your milk, and stir gently with a wooden spoon.
- Cover your bowl with a lid.
- Now, comes the fun part: place your glass bowl into a pre-determined warm place (on top of your fridge, the inside of your turned-off oven with only the lamp on, or wrapped in blankets inside a plastic cooler). I always go for the oven.
- Leave it alone overnight. Or, if it's midday when you're testing this (and it should never be midday. Yogurt-making is for lazy people who want time to do their work for them, and it goes best with a full night's sleep), wait six to eight hours.
- Taste your yogurt. At this point, it'll be sour and warm, and quite runny. It'll harden in the fridge, after which you can ladle it into about 500ml pre-washed glass jars.
Notes
- For silky, creamy Greek yogurt, line a plastic colander with about four layers of cheesecloth large enough that the ends drape over the sides of the colander. After your yogurt has sat overnight in its warm nest, pour it carefully into the colander, and let it drain. If left at room temperature, about one hour should be enough (check for desired consistency). In the fridge, it can rest comfortably for two to four hours, but you may have to add some of the pooled whey back. And voila, you got some delicious Greek yogurt!
Karen says
If there is lactose free milk readily available then why can't we find lactose free yogurt anywhere?
kseniaprints says
I wish I knew! When I first created this recipe and was making a lot of yogurt, I lived in Winnipeg. Lact-free milk was indeed fairly readily available (though definitely not everywhere), while I have NEVER seen lact-free yogurt. Now I moved to Quebec, where there is an insane amount of lactose-free products: milk, yogurt, and cheese - and I saw the same situation in Germany this summer, but not in Israel. So I think it's just a cultural thing, or a question of supply and demand - but the products are definitely out there!
kseniaprints says
An addendum to my reply: that all being said, I also found that most commercial lact-free yogurts still have additives, while this recipe does not; it's entirely natural. Furthermore, commercial lact-free yogurt still manages to make me feel uncomfortable and bloated at times, but my recipe doesn't.
Candace says
I was so happy to find this ... I was dying without yoghurt! Thankyou... But... May I ask how I can make it thicker? Both times I made it they have been runny 🙁 ????
kseniaprints says
Hi Candace! Simple - you just need to drain your yogurt a bit longer. 4 hours will leave you with a thick Greek-yogurt like texture; 8 hours with labaneh.
Gail says
Hi, thanks for this recipe! I used lactose free milk and double cream yoghurt and let it stand in the oven with the light on for about 6 hours. I have the same problem that Candice mentioned, it came out quite runny even after putting it in the fridge. What do you mean when you say "drain your yoghurt a bit longer".? Best wishes
kseniaprints says
Sorry, I meant that if you really want it to drain you can also strain it through a cheesecloth - like you would with labaneh. But honestly, I found that if I leave it out overnight (8 hours) and then let it cool in the fridge for the same time, it always comes out nice and full. But it really depends on your milk, I guess!
Tammy says
Thank you! I have been buying powdered culture to make yogurt with lactose free milk and was wondering if I could use a cup of my resulting homemade lf yogurt for the future cultures. This is awesome news! And thank you for your research on how/if the heat affects the enzyme. You have provided the best information I have found yet. We use the unstrained yogurt as drinkable yogurt in our morning smoothies. Glad to know I can add lemon juice to a bit of strained yogurt to make ricotta!! Lasagna, here we come!
kseniaprints says
Glad I made your lactose-free food repertoire a bit richer! Discovering how easy it was to make lact-free yogurt really changed my life. And I want a full report on how that lasagna turned out 😛
haazra says
how do I go from ricotta to the cheese that is salty an that I can slice ?
kseniaprints says
That requires the addition of rennet or other coagulating bacteria, and usually some aging. You would also need to drain it very, very well. Sadly, cheesemaking is not my area of expertise, but there are a lot of guides online!
Jan says
I would prefer to eat vanilla lactose yogurt rather than plain. At what part of the process can this be done?
kseniaprints says
Hmm, the only way I ever flavored my yogurt is AFTER the culture process, and when it's already thickened further in the fridge. I'd say you can add vanilla extract after the night's culture process ended, and before transferrign to the fridge to cool.
P.S. - apologies for the delayed response, I have a newborn and am a bit slow to type!
May says
Wow. worked beautifully. Now - I can enjoy my yoghurt again (became lactose intolerant as an adult). The recipe turned out to be perfect perfect. Such a beautifully turned out creamy and tangy yoghurt with thick pudding like consistency. Followed the recipe exactly (used thermometer) - Wonderful result. so happy
kseniaprints says
Oh I’m so so happy! I remember the first moment I discovered I could eat yogurt again thanks to this method - I was over the moon!
Sarah says
How could I flavor this similar to Chobani vanilla yogurt? My little loves it but it's now lactose free.
kseniaprints says
I've never tried Chobani vanilla yogurt, but adding 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the lactose-free milk should do the trick!
Amber says
Hello - I am lucky enough to have access to a good lactose free greek yoghurt to use as a starter from the supermarket - but its expensive! Can I use UHT lactose free milk for this recipe? ( which would make it cheaper than store bought yoghurt) or do I have to use fresh lactose free milk? (which would make it just as expensive and therefore no point!)
Thanks
kseniaprints says
Absolutely you can. It's really about what works for you! And yes, store-bought lactose free stuff is crazy expensive.
Frank says
So the live yoghurt you used as the starter was not lactose free yoghurt ?
kseniaprints says
Yes. Because there was so little used, lactose-intolerant people don't usually react to it. But if you're very sensitive, might be a good idea to use lactose free as a starter, too.