Straining yogurt with cheesecloth to make Greek yogurt.
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How to Turn Regular Yogurt into Greek Yogurt

Straining yogurt with cheesecloth to make Greek yogurt.

Have you ever needed Greek yogurt but only had regular in the fridge?  I ran into this issue a while back when I was making Guinness Chocolate Cheesecake, and I didn’t want to make another trip to the grocery store. Then I remembered that it’s really easy to make Greek style yogurt at home if you have some time to spare. Place a sieve over a deep bowl. You want to make sure that the sieve doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl, because this is where the liquid from the yogurt is going to drain. Place a piece of cheesecloth (or a thin kitchen towel) over the sieve and spoon some yogurt on top of it. Place the bowl into the fridge and let it drain – the longer it sits, the more liquid will drain out, and the thicker the yogurt will be. You can let it strain overnight, even. Remember that you will need to use a larger quantity of yogurt than what you want to end up with, since it will lose volume through the process.

Looking for some ways to use your Greek yogurt? Check these out!

Ashley Covelli is a food photographer, recipe developer, and culinary instructor based in Ossining, New York. She loves helping people become enthusiastic and adventurous in the kitchen so that they can build skills and confidence to cook for themselves and their loved ones. She can almost always be found with at least 3 different beverages within arm's reach.

3 Comments

  • melissa

    I would love to try this out! I live Greek yogurt just not the price. I was curious though, can I use fruit yogurt? Would it work?

    • Ashley

      Hi Melissa! Hope this works out for you! I think if it’s the kind of yogurt where it’s blended in and not pieces of fruit, it should still work. I’ve never tried that. It may lose some of the fruit flavor. You could always use plain and then mix some fresh fruit in afterward, too.

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