Can yogurt be frozen? - The Ultimate Guide

Yogurt is not only delicious, but it is full of healthy fats and, depending on the type of yogurt, probiotic cultures as well. With the rise of coconut yogurt, even vegans and the lactose intolerant can enjoy its creaminess and health benefits.

Because it’s a dairy product full of live bacteria, many people wonder if you can freeze yogurt and still keep all of its benefits. After all, it’s nice to have on hand and especially nice on a hot day.

So can yogurt be frozen? You can freeze the yogurt for up to 2 months. It is best to freeze the yogurt in small portions in a tightly closed container, placed in the center or at the back of the freezer to avoid temperature changes.

The texture, consistency and flavor will change slightly once thawed. If you use frozen yogurt in recipes, you won’t notice a difference. You can also add a few simple ingredients and just make frozen yogurt.

This is the ultimate guide to freezing yogurt, where you’ll find answers to all your questions about freezing yogurt, along with easy tips and what to expect when freezing yogurt. We even teach you how to make fro-yo style frozen yogurt, so read on.

This article is all about freezing yogurt, but before we dive into the freezer, we wanted to give you some easy solutions for preserving yogurt without freezing it.

How to keep yogurt fresh for longer

If you have bought a quantity of yogurt in bulk, you just have to follow these simple conservation rules to keep it fresh for as long as possible:

1. Keep it closed

Once opened, yogurt can and will easily absorb flavors and bacteria from the air. If you have purchased a large container, be sure to seal the lid very carefully each time you return it to the fridge.

Better yet, transfer all the yogurt to a glass container with an airtight seal.

2. Never eat it directly from a large container

Always transfer a portion to a different container to eat. Even if you don’t mind sharing the germs with other members of your family, eating it straight from the container can contaminate the healthy probiotic cultures.

3. Store it in the main body of your fridge

In case you haven’t noticed yet, yogurt is very sensitive. Constant temperature fluctuations from opening and closing the door are not good for the healthy bacteria in your yogurt and it will spoil much faster.

If you’ve decided to freeze your yogurt, either because frozen yogurt is delicious or simply to maintain quality and benefits for longer, you’ve made a great decision.

The rest of this article is devoted to freezing yogurt best practices and answering all of the yogurt freezing questions you’ve ever had.

How to freeze yogurt

To successfully freeze yogurt, just follow this important tip: freeze yogurt in small portions. The smaller the portion, the better the consistency and texture will be maintained once thawed.

We recommend that you invest in silicone trays for the freezer, like this 2-pack of Souper Cubes. They come with an airtight freezer lid and you can freeze everything from yogurt to soup in perfect 1-cup sizes.

If you want servings smaller than a cup, you can also use an ice cube tray. Each cube is approximately 1 ounce or 2 tablespoons. This works best if you plan to use your frozen yogurt in a smoothie or cook it frozen in a sauce.

If you are using an ice cube tray to freeze the yogurt, transfer the frozen yogurt cubes to a freezer-safe bag once they are frozen well. This will protect them from picking up any flavor that goes through your freezer and also from freezing too much.

MOMables - Laura Fuentes has a great step-by-step tutorial for freezing yogurt. Check it out below.

What happens when you freeze yogurt?

Freezing yogurt effectively can mean your yogurt will stay fresh and healthy for up to 2 months, even past the “best before” date listed on the packaging.

However, it will not be the same yogurt that went into the freezer. It evolves during the freezing process and you should be aware of some significant changes that your yogurt will undergo while in the freezer.

1. The texture becomes grainy

Because yogurt is a dairy product, the fat and water tend to separate when frozen. When thawed again, instead of being silky smooth, your yogurt will have a bit more graininess, leaving a slightly grainy mouthfeel.

2. The taste changes

One of the biggest advantages of yogurt is the live, healthy bacteria that live inside it and make their home in your gut after you eat it. These bacteria are incredibly good for you, but they’re also what give yogurt a slightly sour taste.

Freezing enhances this flavor.  Lots of people love it, especially if you’re a fan of fermented products like kefir, but it can be a bit of a shock to those used to having their yogurt taste more like dessert.

3. The consistency becomes thinner

Going back to the concept of separation, the consistency of your yogurt will change because the water and milk go on their own during the freezing process.

You can reconstitute your yogurt by mixing it well, but it will always be thinner and slightly waterier than it was before it was frozen.

How to use frozen yogurt

If all of those changes make previously frozen yogurt less palatable as a stand-alone snack, there are still plenty of ways to use frozen yogurt.

Here are some of our favorite ways to use frozen yogurt:

• Bake with it . Use pre-frozen yogurt in any baked goods that call for yogurt and you won’t notice a difference.
• Cook with him.  Similarly, if you simmer a sauce or use the yogurt in other areas of the kitchen, slight differences in texture, consistency, and flavor will be well disguised once cooked.
• Use it in sauces, spreads and sauces. If you’re mixing the yogurt to make a dipping sauce or spread, this will still change the flavor and texture, so pre-frozen will work just fine.

How to make frozen yogurt

Frozen yogurt is different from yogurt that has been frozen. The water content of the yogurt will freeze it into a solid cube, not a creamy dessert that can be scooped up. If you want to make “fro-yo”, you have to add a few more ingredients and beat a little.

If you have an ice cream maker, frozen yogurt will be a doddle. If you don’t have one, a high-powered mixer will work, although the results will be less consistent.

We’ve come up with a few different combinations that work great for making frozen yogurt. You can mix and match the techniques and flavors to create a frozen yogurt treat that’s perfect for your tastes and your team.

Chocolate Frozen Yogurt Recipe - Ice Cream Maker

Start with the fattest yogurt you can find. Greek yogurt works best, but if it’s too acidic for you, at least go for a whole milk yogurt.

Add more fat to make the yogurt smooth, spoonable, and creamy. You can choose heavy cream, nata de coco, cream cheese, or even mascarpone cheese, as long as the fat content is high, preferably at least 30%.

You have to add some sugar to prevent your frozen treat from freezing. You can use plain white sugar, or try flavoring it with honey or maple syrup .

You could use just those ingredients and get a delicious frozen yogurt, but chocolate makes everything better. Since the cream is naturally sweet and we have added sugar, you can use unsweetened cocoa powder and it won’t come out too bitter.

Add all the ingredients to your ice cream maker (you don’t need to cool them beforehand) and beat it until it has the consistency you like. Eat right away or store in a freezer-safe Tupperware container for future treats.

This is the ratio of ingredients that has worked best for us:

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt Recipe - No Refrigerator

Strawberries add moisture and sweetness, so you can reduce the sugar in your frozen yogurt by adding fruit. In fact, this recipe is more frozen strawberries than yogurt, but the yogurt is crucial for creaminess.

As we have already said, this recipe is mainly strawberry, with a drastic reduction in sugar and no heavy cream added.

You can swap strawberries for just about any other frozen fruit , except for watermelon, which is too watery to work well.

Whenever you make frozen yogurt in a blender, the water and fat will separate when it goes back into the freezer, turning into something more like a block of ice than ice cream.

If you freeze leftovers, be prepared that you may need to thaw them on the counter for 10-20 minutes before they can be served again. For this reason, we highly recommend refreezing in individual servings. 

For frozen yogurt, frozen strawberries are best. Chop them in the blender before adding the rest of the ingredients. To make your frozen yogurt really creamy, you’ll need a reliable, high-powered blender that won’t overheat when put to the test.

The 7 most frequently asked questions about freezing yogurt

We’ve scoured the internet for more questions about freezing yogurt, to make sure none of your questions about freezing yogurt go unanswered.

1. Can yogurt be frozen to make frozen yogurt?

Yes, you can freeze yogurt to make frozen yogurt, but you will need a few extra ingredients and steps to make a traditional frozen yogurt.  Above we have included 2 different methods to turn yogurt into frozen yogurt.

If you like the spiciness of yogurt and don’t mind a finer texture, you can just freeze the yogurt and eat it as is, but again, it won’t be like a typical frozen yogurt.

2. How long does it take to freeze yogurt?

The time it takes to freeze the yogurt will depend entirely on how much yogurt you freeze in a single container:

• If you freeze 1-ounce portions in an ice cube tray to use in smoothies or for cooking, each cube should be frozen in about an hour.
• If you are freezing 1 cup portions, it can take up to 3 hours to fully freeze.
• If you’re trying to freeze a whole quart or more than once, you’ll need to leave the yogurt in the freezer for at least 6 hours, maybe even overnight.

3. Can Yoplait yogurt be frozen?

You can freeze any type of yogurt, but depending on the fat content, the result will vary.

Yoplait is one of the biggest yogurt brands on the market and offers a wide range of options, although the highest percentage of milk fat seems to be around 3% in their Minigos.

This means that the consistency and texture changes will be more pronounced due to the lower fat content , but the thawed yogurt will still be suitable for cooking or baking with.

4. Can yogurt be frozen and eaten like ice cream?

This is slightly different from the frozen yogurt question above and the answer is no.

Simply freezing the yogurt will only give you a solid block of yogurt . It won’t naturally turn into a smooth, creamy, easy-to-eat dessert like ice cream.

You have to beat it and add more fat and some sugar to the mixture to prevent it from freezing. Check out the recipes in the article for inspiration.

5. How long can yogurt be frozen?

When you freeze yogurt, it will stay fresh longer than the best-before day implies, but it will go bad faster than most other frozen foods. It is always a good idea to put a date on the yogurt to know when it was frozen.

For best results, try to consume it within 2 months of freezing. Higher fat yogurts will keep a bit longer, but 3 months is the most you’ll get from freezing your yogurt.

Once you take the yogurt out of the freezer and thaw it, you will have the same amount of time left as if you hadn’t frozen it.

This is another reason to date your yogurt when you freeze it. Simply count the number of days from when you frozen it to its original best before date. If it was 5 days, consume your previously frozen yogurt in 5 days, etc.

6. Can probiotic yogurt be frozen?

Many people ask if freezing yogurt kills the probiotics. Another common variant is to ask if Activia yogurt can be frozen specifically, and we assume this is because Activia is a yogurt brand well known for creating probiotic-rich yogurt.

All yogurt contains live bacteria, but not all live bacteria are considered probiotics. If you’ve gone out of your way to buy a specific brand of probiotics, you don’t want to ruin your health efforts by killing off the good bugs.

Luckily, studies have shown that freezing doesn’t kill probiotics, so go ahead and freeze that yogurt, keeping all the above notes in mind.

7. Can Greek yogurt be frozen?

Greek yogurt aficionados ask a lot of questions about freezing yogurt. Can Greek yogurt be frozen to make smoothies? and how to make frozen greek yogurt popsicles are also common questions that we have lumped together in this single answer.

Yes you can freeze Greek yogurt and yes you can use it for smoothies. The slightly higher fat content will give you slightly better consistency and texture results if you choose to thaw it.

But if you want to use it for smoothies, just freeze it in small portions (like in an ice cube tray) and pop the frozen chunks right into your blender.

To make frozen Greek yogurt popsicles, you will need to whisk all the ingredients together until smooth before placing them in the popsicle tray.

You can simply use Greek yogurt and fruit or berries with a bit of sugar or syrup to prevent the formation of ice crystals, or you can add more fat to the mix for a smoother, creamier version.

Fruit and yogurt will be hard, but delicious. If you add heavy cream, coconut cream, or even cream cheese, the ice cream will soften up and be more like a solid ice cream bar.