Classic Frozen Yogurt

Name: Classic Frozen Yogurt
Prep time: 17 min
Cook time: 3 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 cups (720 g) plain whole-milk Greek yogurt, cold, straight from the fridge; ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar; ½ cup (120 ml) whole milk; 2 tablespoons (42 g) honey; 2 teaspoons (10 ml) pure vanilla extract; 1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh lemon juice, strained, from about ½ lemon; ¼ teaspoon (1½ g) fine sea salt

From the MyKitchenBank Kitchen

Tangy, creamy, scoopable frozen yogurt made with thick Greek yogurt, a touch of vanilla and a splash of lemon. A little honey and fully dissolved sugar keep it smooth instead of icy.

Prep: 17 min
Cook: 3 min
Wait: 6 hr 35 min
Total: 6 hr 55 min
Makes: About 1 quart (950 ml), 6 servings of ⅔ cup each

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Steps

Before you start

Freeze your ice cream maker bowl for at least 24 hours (shake it: you should hear no liquid sloshing). Check your machine's manual if it uses a different freezing method.
Use full-fat (whole-milk) plain Greek yogurt. Low-fat or non-fat versions freeze much harder and icier.
Plan for about 7 hours start to finish: 3 hours chilling the base, 20 minutes churning, and 2–3 hours firming in the freezer. You can serve it soft right after churning.
Put the freezer-safe storage container in the freezer when you start the base so it is very cold when the yogurt goes in.

1
Dissolve the sugar
- Combine the milk, sugar, honey and salt in a small saucepan.
- Set over medium-low heat and stir constantly with a whisk for 2–3 minutes, just until the sugar and honey have fully dissolved.
- Remove from the heat.
- Do not let it boil.
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Ready when: The liquid looks clear, with no sugar grains when you tilt the pan and drag a spatula across the bottom. It should be warm, not simmering.
Tip: Undissolved sugar makes the finished yogurt gritty and icy, so take the full 2–3 minutes.
2
Cool the syrup
- Pour the warm milk mixture into a large mixing bowl and let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until it is no longer hot.
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Ready when: The bowl feels barely warm to the touch (about 100°F / 38°C or cooler).
Tip: Adding yogurt to hot milk can make it grainy, so be sure it has cooled.
3
Whisk the base
- Add the Greek yogurt, vanilla extract and lemon juice to the cooled milk mixture.
- Whisk for about 1 minute until completely smooth and no streaks of yogurt remain.
- Taste it: it should be pleasantly tangy and a little sweeter than you want the final dessert, since freezing dulls sweetness.
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Ready when: The base is silky and pourable like thick cream, with no lumps.
4
Chill the base
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a lid and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to overnight, until thoroughly cold.
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Ready when: The base is 40°F (4°C) or colder and feels cold throughout.
Tip: A well-chilled base is the biggest factor in creamy results.
5
Set up the machine
- Take the frozen bowl out of the freezer, fit it into the ice cream maker, and attach the paddle and lid.
- Turn the machine on before pouring anything in.
- Whisk the chilled base briefly to loosen it, then pour it through the opening in the lid.
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Ready when: The paddle is turning steadily and the base flows freely into the bowl.
Tip: Pouring into a running machine stops the base from freezing solid to the bowl wall.
6
Churn until thick
- Churn for 20–25 minutes, or per your machine's instructions.
- Scrape down the sides once partway through if the yogurt is climbing the walls.
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Ready when: The yogurt has roughly doubled in volume in thickness, holds a soft peak like soft-serve, and mounds on the paddle.
Tip: Stop once it looks like soft-serve. Over-churning will not make it firmer and can make it grainy.
7
Freeze to firm
- Working quickly, spoon the soft yogurt into the chilled container, smoothing the top.
- Press a sheet of parchment directly onto the surface, seal with the lid, and freeze for 2–3 hours.
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Ready when: The surface is firm and a spoon presses in with moderate resistance, with no soft spots in the middle.
Tip: The parchment against the surface prevents ice crystals and freezer odors.
8
Temper and serve
- Let the container sit on the counter for 5 minutes before serving.
- Scoop with an ice cream scoop dipped in warm water into chilled bowls.
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Ready when: A scoop glides through with light pressure and holds its shape.
Tip: If it has been frozen more than a day, give it 10 minutes instead.

Good to know

Tips

Do not reduce the sugar much: it controls how soft the yogurt stays when frozen, and too little makes it rock-hard.
Chill the storage container and the serving bowls so the soft yogurt does not start melting.
Stir in mix-ins like fresh berries, chocolate chips or swirls of jam in the last 30 seconds of churning, or layer them in as you transfer to the container.
If the finished yogurt is too hard after a long freeze, a splash of vodka (1 tablespoon) added to the base keeps it softer.

Make ahead

The chilled base can be made up to 24 hours ahead and kept covered in the fridge. Churn it just before you want to serve. Fully frozen yogurt keeps well for up to 1 week.

Storage & reheating

Freezer: store in an airtight container with parchment pressed on the surface for up to 1 week for best texture (up to 2 weeks, but it gets icier). Not suited to room temperature or fridge storage. To serve after freezing solid, let it sit on the counter 10 minutes, or in the fridge 20 minutes, until scoopable.

Substitutions

honey → light corn syrup or mild agave syrup. Use the same weight; any of these helps keep the texture smooth.
plain whole-milk Greek yogurt → plain whole-milk regular yogurt, strained. Strain 4½ cups (1.1 kg) in a cheesecloth-lined sieve in the fridge for 4–6 hours until it yields about 3 cups (720 g).
fresh lemon juice → fresh lime juice. Gives a slightly sharper, more floral tang.
pure vanilla extract → 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped. Warm the seeds with the milk in step 1 for a deeper, speckled result.