Yogurt is a staple at our house–particularly at snacktime. But it can be more than just a tangy treat. We also use it in smoothies, substitute vanilla or plain for half the oil or butter in baked goods, and swap out plain yogurt for sour cream in many recipes. Another major bonus for me, as a couponer, is that there are often great deals on yogurt. I particularly watch for the marked-down specials (which are getting close to the sell-by date) as well as regular sales and then check my coupon stash for coordinating coupons. When the deal is right, it’s a good time to swoop.
If the deals are particularly good and I have stocked up, or we just can’t use it before the expiration date, I freeze it! Frozen yogurt tubes (such as Go-gurt) make a great afternoon snack or lunchbox treat. To my kids, it’s as good as a Popsicle, and to me, it’s much healthier. Whether you buy your yogurt in containers or make your own yogurt, try this simple freezing method, which perfectly portions your yogurt.
- Fill a clean ice cube tray with yogurt.
- Freeze until solid.
- Pop the yogurt cubes out of the tray, and place in a freezer bag, and return to the freezer.
- When you are ready to make a smoothie, muffins, or just want a small portion of yogurt, easily grab a cube or two from the freezer. It may depend on the size of your ice cube tray, but in my approximation, one cube equals about 2 TBSP of yogurt.
Just a few recipes featuring yogurt:
22 Comments
Join the discussionThis is a great idea for the smoothies but (inserting dumb question now) how do you defrost for regular eating or baking? Does the consistency change?
It does separate a bit when thawing, but if you stir it up well, it’s fine. To defrost, place in the fridge until thawed.
This is great info and perfect timing for summer smoothies! I really needed this–thank you!!!
I think these yogurt cubes would be great for cooling down hot things, like oatmeal. I often whir up some almost bad bananas with a little milk and freeze them like this too – again great for smoothies or for cooling down oatmeal and adding alittle flavor 🙂
That’s an awesome idea! I always put an ice cube in my kids’ oatmeal!! Sometimes frozen fruit if they’re lucky :). Going to try doing the yogurt cubes!
What a GREAT idea! I never thought of that in oatmeal, I am totally trying that tomorrow.
love that idea!
WOW, I never knew you could freeze yogurt.. this is a great tip as I am the only one that eats it and hate to see it go to waste and I love smoothies.. this is one of the best tips I have gotten in a longtime..Thank you.
This is a great idea, thanks!I’ve been wishing I could make my own Gogurt to freeze and found these great ice pop molds, seems like a great way to freeze flavored yogurt, or leftover smoothies, etc.
http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-4…Can you re-freeze the yogurt cubes?
Does anyone know if freezing yogurt kills the active cultures? It would be great to just keep a cup of it in the freezer for crock pot yogurt starter!
Hi Carrie!
Per the National Yogurt Association “The freezing process does not kill any significant amount of the cultures—in fact, during the freezing process the cultures go into a dormant state, but when eaten and returned to a warm temperature within the body, they again become active and are capable of providing all the benefits of cultures in a refrigerated yogurt product.”Hope that helps!
Thanks so much for your info! You’ve answered my question! 🙂
Genius. Thanks!
This is such a fantastic idea!!! I started making my own yogurt not too long ago, and I love love love it, but it’s hard to eat the whole batch before it goes bad. This is the perfect solution. Thanks!!
Is it ok to just freeze the yogurt in the container it comes in? Also, how long can it remain frozen?
You can freeze it in that container. I would say 3-6 months would be about right. You may want to place in a freezer bag to further prevent freezer burn if freezing an extended amount of time.
Is yogurt considerably different from ice cream with regard to its freezing properties? I always put ice cream in the freezer. When I get ready to eat it, I wait 10 minutes for the ice cream to soften at room temperature, before putting a few spoon fulls into a bowl. Should I use a different procedure with yogurt?
Sounds about the same unless you want the yogurt to be soft like yogurt instead of frozen yogurt, then you would want to defrost in refrigerator for awhile.
Does the frozen yoghurt have ice crystals in it and if so, do you know how to prevent that from happening?
No sure what you mean, the ice will be melted when it thaws.
I use the yogurt for salad dressing, I add all the herbs, and lemon, etc. and its great. Same problem as you all mentioned, can’t use it fast enough. I’m going to try freezing the yogurt, and defrosting it again for more salad dressing…will post again. Good idea!
I make plain yogurt. I find when it comes out of the freezer it’s as hard as a nice cube