Can you freeze yogurt?

Yogurt happens to be a miraculously convenient food, which is part of the dairy food group. But can you freeze yogurt?

Have you bought too much yogurt by accident or did you take advantage of a great yogurt sale, and now you don’t know how to keep the yogurt from going bad? Maybe different thoughts have crossed your mind by now and perhaps you thought, “Can I freeze yogurt?” Well, the answer is yes, both home-made and store-bought yogurt can safely be frozen. However, freezing yogurt comes with a price.

It is fine to freeze yogurt!

How will freezing affect yogurt

Even though you can freeze yogurt safely and extend its life by 4 to 6 months (approx 2 months in the case of homemade yogurt), you can’t be sure it will taste or look the same. Different brands of yogurt respond differently to freezing and thawing. You may want to experiment with whatever brand of yogurt you find best. For example try putting Yoplait yogurt in the freezer for a day, thaw it overnight, and taste it to see if you like it.

If however you want to freeze yogurt for more than a month, bear in mind that the yogurt may develop an acidic taste and a clumpy texture. So you may not feel like eating it directly but using it in smoothies or baking will give the perfectly normal taste.

How about the active bacteria in yogurt? Does freezing yogurt kill the bacteria? Freezing the yogurt kills some of the bacteria cultures, but there are countless bacteria that reactivate as soon as you defrost your yogurt so you don’t lose any health benefits. So keep eating yogurt for a healthy diet!

How to freeze yogurt

How do you go about freezing yogurt? You can freeze plain yogurt or flavored yogurt without the fear of it going bad as long as you keep a couple of things in mind. Yogurt expands on freezing, so you must make sure to keep it in a container with enough space for it to do so. You should also make sure you use air tight containers, as odors from the fridge can easily enter and get absorbed. Unopened yogurt containers are of course fine to freeze directly. Always label your containers with a date that could either be when you froze it or your own best-before date. In that way you will prevent yogurt from perishing.

You can thaw the yogurt by keeping it in the fridge overnight or if you’re in a hurry pop it in the microwave for a few seconds. However you mustn’t refreeze the yogurt after thawing. For this reason it is advisable to freeze yogurt in serving size quantity. When it comes of different ways to freeze yogurt, you have a few options.

Ways of freezing yogurt

Freezing yogurt cups

The first way is pretty self-explanatory. Flavored and plain yogurt both come in adorably colored cups which you can keep in the freezer as it is if you haven’t opened them. Storing the yogurt cups upside down may also help in preserving the flavor and texture. If you have opened a cup, transfer it into an airtight container before you freeze it.

Freezing yogurt in containers

As we mentioned earlier, you can use airtight containers to freeze yogurt. Make sure you label the container so you can keep it from going bad

Freezing yogurt in ice cube trays

If you are thinking of freezing yogurt for smoothies, this is the best way to do so. All you have to do is scoop yogurt in to an ice cube tray and freeze for a few hours. Next, take out the yogurt cubes and make sure to put them in an airtight container. When you want to make your favorite smoothie, all you’ll need to do is pop a couple of cubes out of the freezer and into the blender. It’s that easy! Another way you can save time is by adding berries along with the yogurt in the ice cube tray. Strawberry smoothies have never been this easy to make.!

Plain yogurt in ice cubes.

Freezing yogurt to make frozen yogurt

Frozen yogurt is a very delicious treat. How awesome would it be to be able to make some at home whenever you want? If you want to freeze yogurt to make frozen yogurt, know that it’s possible but it won’t quite be the same. At first you’ll have to defrost the frozen block in your fridge and after thawing the yogurt it may not be as creamy or sweet as frozen yogurt but it’ll still be delicious. You can mix in some sugar or sweetener to make it more to your taste and enjoy!

FAQs

I just thawed a bunch of yogurt I had in the freezer, but I am not able to use it. Can yogurt be frozen again?

You should not refreeze yogurt. Once thawed, please use it.

Can you freeze yogurt and still keep its original flavor?

The freezing process will change the texture and flavor of the yogurt. Now, some yogurts might taste better than others if you are just eating them as is. However, if you are to use them for baking or for cooking, you will probably not notice much change to its flavor.