This easy Vanilla Frozen Yogurt recipe requires only a few ingredients for a delicious, frozen, and healthy treat! With a combination of yogurt, vanilla, and your choice of sugar or honey, you can easily make homemade frozen yogurt without an ice cream maker.
Frozen yogurt is a wonderful frozen treat that uses thick, tangy yogurt as a base rather than a custard made with eggs and milk or cream for ice cream. As a result, it is a healthier choice than most ice cream thanks in part to the probiotics in yogurt that are good for gut health.
This vanilla frozen yogurt recipe is similar to my mango frozen yogurt and strawberry frozen yogurt, which combine frozen fruit with the yogurt. However, the vanilla version is for those who adore pure vanilla flavor or would like a more neutral frozen yogurt to pair with their favourite pie or use as a base for a frozen yogurt sundae.
Ingredients & Substitutions
All you need to make this homemade vanilla yogurt recipe are 4 ingredients. Check out the list to see what you will need to make the best frozen yogurt ever.
- plain (Greek) yogurt - frozen in ice cube tray
- granulated sugar - or honey
- vanilla extract
- salt
- sprinkles - optional
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
At least 4 hours before you make the frozen yogurt, divide the yogurt between the cubes of a ice cube tray and freeze until solid.
Add the frozen yogurt cubes to a food processor or blender with the sugar/honey, vanilla, and salt.
Blend until smooth, using a tamper to push everything towards the blades (if using a blender) or scraping down the sides (if using a food processor).
Enjoy the yogurt immediately or place in a freezer-safe container and put in the freezer for a more solid texture.
Hint: Freeze the yogurt mixture in a freezer-safe container for a firmer texture. Otherwise, you can eat it as soon as you have blended it if you prefer a soft-serve consistency.
Variations
While vanilla enthusiasts will adore this vanilla frozen yogurt, it is a wonderful base than can be varied easily. Here are some ways you can modify the recipe to make it your own.
- Make vanilla chocolate chip frozen yogurt - Once you have combined the yogurt mixture, fold in some milk chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, or dark chocolate chips for added decadence. Alternatively, if you want the chocolate flavour without the texture, you could fold chocolate shavings into the frozen yogurt instead.
- Make a toffee vanilla frozen yogurt - Fold toffee bits into the yogurt mixture for toffee flavour and texture.
- Make blueberry white chocolate frozen yogurt - When the frozen yogurt is blended, add some dried blueberries and white chocolate chips to the mixture for a fruity and chocolatey combination.
- Make a spiced frozen yogurt - For fall, consider adding some cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and ginger to the frozen yogurt for a pumpkin spice taste. This would pair particularly well with apple pie.
Storage
Once you have made the frozen yogurt, you can place any leftovers in a freezer-safe container and place it in the freezer. However, it will lose the creamy consistency of freshly blended frozen yogurt. If needed, you can always re-blend it just before serving
Top tip
Freeze a bunch of extra yogurt cubes ahead of time so you can make homemade frozen yogurt at a moment's notice.
FAQ
Frozen yogurt is often healthier than ice cream but it depends on the brand (if you are eating store-bought) or how you make it at home. If you make it at home, you can choose unsweetened Greek yogurt with live bacterial cultures for gut health and add honey for a healthier sweetener. You can also control the amount of sweetener you want in your recipe. A homemade version won't include any stabilizers, carrageenan, guar gum, corn syrup, and other odd ingredients that might be in store-bought ice cream or frozen yogurt.
While some versions of frozen yogurt require an ice cream machine, this version of vanilla frozen yogurt is extremely easy! All you have to do is combine frozen yogurt cubes with sugar or honey, and vanilla in a food processor or blender, and pulse it until the mixture is smooth. Then, you can place it in a container in the freezer if you would like it to firm up more before you serve it.
When you freeze yogurt, a lot of the probiotics will stay intact while some might die off. The ones that stay alive may go dormant during freezing but become more active when the yogurt warms up.
Yes, it freezes to a similar texture to ice cream due to the high fat in Greek yogurt. However, you don't need freeze the yogurt in an ice cream maker as you will eliminate the chance of the formation of ice crystals by freezing the yogurt in an ice cube tray and blending it in a food processor or blender until smooth.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe
Vanilla Frozen Yogurt Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain (Greek) yogurt frozen in ice cube tray
- ¼ cup granulated sugar or 2 tablespoons honey
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- sprinkles optional
Instructions
- At least 4 hours before making the frozen dessert, divide up 1 cup of yogurt in an ice cube tray and freeze (I like to have lots of frozen yogurt cubes ready all summer long).
- To high-speed blender with tamper or pronged twister lid (or food processor) add the frozen yogurt cubes, sugar/honey, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Turn on the blender or food processor and blend until everything is smoothly combined into creamy frozen yogurt. Use a tamper to keep pushing the ingredients into the blades. Or turn the lid of a twister jar. With a food processor you may have to stop and scrape down the sides with a spatula occasionally. The whole blending process should only take 1-2 minutes.
- Your homemade frozen yogurt is ready to be enjoyed immediately. For a firmer texture, transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze the mixture for a while until it reaches your desired level.
Nutrition
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