Can You Freeze Yogurt?

Yogurt gets its consistency from a fine network formed by milk proteins; most of the water is held within that network. During freezing, water turns into ice crystals and expands; the crystals break the network apart from within. Once thawing begins, the network cannot return to its original state or reabsorb the water it held. What comes out of the container is therefore not smooth yogurt but a grainy mixture with liquid pooled on top. That is why waiting to stir the yogurt after taking it out of the freezer makes no difference. Decide what you will use the yogurt for before freezing it.

This change is not spoilage; the yogurt is safe, but its texture has changed. This leads to a practical distinction: do not use frozen yogurt when texture matters, but feel free to use it when the texture will change anyway. It is not suitable for a bowl of yogurt eaten by the spoonful or a dip such as cacik. By contrast, the change is unnoticeable in smoothies, cakes, pogaca (Turkish savory buns), marinades, and cooked yogurt dishes. The same distinction applies to cream and clotted cream; both separate after freezing.

The type of yogurt you freeze also affects the result. Whole-milk yogurt holds up better because its fat droplets help preserve the structure to some extent. Strained yogurt also has an advantage because it already contains less water and forms fewer ice crystals. Low-fat, watery yogurts give the worst result; when thawed, they nearly split in two and cannot be brought back together by stirring. So if you plan to freeze yogurt, choose whole-milk yogurt from the start or strain it first.

Packaging and thawing are simple. Divide the yogurt into portions, pour it into small containers or ice cube trays, and freeze it; then transfer it to a bag. Do not fill containers to the top because the yogurt expands as it freezes. Thaw it slowly in the refrigerator; yogurt thawed on the counter releases more liquid. Whisking or blending thawed yogurt can partially restore its texture. Yogurt cubes frozen in an ice cube tray are especially convenient for smoothies. If you fill bags flat and stack them upright, they take up much less room in the freezer.

There is one limitation: frozen yogurt cannot be used as a starter. Freezing causes some of the bacteria in the yogurt culture to lose viability; milk cultured with that yogurt may take longer to set or may not set at all. Always set aside fresh yogurt for a starter. Yogurt keeps good quality in the freezer for about three months; it can still be used after that, but its texture deteriorates further. Labeling the yogurt container with the date helps you keep track of how long it has been in the freezer.