Frozen Yogurt Recipe

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Our absolute favorite Frozen Yogurt Recipe! This tart vanilla bean yogurt has only four ingredients and can be whipped together in minutes, before adding to your ice cream maker.

Frozen Yogurt is the perfect avenue for all your favorite fro-yo toppings.  We love adding fresh fruit to this frozen yogurt recipe, but crushed candies, cookies, or brownies are also delicious toppings. For a fun celebration with friends or family, set out a bunch of toppings with this frozen yogurt and let guests assemble their own dessert bowls.

Frozen Yogurt Recipe with berries

Frozen Yogurt Recipe

A few summers ago, we were at my sister-in-law’s house for a fun family get together. After dinner, she made a mango frozen yogurt that we all went nuts over. It was honestly the best frozen yogurt I’ve ever had and the husband agreed.

He mentioned about five different times how we need the recipe, need an ice cream maker, and need to make it often! We finally got an ice cream maker, and my sweet sister-in-law emailed us the recipe. We’ve made it dozens of times and it’s quickly become our favorite. This recipe is slightly adapted from her recipe and instead of adding in mango, I’m sharing a plain version today (see “quick tip” below). 

QUICK TIP

To make the mango-flavored Frozen Yogurt Recipe (or a similar fruity frozen yogurt), finely dice the fruit and stir it into the ice cream maker once the yogurt is fairly firmed up — this helps integrate the fruit nicely into the yogurt and will lend the fruity flavor.

Photo of the yogurt used in this recipe

Ingredients

With so few ingredients, make sure to use the best possible ingredients for the ultimate delicious frozen yogurt recipe.

  • Yogurt. Pick a good vanilla bean yogurt that you enjoy eating plain (if you don’t like it plain, you won’t love this frozen yogurt!). I don’t recommend a low-fat or fat-free yogurt as they won’t thicken the same. We’ve tried a lot of different yogurts and hands down our favorite (and what we continue to use in this recipe) is Noosa® vanilla bean yogurt. 
  • Heavy whipping cream. While it may seem like milk would be a good substitute, it doesn’t interchange well on this recipe. We need the heavy cream to ensure the proper thickness.
  • Vanilla extract and salt. These two ingredients add a depth of flavor and work to balance sweetness with tang. A little salt goes a long way and while it may seem like a strange ingredient in a dessert, it ensures a more robust, balanced flavor.
  • White sugar. The sugar sweetens this frozen yogurt recipe, but it’s an ingredient you may want to play around with a bit. If you like tart yogurt, reduce the amount of sugar. For a sweeter yogurt, add a bit more sugar. You may also need to increase (or decrease) the amount of sugar depending on how sweet the yogurt is.

Process shots: blending the mixture for Frozen Yogurt.

So we’ve got the base ingredients that make up the frozen yogurt, and after that, it’s all about the toppings!

Toppings for Frozen Yogurt 

  • Sauces: Try chocolate syrup, caramel sauce, butterscotch sauce, raspberry syrup, strawberry syrup, a drizzle of honey, and whipped cream.
  • Fruit: Choose from bananas, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, kiwis, mango, peaches, pineapple,  or raspberries.
  • Chocolates: Brownie bites, chocolate sprinkles, Kit Kat® pieces, Butterfinger® pieces, toffee, mini M&Ms®, chocolate chips, Reese’s® pieces, Snickers® pieces
  • Nuts: Almonds, peanuts, pistachios, walnuts, and cashews are great choices.
  • Crunches: Granola, Cocoa Pebbles®, Cinnamon Toast Crunch®, Captain Crunch®, Fruity Pebbles®
  • Others: Boba’s®, gummy bears/worms, edible cookie dough, coconut flakes, cheesecake cubes

Ice Cream Maker

  • For this frozen yogurt recipe, you’ll need an ice cream maker. Here’s the one I use and love. 
  • If you’re determined to try this recipe without an ice cream maker, here’s the method for that. The consistency isn’t quite the same, and it’s a lot of extra work, but you’ll arrive at a similar outcome.

QUICK TIP

In my particular ice cream maker it takes 45 minutes to an hour to get the frozen yogurt to a good frozen consistency. Depending on personal preference, and the ice cream maker used, your time may vary. If the frozen yogurt is still too soft for you after being churned, you can transfer the contents into an airtight container and freeze until further thickened. Note that freezing the yogurt too long will end up in an icier, like less-creamy ice cream.

Frozen Yogurt with a selection of berries

Frozen Yogurt Recipe FAQs

1How do you make Frozen Yogurt from store-bought yogurt?

  • Blend: Combine the yogurt, heavy cream, vanilla, and sugar and blend until it’s completely smooth.
  • Add: Pour the entire mixture into a prepared ice cream maker and follow the directions to chill the yogurt.
  • Serve or chill: At this point, you can serve the yogurt (at the perfect frozen yogurt consistency in my opinion!) or transfer to an airtight container and freeze to get a more solid ice-cream-like consistency.
  • Add your favorite toppings: whenever you’re ready to eat, serve it will your favorite chopped fruits, sauces, candies, etc.

2Can you freeze yogurt and eat it like ice cream?

It gets firmer the longer it sits in the freezer (after going through the ice cream maker).

It won’t ever have the same consistency as ice cream, though, since it is made with different ingredients.

3Is Frozen Yogurt healthy?

I would categorize Frozen Yogurt as a treat! Even though there is yogurt in it, there is still a fair amount of sugar and cream, as well.

When you’re choosing frozen yogurt over ice cream, you are getting a few more nutritional bonuses — yogurt has protein, calcium, probiotics, among other benefits.

4Can I just freeze yogurt to make Frozen Yogurt?

If you freeze plain yogurt, it will harden and solidify into a brick, with an icy consistency.

To get a consistency similar to what you’ve had at frozen yogurt shops, there needs to be sugar in the mix. Just like ice cream and sorbet, the more sugar you add, the softer the yogurt will be.

5Does freezing yogurt kill probiotics?

Freezing yogurt does kill some probiotics, but not all.

6How do you thaw Frozen Yogurt?

Package any leftovers in single-serving-sized containers in the freezer (leaving room for expansion).

When ready to thaw and enjoy, transfer the frozen yogurt to room temperature and let it stand 5-10 minutes, or until thawed to desired consistency. Give it a good stir and enjoy!

More frozen desserts

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Frozen Yogurt Recipe

5 from 3 votes
Our absolute favorite Frozen Yogurt Recipe! This tart vanilla bean yogurt has only four ingredients and can be whipped together in minutes before adding to your ice cream maker.
Print Recipe

Frozen Yogurt Recipe

5 from 3 votes
Our absolute favorite Frozen Yogurt Recipe! This tart vanilla bean yogurt has only four ingredients and can be whipped together in minutes before adding to your ice cream maker.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword frozen yogurt recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Freezing Time 45 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 6 -8 servings
Calories 428kcal
Author Chelsea
Cost $7.12

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (235g) heavy cream
  • 4 cups (35 oz.; 998g) high-quality full-fat vanilla bean yogurt (We love Noosa vanilla bean yogurt best) Note 1
  • 1/2 tablespoon vanilla bean paste (OR 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract)
  • 1 cup (200g) white sugar Note 2
  • Very tiny pinch of fine sea salt, optional
  • Toppings such as fresh fruit, chopped candy/cookies, cereal, etc.

Instructions

  • BLEND: In a large blender jar (or in batches), add in the first five ingredients in the order they're listed. Blend until completely combined.
  • ICE CREAM MAKER: Pour the mixture into a prepared ice cream maker and follow manufacturer directions to chill the yogurt to desired consistency. Aim for about 30 minutes to an hour to get good fro-yo consistency.
  • ENJOY: Once it is done, enjoy immediately straight out of the ice cream maker plain or with desired toppings (like fresh fruit, chopped candy, edible cookie dough, etc.). Alternatively, transfer the mixture to an airtight container and freeze until more solid.

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Yogurt sweetness varies by brand. The yogurt we use is very flavorful and fairly sweetened. I recommend using a full-fat yogurt you like straight from the container; otherwise, you likely won't end up loving this frozen yogurt recipe.
Note 2: Reduce sugar by up to 1/3 cup for a more tart frozen yogurt.

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 428kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 119mg | Potassium: 376mg | Sugar: 62g | Vitamin A: 647IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 296mg | Iron: 1mg

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.

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17 Comments

  1. Love the vanilla bean paste here! And I’m obsessed with the idea of setting up a homemade froyo bar 🙂

  2. Yep, I could get my hands all over this. It looks delicious! Loving the vanilla bean flecks, too 🙂

  3. Frozen yogurt is a HUGE weakness for me. Let me loose in a froyo place and I`ll end up spending twenty dollars on my yogurt. This looks like it makes a lot for less which makes me happy camper. Can`t wait to try it.

  4. Frozen yougurt is one of my favorite treats but it sounds like we could save a few bucks if we made it at home!

  5. Now I need an ice cream maker! This sounds really good Chelsea (though I’d probably be stuffing it full of candy and cookies, destroying all the healthy aspects… I might have a problem).

  6. I love frozen yogurt … and I really love all that fresh fruit you topped that with! Which means I can eat this for breakfast right??? 🙂 Have a great weekend!!

  7. 5 stars
    I find myself at a fro-yo bar most weeks- its a bad habit of mine for sure! I just love it! can’t wait to try this so I can get my fro-yo fix at home (and probably save some $$) lol!

  8. Hey Chelsea Thanks For Sharing This Frozen Yogurt Recipe I Will try it i am making 4 Quarts of it so it be 4 Cups Vanilla Yogurt &2 Cups Heavy Cream??? Thanks

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