It doesn't matter if you're making your own yogurt or you have a favorite store bought brand, one of the quickest ways to have a sweet treat (that's also easy on the hips) is to freeze it! We've picked up a few tips in our years of doing so and...
.. with so many varieties of yogurt on the market, make sure to freeze ones you really love. If your yogurt is a little on the tasteless side of the scale, it will be even less thrilling once frozen!
Even if your favorite flavor is one with additional fruit or cream in it, this is a totally do-able trick. Before freezing, simply open the container and swirl things up a bit and secure the lid back down with a little bit of plastic wrap or foil. You can also stir in extra fruit you might have lying around, just make sure it's in small enough pieces you don't end up with super icy bits. If you have a second, toss your fruit pieces with a little vodka to keep them soft and ice free!
You can add a stick to it if you wish, although more often than not we've found our favorite yogurts aren't in the easiest shapes to eat on a stick, so we stick to using a spoon! The good news is you don't have anything else taking up space in your freezer and is a great way to use up yogurt that's ready to go out of date!
Related:
• Recipe: Strawberry-Yogurt Popsicles
• D.I.Y. Greek Yogurt
• Recipe: Mango Ginger Frozen Yogurt
• Recipe: Frozen Nectarine-Yogurt Pie
(Image: Flickr Member Listener42 licensed for use under Creative Commons)
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I tried this with plain yogurt and ended up with a icy, broken up mess. The frozen yogurt separated and was not very appealling. Maybe some brands freeze better than others, but the varieties with no added gums or thickeners seem to ice up.
Lona - if you run into this problem try stirring in a tablespoon of softened cream cheese or a small (or large depending on your mood) splash of Vodka. It keeps fruit from freezing, but will help keep ice crystals at bay in plainer yogurts as well!
Sarah---kinda kills the whole 'healthy' aspect of Frozen Yogurt if you add some vodka, no? ;-)
Take a piece of plastic wrap and press it down into the surface of the yogurt before it goes in the freezer. It keeps out any air, which keeps away any ice crystals. (Also good for keeping guacamole or ice cream safe). Works every time for me.
Zaky - All things are good for you in moderation right?
Zephyrluna - Excellent Tip! Thanks!
I will have to try this again. I tried it with organic low-fat lemon yogurt and the result was so very...unappealing... Between ice crystals and it being too hard to spoon into (I had to chisel my way through the cup), I'd given up. What's worse, was this was my attempt to rectify the failed ice-cream maker version (pouring Greek yogurt into a Kitchen Aid style ice cream maker did NOT work). Thanks for the tip about the plastic wrap, zephyrluna.
A girl I babysat for last year taught me the trick of freezing kids' yogurt tubes. They're already mixed, they're in smaller portions, and the organic ones from Horizon or Stoneyfield Farms are absolutely delicious!
Emily - That is hands down our favorite way to eat frozen yogurt, just be sure to watch the sugars in the kids pops, they tend to be higher than regular "adult" yogurts!
This is one of my favorite snacks. I don't even bother with the opening and plastic wrap, I just pop them in the freezer shelf on the door when I bring them home. Then I eat them with a grapefruit spoon. Delish.
I like frozen yogurt with fruit in it at work when I want something a little crunchy-ish but don't want to eat crap. This is very satisfying and it has calcium.
I often freeze yoghurt in a popsicle tray; it's easy to eat and it actually works better when it ices up. It's especially delicious to mix half juice and half yoghurt.
9 minutes later: I've just followed my own advice. Yoghurt, smashed blueberries, and a little local honey. I wish they were frozen NOW.
i absolutely love that newish commercial for yoplait "whips" (which is the only yogurt i can handle, its a texture thing...) when the strawberries bounce off the frozen yogurt. it looks delish... must restock the fridge!
Every day for years, my mother has eaten a frozen coffee yogurt for lunch. She takes it out of the freezer when she leaves for work, and by the time lunch rolls around, it's the perfect consistency - still cold and icy, but easy to spoon out and creamy. She likes Dannon, but I'm sure other brands would work too.
If you have 'fruit on the bottom' yogurts, you don't have to take the lid off to mix it - just shake it hard for a few seconds before putting it in the freezer.
This takes a little more effort but is worth it. I've been mixing a tub of Fage nonfat yogurt with a couple tablespoons of cocoa powder, a packet or two of stevia, and a couple of tablespoons of kahlua, and freezing it in a circa 1986 donvier mini ice cream maker. I think the booze makes the flavor and texture a little nicer and makes it not freeze instantly to the sides of the metal chamber, which I remember happening the last time I tried to freeze yogurt. . . in 1986.
Mixing in a few soft-peaked egg whites also helps keep a creamy texture when freezing yogurt (especially in the ice cream maker. For those squeamish about raw egg whites, a bit of arrowroot can work, too.
Splim..I do the same as your mother!..dee-lish...same dannon coffee yogurt..nice and rich...If my yogurts get rock hard in freezer, i put in the micro for a couple sec's...I would love it if our frozen yogurts could be JUST like the icecream stand kinds...is there a way? I'd rather not bother buying vodka or arrowroot or egg whites for this..Funny to see this topic on here..thought I was the 'only one'..:)
Vodka is a natural preservative. Add just a little splash (a few drops) and mix well. It will keep the yogurt from thinning, separating, forming ice crystals. It has nothing to do with the "healthy" aspects of yogurt. Only plain yogurt is healthy and the tiny bit of vodka just helps to keep it that way.