Yogurt: Greek, Regular, Low Sugar, Plant Based

Many people choose to freeze-dry yogurt for their rst batch or early on in their freeze-drying journey. However, there’s one major challenge—not all yogurts freeze-dry successfully. We experimented with different brands and combinations and found what works and what doesn’t. Before purchasing your ingredients, take a look at our results below! 

Directions:

Greek Yogurt Drops

1. Fill a sandwich bag with any flavor of Greek yogurt and pipe small drops onto parchment-lined trays or spread evenly on a tray and add dividers
2. For bite-sized snacks, use dividers in 40 portions per tray

Freeze-dries successfully, maintaining its drop shape. It works well with dividers and remains intact, making it ideal for Mylar packaging without crumbling. Easily rehydrates—just add water and stir to reach the desired consistency.

Plain-Regular Yogurt:

1. Fill a sandwich bag with any flavor of Greek yogurt and pipe small drops onto parchment-lined trays or spread evenly on a tray and add dividers
2. For bite-sized snacks, use dividers in 40 portions per tray

Freeze-dries successfully, maintaining its drop shape. It works well with dividers and remains intact, making it ideal for Mylar packaging without crumbling. Easily rehydrates—just add water and stir to reach the desired consistency

Almond Yogurt (Dairy Free)

1. Fill a sandwich bag with yogurt and pipe small drops onto parchment-lined trays.
2. For bite-sized snacks spread yogurt evenly on trays, and use dividers in 40 portions per tray                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               It has a decent freeze-dry outcome with great flavor. Higher oil content reduces long-term storage life. Best suited for short-term storage snacks rather than long-term preservation. Considered a partial fail due to storage limitations. It works well with dividers and remains intact, making it ideal for Mylar packaging without crumbling. Easily rehydrates—just add water and stir to reach the desired consistency.

Pili Nut Yogurt

1. Pipe yogurt in small drops onto parchment-lined trays.
2. For bite-sized snacks, spread yogurt evenly on trays, and use dividers in 40 portions per tray 
                                                                                                                                      Freeze-dried okay with great flavor. Downside: High oil content leads to a shorter storage life. Best for short-term storage snacks rather than long-term preservation. Considered a partial fail.

Greek Yogurt Mixed with Cool Whip

1. Recipe: Mix 1 cup Greek yogurt with 4 tbsp Cool Whip, then pipe onto parchment-lined trays.
2. For bite-sized snacks, spread yogurt evenly on trays, and use dividers in 40 portions per tray                                                                                                                                                        
Results: Not ideal for snacking—very crumbly and dry. Can rehydrate and eat, but not recommended for freeze-dried snacks. Another partial fail.

Greek Yogurt Mixed with Pudding

1. Recipe: Mix 1 cup Greek yogurt with 4 tbsp dry pudding mix. Pipe onto parchment-lined trays
2. For bite-sized snacks, spread yogurt evenly on trays, and use dividers in 40 portions per tray                                                                                                                                    
Best outcome! Freeze dried very well, retained its shape, and worked well in dividers. Sturdy enough for Mylar packaging without crumbling. Can add fruit chunks for extra flavor. Mix with water to reach the desired consistency. Worked great! Highly recommended!

Greek Yogurt with Jello

1. Recipe: Mix 1 cup Greek yogurt with ½ package sugar-free Jello powder, then pipe onto parchment-lined trays.
2. For bite-sized snacks spread yogurt evenly on trays, and use dividers in 40 portions per tray                                                                                                                                   
Results: Freeze-dried okay, but very crumbly and fragile. Breaks apart too easily for Mylar bags. Can rehydrate, but due to its delicate texture, it's considered a partial fail.

Greek Yogurt with Fruit Chunks

1. Mix 1 cup Greek Yogurt and ¼ Cup of chopped fruit. Mix and place yogurt in a bag and “pipe’ it in small drops onto parchment paper lined trays
2. For bite-sized snacks spread yogurt evenly on trays, and use dividers in 40 portions per tray                                                                                                                                   
Freeze-dried well. Stays together in drop form. It stays together well and should be OK to package in Mylar without breaking apart

Final Thoughts

Freeze-drying yogurt is a great way to create lightweight, shelf-stable snacks while preserving its probiotics and nutrients.  Not all yogurts freeze-dry equally—some maintain their shape and texture well, while others become crumbly or too fragile for packaging. Greek yogurt tends to work best due to its lower moisture content, and mixing it with pudding or other stabilizers can improve results. Once freeze-dried, yogurt can be eaten as a crunchy snack or rehydrated by adding water to restore its creamy consistency

Cycle Time:

I freeze-dried all of these in the same batch, and my cycle time was 42 hours

Cycle times & rehydration for reference only. Your results may vary