How long can yogurt be out of the fridge

Have I been eating yogurt wrong?

Índice Show

How Long Can Yogurt Sit Out?
How to Store Yogurt
Yogurt And All Its Glorious Benefits
1. Help Maintain Healthy Bones
2. Ideal For Weight Loss
3. Support Digestive Health:
How Long Can Yogurt Sit Out Without Going Bad?
A Comprehensive Guide On How To Spot Spoiled Yogurt
1. Look At The Liquid Whey
2. Take A Good Sniff
3. Look For Signs Of Curdling
4. Examine For Mold
Yogurt Sitting Out Vs. Refrigerated?
Other Important Notes In Storing Yogurt
How To Store Yogurt For Longer?
How Do You Store Yogurt Without Refrigeration?
Time To Refrigerate Your Delicious Yogurt
How long can yogurt be out of the fridge without going bad?
Is it OK to eat yogurt left out overnight?

For a person who works at a breakfast site, I have a fairly contentious relationship with breakfast. It's a lovely meal, sure, sure, but it's also one that I've never totally figure out how to eat in a reasonable way. When I wake up, I'm not hungry or patient enough to do anything but down a cup of coffee and go to work. On some rare occasions, I will grab a banana and eat it on my walk to the subway. Most mornings, I bring a cup of Greek yogurt to eat at my desk. But mornings are busy, and I've never been that hungry before noon, so it usually takes me at least an hour and sometimes two to get through the whole cup of yogurt. I keep forgetting about it, and so it sits there, open, until roughly 11:30. And so it is with some nervousness in the pit of my stomach that I set out to answer the question: How long can you keep yogurt outside of the fridge? I mean yogurt is already full of bacteria, right?

Turns out, ha, not so much. According to the US Department of Health & Human Services, you should throw out yogurt if it's been out at room temperature for more than two hours. If the temperature is higher than 90 degrees Fahrenheit, you only have one hour to eat that yogurt sitting out of the refrigerator. Granted, our office is usually below the 90 degree threshold, but turns out that leaving a yogurt unopened to slowly eat from is not a great idea from a food safety standpoint.

That said, I'm not the only person who thinks that the two hour-guideline is excessively conservative. (Surely I'm not the only one who brings a cup of yogurt into work without a second thought, right?) Anecdotally, I don't think I've ever gotten sick from leaving a yogurt out an extra hour. But to be fair, signs that your yogurt has spoiled aren't always that obvious. One tell-tale sign is that yogurt sours—but plain Greek yogurt is already sour, so I wonder if I would even notice? Another, more surefire sign that your yogurt has spoiled is discoloration or moldy spots. Those, for sure avoid. And in the long run, it's probably worth chucking your yogurt to avoid food-borne illness than to save a few dollars.

Find out how long yogurt can be kept at room temperature before it has to be refrigerated. Plus, get tips for storing yogurt properly.

For many people, yogurt is a must-buy ingredient during their weekly grocery run—and it's easy to understand why. The dairy product is creamy, tangy, versatile and packed with protein. But what happens when you get home from the store and accidentally forget to put the yogurt away? Will you have to throw it out? Luckily, yogurt is safe to eat at room temperature for a limited time. Read on for all the details, and get tips for storing yogurt properly.

How Long Can Yogurt Sit Out?

According to U.S. Dairy, yogurt can sit out for up to two hours at room temperature before it must be stored. However, that time frame is cut in half as temperatures rise. If the temperature is 90℉ or above, yogurt can only sit out for one hour. To prevent yogurt from spoiling, it should be refrigerated immediately after returning from the store. (FYI: Bacterial growth may happen more quickly in yogurt with added sugar and fruit.) Read on for tips about storing yogurt.

yogurt topped with berries on a designed background

How to Store Yogurt

Store yogurt on a shelf toward the back of the fridge where temperatures are cooler. Do not store yogurt on the refrigerator door, as temperatures often fluctuate there due to frequent opening and closing. Also, make sure your refrigerator is set to a proper temperature of 40℉ or below, as recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. When stored in the refrigerator, yogurt can last one to two weeks. If you're looking for a longer-term storage option, learn how to freeze yogurt. When you freeze yogurt, it can last up to two months.

Your refrigerator is full, and you find yourself wondering, “how long can yogurt sit out.” Sure, yogurt doesn’t go bad for a while, but is there enough time for you to find space in the refrigerator to put them in?

If you’re one of the many people who are considering whether you should leave yogurts out at room temperature, you will find this article helpful. In this post, I will inform you how long yogurt can stay fresh in various conditions and offer you some tips on how to store it.

Proper storage will help yogurt stay fresh and tasty longer.

Contents

Yogurt And All Its Glorious Benefits
1. Help Maintain Healthy Bones
2. Ideal For Weight Loss
3. Support Digestive Health:
How Long Can Yogurt Sit Out Without Going Bad?
A Comprehensive Guide On How To Spot Spoiled Yogurt
1. Look At The Liquid Whey
2. Take A Good Sniff
3. Look For Signs Of Curdling
4. Examine For Mold
Yogurt Sitting Out Vs. Refrigerated?
Other Important Notes In Storing Yogurt
How To Store Yogurt For Longer?
How Do You Store Yogurt Without Refrigeration?
FAQs
Time To Refrigerate Your Delicious Yogurt

Yogurt And All Its Glorious Benefits

Yogurt is a product that is made by a process known as “bacterial fermentation of milk.” To make yogurt, you’ll need a type of bacteria called “yogurt cultures.” These bacteria ferment the sugars in the milk, leading to the characteristic texture and flavors of yogurt.

There are lots of health benefits linked to the regular consumption of yogurt. Here are a few benefits linked to the regular consumption of yogurt.

1. Help Maintain Healthy Bones

In yogurt, there are many nutrients that can help you maintain healthy bones, such as calcium, potassium, phosphorus, protein, and even vitamin D. Consuming yogurt every day can drastically improve your bone mass and strength.

2. Ideal For Weight Loss

The high amount of protein in yogurt, combined with its calcium content, can promote the production of appetite-reducing hormones. As a result, yogurt can make you feel full for longer, thus curbing your hunger.

3. Support Digestive Health:

Many types of yogurt contain probiotics that might be beneficial to your digestive tract. These probiotics can relieve the symptoms of mild gastrointestinal disorders like constipation or boating.

Yogurt needs “yogurt cultures” to ferment.

How Long Can Yogurt Sit Out Without Going Bad?

Everyone knows that yogurt needs to be refrigerated to stay fresh. Because of its high nutritional value, yogurt is not suitable to be left outside for long, as warmth temperature can speed up the growth of bacteria, making this dairy product spoil faster.

However, sometimes, something may crop up, forcing you to leave your yogurt outside the safe zones provided by the refrigerator. How long can yogurt sit out, then? The table below will answer this question for you.

Temperature	Time
Yogurt From Refrigerator	Frozen Yogurt
40°F – 90°F	2 hours	2 hours
Higher than 90°F	1 hour or less	1 hour or less

As you can see from the table above, yogurt must not be left out at room temperature for any longer than two hours. This means that 2 hours is the maximum lifespan of yogurt outside a fridge.

Sure, the yogurt might not look that bad, even after more than 2 hours outside of the fridge. However, while the yogurt might not show any obvious signs of spoilage, there’s no telling for sure if the yogurt is 100% safe to eat.

Yogurt can only sit out at room temperature for a maximum of 2 hours.

A Comprehensive Guide On How To Spot Spoiled Yogurt

Eating spoiled yogurt is no fun. Aside from the fact that the taste will be off, consumption of bad yogurt can land you a free ticket to the hospital.

Spoiled yogurt can give you stomach cramps, nauseous feelings, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. These are all the signs of food poisoning, a potentially life-threatening illness. This is why it’s essential to be able to tell if the treat is no longer edible.

1. Look At The Liquid Whey

Most yogurts have a layer of liquid on top called “whey.” This layer is packed with many crucial nutrients and protein. When the yogurt is still good, you can mix the whey with it before eating it.

However, if the surface of the yogurt seems to contain quite a lot of liquid on top of this creamy whey, it’s a telltale sign that this dairy product now should have a place in the trash. How unfortunate!

2. Take A Good Sniff

Trust your nose when it tells you that your food has gone bad. If there’s any putrid or rancid smell coming from the yogurt, just let the thing go where it belongs – the trash.

Of course, one’s sense of smell can vary. This is why this isn’t necessarily a foolproof way of telling if the yogurt is bad. Some spoiled yogurt might not give off any noticeable odor, which is why you’ll need to keep an eye out for other signs of spoilage.

3. Look For Signs Of Curdling

When you open a yogurt and are greeted with a layer of curdling instead of the smooth and creamy whey, you should probably bid it farewell. It might look unharmful, but curdling is a very certain indication of spoilage.

You can also use a spoon to feel the bottom of the yogurt carton. Is there any curdling texture there? If the answer is yes, the food is definitely bad.

4. Examine For Mold

Mold is the most obvious indicator that any food has gone bad – a case that is also applicable to yogurt. So, if you’re not sure whether the treat is still edible, see if there are any little black or green dots. If there are, it means that mold and fungus have taken hold of your yogurt.

Once the yogurt has developed mold, it’s no longer safe to eat. Don’t think that you can simply remove the moldy surface and eat the rest. When yogurt shows signs of mold, the entire thing is contaminated. Eating it might give you food poisoning or other digestive problems.

Like other food, yogurt with mold is never a good sign.

Yogurt Sitting Out Vs. Refrigerated?

To prevent yogurt from going bad quickly and protect you from exposing yourself to spoiled food, it’s important to remember how long yogurt can sit out at room temperature. However, it’s even more essential that you understand the benefits of storing yogurt in a refrigerator.

When you store yogurts inside refrigerators, they will be able to last considerably longer. If you want to know specifically how long yogurt can last inside a fridge, you can look at the table below.

Type Of Yogurt	Refrigerator (Less than 40°F)
Unopened Yogurt	Two week past “use by” date printed on label
Unopened Greek Yogurt	One week past “use by” date printed on label
Opened Yogurt	5 to 7 days after opening
Opened Greek Yogurt	Less than 5 days after opening

You should also note that yogurt shelf life can also be shortened if you take the yogurt out of the fridge, let it sit at room temperature for an hour or so before returning it back to the fridge.

Yogurt can last a week past its expiration date when stored in a fridge.

Other Important Notes In Storing Yogurt

I’m sure that you’d want to learn how to store yogurt the correct way to expand its longevity. That’s why I’ve written this section to help you understand this process better.

How To Store Yogurt For Longer?

Fortunately, yogurt is quite easy to store; you don’t need to go through elaborate steps to keep them properly. Here are some tips to keep this dairy treat fresh longer.

1. Avoid Cross-Contamination

Always use a clean spoon to scoop the yogurt out of the pot. Get enough yogurt into a separate bowl and put the rest in the fridge immediately to preserve its freshness. Should you want to take out more yogurt, get a new spoon to scoop the yogurt out.

2. Keep The Yogurt In The Back Of The Fridge:

To make sure that your yogurt is always at optimal temperature, you should store it in the back of the fridge. This is where yogurt’s temperature can remain consistent, allowing this dairy product to last longer.

The least ideal place to keep yogurts is the fridge’s door because the temperature here might not be as cool and consistent. Keep in mind that constant fluctuation in temperature can seriously affect the longevity of your yogurt.

3. Make Sure It’s Tightly Sealed

Once you’ve opened the yogurt pot, you should always tightly seal it back with its original lid. If you wish to be extra careful, it doesn’t hurt to wrap the yogurt pot in an airtight bag. This is because tightly sealing the yogurt will make sure that strong odor and bacteria can’t get to it.

4. Freeze It

Freezing will allow the yogurt to stay edible the longest. Once frozen, yogurt can stay fresh 1 month past its “use by” date. Simply place the unopened yogurt pot in the back of the freezer, and you’re done.

Once you thaw frozen yogurt, you need to eat it immediately. Thawed yogurt cannot stay fresh for long, so it’s best to finish the yogurt within 2 or 3 days after you defrost the treat.

One drawback of this method is that the freezing process will affect the yogurt’s texture and overall taste. This is why you should only resort to this method when it’s absolutely necessary.

If you want to learn how to store yogurt by freezing it, the video below would be helpful to you.

Watch video: See how this woman stores her yogurt before it expires

How Do You Store Yogurt Without Refrigeration?

It’s almost impossible to store yogurt without a fridge; however, there’s still a temporary solution to help you keep your yogurt fresh until you can put it away in the fridge.

For this, you’ll need a cooler and a few packs of ice. Layer the bottom of the cooler with ice, and put the yogurt in. Once you get that down, layer the yogurt with more ice to keep it as cool as possible.

It’s best to avoid opening the cooler frequently to avoid speeding up the melting. However, you should keep an eye on the cooler to make sure that you’re there to replace the ice once the old ones have completely melted.

FAQs

If you read this section, maybe you’ll find out more important information that you might not know before. Below are some common problems one might encounter when storing yogurt.

Is It Safe To Eat Yogurt That Is Left Out Overnight?

Are you leaving yogurt at room temperature overnight? If so, there’s a high chance that the yogurt is no longer safe to consume. As I’ve mentioned, yogurt can go bad if it sits out at room temperature for longer than 2 hours.

Can You Eat Yogurt Not Refrigerated?

As long as the yogurt doesn’t sit out for longer than 2 hours and doesn’t show any signs of spoilage, you can eat unrefrigerated yogurt.

How Long Can Yogurt Sit In Lunchbox?

If you’re bringing yogurt with you in your lunchbox, you should put at least two ice packs in it. If your lunch box is not insulated, it’s best to put the box inside another insulated bag to keep the ice from melting.

In this case, the yogurt can stay fresh until after the ice packs have completely cooled down for two hours. If you’re storing the yogurt in an insulated bag with ice packs, I’m sure the yogurt is still fresh when you take it out for snacks.

However, if you’re not storing the yogurt in a lunchbox without any ice packs, then it should last around 2 hours.

What Can Expired Yogurt Be Used For?

Yogurt, even expired ones, can be used for moisturizing your skin. So, you can use expired yogurt to wash your face or for a yogurt bath. You can also mix honey or pearl powder with expired yogurt to make a face mask.

Expired yogurt is also ideal for treating hair. Mix yogurt with clean water to dilute the dairy product. Then, wash your hair and apply the diluted yogurt on your wet hair. Massage your hair and scalp for a few minutes before rinsing the yogurt off.

Time To Refrigerate Your Delicious Yogurt

Now that you’ve learned yogurt can’t last for more than 2 hours outside of the fridge; I’m certain that you’d want to refrigerate this yummy treat immediately. After all, yogurt tastes best when it’s served cool; warm yogurt is no fun.

Did I answer your question? Do any other yogurt-related questions still bother you? Comment and let me know.

How long can yogurt be out of the fridge without going bad?

Is it OK to eat yogurt left out overnight?

According to the US Department of Health & Human Services, you should throw out yogurt if it's been out at room temperature for more than two hours. If the temperature is higher than 90 degrees Fahrenheit, you only have one hour to eat that yogurt sitting out of the refrigerator.