Typically frozen yogurt will contain low- or no-fat yogurt, sweetener, gelatin, corn syrup, coloring and flavoring. Frozen yogurt is typically made in an ice cream machine and is typically available with ice cream flavors, and can also be blended with fruit in a frozen yogurt blending machine. Frozen yogurt both freezes and melts much slower than ice cream since yogurt has a much higher enthalpy of fusion than milk. Sugar-free versions of frozen yogurt are readily available. Frozen yogurt flavored with fructose is marketed for people sensitive to sugar, such as diabetics. Frozen yogurt is often eaten by lactose-sensitve people in place of ice cream, as the live cultures can help digest the lactose. More recently, live culture probiotic frozen yogurt has seen increased popularity, as many consumers view yogurt of this variety as being healthier, as offered by Yogen Fruz.

Although frozen yogurt has been made since at least the 1970s, it did not become especially popular until the 1980s. Fact: date=February 2007

One of the first frozen yogurts in the U.S. was made by Dannon, which had a prepackaged frozen yogurt on a stick called Danny's, raspberry flavor covered by dark chocolate. The original Danny's yogurt was tart in flavor compared to current frozen yogurts. More recently, frozen yogurt made by Red Mango and Pinkberry has been tarter.