How to Make Yogurt in an Instant Pot
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Yes, you can make yogurt at home! It’s cheaper and 100x creamier! You’ll never want to buy store-bought yogurt again!
What? Yogurt in an Instant Pot?! Um, yes, 10000 times yes!
The process sounds like it’ll take for-ever, but really, this recipe is so stinking easy with like 4 minutes of hands-on time (legit, 4-5 minutes) – it’s basically effortless. And fool-proof.
Now why bother making homemade yogurt? Well, for starters, it’s 100000x better than store-bought. Seriously. It’s creamier and substantially less tangy. With zero-sweetener.
Plus, you know once you go homemade, you can NEVER go back to the store-bought version. NEVER EVER EVER.
And for that, I’m truly sorry.
Well, not really.
How to Make Yogurt in an Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 8 cups whole milk*
- ¼ cup plain whole milk yogurt
Instructions
- Add milk to a 6-qt Instant Pot®; close and lock the lid. Select yogurt setting; adjust pressure to boil. This can take up to 1 hour.
- Working carefully, cool the Instant Pot® insert in a bowl of ice water, stirring occasionally, until the milk reaches 100 to 110 degrees F, about 15- 20 minutes; set aside 1 cup milk.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together yogurt and reserved 1 cup milk. Stir into remaining milk, being careful not to scrape the bottom of the insert.
- Return insert into the Instant Pot®. Select yogurt setting, set automatically at 8 hours.
- Transfer to storage containers; cover and chill until cold, about 6-8 hours, or up to 10 days.
Notes
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I had no idea this was possible! We go through a lot of yogurt and it would be awesome to make it on our own.
This turns out perfect every time. I have it with a half cup of homemade granola and a handful of berries for breakfast. It’s thick and creamy, but not tart so it doesn’t need added sweetener when serving. Thank you for the recipe!
This was a flawless recipe. My instant pot came to a boil in 35 minutes. I set the timer for the yogurt cycle at 9 hours 30 minutes. Perfectly creamy, barely tart. Excellent job. Thank you.
I’m dying to try your yoghurt in my AIO but don’t have any starter yoghurt…can I use Yogo starter instead
All the other recipes I have seen and the one I usually use, say to cool uncovered to room temp (about 2hrs) then refrigerate at least 6hours. Do not stir, just put the pot in the fridge. I cover it with plastic I put it in so it does not pick up any odors that may be in fridge from other foods. I usually refrigerate it overnight because it is easier for me.
I’ve used this recipe many times and it’s always been good, except the first time. My InstantPot doesn’t get the milk anywhere near hot enough on the BOIL setting. It should get to 180, but mine was barely reaching 140. I now heat it on a manual setting and the end product is firm and creamy.
Thank you for your instructions! My yogurt was chunky before and I couldn’t figure out why. It’s because I was scraping the bottom after the milk boiled, and just mixing my starter yogurt straight into the pot. After finding your recipe and instructions, my yogurt turns out excellent! I let it sit on the low yogurt mode for 24 hours because we love it tangy. Thank you again!!
i tried this in my instapot but the yogurt came out clumpy and with some liquid after 8 hours. If I put it back in for another hour will this ruin it?
Can I do this with almond milk? I am not a fan of regular milk but I would love to try this. it looks very yummy
Question:
Once the timing of the 9+ hours end, do you stir the yogurt, or do you just start filling up the jars without stirring?
Would like to try this, but want to add flavors, like lemon. When would I do that and what should I use?
You do not say how much yogurt to use when you whisk it with the cup of reserved milk?
1/4 cup plain, unsweetened yogurt
Is it possible to make a half batch, just to see if I like it? I have an Instant Pot DUO60.
What recipe and instructions would I follow?
Thank you!
Very happy with this. Took me a few tries, but if you’re using 2% milk, just add extra yogurt (I added an extra tablespoon), and it works great. Otherwise, it ends up too soupy for yogurt.
Soupy can be good when using to make smoothies
It is not as smooth as I wanted it to be. I strained the yogurt to make it like Greek yogurt. Can I freeze the leftover whey and use it in making more yogurt?
Yes, you can use the whey as a starter to make more yogurt. You can freeze it too, if you want to save it for future batches.
I love cold brew coffee yogurt. Any idea how I would incorporate the cold brew so that it’s not watery?
If you make your own cold brew with ground coffee/espresso, I would adjust for amount and time of boil, add at that stage, then strain before you move on to the 8 hour cycle. Same concept as earlier post asking about using vanilla beans. Figure out your addition in the first step. Be sure and consider the long boil time. You want a milder taste, not a strong/bitter taste. I would think maybe 1/4 cup of fresh ground coffee might possibly do the trick? Or, better yet, what about steeping it during the first cooling period? That way you could control the strength and hopefully not allow the bitterness from boiling it for an hour.Anyone else have an idea or experience for this?
About the cold brew – it’s best to make a very strong batch of cold brew and stir it in before consuming the yogurt, not to prepare it in batches. Coffee gets rancid when sitting in dairy for long periods of time (12 hours or more) and this can give it an off-putting taste. Conversely you can use a concentrated coffee syrup or flavoring, which won’t expire when blended in !!
Why not just use instant espresso?
The yogurt cycle on my Instant Pot Duo runs at 95F, but everything I’ve ever seen recommends about 110F. I would love to know what temperature anyone else’s pot maintains during the yogurt cycle.
Mine does too, 95 to 100 degree, always wonder if that is high enough, yogurt is always a bit on the runny side, incubated about 12 to 16 hrs. Would the MORE settings give u a higher temperature? Or would this be too high?
Perfect yogurt every time! Use high quality milk and a high quality yogurt brand to get the best homemade yogurt. It makes a huge difference, and is so worth it. Never buying yogurt again!
What brand do you use? Or where do you get it from
I have a Instant pot IP-Duo and you need to push the yogurt button 3 times for it to read boil.
I’ve noticed when I set the yogurt setting to 12-14hrs and on normal ( not low) it turns out less runny for those with runny yogurt issues.