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
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Yougurt DOES NOT need to be drained. Draining will make it very thick, like greek yogurt, and decreases the total volume of yogurt. I carefully scoop the yogurt into jars, after cooling, and each jar has some whey. Stir a few times very gently before using , and the whey will be incorporated. The bonus is MORE yogurt per batch. Plus it is not as solid and heavy as greek style yogurt – easier to mix with fruit and cereal, as you, and I, like it. 🙂
Can I make this yogurt if I only have non-fat Greek yogurt as a starter? I always buy full fat but it’s all the store had for my quarantine delivery!!
Elyssa,
Did you try the recipe with non-fat yogurt? I am going to try this today. I will let you know if it is successful.
I ended up using nonfat siggis, so it was thicker at least than nonfat Greek yogurt. It came out great, and I am going to make round 2 today using my own yogurt!
I just have a question. Do we leave the vent open or closed (or does it not matter) while boiling the milk?
My new instapot does not have yogert button. How do I do it
This makes great yogurt, but one crucial step is missing: after the yogurt is finished, it needs to have the whey drained off (it can be substituted for buttwrmilk in any recipe calling for buttermilk. Makes great Pancakes and biscuits!) To drain: Line a large colander with a double layer of cheesecloth, with ends extending over sides, and place over a large mixing bowl. Pour yogurt in, and lightly lay the ends of the cheesecloth on top to cover. Place in the fridge and drain for at least 4 hours, and up to 8 hours for Greek yogurt. (I then place the drained yogurt into my stand mixer and beat it until its smooth and creamy – luscious!, but this is an optional step.) Then scoop it into containers to store in the fridge.
Just to be clear, attaining is necessary regardless what “style” yogurt you like? I prefer a looser style better for mixing with fruit and cereal and find Greek style to be too cloying.
Yougurt DOES NOT need to be drained. Draining will make it very thick, like greek yogurt, and decreases the total volume of yogurt. I carefully scoop the yogurt into jars, after cooling, and each jar has some whey. Stir a few times very gently before using , and the whey will be incorporated. The bonus is MORE yogurt per batch. Plus it is not as solid and heavy as greek style yogurt – easier to mix with fruit and cereal, as you, and I, like it. 🙂
Hello,
This recipe is terrific! I have used it a bunch of times now! Always delicious! Thanks!
BUT, I just made a mistake. after combining the starter (yogurt) with the milk, I realized that I accidentally bought vanilla yogurt instead of plain…Will it still work? Thanks 🙂
As long as your yogurt container says live cultures, you should be ok. I usually just check to see which strains of bacteria is in the yogurt to choose what I use as a starter, if I don’t have leftover yogurt from a past batch. I personally like using stiggis since for me it constantly produces a thicker yogurt, even before draining whey.
You might want to mention to make sure the cup of milk you remove has cooled before adding the yogurt starter.
I am making your recipe for the first time. I find I need more than one hour to reach boil, 180. Is is common? Also, the instructions could be “dummy-downed” for newbies. I will let you know how this comes out.
Heat the milk in a pot on the stove. Stir frequently so not to burn the milk. Remove from heat once you hit 180 Fahrenheit, if you don’t have a thermometer then remove from heat when milk starts to foam/froth. Cool to about 110 Fahrenheit (or when lukewarm to the touch when tested on wrist), add starter (easier to incorporate when mixed into a cup/8oz of milk first). Make and enjoy yogurt.
I usually strain all the whey I can from the yogurt making labneh, saving the whey which can be used in place of water, buttermilk, milk. Also whey stores better than yogurt if you remove the milk solids.
Last note, yogurt can replace most dairy products in recipes. Cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, etc. can be replaced with yogurt. And labneh can have it’s constituency adjusted be adding whey.
Cody, I followed your simple rules using full fat milk… et voilà: perfect yoghurt! Thank you!
I wanted it tart so set the timer for 16 hours and I like the result. (Unfortunately my partner prefers a less sour tasting yoghurt – so slight problem there…)
I strained half of it and the thickened product – I think I’m halfway between Greek yoghurt and labneh now – is excellent.
does the yogurt “set up” in the fridge or should it be able to hold a spoon upright after the 8 hour incubation?
thanks !
My first try was unsuccessful I believe as the milk was just as thin after the 8 hour incubation as it as it was when I started.
I’m trying again !
I usually do it for at least 14hrs and make sure the pressure setting thing ( note sure what it’s called ) is at normal and not low.
So tasty and really easy to make. Got it right the 1st time!
Your simple instruction, which is great, needs another simple step: Skim the milk when it cools down. You can use the skim in sandwiches (add some salt)
, and by skimming you improve the texture of the finished product.
You can’t boil milk on the yogurt setting you have to put it on sauté to boil milk.
You can if you press the adjust button beside the pressure button. Just select the yogurt setting, then push the adjust button and it will automatically se to boil. It’ll say boil on the screen and it’ll tell you when it’s finished, then proceed to next step
I have the InstaPot Duo which does not have the “Adjust” button. I had to use “Saute” and press it once to scroll to the “More” setting which, from what I’ve read online, heats to the 170-210 F range.
I press the Yogurt button twice on my Instant Pot Due Nova and it will say boil. It will quit when it is supposed to and then you just press Yogurt once when you are wanting to do the 8 hour cook. (after you cool it down and add the starter with the cooled yogurt).
Bless you for being the only person on the interwebs to explain pushing the ‘Yogurt” button twice in order to achieve “Boil”.
You are the first person to use the instruction “Press the yogurt button twice.” I have been looking in the recipe books that came with my Instant Pot, the Instant Pot Facebook community, other recipes I found online, and even this recipe but I felt there was something missing. Please add this instruction where you are saying to adjust the pressure. Otherwise, the instructions are clear.
Thank you for this great tip!!! I was befuddled until I read this comment!
Thank you! Thank you! I have been searching for this answer. We are making for online school science project. You saved us.
Thank you for letting me know push button twice!
This is so helpful! I pushed the yoghurt button twice on my instant pot duo, then the screen said ‘boil’, and automatically changed the heat setting to ‘more’! Thank you, Carol L.!
Bless your heart!!!!!! Finally! The answer !
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?
THANK YOU, JOHN! I needed this information.
Do you think you could put a vanilla bean in during the cooking process to flavor it instead of adding vanilla extract at the end?
Why not put the vanilla bean in during the boiling…. It shouldn’t disturb the yogurt but will definitely give you vanilla bean yogurt.
Thank you for this tutorial! I’ve been making my own yogurt for years in canning jars and a water cooler–not the most precise method, but it always worked. I’ve toyed with the idea of a yogurt maker for years, but so glad I waited for this. I’m pleased to announce that this yogurt has set far better than my previous method and even worked with my (very old) starter I had in the fridge from (too) long ago. So excited! Thanks!
Very easy, as you said! We had some surplus milk and this was a great way to use it. Delicious and we’ll be eating with some fruit and cereal tomorrow!
Preparing my first batch of yogurt now. Fingers crossed 🙂
Well it turned out great, with organic 3.5% milk and 1/4 cup of 3% organic balkan yogurt (can’t remember the name). Should the flavors (vanilla, etc) or fruits be added before or after?
Hi, so how would this work with live probiotic culture, which is why I eat yogurt in the first place. Do they survive the boiling or are they added to yogurt after it’s been pasteurized? Is there enough of them in the yogurt you’re adding to proliferate throughout the new amount? Thanks.
The live cultures are already inside the cup of yogurt you add. That’s why you cool down the mixture to 100-110F so it’s warm enough for the cultures to grow during the 8 hour yogurt making process. Should be plenty of good bacteria in there by the time you’re done!
If you I put the yogurt in over night and it finishes an hour before I am going to wake up well it still be ok or should i get up earlier to pull it out?
hello for the 8 hour stage do you keep the lid on or off for it or would you recommend one way or the other
We recommend covering. Hope that helps, Chuck!
Hello,
I am at the table looking into how to make yoghurt and this page came up. It looks and sounds simple but since I’m a newbie Instant Pot user I’m confused by what you mean in Step 1 when you say ” Select yogurt setting; adjust pressure to boil.”
Also, in Step 3 you say “Stir into remaining milk, being careful not to scrape the bottom of the insert.”. I presume the bottom of the pot has some burned milk now. Is that needed for the yoghurt process since you say not to scrape it.
Thanks, will give this a try once I have these answers. Bye, bye store-bought yoghurt.
For the adjust pressure to boil, just hit the yogurt button twice and the word boil will come up.
Thanks so much for asking and thanks for replying as well! I had the same questions! Just trying to make it now. First time using IP! 🙂
Thank you!! No wonder it wasn’t boiling after an hour a 15 minutes.
Thank you, Brittany. These are the “steps” a newbie needs to know.
Made my first batch and it has the consistency of sour milk which is a of a turn off. Any recommendations?
You can strain it through a cheese cloth (or whatever method you like) to get the excess liquid off. Then it will be nice and creamy!