Today’s Best Recipe is Instant Pot Yogurt or a step or two more and it’s Instant Pot Greek Yogurt.
Yogurt goes fast at my house. This Instant Pot Yogurt Recipe is delicious and has become my weekly ritual. I make one batch and it lasts (almost) a full week.
I love that I control what goes into it.
We can change up the flavorings.
So far my family loves mixed berry and key lime best, but they don’t turn down lemon, blueberry, strawberry, or peach.
You can opt for traditional yogurt, or strain it for Greek Yogurt.
It’s up to you.
It’s easy, though it does take some time (but the Instant Pot does it all so you can do your own thing).
The end result is the best yogurt.
It’s a creamy yogurt with plenty of options for flavoring, but delicious on its own.
This homemade instant pot yogurt makes a great addition to our Refrigerator Overnight Oats recipe.
You may also want to check out my Pinterest Instant Pot board for more great recipes like this EASY Pressure Cooker Yogurt!
A note here, Yogurt isn’t cooked.
The proper term would be incubated.
Yogurt is incubated which means it needs to be held at a constant temperature (between 110-degrees and 116-degrees F.) to encourage the wanted and Thermophilic culture to multiply.
Thermophilic means heat-loving.
The Instant Pot does all this for us–keeping the temperature in the target zone and eliminating blech, poor textured, stringy yogurt that is created when the temperature is too warm.
Here’s how it’s done.
Instant Pot Yogurt Recipe Ingredients:
- 1-gallon whole milk
- 2 Tablespoons Yogurt (choose the kind that only has live cultures)
Instant Pot Yogurt Recipe Directions:
- Pour the regular milk into a cold Instant Pot inner pot. Cover with Lid. It’s not under pressure so you can use any lid, I use a glass lid.
- Press the YOGURT button
- Press ADJUST until the Instant Pot reads BOIL
- You’ll want to stir or whisk the milk a few times during this cycle to heat it throughout
- When Instant Pot Beeps, open lid, whisk and use a candy thermometer to test the temperature. You want it to read 180-degrees. If it isn’t quite there, use the SAUTE function and whisk continuously until the milk reaches 180-185-degrees
- Once you get the 180-185 degrees reading, remove the cooking pot and place it in the ice bath (a sink filled with cold water) to reduce milk to 110 degrees–remember to whisk often. (If it dips below 110°F, pop the insert back in the cooker, press “Yogurt,” then “Adjust” and monitor the thermometer until it’s back in the right zone. Remove the insert from the cooker.)An alternative method is to Put the thermometer in the milk and wait until it’s 116° F. This can take as long as an hour.
- There will be a film of coagulated milk on the surface of the milk; carefully lift this off with a spoon and discard (this film won’t ruin your yogurt, but it creates a distracting texture once it’s finished).
- The next step is to temper the yogurt starter. To do this place the starter in a medium bowl and add 1/2 cup of the warm milk. Whisk until smooth, then pour into the insert of milk and whisk to combine.
- Return the inner pot with milk back inside the Instant Pot, lock on the lid (steam vent doesn’t matter here because we aren’t creating pressure).
- Press the YOGURT button.
- Adust the time, using the + button to 8:00
- The Instant pot will count UP in this mode so when it reads 1:30 it means it has been incubating for one hour and thirty minutes. The Instant Pot will incubate your yogurt for 8 hours before switching itself off (the display will read “Yogt” once the 8-hour default programming is complete). You can use the +/- button to adjust the incubation time–the longer the incubation time, the more tart the yogurt will be.
- The yogurt is set when it jiggles all as one unit if you carefully nudge the insert, and it does not run if you tip the pot a bit. You may see some clear liquid (the whey) floating on the surface and at the edges.It’s okay; that’s normal.
- When the cycle ends, remove the pot, keep covered, and let rest at room temperature for two hours. This will keep the bacteria from being shocked by sudden temperatures, which can create runny yogurt.
- Place the inner pot with yogurt it in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours. Don’t disturb it, just let it rest.
- It should now be thick enough to hold a spoon straight up.
- For smooth yogurt, just whisk it.
- For thick, homemade Greek yogurt, strain it using cheesecloth and a colander, or coffee filters inside a colander, to strain the yogurt. The longer you strain it, the thicker it will become. You can use the liquid (whey) that strains from it to make homemade bread!
Storage:
Homemade Instant Pot yogurt lasts about a week and a half in the fridge, in an airtight container.
Flavoring:
Don’t flavor yogurt until after it’s finished and chilled. Otherwise, you risk it setting right.
I divide my homemade yogurt into small mason jars and top with a topping.
Try my Instant Pot Mixed Berry Compote Recipe for delicious results.
Notes:
- Reduced fat milk makes a thinner yogurt than whole milk, but you can certainly use it. You can even make yogurt with half-and-half!
- The larger the volume of milk, the harder it is to keep the incubation temperature steady.
When you’re finished, why not give your Instant Pot a deep clean.
About Yogurt Cultures:
Any plain yogurt from the grocery store can be used as a starter, as long as it says “active cultures” on the carton. You can reserve 1/4 cup from your first two batches of yogurt to use as a starter, however, beyond that, the culture will be too weak to work. (This is an example of a Direct Set Culture).
If you want an ongoing culture like a sourdough starter uses, you will need to use an heirloom yogurt culture packet.
Single-Use Cultures (Direct Set)
Direct-set or single-use cultures are added to a batch of milk to produce a single batch of yogurt. With some care, a direct-set starter may be re-cultured two or three times by using some of the yogurt as a starter for a new batch. Eventually, however, a new starter must be used. Non-dairy milk generally cannot be re-cultured.
Reusable Cultures (Heirloom)
Reusable or Heirloom cultures can be propagated indefinitely. With each batch, some of the yogurt is saved to add to a new batch of milk to make more yogurt.
- The flavor of your finished yogurt is going to depend a lot on the starter you use and the milk you use.
- Some starters make thicker or tangier yogurt than others.
How to Make Instant Pot Yogurt
Ingredients
- 1-gallon whole milk
- 2 Tablespoons Yogurt (choose the kind that only has live cultures)
Instructions
- Pour the regular milk into a cold Instant Pot inner pot. Cover with Lid. It's not under pressure so you can use any lid, I use a glass lid.
- Press the YOGURT button
- Press ADJUST until the Instant Pot reads BOIL
- You'll want to stir or whisk the milk a few times during this cycle to heat it throughout
- When Instant Pot Beeps, open lid, whisk and use a candy thermometer to test the temperature. You want it to read 180-degrees. If it isn't quite there, use the SAUTE function and whisk continuously until the milk reaches 180-185-degrees
- Once you get the 180-185 degrees reading, remove the cooking pot and place it in the ice bath (a sink filled with cold water) to reduce milk to 110 degrees--remember to whisk often. (If it dips below 110°F, pop the insert back in the cooker, press “Yogurt,” then “Adjust” and monitor the thermometer until it’s back in the right zone. Remove the insert from the cooker.)An alternative method is to Put the thermometer in the milk and wait until it’s 116° F. This can take as long as an hour.
- There will be a film of coagulated milk on the surface of the milk; carefully lift this off with a spoon and discard (this film won’t ruin your yogurt, but it creates a distracting texture once it’s finished).
- The next step is to temper the yogurt starter. To do this place the starter in a medium bowl and add 1/2 cup of the warm milk. Whisk until smooth, then pour into the insert of milk and whisk to combine.
- Return the inner pot with milk back inside the Instant Pot, lock on the lid (steam vent doesn't matter here because we aren't creating pressure).
- Press the YOGURT button.
- Adust the time, using the + button to 8:00
- The Instant pot will count UP in this mode so when it reads 1:30 it means it has been incubating for one hour and thirty minutes. The Instant Pot will incubate your yogurt for 8 hours before switching itself off (the display will read “Yogt” once the 8-hour default programming is complete). You can use the +/- button to adjust the incubation time--the longer the incubation time, the more tart the yogurt will be.
- The yogurt is set when it jiggles all as one unit if you carefully nudge the insert, and it does not run if you tip the pot a bit. You may see some clear liquid (the whey) floating on the surface and at the edges.It's okay; that's normal.
- When the cycle ends, remove the pot, keep covered, and let rest at room temperature for two hours. This will keep the bacteria from being shocked by sudden temperatures, which can create runny yogurt.
- Place the inner pot with yogurt it in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours. Don't disturb it, just let it rest.
- It should now be thick enough to hold a spoon straight up.
- For smooth yogurt, just whisk it.
- For thick, homemade Greek yogurt, strain it using cheesecloth and a colander, or coffee filters inside a colander, to strain the yogurt. The longer you strain it, the thicker it will become. You can use the liquid (whey) that strains from it to make homemade bread!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 36 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 66Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 47mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 0gSugar: 6gProtein: 3g
Nutritional Information may not be accurate
