Homemade Yogurt has NEVER been easier than with this Cold Start Instant Pot Yogurt. Two ingredients and time is all you need to have perfect, creamy, thick yogurt.
If you are looking for making yogurt without ultra-pasteurized milk, be sure to grab my recipe for Instant Pot Yogurt. If you are looking for more Instant Pot Recipes, please check out all Instant Pot Recipes.
One of the biggest reasons I love my pressure cooker is for Homemade Yogurt.
It was one of the first recipes I mastered and I make it on a weekly basis.
But a lot of people have been asking how to make Cold Start Yogurt, and I am here to say, Instant Pot Cold Start Yogurt is so much easier than my original Instant Pot Yogurt Recipe.
Cold Start Yogurt
It could not be easier to make yogurt using cold start yogurt, and it is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to mess up--the same can not be said about my traditional Instant Pot Yogurt.
There are no thermometers needed, no boiling of milk, no wondering if your milk didn't reach the right temperature to achieve perfect yogurt. Plus cold start yogurt comes out thick, just like Greek yogurt--no need for straining!
Just two simple ingredients and a pressure cooker is all that is needed for this cold start yogurt.
Ingredients for Cold Start Yogurt
- Ultra Pasteurized Milk or Ultra Filtered Milk
- 2 tablespoons plain yogurt with active cultures or a yogurt starter
Ultra Filtered or Ultra Pasteurized?
Cold start yogurt works using milk that is ultra-pasteurized. That said, for the creamiest, thickest yogurt, ultra-filtered milk works best.
Ultra-Filtered milk is still pasteurized, but it also goes through a special filtration process. The result is ultra-filtered milk with 50% more protein, 30% more calcium and half the sugar of regular milk and lactose free. Which yields a yogurt that is creamier and thicker. It also is higher in protein and calcium and lower in sugar--perfect for anyone watching their sugars.
You can look for a brand, like Fairlife brand for ultra-filtered milk.
How To Make Cold Start Yogurt
Step One: Clean your Instant Pot
- Be sure your pressure cooker is clean and you use a clean inner ring when making yogurt--no one wants yogurt tasting like Instant Pot Chili!
- I wipe my inner pot down with vinegar and then rinse well and dry.
- I also recommend a separate sealing ring to use for yogurt--not necessary but it does help!
Step Two: Add Milk and Starter to Pressure Cooker
- Whisk 1 cup of the milk with the starter until well combined.
- Pour remaining milk into inner pot of pressure cooker.
- Whisk in starter mixture.
Step Three: Incubate Yogurt
- Place lid on pressure cooker.
- Hit "Yogurt" and it should read 8:00. Be sure NORMAL is lit up. If LOW is let up, you must change to normal heat for incubation to occur, by hitting yogurt again until normal is lit up.
- Let it begin to incubate.
Step Four: Refrigerate Yogurt
- After 8 hours, remove inner pot from pressure cooker.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for another 8 hours.
- Place yogurt in glass jars to store in refrigerator.
Tips for Making Cold Start Yogurt
- There is NO substitution for ultra pasteurized milk. If you do not use ultra pasteurized milk, you need to follow these instructions for Instant Pot Yogurt. Most Organic Milks are Ultra-Pasteurized as well--but be sure it is labeled "ultra-pasteurized"
- Use any percentage fat milk you like for this cold start yogurt, the higher the fat percentage the creamier the yogurt. I prefer 2% Ultra Pasteurized Milk.
- You can cut this recipe in half, or if you have an 8 quart pressure cooker, you can also double this recipe for homemade yogurt.
- For homemade yogurt, you must, use either use a yogurt starter or plain yogurt with active live cultures. I like to use plain Greek yogurt--Chobani or the store brand.
- Feel free to sweeten yogurt with vanilla extract, honey, maple syrup, or fruit AFTER incubating.
- A huge tip for making yogurt in the future, is to FREEZE your starter immediately after fresh yogurt is made. I recommend using an ice cube tray. Each ice cube holds 1 tablespoon of yogurt so you will know exactly how much yogurt to defrost when making a new yogurt batch. Just be sure to thaw your yogurt cubes in the fridge to not alter the cultures in the yogurt.
- If you would like tangier yogurt, set incubation period to 10 hours instead of 8 hours.
- Homemade yogurt should last for up to 10-14 days in your refrigerator.
More Instant Pot Basic Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Stock
- Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce
- Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
- Instant Pot Beans
- Perfect Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs
- Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats
Instant Pot Cold Start Yogurt
Ingredients
- 52 ounces Ultra Pasteurized Milk Ultra-Filtered is BEST--see notes
- 2 tablespoons prepare yogurt with live cultures or yogurt starter
Instructions
- Whisk 1 cup of the milk with the starter or prepared yogurt until well combined.
- Pour the remaining milk into the inner pot of pressure cooker and then whisk in starter mixture.
- Place lid on the pressure cooker. There is no need to seal.
- To set the incubation time, hit yogurt function and then adjust function until the time reads 8:00 (be sure pressure is at normal and not low--if at low hit yogurt again.)
- After the 8 hour incubation period, remove inner pot from pressure cooker. Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 8 hours.Â
- After refrigeration, store yogurt in glass containers for 10-14 days.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- Fairlife milk is also ultra-filtered, which means it has more protein and less sugar, meaning it will produce a thicker yogurt than just ultra-pasteurized milk. If you use ultra-pasteurized milk, not ultra-filtered milk, you may want to strain your yogurt for super thick yogurt.Â
- Ultra-filtered milk does seem to be more foolproof than ultra-pasteurized milk--as a couple of brands have not set up as well for readers.Â
- If you have an Instant Pot Evo Duo Plus, select custom temperature using the yogurt function and set to 110 degrees.Â
Nutrition
This instant pot yogurt method was named "Cold Start" by Freida Loves Bread to the best of my knowledge.
Karen
Can I use 2TBS of whey for my starter instead of yogurt?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Karen! I have not had success using whey as the starter.
Joey
Love this recipe! Came out perfect and so easy! Thank you you for sharing.
Kristen Chidsey
And thank you for taking the time to leave a review 🙂
Richard Smith
You don’t need a ring because the lid (and pressure) is not needed. Just buy an Instant Pot glass lid to cover the inner pot.
Ginny
Hmmm, I have been doing the cold start method with just organic whole milk... not ultra-pasteurized. I use the glass lid on my Instant pot with paper towel under to catch the condensation. Always works great for me. I get thick creamy yogurt. I let it incubate for 24 hours. I used to do the ultra-pasterurized milk but it always came out too grainy and I didn't like the flavor at all. I'm wondering what the reason is for boiling the milk and cooling it first. It seems to come out great the way I do it.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Ginny! Most organic milk is ultra-pasterurized. Happy you are enjoying it.
Cindy
If you don't want to skip the milk boiling step but still want it to be easy, take your live yogurt that you want to use for a start and put it in the freezer. (I put some in the freezer every time I make a batch.) Then, after the milk boil step, I immediately pop in the batch of (1 1/2 to 2 cup) block of frozen yogurt from the last batch. The ice cools the milk as the yogurt thaws, it might kill a little of the bacteria at the edges of starter block, but there's enough live yogurt left in the block to make the yogurt. So you go straight from the boil stage to the incubation stage with no temperature checking or waiting.
Becky
I used ultra filtered milk, 2 tblsp of yogurt with live cultures and after 8 hours in my insantpot it is not set at all. Temp was set to 110...not sure what I did wrong. I have done the regular method using a starter and it was fine, although I didn't mess with the temp that time
. I have the instant pot pro.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Becky! Did you use the yogurt function last time? I am trying to figure out the difference.
Connie
If you aren't adding anything but milk and starter, you only need 1 tablespoon of starter. Also, I put my yogurt in plastic store bought yogurt containers that I've bought previously before I started making my own.
Also I set mine for 24 hours overnight and then stop it when I get up. Just in case, for some reason, I don't get to it right away. It happened when I was sick overnight and didn't get to it until 15 hours. It was more tart, but I didn't have to throw it away, which I would have had to do if it had been set to 8 hours.
Fran
Such a wonderful recipe! Thank you!! One quick question---When sweetening the yogurt, how much vanilla extract do you recommend adding to a full batch, (in order to make a full batch of vanilla yogurt) after the incubation time is complete? Thank you, again!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Fran! I am thrilled to hear you enjoy this recipe for yogurt. For adding vanilla extract, I would add in 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract after the yogurt has chilled in the refrigerator for 8 hours.
Kate
So darn easy! And the best yogurt I've ever had. I used A2 whole milk and 2tbsp plain yogurt, then incubated about 10 hours. Then strained for three in the fridge. Oh my!
Kristen
If you double the amount of milk, do you have to change the cooking time(for cold start)? Or will it still be 8 hours?
Kristen Chidsey
Hey Kristen (great name BTW!) The cooking time will be the same!
Shari Steiner
Question for you…. I just got the duo crisp for Christmas, and I also don’t have the yogurt setting, so I’m using the idea in these comments to try yogurt with the sous vide setting. It does not let me do this without sealing the lid, which goes against what the recipe says, so I hope that won’t mess it up. Does anyone know any updates about how this turns out since the comments in here about doing this this way?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Shari! Your lid does not need to be sealed, simply placed on the pressure cooker.
Mary Ellen
Which yogurt culture can I use with the cold start method. I prefer not to use store bought yogurt
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Mary Ellen. I had luck with this is culture in the past with success.