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
- 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 remaining milk into inner pot of pressure cooker and then whisk in starter mixture.
- Place lid on pressure cooker.
- 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.
- 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, no ultra-filtered milk, you may want to strain your yogurt for super thick yogurt.
This instant pot yogurt method was named “Cold Start” by Freida Loves Bread to the best of my knowledge.
I love how easy this recipe is! The family loves it and I can’t seem to make it fast enough.
I was wondering if its possible to make coconut yogurt using this recipe and adding cream of coconut?
Hi Dixie! I am so glad you enjoy this method. As for coconut milk, it is a different process. I have a recipe for Instant Pot coconut yogurt you can follow.
Does the milk have to be room temperature when starting the incubation? I made yogurt using fairlife milk twice, both times it was not done in 8 hours. I used refrigerated milk without bringing it down to room temperature.
Hi Sana! The milk does not have to bee room temperature. A few things that may instead be the issue. First, check to be sure your yogurt is set to normal incubation not low. Also, be sure you are using yogurt that has active cultures and is not expired. It is also key to whisk in the starter fully. Hope those tips help.
Thank you for this and other reliable, straightforward Instant Pot recipes. Just wanted to note here for others that Simple Truth Organic milk, which is the Kroger store brand, is ultra pasteurized. Was happy to see this when this was substituted in my online grocery order; it’s less expensive than Horizon and works well in this recipe.
Thank you for letting us know that the brand works well for you!
Thank you for the nutrition information. Out of curiosity, how much do you consider 1 serving?
4 ounces 🙂 Enjoy!
I was wondering if this recipe works if you double it. I have a 6qt instant pot. Using the 1/2 gal of milk works great. I would just like to be able to make it less often, but because i use grass fed organic milk, which is expensive, I don’t want to waste it, even once.
Hi Shelly! I have doubled this many times with great success.
I’ve used this recipe many times and it always comes out great. I add 1/2 can of low-fat sweetened condensed milk with the milk and starter and set it for 9 hours. I then transfer it to a strainer I found (Eurocuisine brand available online) and let it strain for 7-8 hours. It comes out super thick, almost like Icelandic Skyr. Sometimes I’ll use a hand-blender and whip it briefly to get a super smooth texture. This has been a life-changer in our house! We put our favorite jams in the bottom of small 8oz glass jars, fill up with yogurt, screw on the caps, and we’re set with a week’s worth of individualized super tasty yogurt. No wasting plastic cups and lids and a huge cost savings if you eat yogurt regularly.
I am so glad you enjoy Erik! Thank you for sharing your addition of condensed milk as well 🙂
I have made this recipe four times now and each time it is turns out perfect! I have looked and read other recipes and they were not as clear! I eat yogurt just about every morning so this is great because it gives me just about twice as much yogurt for the price. I don’t strain or sweeten mine as I always eat it with berries and a little granola. My only questions is this, most of the time I use Fairlife Milk which is sold in 52 ounces. This last time; however, I used a different brand that came in a 56 ounce carton. I measured out 4 ounces to be sure I only used 52 oz, but it made me wonder if I used the whole carton would I need to increase the amount of the started or should I just stick to setting aside the 4 ounces? It’s sometimes hard to find Fairlife and I can never get it curbside pickup where I live so that means I have to go into the store (not a big fan of that if I can avoid it). I just started using Imperfect Foods for veggie deliveries and they had a different brand of ultra-filtered milk so I got that this time. Thanks for the recipe!!
I love that you find this recipe so easy to follow ith success. Feel free to use a 56 ounce bottle with 2 tablespoons of starter–it works just as well.
This is an update to my post yesterday on the results of my first try. I was so excited to try to your recipe. As I noted in my previous post, I have a Crock Pot brand pressure cooker which does not give the option to adjust pressure and neither high nor low was lit. The temp auto set to low. After the 8 hour incubation, it seemed to look great but I mixed some vanilla in then as your recipe suggested. It was thick but had a few lumps. I tasted it, something was off, and it was not the super fantastic yogurt I tasted from a friend. Left it in the frig for over 8 hours before adding more stevia syrup and vanilla. Still had lumps and still didn’t taste great. What did I do wrong? I took what I had and made some some oatmeal nut Berry parfaits in small ball jars. not sure how those are going to taste but I’m most curious if it’s even safe to eat. Your thoughts?? I really want to master this!
Hi Connie! What recipe did your friend use? I am wondering if your friend use sweetener? Some recipes call for sweetened condensed milk, which would greatly change the flavor. It sounds safe to eat and a few lumps are normal (just whisk).
Hi! I just started my recipe after thoroughly cleaning my pressure cooker and plastic ring. I have the Crock-Pot instant pot brand and it has a yogurt function. When I press “yogurt” there is no pressure indicator so I will assume by comments that is as it should be. However temperature is lit up as low. If I press the temperature adjust to high then the 8 hour preset time zeros out. Again I am assuming that is as designed for this recipe to work. Excited for the results and keeping my fingers crossed! 😊
Hi Connie. I just looked at the manual for the Crock Pot Multi Cooker and it says that yogurt is meant to be set to low–for Instant Pot models it needs to be on normal.
This cold start yogurt is excellent! However, after I added some raw honey and vanilla the yogurt curdled. The flavor was still wonderful but the texture was different.
Hi Julie! I am glad the recipe worked. As for the curdling, it was more than likely the raw honey. You may have better luck to wait for at least 8 hours after the yogurt has been in the fridge before sweetening.
I pour the yogurt and Fairlife milk mixture into 4 pint jars and place them in the Instant Pot. I use a glass or plastic lid over the top of the IP. After 8 hours I put a lid on each jar and place them in the frig to cool. This is so easy and saves space in the frig. Then, I can serve the amount I want from the pint jars.
I’m curious if you can make this in the 3 quart Instant Pot. 52 oz. is less than 3 quarts but I didn’t know if the yogurt changes in volume during the process.
There is no volume change, so you will be fine to make in a 3 quart.
Great thanks!
Ugh we tried this recipe twice following the the instructions perfectly and both times it didn’t turn out, it was fully separated and not stiff. 🙁 Then I read the comments and found out you can’t have any pressure. This may be a great recipe but no where does it say that in this recipe. I don’t know if you can have the vent open for it to work or not but I’m too afraid to try. I’m just going to use a glass pan lid and hopefully the 3rd time is the charm.
Hi Austin. This recipe indicates in the recipe card and in the post to use the YOGURT function–which is not using pressure. If you did set to cook using pressure it would cause separation–as dairy can not be pressure cooked. The yogurt function incubated the milk at a low, consistent temperature. As for the vent–it makes no difference if closed or open as no pressure is reached.