Instant Pot Yogurt: Step by step directions for making yogurt in an electric pressure cooker. Includes directions for nonfat, full fat and Greek yogurt. Also ways to naturally sweeten yogurt. This is EVERYTHING you need to know about making Instant Pot Yogurt.
I am all about making things at home when I can.
I prefer to make fruit roll-ups, chicken stock, granola bars and even rotisserie chicken.
However, making yogurt at home, never appealed to me–and frankly overwhelmed me.
I can purchase high quality yogurt with simple, wholesome ingredients at every grocery store around me.
But I was intrigued to try my hand at making yogurt shortly after getting my Instant Pot–and let me tell you, I am so glad I gave it a try.
Instant Pot Yogurt
There are two reasons that I will no longer purchase yogurt at the store and make yogurt in my Instant Pot.
- Taste
- Cost
You guys, homemade yogurt is so much creamier and less tangy than store bought yogurt. The first time my kids had homemade yogurt they asked if I put sugar in the yogurt. Nope just plain yogurt–just a less tangy. But man, they loved it. And so did I.
And the cost of making homemade yogurt is so much cheaper than store bought yogurt. By making homemade yogurt you cut the cost in at least half!!!
Now that you are intrigued, let’s get started.
Making yogurt at home is time consuming, but NOT at all hard. With an instant pot, it is nearly fail proof!
How to make Homemade Instant Pot Yogurt
Step One: Clean your Instant Pot.
- This sounds like a no-brainer. But I am not talking about simply washing your Instant Pot–you need to sanitize your inner pot.
- You can prepare your inner pot for making yogurt by pouring boiling water in the inner pot and then discard the water.
- This step can be skipped, but it helps drastically in the flavor of your yogurt–especially if you have been making a lot of Instant Pot Chili.
Step Two: Heat your Milk in your Instant Pot.
- Pour 1/2 gallon milk into your inner pot of your electric pressure cooker, put the lid on the Instant Pot (vent can be sealed or not sealed in this function). Hit yogurt function and then the adjust button until it says Boil.
- When the Instant Pot beeps that it is done, remove the lid and test the temperature to be sure the milk has reached 180 degrees.
- I like to leave the inner pot in the Instant Pot for 5 minutes before removing. This helps the yogurt thicken up a bit better.
Step Three: Cool the milk to approximately 105-115 degrees.
- Cooling the milk to this temperature takes about 1 hour if placed on counter.
- I like to speed the process up by placing the inner pot into a large mixing bowl in ice water. This take about 15-20 minutes.
Step Four: Remove the “skin” off the milk.
- Once your milk has reached the proper temperature, skim off the top layer of milk “skin” that has formed on top of the liquid.
- This helps to give you the creamiest of yogurts.
Step Five: Whisk in a yogurt starter.
- Use either prepared yogurt or a yogurt starter and whisk into your prepared milk.
- It is important to note that if using prepared yogurt you need to be sure it is plain yogurt with live and active cultures.
- If your starter is sweetened or does not have live cultures, making yogurt at home will NOT work!
Step Six: Allow your yogurt to Incubate.
- To finish making your yogurt, place your inner pot back in your Instant Pot with lid on (again, it doesn’t matter which way valve is set).
- Hit Yogurt again button again.
- Adjust until it reads 8:00 or 8 hours.
- Then let the Instant Pot do it’s thing.
Step Seven: Enjoy!
- Transfer to glass jars or a plastic container.
- Refrigerate and Enjoy!
How to Make Yogurt without a Yogurt Button
It is a bit harder to make yogurt without a yogurt button on a pressure cooker, but it is possible.
- It is a bit harder, but it is possible.
- Pour milk into inner pot of pressure cooker.
- Turn on the Sear/Saute function.
- Heat milk to 180°F. Use a thermometer to check the temp often and be sure to stir very often so milk does not scorch.
- Once the milk reaches 180°F, turn off your pressure cooker.
- Remove inner pot and cool to 108 degrees.
- Once your milk has reached 108 stir starter yogurt and whisk until incorporated.
- Put inner pot back in instant pot and place lid on pressure cooker.
- Wrap in a large towel, or two regular towels and incubate for at least 8 hours or 10 hours.
How to Make Greek Yogurt
- If you would like to make Greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt, follow all the instructions for homemade yogurt.
- Once yogurt is prepared, place a large strainer lined with cheesecloth over a large mixing bowl.
- You may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your strainer.
- Allow the yogurt to drain in the strainer overnight.
- Scoop out the thick yogurt into containers to store and discard the cheesecloth.
What to do with the extra whey from the yogurt?
- You can either discard the whey or you can use it in smoothies, oatmeal, protein shakes, etc. It will be filled with protein and probiotics.
How to make Instant Pot Fat Free Yogurt
Can you use skim milk to make yogurt in your electric pressure cooker?
Yes you can, with a few important tips.
- I have found for nonfat yogurt, 3 tablespoons of yogurt added to 1/2 gallon milk works best.
- Nonfat yogurt will have quite a bit more liquid on the top than yogurt made with full or reduced fat milk.
- Just carefully drain off the layer of liquid that forms on the yogurt and discard.
- As nonfat yogurt sits, liquid will begin to separate again, just mix into yogurt before serving.
How long does Homemade Yogurt last?
- Homemade yogurt should last for up to 10-14 days in your refrigerator.
- Be sure to save 2 tablespoons of your homemade yogurt to make your next batch.
How to Sweeten Homemade Yogurt
I have found homemade yogurt to be so much smoother and a bit sweeter than store bought yogurt and simply enjoy it topped with fresh berries or homemade granola.
Homemade Vanilla Yogurt
- Make yogurt as directed.
- Mix in 1 tablespoon vanilla extract into prepared yogurt.
- This will flavor the yogurt without any added sweeteners.
**If you like your yogurt to be sweet, you can add in honey, maple syrup or sugar adjusted to your desired level of sweetness. I would start with no more than 1/4 cup, and increase by a tablespoon at a time.
A few tips for making yogurt at home
- I use 1 tablespoon prepared yogurt for every quart of milk. Therefore for 1/2 gallon of milk, I whisk in 2 tablespoons of already prepared yogurt into my milk.
- You can cut this recipe in half if you would like. If you have an 8 quart pressure cooker, you can also double this recipe for homemade yogurt.
- Do NOT try to make homemade yogurt with flavored yogurt as your starter. You need to either use a yogurt starter or plain yogurt with active live cultures. How do you know if you store-bought yogurt has live cultures? The label on the yogurt will say Lactobacillus bulgaricus or Streptococcus thermophilus.
- 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.
- If you need more tips on how to use your instant pot or are confused about some of the functions or pieces I mentioned, check out my Instant Pot 101.
- Get more easy, healthy instant pot recipes here.
Homemade Yogurt is great in:
- Yogurt Peanut Butter Dip
- 2 Ingredient Homemade Gogurts
- Peanut Butter Power Smoothie
- Skinny Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Skinny Spinach Artichoke Dip
How to make yogurt at home in an Instant Pot:
Homemade Yogurt
Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon milk
- 2 tablespoons prepared yogurt with cultures
Instructions
- Pour milk into inner pot of Instant Pot. Push yogurt button until the screen reads "boil." (Usually you will need to hit the yogurt button two times) This will take about an hour.
- Once the Instant Pot beebs that the boil cycle is complete, carefully remove the lid and test the temperature. It should be around 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Let inner pot sit in instant pot for 5 minutes and then remove inner pot.
- Allow the milk to cool to 105-115 degrees. This will take an hour on the counter top or about 15 minutes if you place your inner pot into an ice bath.
- Gently skim off the "skin" on the yogurt and discard.
- Whisk in the prepared yogurt.
- Place inner pot (be sure to dry off well if you had in ice bath),put lid on and press yogurt button again and then adjust until screen reads 8:00. (The pressure should also read normal--if it reads less, hit adjust again until normal is lit up.)
- Once yogurt beeps that it is complete, store in glass jars or a large plastic container in the fridge.
- This is a great time to freeze some yogurt for future yogurt making.
Notes
- Instead of prepared yogurt as your starter, you can use a yogurt starter. Just follow directions to determine how much starter to add to 1/2 gallon milk (each brand is a bit different.)
- You can use any percentage of fat to make homemade yogurt.
- To make Greek yogurt, strain the yogurt in a strainer lined with cheesecloth overnight in the fridge (be sure to place over large mixing bowl while draining.)
- Homemade yogurt should last for about 10-14 days.
- If sweetening yogurt, I have found it is best to add in sweeteners/vanilla after yogurt has set up in fridge for at least 8 hours, or after straining.
- Nutritional values are approximate and have been calculated using 2% milk. Serving size is approximately 4 ounces.
To Make Instant Pot Yogurt You May Need
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I’d love to make my own yogurt as I spend a fortune in the little single serve cups, would you have any recommendations as far as flavoring the yogurt? My favorite is key lime!
Hi ELisabeth! I flavor my yogurt with fresh fruit and occasionally maple syrup or honey. However, I have had many people tell me that they add powdered pudding mix AFTER yogurt sets up and that flavors things really well. I think there are key lime pudding mixes out there that would work.
Hello and thank you for all your helpful information. Many of my questions were answered, except this:
when you boil the milk in the inner lining (before the cool-down and culture steps), does the milk ever scorch on the bottom? I make yogurt now, but for me the messiest and most time consuming step is heating to 180 on the stove top. I can microwave it to 180, but I want to reduce my use of the microwave. I haven’t used my Instant pot yet. I am still researching how it could be useful in my limited cooking needs. There is no room in my house for another unused appliance. Thank you for your help. 🙂
Hi Dayle! I have had no issue with scalding milk in my Instant Pot. However, it does take time to reach 180 degrees–about 30 minutes. I would not just purchase an instant pot for yogurt if you already make yogurt. But if you want to make rice, beans, soups, baked potatoes, and yogurt–I don’t think you will regret your purchase.
Thank you kindly for your info and time! I didn’t want to confuse the question I posted, but I make VEGAN yogurt and it is amazing. For anyone who wants to do vegan yogurt and has been told it is difficult or impossible, I would like to share how I do it. I take minute oats, put in nutri ninja with water ( i do soak for 30 minutes so they blend up smooth), blend until smooth and I use the soaking water. I also add whatever I have on hand = soy milk, any plant milk, I also put a couple of scoops of pea protein in mine. But I have used only oats and it was still good. IMPORTANT NOTE: The first time I made this, it was thin but delish. I then realized that I could thicken with more oats. You can also thicken with minute tapioca, just add some when boiling. It does get kind of slimy, but I am ok with that. I then bring my mixture to a boil (I don’t have a thermometer) either on stove top (which requires constant stirring) or I microwave. That is important as I didn’t do that once and it molded during culturing. I cool, then add starter on hand. I then put in my toaster oven on low heat or in oven with light on. I culture 8 to 12 hours, then add sweetener and frozen fruit. I also sometimes thin with plant milk for a drinkable consistency. It’s amazing to me to be able to get my oats and all their benefits along with my probiotics. BTW, my indegestion I suffered from is GONE! So, if you have been told it cannot be done, that is not true, just don’t expect the same texture. The texture is not like that of dairy milk, but many times vegan food is not the same. My palate has changed over the years and I love it. I remember my first taste of almond milk yogurt (store bought) was awful, now I love it. I make 1/2 gallon every couple of days.
I tried to use almond milk, any suggestions for dairy free or is that simply impossible?
It was mostly liquid with little curds throughout.
Hi Ricki! This recipe will not work for dairy-free milk. Almond milk is especially tricky as it often has additives that interfere with the yogurt process. I do have a recipe for Coconut Milk Yogurt.
I would be happy to help you. I have had wonderful success with many plant milks. My current is ground up, un-strained oats. Ridiculously easy and good. I posted a comment on this site. If you need any additional help, please let me know. I am happy to help as for years I read that it couldn’t be done and I believed it. I was desperate for yogurt, without paying $6 a quart, so I gave it a shot. I am happy to help. I guess just reply to this comment with any questions and they will be emailed to me, fingers crossed.
I’m so disappointed…after 8 hours, I got milk…..
Hi Lisa! I would love to help you troubleshoot why this happened. Can you give me some more information? What milk did you use? What starter did you use? Was your instant pot set to normal incubation? Did your milk reach 180 degrees and then cool to no less than 110 degrees? Let me know so I can help you make perfect yogurt in the future 🙂
Hello, sharing a similar experience. After eight hours the consistency for mine was still milk, but it smelled delightfully like yogurt. Did some online research, just went through the cycle of boiling and adding starter again, and this time incubated it for 10 hours. It made the best yogurt I’ve ever had!
Glad to hear that 10 hours was the sweet spot for you! It varies from person to person.
I make a gallon of creamy thick Bulgarian Yogurt every 2-3 weeks and have discovered some important and helpful tips.
1. Heat your milk to 185 degrees, then put it in a preheated 185 degree oven (covered) and HOLD the yogurt at that temp for 30 minutes before proceeding to the next step and skim off anything on top. This will help you achieve a thicker creamier finished yogurt. There is no need to strain the healthy whey out of the yogurt to achieve a thicker product, if you follow this step.
2. The more tart the yogurt, the more probiotics are in it, and the healthier it is for you. If it is not tart, try refreshing with a new starter.
I purchase Bulgarian Yogurt starter online, and since it is an Heirloom, it can be used over and over again. Bulgarian Yogurt has billions, not millions of cultures like store bought. It is the best probiotic yogurt you can make.
Thanks for those tips!
I am very intreged about making my own yogurt. So I made some. Love your recipe! BUT…my yogurt is not as firm as I would like it to be. What can I do to correct that?
Hi Susan, I am glad you enjoyed the yogurt. To make it firmer, you can strain over cheesecloth in fridge overnight. In the future, use whole milk or add in 1/2 cup powdered milk before heating and culturing yogurt.
Help! I forgot to freeze yogurt out of my last batch. Can I use some from my now 2 weeks old batch, or should I go buy a small container of yogurt to use?
Your 2 week old yogurt should be fine😊
Hi! Thank you for all the work you went into posting your different recipes! I was wondering if your yogurt recipe could be made with almond milk?
Thank you Kristen! I have tried many times to make yogurt without almond milk and it does not work. You need to start with homemade almond milk and add in stabilizers and even than super finicky. Sorry. I do have a recipe for Coconut milk yogurt.
I wanted to chime in here. Yes! It can be done. I left a comment above. Please read it and if you have any other questions, reply back and I guess your question will be emailed to me. I had read for years that it couldn’t be done, so I didn’t want to put the effort and money into a failed product. I was desperate for vegan yogurt and tried oat milk, or rather unstrained ground up oats and it was amazing. Ate the whole 1/2 gallon in a couple of days. I got my yogurt fix! Happy to help, just let me know.
I followed directions exactly, 9.5 hours later, still just milk. Please tell me what I did wrong
Hi Leigha, the most common mistakes are setting to less instead of normal on the incubation setting (that can be easy to miss) or adding your starter when you milk is too hot. Let me know what starter you used and the type of milk and I may be able to help you further.
Making yogart today. Company here. Talking and I missed the cooling stage. I put the starter in the hot milk. Is the yogart going to be any good or have I killed the starter
Hi Karen, You will need to start over. Sorry.
I have to contradict the assertion that one must use plain yogurt as a starter. All I had was Chobani low sugar yogurt and mine turned out fine. Thanks for the directions. They were clear and easy to follow.
Hi Cynthia, you are right you can have success with a lower sugar yogurt, but many sweetened brands also have added other ingredients that can interfere with the yogurt setting up. This is why I recommend plain unsweetened yogurt.
DON’T THROW THE WHEY OUT!!! YOU CAN USE IT INSTEAD OF STARTER FOR THE NEXT BATCH!
Use 5 to 6 tablespoons of whey per gallon of milk. It’s easier to mix in than other starters, and will give you a smoother, creamier yogurt.
You’ll get multiple batches from the whey, given how much there is. You can then use the whey you drain off from them to make even more.
After 2 or 3 generations, the whey loses its efficacy, and then you need a new starter culture.
My insapot shut off 6.5 hours into the incubation period. Can i restart the process and finish out the 1.5 hours in the instapot or should I just start all over again?
Hi Vickie, if you caught the yogurt closely after the instant pot turned off, that should not be an issue. I would think longer than 30 minutes would be concerning and I would start the process over.
Any tips on what to do if you let the milk cool too long? I forgot it on the counter… I’ve made this several times using your recipe successfully but somehow never heard the timer and got totally sidetracked. Can I reheat the milk ?
Hi Stephanie, I would reheat to be safe. It is easy to get distracted!! I always set a kitchen timer and alarm on my phone and that has helped.
Sorry, make that “recipe.”