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 ½ gallon milk into the 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 it. 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 the counter.
- I like to speed the process up by placing the inner pot into a large mixing bowl in ice water. This takes 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 its 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 the 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 the milk does not scorch.
- Once the milk reaches 180°F, turn off your pressure cooker.
- Remove the inner pot and cool it 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 the 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 the 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 ½ 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 it.
- As nonfat yogurt sits, the liquid will begin to separate again, just mix into the 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 ¼ 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 ½ 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 an 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
- ½ 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, remove the inner pot from the inner pot and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 8 hours before transfering to individual containers.
- This is a great time to freeze some yogurt for future yogurt making.
Equipment Needed
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 ½ 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 the yogurt has set up in the fridge for at least 8 hours, or after straining.
- If you find your milk is not reaching 180 degrees after the boil cycle, you can turn to saute function for a few minutes, watching VERY closely to help it reach to 180 degrees.
- Nutritional values are approximate and have been calculated using 2% milk. The serving size is approximately 4 ounces.
Nutrition
Raquel
This recipe makes delicious yogurt!!! Thank you for this great recipe, and extra details and tips that made this whole process so easy. This was my first time using my instant pot and my first time making homemade yogurt... it turned out better than I could've hoped for!!
I used A2 whole milk and 2 tbsp. of prepared Yoggu plain cultured coconut yogurt as my starter. Worked so amazingly well! It's light and so yummy, AND my 5 yr old son really liked it! I sweetened his with honey and a touch of pure vanilla extract. I wanted A2 yogurt for him since he cannot tolerate regular milk, and now I can make my own for him. Thank you!!!
Kristen Chidsey
Thank you for sharing your review and what you used to make this for your son! I am so happy to hear you are pleased with the results. And welcome to instant pot cooking. I hope you find many more recipes to enjoy!
Marsha
I finally decided to try my own yogurt and I did it two ways. One was stove top and it came out good. But your Instant Pot yogurt is terrific! So easy also. Today I am doing my second batch since we ate all of my first one. I flavored it with about 1-2 Tbsp. vanilla bean paste. Also I took frozen blueberries and thickened them on the stove with a tsp of maple syrup and a touch of corn starch. I also made your granola and it is also very worth making and adding to the yogurt. Thank you!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Marsha! I am so happy to hear you are enjoying using this method for Instant Pot Yogurt (and the granola recipe). And that blueberry compote sounds fantastic! Thanks for sharing.
Suzanne Shear
Thank you for this recipie. I made the Greek yogurt and it turned out very well. It is so easy, and nice to be able to make it homemade. Less expensive, tasty and healthier!
Kristen Chidsey
You are so welcome!
Naomi
Help! I’m making yogurt for the first time and accidentally got a bit of water into the milk while cooling the milk in the ice water bath. Do I need to restart, or can I continue like normal and have runny yogurt as a result?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Naomi! I doubt the water would interfere with the fermenting, unless you got more than a tablespoon or so. Your yogurt will just be a bit runnier.
Vicky comer
Hi, I am going to try to make yofurt for my grandson who loves it but we believe to be lactose intolerant ant so I am going to use Silk Almond milk gluten-free, soy free and lactose free. Do you think that will be an issue? And I see you say it shouldn’t have any sweeteners I bought a vanilla one which is not a problem his mom will drink it so I should buy a plain one? And where do I buy a starter? Since he can’t have milk. I could buy just one plain yogurt and put a tablespoon or two in it that would not kill him. HHe loves yogurt for breakfast snack time dessert anytime.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Vicky! I am sorry to hear about your grandson. Unfortunately, this recipe will not work with almond or soy milk. I have had success making nondairy yogurt with canned coconut milk. The process is a bit different, so you will want to follow my recipe for Instant Pot Coconut Milk. Another thought is using lactose-free milk, like Fairlife or Lactaid for this recipe.
William
I forgot to open the vent on my instant pot, yogurt is very thin and cooled some as I set it for 10 hours and it had been in for 12 hrs + can i start the pot again.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi William. It sounds like you may have incubated the yogurt on low temperature not normal. You can try again but would need to start the process completely over.
BTN
Hi Kristen - I followed the directions as written. However I ended up with great yogurt on the top with a burnt milk layer at the bottom. Do you have any suggestions to prevent this?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi William. Can you tell me the model you used? It sounds to me like the milk may have scaled during the burning process, but if I know the model, I can further troubleshoot for you.
EMS
Question, I was suppose to put my yogurt in fridge b4 I went to bed, forgot, was done cooking in instant pot at 8:30-9:00 pm. I got up at 6:30 am, remembered, put it in fridge, pot was warm, almost room temp to touch. Still good? Or a throw away? Appreciate ur advice on this 2 gallon lapse in memory.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so sorry, but I would recommend throwing it away. At that length of time, it would be likely unpleasant bacteria would be forming. Don't beat yourself up too much--it happens!
Heidi
Hello!
I tried this with my instapot on the yogurt setting for 8 hrs on medium however it beeped as if completed before 8 hrs had passed. When I started it, I saw it begin counting down but somewhere it must have sped up time. It’s sitting in the fridge now as completely runny milk. How can I salvage it? Do I need to reheat to 110ish before adding new starter and trying the yogurt setting again?
Kristen Chidsey
I would use the runny milk and start the process over, heating, cooling, and then adding started.
Heidi
How runny is the yogurt supposed to be after the 8 hrs. of incubating. I’m your video it looked pretty runny. Does the 8 hrs in the fridge really do a lot for setting it up?
Kristen Chidsey
It should not certainly be thick enough to coat a spoon. But it WILL thicken significantly more after refrigeration.
Heidi
Thank you! We’ll see how it goes!
Erin
My yogurt was still quite liquidy after 8 hours. I left it on for another 4 and it seemed to thicken a bit more. We refrigerated it and it’s definitely yogurt, but still seems rather thin. Have I done something wrong or is it supposed to be fairly liquid?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Erin! A couple of things could have happened. If you used skim milk, it may need to be that some of the whey needs to be drained off. OR it may be that you incubated on low not normal. It should be loose, but not liquidy.
Amanda Landgraff
Can I double this recipe? We go through yogurt really fast!
Kristen Chidsey
Absolutely! I double with success all the time! Just double the ingredients, but follow the same directions.
Jen
It's just me and a 2 year old. Can I freeze extra yogurt to make it last longer than 7 days?
Kristen Chidsey
Absolutely, Jen! I would suggest freezing small portions in freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator for best results. Enjoy!
Stacey Wolf
Hi Kristen,
I followed the instructions to a tee and got the best best tasting yogurt ever! I started with 2 % milk and 3 Tbsp. of the culture from my store bought yogurt. I am so thrilled at the outcome of the yogurt. Cheaper, tastier, and easy to make, who could ask for more. I am getting ready to make my next batch Thanks for the easy to follow directions. .