Learn how to make homemade instant pot yogurt- Greek Style! Homemade yogurt is filled with probiotic benefits without all of the added sugar and preservatives found in most store bought yogurt. This think and creamy yogurt is so simple to make with the help of the Instant Pot.
The Instant Pot has been a game changer for yogurt making in my home! I fully believe it is the BEST function on the Instant Pot and has allowed me to make homemade yogurt for my family weekly!
Before the Instant Pot, I attempted the yogurt making method in mason jars, wrapped in towels, then held at the desired temperature inside a cooler, or so I HOPED the yogurt stayed at the 110-115 degrees inside my cooler. I made yogurt this way one time!
I also experimented with a yogurt making machine, but the results were not nearly as consistent as Instant Pot homemade yogurt! It comes out perfect every single time!
Have I convinced you of my love for yogurt making in the Instant Pot yet?!
Be sure if you are looking into buying this amazing kitchen tool, to get the Instant Pot with the yogurt function, like this one!
why make your own homemade yogurt?
Store bought yogurt can be full of additives that are completely unnecessary! Especially yogurt that is advertised for children. Below is a screenshot of a popular, ORGANIC kids yogurt.
Sugar has no place in yogurt, especially for children, nor does natural flavor. I previously discussed the harmful ingredients that can be hidden behind the words “natural flavor” in my blog post on Homemade Applesauce. Basically these two little words are a way for companies to hide anywhere from 50-100 mystery ingredients in our foods! Avoid food items with this label as often as you can!
Annatto extract is a type of food coloring that is also unnecessary in yogurt. I fully believe that the coloring in our foods should ONLY come from fruits and veggies. Unless you are cooking most of your foods from scratch, this can be difficult.
I won’t even go into milk pasteurization on this post, but basically it can be very harmful to gut health, which is something our family takes very seriously. If you are interested you can read more here.
Yogurt is thought to be a wonderful, healthy food, but is it really if you are buying it prepackaged? Even the brands claiming to be organic contain unnecessary ingredients. The word “organic” makes us think something is healthy, but a quick look at the ingredient label can prove differently.
PROBIOTIC BENEFITS OF HOMEMADE YOGURT
Since probiotics are so important for gut health, digestion, better sleep, improved moods and a stronger immune system, it only makes sense try to to eat them as often as you can.
When you think of gut healthy, probiotic rich foods, yogurt is the first item that comes to most of our minds. So why not make it at home so you know exactly what ingredients are going into your foods?
WHAT OTHER MILK CAN BE USED TO MAKE HOMEMADE INSTANT POT YOGURT?
We use raw milk from a local farmer to make our homemade yogurt. Our family prefers to drink raw milk since it has not been pasteurized. Pasteurization kills all of the bacteria, good and bad, making it more difficult for our bodies to digest, wrecking havoc on gut health!
We purchase 4 gallons at a time and then freeze them in 1/2 gallon jars to make our weekly batch of yogurt. However, you can use any store bought cow’s milk.
I have heard of making instant pot yogurt with almond milk or coconut milk, but I do not have any personal experience with this.
If you are lactose intolerant and are looking into dairy alternatives, just try letting your yogurt ferment for 24 hours. Many people who cannot tolerate lactose, CAN tolerate 24 hour fermented cow’s milk yogurt!
BENEFITS OF USING AN INSTANT POT TO MAKE HOMEMADE YOGURT
I previously mentioned my attempt to make homemade yogurt by heating milk, wrapping the mason jars in towels, and keeping them inside of a cooler. This yogurt process DOES work, but was so time consuming and felt like so many steps to follow!
I only made yogurt using this method ONCE!
Using the Instant Pot, I now make homemade yogurt weekly for my family!
The Instant Pot does all this work for you keeping the yogurt at the perfect temp of 110-115 degrees so the yogurt can ferment creating those wonderful probiotics. If you are interested in making your own homemade yogurt, I cannot recommend the Instant Pot enough!
WHY HEAT THE MILK TO MAKE HOMEMADE INSTANT POT YOGURT?
Heating the milk kills off any bacteria that may be present in milk that could compete with the good bacteria in the starter yogurt culture that will be added.
YES, this does pasteurize the milk, killing all of the good bacteria as well. However, during the fermentation process, that good bacteria is added BACK from a starter culture and will proliferate through the milk creating those strong probiotic strains of GOOD bacteria that is so beneficial for gut health and immunity!
You CAN make raw milk yogurt in the Instant Pot that does not have to be heated, but it requires some added gelatin and a different type of starter culture. Without these additives, you may be eating your yogurt with a straw, which is not how I enjoy yogurt!
If you are interested in making raw milk yogurt, this is the method from Traditional Cooking School I have followed. I plan to post about the raw milk yogurt method soon.
WHAT IS A YOGURT STARTER CULTURE?
A starter culture is a small batch of probiotic rich cultures that will take over the milk to create yogurt during the fermentatIon process. You can get this in powdered form if you are just starting out with your yogurt making journey. I purchased my starter culture from amazon here.
You can also use about 1/4 cup of PLAIN yogurt from the store. Just make sure there is no sugar, additives, or unnecessary preservatives in the store bought yogurt!
I freeze a small portion from each batch of yogurt that I make. When I am ready to make a new batch, I use a few ice cubes of frozen yogurt as my starter culture for the next batch of yogurt.
how long does homemade yogurt last?
In the fridge, it should last around 10-14 days. I don’t think our yogurt has ever made it longer than 7 days though since we eat it daily!!
Tools Needed to Make Homemade Instant Pot Yogurt
- Instant Pot with the yogurt function
- Kitchen Thermometer
Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon of raw milk
- 1/16 yogurt starter culture OR 2 TBSP of previous batch of yogurt/store bought yogurt
WATCH THE TUTORIAL
How to Make Homemade instant pot Yogurt
step 1: Sanitize your INstant Pot
- Make sure your Instant Pot liner is VERY clean. I recommend boiling some water using the “Saute” button to thoroughly sanitize your Instant Pot. This is not required, but will help to ensure no bacteria remains that could compete with the starter culture.
Step 2: Heat the Milk
- Pour 1/2 gallon of milk into the instant pot and press “Yogurt” until the word “BOIL” appears.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and let the Instant Pot heat the milk. This usually takes about 10-15 minutes.
- Once heated, the Instant Pot will beep and read “Yogt.”
Step 3: Cool the milk
- Using your cooking thermometer, let the milk cool to around 110-115 degrees. If left on the counter, this could take up to an hour.
- To speed up this process, you can place the liner in an ice bath in the sink.
Step 4: Add the starter culture
- Once cooled to around 110-115 degrees, place the Instant Pot liner back into the Instant Pot.
- Add the starter culture and stir well.
Step 5: Allow the yogurt to ferment
- Place the lid back on the Instant Pot and press the “Yogurt” button.
- Change the time to anywhere between 6-24 hours. The longer the ferment, the more probiotic strains that will be present, making it easier to digest.
- If you are lactose intolerant or have GAPS, 24 hours is the recommend ferment time.
Step 6: Thicken the yogurt
- When the yogurt has finished fermenting, remove the liner and place in the fridge for up to 12 hours to allow the yogurt to thicken more.
- This is optional, but really does help thicken the yogurt.
Step 7: Skim the “Skin” off the yogurt
- All of the cream will have risen to the top during the fermentation process.
- Skim this off if you do not want a “clumpier” yogurt.
Step 8: Strain the yogurt (Optional)
- If you want a thicker Greek-style yogurt, you can strain the whey off now.
- You will need a bowl, strainer, and tea towel or cheesecloth.
- Place the strainer over the bowl and the tea towel in the strainer.
- Allow the yogurt to strain into the bowl for 6 or more hours in the refrigerator.
- Store the greek-style yogurt in glass jars for 10-14 days.
What Should I do with the extra whey after straining?
If you choose to strain your yogurt to get a thicker greek-style yogurt, you will be left with about 1-2 cups of liquid whey. You can add this to smoothies, make homemade mayo , saute veggies, or even water your plants! Check out this post for even more ideas to use extra whey!
HOW TO SWEETEN HOMEMADE YOGURT
We think the taste of homemade yogurt is much smoother and a bit sweeter than plain store bought yogurt. We simply enjoy it mixed with fresh or frozen berries, honey, or even homemade granola!
If you want a vanilla flavored yogurt, you can add 1 TBSP of pure vanilla extract after the yogurt is made.
Print the recipe
Homemade Instant Pot Yogurt (Greek Style)
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- Kitchen Thermometer
Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon Milk
- 1/16 tsp Yogurt Starter Culture OR 2-3 T Previously made Yogurt
Instructions
- Sanitize Instant Pot by boiling a cup of water using the Saute button.
- Pour milk into the instant pot and press "Yogurt" until the word "BOIL" appears.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and let the Instant Pot heat the milk. This usually takes about 10-15 minutes. Once heated, the Instant Pot will beep and read "Yogt."
- Let the milk cool to around 110-115 degrees. You may place the liner in an ice bath to speed up this process.
- Once cooled place the Instant Pot liner back into the Instant Pot.
- Add the starter culture and stir well.
- Place the lid back on the Instant Pot and press the "Yogurt" button.
- Change the time to anywhere between 6-24 hours. The longer the ferment, the more probiotic strains that will be present, making it easier to digest.
- When the yogurt has finished fermenting, remove the liner and place in the fridge for up to 12 hours to allow the yogurt to thicken.
- Skim the "Skin" off the yogurt, if desired.
- If you want a thicker Greek-style yogurt, you can strain the whey off now. (optional)
- Place the strainer over the bowl and the tea towel in the strainer. Allow the yogurt to strain into the bowl for 6 or more hours in the refrigerator.
- Store the greek-style yogurt in glass jars for 10-14 days.
Notes
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