I love making homemade yogurt in my instant pot. It is healthier, cheaper, and absolutely delicious. Making instant pot yogurt is so easy to do and makes the perfect yogurt every single time.

Homemade yogurt in white bowl with granola and honey in it.

Yogurt makes such an easy breakfast or a healthy snack. It is a staple food in our home! I make a gallon of yogurt every week and we use it in smoothies, parfaits, or eat it plain.

Without an instant pot, making homemade yogurt is quite the process, to say the least. It involved thermometers, towels (blankets), and constant checking. I oftentimes messed it up and it came out liquidy.

Instant pot yogurt is as easy as whisking milk and pressing a couple of buttons. Well, maybe a few more steps than that, but if done right, it’s foolproof.

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WHAT I NEED TO MAKE INSTANT POT YOGURT

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The first thing and most important is to make sure you have an instant pot with the yogurt setting. Unfortunately, not all instant pots have this! When I purchased my first instant pot years ago, that was my only requirement.

You will also need a kitchen thermometer. If you plan to make raw milk yogurt, you will not need this.

The only ingredient needed to make yogurt is milk. We use raw milk from a local dairy farm, but regular ol’ milk from the store will work too!

Every yogurt needs a starter. The easiest way to do this is to save a little yogurt from a previous batch. When you are first getting started, you can buy plain yogurt from the store for your starter.

WHAT IS A YOGURT STARTER?

Homemade instant pot yogurt in white bowl topped with berries and granola.

A yogurt starter is a blend of live bacteria that turns lactose into yogurt. You have a couple of different options to use as a starter.

The easiest starter to use is just regular plain yogurt from the store. Be sure that the yogurt carton says “active cultures” on it.

Another option is buying a powdered yogurt starter. You can find these online at culture for health or on amazon; I have bought this before but find it easiest to use yogurt from the store, as I never plan far enough ahead.

After the first batch of yogurt is made, a small portion can be saved as the starter to make the next batch. The strand will weaken each time the starter is taken from a previous batch, so only repeat this about 2-3 times before starting over with a fresh starter.

HOW MUCH YOGURT STARTER WILL I NEED?

To make one gallon of yogurt, you will need 1/2 of a cup of starter. When I am getting close to running out of yogurt, I save 1/2 of a cup to use to start my next batch.

HOW LONG CAN YOU USE THE SAME STARTER?

Bowl of freshly made yogurt on a blue and white towel.

As I said above, I save 1/2 of a yogurt cup from my previous batch of yogurt to start the next batch. You can do this 2-3 times before the strand becomes too weak.

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE INSTANT POT YOGURT

Pour one gallon of milk into the instant pot.
Press the saute button and allow the milk to heat up to 180 degrees with the lid off. This takes about 30 minutes. Check the temperature with a kitchen thermometer. (stir it every so often to keep from sticking to the bottom)
Once the milk reaches 180 degrees, remove the stainless steel inner pot from the instant pot to allow it to cool. Allow the milk to cool back down to 115 degrees.
Put the inner pot back into the instant pot, whisk in 1/2 of a cup of yogurt.
Put the lid back on the instant pot and press the yogurt button. It can take anywhere from 4-12 hours for your yogurt to set up. I set my timer for 8 hours and it always comes out perfect.

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOUR YOGURT IS DONE?

Your yogurt can be ready in as little as 4 hours on the yogurt setting. In fact, mine is always ready by the 4-hour marker, but I like to let it ferment longer.

The longer the yogurt ferments, the more tangy and sour it will taste. I prefer a sour yogurt. You can do a taste test after 4 hours and decide if you want to ferment it a little longer.

You will know your yogurt is ready when it is thick and pulling away from the side of the instant pot. To check the texture of my yogurt, I will tilt my pot to see if if it stays together and pulls away from the pot.

Homemade yogurt parfait with blueberries.

BEST WAY TO SERVE HOMEMADE YOGURT

Once your yogurt is finished, you can transfer it to an airtight container for storage. I keep mine in half-gallon mason jars with lids. Put it in the fridge before serving, so it is not warm.

Enjoy yogurt plain or sweetened with honey and fruit. We love a bowl of yogurt parfait by using fresh berries, homemade granola, and a drizzle of honey.

Homemade instant pot yogurt makes a great base for a smoothie or smoothie bowl.

FAQ AND TIPS

The yellow liquid on top of your finished product is called whey and it is completely normal. Just stir the whey into the yogurt before serving.
After 2 to 3 generations of yogurt, you will need to use a new starter.
Any plain yogurt will work as a starter as long as it has active cultures, including Greek yogurt.