How To Make Instant Pot Yogurt WITHOUT The Yogurt Button
I am going to share how to make Instant Pot yogurt without the yogurt button! If you have a model that doesn’t have that handy yogurt setting, it is okay, you can still make homemade yogurt in the Instant Pot without that button. Once you learn how to make Instant Pot yogurt you will never buy it again!
Almost every recipe you find online about making Instant Pot yogurt tells you to hit that yogurt button on your Instant Pot. If you don’t have the yogurt button, it is okay. I am going to teach you how to make it without needing that button. Why? Because homemade yogurt is so creamy and tasty, it beats store yogurt time and time again. And if you have an Instant Pot you have to try it for anyone who enjoys yogurt.
Make Instant Pot Yogurt Without The Yogurt Button Easily
Two ingredients are all it takes. Milk and a little bit of yogurt. Yes, I know what you are thinking, why are we using yogurt to make yogurt. You need the live and active cultures that are found in the yogurt. So a little dollop is all it takes. Just make sure to read your yogurt labels to ensure it is active culture yogurt.
Making homemade yogurt does take time, but you will enjoy the wait. Trust me, it is the creamiest dream you will have ever tried when it comes to yogurt.
My Favorite Instant Pot Yogurt Toppings And Stir-Ins
I also love the fruit on the bottom but I don’t always want all of the mystery preservatives and other ingredients I care not to have in my yogurt. Plus I find the taste of my homemade yogurt not even comparable to store-bought, it is so much more delicious.
I have been making jam in my instant pot for quite some time and it so delicious over ice cream. I hosted brunch recently for Father’s Day and served delicious Instant Pot Yogurt with Instant Pot Blueberry Jam and Instant Pot Strawberry Jam. I also served sunflower seeds, chia seeds, graham cracker crumbs, blackberries, and strawberries. It was such a delicious treat that everyone enjoyed. It is a perfect Sunday morning breakfast while you read the newspaper.
Many of us potheads eventually end up with more than one instant pot. But for now, at least you know How To Make Instant Pot Yogurt WITHOUT The Yogurt Button.
Tips for Making Instant Pot Yogurt without The Yogurt Button
- Brand of Milk | You can use whatever brand of milk you would like. It gets heated properly so it will kill off any bacteria during the cooking process.
- Thickness | I prefer whole milk as it will leave you with a silky and creamy yogurt. If you use lower fat milk it will be thinner, but you can strain to thicken it up.
- Lumps | If you find that your yogurt is lumpy, use a whisk or blender to whip it to help break up any lumps and give it a creamy texture.
- Yogurt Starter | So for me, I find 3-4 Tablespoons of yogurt works nicely. But some recipes go all the way up to around 1/4 cup. Now, the more you add the thicker your yogurt will be. I wouldn’t go over 1/4 cup though, as it will affect the recipe.
How Warm Does Milk Have to Be To Kill Bad Bacteria For Making Yogurt
You want your milk to reach at least 180 degrees F to ensure you kill off all the “bad” bacteria. One way to ensure it reaches temperature is by using a thermometer to check. You can buy them in the baking aisle or online.
Is Homemade Yogurt Good For You
Yogurt is a great way to add probiotics into your system to keep your guts running smooth. Also having healthy guts can help keep you healthy overall, as bad bacteria can be found in your guts and lead you to end up sick.
How Do You Sweeten Yogurt Without Adding Sugar
Add in some fresh fruit, a drizzle of honey, or agave. By using fruits or honey you can really bring out a sweetness without reaching for your white sugar. I also add in jams, preserves, and other items that I have on hand to sweeten up my yogurt.
As you can see making homemade yogurt without the Instant Pot yogurt button can be done. It isn’t much more of a process, so you are not missing out! Enjoy.
For a great holiday twist, pair your yogurt with some Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce, delicious!!
If you love this recipe, try these too!
Instant Pot Yogurt WITHOUT The Yogurt Button
Now you can easily make Instant Pot yogurt without the yogurt button! You will never have to pay for expensive yogurt.
Ingredients
- ½ gallon of whole milk
- 3-4 Tbsp of plain yogurt
Instructions
- Pour milk into Instant Pot then seal the pot with the lid and seal closed. (If you want to add a 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk) you can do so before closing your lid) Push the “keep warm” button and leave milk for about 40-45 minutes.
- Release the lid and whisk your warm milk.
- Set the IP to “sauté” to heat the milk to 185 degrees.
- Once milk hot remove inner pot with hot pads and set aside to cool to 110 degrees.
- Add 3-4 Tbsp of plain yogurt in your cooled milk and whisk.
- Place the inner pot back into the IP and seal the lid with a closed seal. The IP is off at this point. Wrap the IP in a towel and let sit 8 hours.
- Once done remove the homemade yogurt and place in a storage container in your refrigerator.
- If you would like to sweeten with honey, agave or vanilla, you can mix it in now.
- Use homemade berry IP jam to place at the bottom of your jar and top with your yogurt and enjoy!
Notes
This recipe was followed from naturemoms.com
Make yogurt as directed. Some sweetening choices:
* Before spooning your yogurt into mason jars, 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/sweetener adjusted to your desired level of sweetness.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 108Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 80mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 0gSugar: 9gProtein: 6g
The first time the yogurt didn’t set so I started over reusing all ingredients; it turned out creamy and perfect. Second attempt it didn’t set up at all; I reheated and it turned to yogurt cheese (similar to texture of feta cheese). It was great addition to salads and ranch dips. Third attempt: perfection! I added an entire container of nonfat plain yogurt to 1/2 gallon of 2% milk.
Amazing recipe! Set up perfectly on the first try, followed directions to a T. Used organic, non homogenized, but pasteurized, whole milk and greek yogurt. I will probably strain this yogurt as it isn’t as thick as I’d like. Thank you so much for this lovely recipe!.God bless!
Mine never set. It’s like milk with chunks of cheese. I feel like I could make feta out of it!!
Did you use a candy thermometer? I am so sorry your first batch did not work out. I strictly follow the temperatures and make sure you are using a towel or tablecloth to cover the pot for the 8 hours
How long will this keep in fridge?
up to 7 days safely.
I used a recipie similar to yours (saving yours now tho). But it didn’t say to have the lid on when warming so I left it off is that ok? I did everything else the same….
Next time I will do it with the kid on…and I heated in sauté to 180 I didn’t use a candy thermometer tho only a digital one I normal use when I cook…
Why can’t you use flavoured yoghurt Or can u?
I have seen people experiment with flavored creamers, etc. I am all for experimentation. 🙂
I personally think that making your own flavor is even better! You can use jam or just make your own fruit flavor. It always turns out better than the store-bought kind!
@Melissa, Melissa greetings from Bulgaria. How Is the yogurt ?Does it listen?
So to let the yogurt sit for 8hrs you just close the lìd anf cover with a towel and leave the instapot off?
yes 🙂
4 tablespoons is the same thing as 1/4 cup – just something to keep in mind when you mention how much starter to add 🙂
So I followed the recipe to the T. And when i checked it was was very runny not thick at all. It is still very good. I strained it and even put in fridge for 4 hrs. But nothing has changed… was it because i used ultra pasteurized whole milk and i did use chobani original non fat plain greek yogurt. Going to try again and use regular whole milk and Siggis vanilla yogurt.. will that work. Im really not sure.
You can not use ultra pasteurized milk
I followed directions to the letter w whole organic pasteurized milk and Fage Greek Yougurt as my stater. After 8 hours it was a runny mass. Heated the outer pot up and put the inner pot Back in overnight 12 more hours. Better but still needed to be strained. I think you are using heaping table spoons and I was using exact measure. Could that be it? Also the heat doesn’t seem to last long in the pot once you take the milk out to cool to 110. How to resolve?
I am honestly not sure about using the fate Greek yogurt as your starter. That possibly may have been the glitch.
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe. I followed your recipe strictly and it was a wonderful success. It is super creamy and the texture is thick. Just wonder what is the purpose of 40 mins Keep warm period as I was reading traditional yogurt making (not using instant pot) didn’t have a similar step (warming up milk?). Can you help explain. Thank you 🙂
@Andi, the amount of yogurt you use as your starter must be 5% of the anount of milk being used. Case closed. You do the math next.
Make sure everything is very clean. The yogurt has to be uncontaminated (new). Dont use garbage milk or garbage yogurt such as greek yogurts. Use 100% organic milk, grassfed, fat content no less than 3.5%
Incubate at 104F to 110F and figure a way to maintain the temperature and not lose it. Incubate long enough. I suggest 12 hours.
@Melissa, I always use Fare yogurt or Chobani. Never had any issues. The only issues I’ve had relate to temp or time. If it’s thick with clumps, strain and stir. Problem solved.
I made this last w eek with powdered milk and it worked perfectly. I’m stuck at home during COVID outbreak, and this is a great recipe. I’ll be making yogurt once a week.
This is delicious! I used whole milk and nonfat plain Chobani. It’s quite thin but so tasty. It does have some little lumps -I think from the skin that formed on top when the milk was cooling. They aren’t a big deal.
Can Lactose free whole milk be used?
From what I can tell, yes. You should be able to use lactose-free whole milk. I would love to hear how you make out. 🙂
@Andrew, why would you do that? The bacteria feeds on the lactose. In other words, youll be starving it. Besides, if you incubate tge yogurt long enough, all the lactose in the milk will be gone anyway, no need to worry about that. Get regular milk
Can you make yogurt this way using soy milk? I don’t have a yogurt button and want to make vegan yogurt. I have Westsoy soy milk and a vegan starter.
Thanks!
Kathy
I am nearly positive that you can use soy milk for this recipe. I am not positive but from my research, I believe it will work. I would love to hear your results if you try it. 🙂
@Kathy, I used soy milk, specifically Silk Unsweetened Organic Soy Milk and it turned out great. The texture is very runny, but the taste is great. I’m sure if I reheated and set it again overnight it would thicken up but I’m honestly not minding the texture.
Mine never got thick, you can tell it had began to thicken. I followed your recipe but when the milk was cooling it was cooler than 110 when I added the yogurt. Going to try to reheat to see if it will thicken!
@Clare, loss of heat is not the only reason you re getting runny yogurt. Make sure everything is absolutely clean, including the yogurt used as starter. Incubate long enough. 4 hours aint gonna cut it, i dont care what anybody says
I just made this today. Used chobani plain nonfat Greek yogurt and aldi whole milk. Turned out great. I just put the whole little container of chobani in it since it was only 5 ounces. So for $1.23 of yogurt and 1/3 gallon of milk, I have 1/2 gallon of yogurt! Thanks!!!
The directions should specify DO NOT put the lid on after hitting ‘saute’. Leave off, stir, and check temp frequently until 180*
@Karen Coffey, my IP owner’s manual specifically says not to put the lid on during Sauté mode, so thank you for mentioning this!
I used a half-gallon of grocery store brand milk which that I think was ultra-pasteurized and I had bought it about five days before attempting this. I think I followed the instructions pretty well except for a couple of things: I mixed some of the relatively cold yoghurt (Siggi’s plain, ‘full’ fat, ‘Greek’) that I used to inoculate the warm (110 degree F) milk with a little of the warm milk before mixing it in the pot with the rest of the milk; I thought the milk in the pot was a little too cool (about 102 degrees) after I added the tempered yoghurt , so I set the instant pot on ‘warm’ for a few minutes and – whoops – the temp went up to about 130, so I took the pot out and set it on some ice until the milk came back to 110 degrees; I let the mixture sit for 9 hours instead of 8 as directed. When I opened the pot at that point the yoghurt was about the same consistency and taste of regular yoghurt, pretty good, but, of course, kind of thin. So, I lined a big colander with some cheap coffee filters that I split at the seam (so ,essentially forming a single layer) and put that back on the inner-pot of the instant pot, wrapped all that with plastic wrap to make it was relatively air-tight to avoid dehydration, and set that in the fridge overnight. The result was an incredible, relatively mild, ‘Greek’-style yoghurt and about a quart or so of whey! Thanks so much!
I have a lux mini can I make yogurt ??
Yes, you may want to half the recipe to play safe.
Can you use the homemade yogurt as your starter the next week?
yes, you sure can.
I did everything as directed. Even bought a thermometer. 8 hrs later, open the IP and looks just like milk. Not sure what happened. I was really looking forward to homemade yogurt. Even used organic milk and yogurt. Maybe I should just invest in another IP with a yogurt button
I am so sorry you had a fail. I have made this many many times so it does work but sometimes there can be a fluke unknown reason to cause a fail. I would hate to see you invest in a whole new pot, I would give this one more try. Many people actually prefer this method over the traditional yogurt button method for final taste. So definitely give it a try one more time. Good luck. 🙂
This may be a silly question, but can you use the yogurt made from this recipe as the yogurt for another batch?
Not silly at all. Yes, you sure can which makes it even better
I saw a different recipe that mentioned added a protein drink to add more protein. Would it work with this? Would I add it with the milk in the beginning or later?
I would imagine it should still work fine. I would love to hear how it works out.
I have to ask, what can I use if I do not have a sauté button? I tried putting it on keep warm but my off brand IP shut it off after 2 or 3 minutes. I wound up putting it on pressure cook for 3 minutes but I’m sure I scorched the milk at the bottom of my pot. We will know tomorrow afternoon!
I did this with Kroger brand whole milk and Fage plain greek yogurt. It came out good but too runny. I tried straining and it got a little thicker but still very thin. I like Greek yogurt. It was still very good and we ate it with honey.
I tried again with Kroger brand whole milk and Stonyfield Organic Probiotic yogurt. This time I did not do the keep warm for 45 minutes (I have read other recipes that do not do this) and was in a hurry so I just heated the milk straight to 180 then let it cool to 110 then added the yogurt. 10 hours later it was slightly thickened milk. I tried again by reheating it to 180, cooled and then added more yogurt and let sit another 10 hours. It was thin and separated. I threw it out. My kitchen was admittedly about 10 degrees colder that time.
What does the 45 minutes on warm do and why do other recipes not call for that? I will try again with the warming part going back to Fage yogurt and maybe using gelatin to thicken it up.
I am terrible at chemistry so I have no idea what is happening but if I can get it down I will be doing this a lot.
Realized, I no longer had the yogurt button on the instapot, what a bummer. Looked up recipes on google and found this one. Was super excited, followed all the steps to a T, I should’ve read the comments, but I do not have a candy thermometer, just an instant-read thermometer for temperature reads on the foods that I make.
I am not sure what’s wrong with regular whole pasteurized milk, as I have made yogurt in the past. Anyway, I followed the instructions to a T, and the viscosity is lacking. I used Alpenrose dairy whole milk and Nancy’s whole milk yogurt with live cultures.
That sounded easy enough… will try it out! Thanks!