And now, for the Instant Pot’s next trick…
My Instant Pot just keeps surprising me. Just when I think I’ve learned all there is to know about how to use it, I discover something new. Like how to boil eggs in it, or bake a cheesecake.
But this time, the Instant Pot has completely blown my mind. Who would ever have thought you could use it to make your own yogurt?
To be honest, I’ve never even thought you could make yogurt at home. I assumed you’d need some kind of fancy equipment to turn plain old milk into that tangy, creamy substance that magically works with everything from baked salmon to parfaits.
But nope! Turns out, there’s a special yogurt cycle right on the Instant Pot. It takes over nine hours to do, in two rounds of heating and cooling – but you can go from liquid milk at the beginning of the day to yogurt you can stand a spoon up in by bedtime.
Once you’ve whipped up your yogurt, you can flavor it any way you want. I used vanilla and honey for this batch, but you can stir in pretty much anything – fresh fruit, jam, cinnamon, coconut – to make all kinds of fascinating flavors you won’t find at the grocery store.
How to Make Yogurt in the Instant Pot
Directions:
- Pour 1/2 gallon of milk into the Instant Pot. Put the lid on, it doesn’t matter where the valve is as this does not need to come to pressure.
- Press the yogurt button until the display reads boil. The Instant Pot will begin to heat the milk, this takes up to an hour. It will beep when it is done. The temperature should read 180 degrees.
- Once the Instant Pot beeps you need to let the milk cool. Take the inner pot out. You can let it cool on the counter for about an hour or in a large bowl of ice for about 20 minutes.
- When the milk temperature is between 105-110 degrees remove the skin off the top. Whisk in 1/4 cup plain yogurt until smooth. Be careful not to scrape the bottom of the pot.
- Place the lid back on the Instant Pot and press the yogurt button. The display will read yogurt and will have a time of 8 hours.
- After 8 hours, check on your yogurt. If you can stick a spoon in it and it stands up without falling over, the yogurt is thick enough and is done. If you aren’t quite there yet press the yogurt button and adjust the time to cook another 1-2 hours until yogurt is thick.
- If you want vanilla flavored yogurt start with 1 T vanilla and 3 T of honey. Adjust amounts to your desired taste.
Store yogurt in glass jars in the refrigerator
Notes: You need to use plain yogurt, flavored will not work. Yogurt should not be fat free. Your starter yogurt needs to have live and active cultures to work. You can freeze ¼ cup of your IP yogurt to use as a starter next time!
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How to Make Yogurt in the Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon whole milk
- 1/4 cup plain full fat yogurt with live and active cultures
- 1 T vanilla optional
- 3 T honey optional
Instructions
- Pour 1/2 gallon of milk into the Instant Pot. Put the lid on, it doesn’t matter where the valve is as this does not need to come to pressure.
- Press the yogurt button until the display reads boil. The Instant Pot will begin to heat the milk, this takes up to an hour. It will beep when it is done. The temperature should read 180 degrees.
- Once the Instant Pot beeps you need to let the milk cool. Take the inner pot out. You can let it cool on the counter for about an hour or in a large bowl of ice for about 20 minutes.
- When the milk temperature is between 105-110 degrees remove the skin off the top. Whisk in 1/4 cup plain yogurt until smooth. Be careful not to scrape the bottom of the pot.
- Place the lid back on the Instant Pot and press the yogurt button. The display will read yogurt and will have a time of 8 hours.
- After 8 hours, check on your yogurt. If you can stick a spoon in it and it stands up without falling over, the yogurt is thick enough and is done. If you aren’t quite there yet press the yogurt button and adjust the time to cook another 1-2 hours until yogurt is thick.
Recipe Notes:
Store yogurt in glass jars in the refrigerator
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Nutrition Information:
Nutrition Disclaimer
Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
Vreja says
Do you know how long this yogurt last in the fridge after its been made?