Instant Pot Homemade Yogurt - Real Life Dinner

With just two ingredients, this smooth, creamy, and delicious Instant Pot Homemade Yogurt is simple and easy to make. Your taste buds will be so happy when you eat a bite of this yogurt with The Absolute Best Homemade Granola. This gourmet granola and yogurt combination is so good, that it’s a breakfast worth waking up for. You will even look forward to eating it for a yummy snack during the day. And to mix things up, adding a spoonful of jam to the yogurt also tastes good.

A serving of vanilla yogurt and homemade granola drizzled with honey and topped with sliced strawberries in a dark blue Polish pottery bowl with white polka dots.

My friend, Teima, shared this recipe with me. She’s made yogurt a lot and has it down to a perfect science. Using whole milk and a really good quality yogurt as the starter will determine the consistency and texture of the yogurt. It may sound weird that you use yogurt to make yogurt, but you need the live, active cultures in the starter yogurt to turn the milk into homemade yogurt.

Teima used to strain the yogurt with a cheesecloth when it was done, but she no longer does that because she realized the whey had really good proteins in it. Now Teima and her family prefer to eat the yogurt without straining it. She uses two starters when she makes the yogurt, and it turns out creamier, thicker, and better.

If you love yogurt, this recipe is for you. You will be amazed at how delicious it tastes.

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Photos for How to Make Instant Pot Homemade Yogurt

Tips for How to Make Instant Pot Homemade Yogurt

For best results, use a high-quality yogurt for the starter when making homemade yogurt for the first time.
The milk needs to be heated to 180 degrees to make sure any bacteria–other than what’s in the starter–is killed, so it doesn’t interfere with the yogurt-making process.
Before you add the starter, make sure to let the milk cool down to 110 degrees, or it will kill the starter and the yogurt won’t set up and will be super runny.
Freeze 2/3-1 cup yogurt in a ziplock bag to use as the starter in another batch.
Teima makes a gallon at a time even though just 2-3 people are eating it regularly. She places the yogurt in snack-size ziplock bags and freezes them. I didn’t realize yogurt could be frozen. It’s so helpful to know.
Teima uses two starters, which makes the yogurt creamier, thicker, and better. She always keeps a good supply on hand in the freezer so that she always has a starter.
If using a frozen yogurt starter, take it out of the freezer to thaw when you start to make the yogurt, or thaw it overnight in the fridge.
For a thicker yogurt, strain the yogurt. When it’s done, line a strainer with cheesecloth and place a bowl under it to catch the whey. Place it in the fridge for 2-3 hours. The longer you let it strain the thicker it will turn out.
Store the yogurt covered in the fridge for up to 10 days or in ziplock bags in the freezer for up to a month.

Chef’s Tools:

Instant Pot Homemade Yogurt

Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

8 hours

Total time

8 hours 25 mins

With just two ingredients, this smooth, creamy, and delicious Instant Pot Homemade Yogurt is simple and easy to make. Add a big handful of The Absolute Best Homemade Granola to the yogurt, drizzle it with honey, and top it off with berries for breakfast or a snack.

Author: My friend, Teima

Recipe type: Breakfast/Snack

Serves: 1 gallon

Ingredients

1 Gallon Whole Milk
⅔-1 cup store-bought plain yogurt or yogurt from a previous batch of homemade yogurt (Use a high-quality, store-bought yogurt with live active cultures.)
Tools:
Instant Pot with Yogurt setting
Instant-read thermometer
Cheesecloth for straining (optional)

Instructions

First, pour the gallon of whole milk into the Instant Pot and turn on the sauté function. Bring the milk temperature to 180 degrees. It takes 10-15 minutes in my Instant Pot. Use an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature.
Once the milk reaches 180 degrees, turn off the Instant Pot. Immediately take the pot insert out, and let the milk cool down to 110 degrees. You can put the pot on ice in the sink to help it cool faster, or let it cool on its own. To let it cool on its own, you can start in the morning and check the temperature at midday to see if the milk has reached 110 degrees.
Next, add the store-bought yogurt or yogurt from a previous homemade batch. Stir well.
Place the pot insert back into the Instant Pot and put the lid on. Set it to the yogurt setting for 8 hours or overnight.
Remove the lid and take the pot insert out. Cover it and place it in the refrigerator, or transfer the yogurt to a bowl and put it in the refrigerator. Let the yogurt cool for at least 4 hours in the fridge or overnight before serving. The yogurt tastes better cold.
Freeze ⅔-1 cup yogurt in a ziplock bag to use as the starter in another batch.
Serve with homemade granola, a drizzle of honey, and some berries or with your favorite toppings.
Store the yogurt covered in the fridge for up to 10 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.