To make no-fail yogurt in Instant Pot, or your favorite yogurt maker in just three steps, sanitation, inoculation and incubation. None of these steps can be skipped!
You can use any kind of milk you like, I prefer to use whole cow’s milk. See my tips at the bottom of this page for getting extra-thick yogurt!
Step 1: Sanitation
Ensure that all of the equipment, containers and utensils to be used in the yogurt-making process are carefully cleaned. This ensures that no other bacteria compete with the yogurt starter during the incubation.
If you’re making the yogurt directly in Instant Pot’s stainless steel container, sanitize the cooker by running Instant Pot on the pressure steam program for one minute with 1 1/2 cups of water. Set the valve on the lid to “Sealing” push the [steam] button and then the [-] button until you get down to one minute. When the program is finished, release the pressure and then pour out the water. Then, scald the milk by pushing [yogurt] button and [adjust] until the screen says “Boil” for the DUO model; for the DUO Plus, push the [yogurt] button, until the screen says “Boil” (there is no adjust button); and, for the ULTRA choose the [yogurt] program, and then select the recommended Temperature under “more” (181°F).
For all models, let Instant Pot bring the milk to a boil until the screen says “Yogt”.
If you’re going to make yogurt in little jars, anyway, you can sanitize the jars and scald the milk at the same time (as shown in the video). Add a cup of water and the steamer basket into Instant Pot. Pour the milk in the jars and place the jars in the cooker. Set the valve on the lid to “Sealing” push the [steam] button and then the [-] button until you get down to one minute. When the program is finished push [cancel] to turn off the instant pot and let it cool down naturally.
For both milk that has been scalded in the pot or little jars, wait until the yogurt cools down to at least 115°F/46°C before proceeding to the next step. That can take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour (make sure to take the temperature with a clean thermometer). If you don’t have a thermometer handy, you’ll want to wait until the jars are cool enough to handle.
Step 2: Inoculation
To the scalded milk, add the yogurt inoculate according to package instructions or, use a high-quality plain yogurt with live active cultures. Once you get going, you can use the yogurt from a previous batch to make the next- as long as it’s under two weeks old. Measurements do not need to be exact, but you’ll want to aim for about one teaspoon per cup (250ml) of milk.
Mix the inoculate or yogurt into the milk until it dissolves completely (as shown in the video).
Step 3: Incubation
Close the lid with the pressure valve in any position or place the freshly cleaned glass lid to run the yogurt program by pressing [Yogurt] for the DUO model; for the DUO Plus, push the [yogurt] button, until the screen says “08:00”; and, for the ULTRA choose the [yogurt] program, and then select the recommended Temperature under “med” (107°F).
For all models, the default time is 8 hours, and I’ve had great results with this time but you can adjust the time by pressing the [+] or [-] buttons to get different effects.
Longer time will produce a more tart yogurt. Most yogurt strains will begin to solidify after bout 6 hours – for less tart results check to see if the milk has already solidified after this time.
When the program is finished the letters “Yogt” will appear in the display.
Storage
Top the jars with clean lids, or pour the contents of the inner pot into a clean container, and refrigerate for up to two weeks.
Extra-thick Greek-Style Yogurt
There are three ways to make a thicker yogurt.
- Nonfat Milk Powder – add 1/2 teaspoon of milk powder per cup of milk at the beginning of the process.
- Boil Milk a little longer – during the scalding process, boil the milk for an extra 10 minutes. When scalding milk directly in the stainless steel insert, simply run the scalding program (Boil) one or two extra times depending on the thickness desired.
- Strain the Yogurt – after the yogurt making process is complete. Pour the yogurt into a cloth-lined fine strainer that is positioned over a bowl. Place the whole set-up in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours depending on the desired thickness.
See Also:
After many years of pressure cooking, both stovetop and electric, I decided that the second thing I would make (the first was your always perfect rice) in my new IP Duo 7-in-1 would be yogurt, to take advantage of the fact that I have a fancy button for it! Alas, after running the first Yogt:Boil setting, my milk was only up to 153º F. Two more cycles still only brought me up to 165º so I gave up and finished heating the milk on the stovetop. Should I be running the initial Boil cycle with the lid *on* and not stirring?
Yes, I leave the lid on. There is no need to stir unless you are making a large amount (say over 2 quarts of milk or 8 cups).
Ciao,
L
Thank you, Laura! This week’s attempt has been made with the lid *on* during the Boil cycle. It still took three cycles to get up to 179, but I called it close enough. The incubation period should be near done and I’ll know then for sure!
I just use the sauce function set to low to get it up to temp… Takes only a few minutes!
Hi Laura! After getting a replacement Fagor LUX LCD for one that just suddenly died, we’re back in business and ready to cook. My kids, 5 & 8, and I are excited to try making our own yogurt! They especially like your idea to mix in some Nutella. We’re making our yogurt in little individual jars that I saved after buying Yoplait’s Oui yogurt (which I did kind of buy just for the cute little jars!). I think they hold about 6 oz. So about how much Nutella would you add to one of these? I’m assuming my kids will turn up their noses unless it’s almost 1:1. Also I’m thinking we’ll need to warm up the Nutella a bit to get it to really be able to mix. Thank you for your great video and instructions! Lara
Lara, I would swirl-in the Nutella just before serving. 6 oz. sounds like two servings of yogurt so I would do two teaspoons (one teaspoon of Nutella per serving).
Ciao,
L
Hi Laura, I wanted to make a dairy free raw coconut milk yoghurt from blended young thai Coconut meat and maybe some canned one too(to be economical).id use regular starter. I watched your video on YouTube and I wondered if since it’s not dairy if you have to scald it or steam it or precook ina different pot? Do I simply place jars of coconut milk and hit yogurt feature?Should it be cooked for eight hours? Also should I make it more of a coconut cream with less water or is it better as very liquidy milk? I know there are lots of YouTube tutorials but I haven’t found the raw coconut milk one for instant pot and generally any other YouTube tutorial I watched on instant pot has been inaccurate safetyfeature wise
Ola, I have very little experience with making dairy-free yogurts. Though, at some point I’d like to try as my daughter in addition to being intolerant to flour and eggs is now also intolerant to milk. : / And the soy yogurts sold here are disgusting.
However, I won’t leave you empty-handed. I have found a really knowledgeable lady on YouTube (I link to her videos from my YouTube channel) who does know quite a bit about making dairy-free yogurts. She lives in the tropics so I bet that she’s probably tried it with fresh coconut. Her recipes and techniques are solid so it worthwhile to reach out to her.
You can visit her here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpS38in9010&index=4&list=PL1Zu1aDRU2-h6D7U_n1iFaEg4gYYPPqZw&t=0s
Do come back to let us know how it worked out!
Ciao,
L
Ps whats the max size the yogurt jars can be? Does the lid have to be airtight I saw some pretty eggshell yoghurt jars, i dont see any w screw on lids except for bigMason jars and dono if those r too big?and normally if pressure cooking and not yoghurt making is glass safe if oven safe under pressure?
Sorry I actually just thought to ask would a regular ovensafe big glasslock/ Pyrex lunch container work? Does it have to be split up in small jars for yoghurt and probiotics etc. A lot of the younger dress online only 6 ounces whereas a lunch conatiner would be a few cups big and more wide than tall or theres some smaller one-two cup sized snack boxes i have
I guess last q how soon Do you have to put your yoghurt jars in the fridge?i thought id have to
let the glass cool first
You should NEVER put anything warm or hot in the fridge.
It will raise the temperature of other things, increasing the risk of spoilage and dangerous bacteria growing.
Ideally you should cool your yoghurt quickly in an ice bath, then transfer it to the fridge once it is cool to the touch. This will minimise the risk of bad bacteria growing in the yoghurt too. however, before using an ice bath, you should make sure your yoghurt container will survive the thermal shock.
Thank you, doesnt the glass Have to cool fully before putting it in an ice bath/fridge to prevent temperature shock? I do have oven safe containers like anchor hokcing ones I don’t know if those are different specific yogurt jars?
Ola,
In the yogurt-making process, the glass is not heated to a high enough temperature to “shock”. It’s just warmer than room temperature. Shock happens when there is a LARGE difference between the container’s temperature and room or surface or water temperature. This is not the case when you’re making yogurt.
Ciao,
L
Hmm just read up on Putting warm things in the fridge and a food safety article says that contrary to popular belief hot can be stored in the fridge?Anyways I normally wait for the glass to cool to avoid temperature shock I just don’t know the rules and yoghurt to making and how long it can be out while glass cools
Ola, yogurt can’t really “go bad” at room temperature. It is already fermented. You purposely made it go “bad”. ; ) I’m not saying you can keep yogurt out indefinitely but letting it cool won’t do anything.
I don’t know the details about what you read, but generally, it’s a bad idea to put warm food in the fridge because it raises the temperature inside the refrigerator to higher than ideal risking that everything else in the fridge goes off. So, yes. Technically the hot food you put in the fridge won’t go bad. But everything else will!
Good on you for questioning oddball advice.
Ciao,
L
Oh thanks a ton sorry for all the yogurt nubie qs!I’m actually having a hard time finding yogurt jars for the IP do u recommend any? many canning jars at the store and even my glasslock lunch boxes say they are Not oven safe. So I don’t know how they would do under pressure? The only thing I can think of is my anchor hocking bowl but its not very big. My lunchbox pyrex ones say no broiler and picture on them looks as if top of the oven is ok. The thing about the instant pot is height is better than width as not much can fit in width wise(Also I don’t know if there has to be room between the pot and glass box and between the glass containers..my glass cupcake cups fit on a tilt since the tops are wide and only three tiny ones at a time :(
Also can you make flavoured yoghurt?like after scalding to add apricots or vanilla?
Thanx a ton Ill reach out to her now. So far the coconut yoghurt recipes say that Cookin still has to be scalded to prevent bacteria risk And that without the lactose and proteins they don’t thicken so they need some agar or gelatin which I hope is OK in the instant pot since its added after scalding so without pressure im assuming. Ps for yogurt feature and ultra feature with “none” selected for no pressure is can you use the IP glass lid as with clow cooking? I read in the recipe to use a probe thermometer with it too
Thanks a ton,After this I can’t wait to give it a try!
Sorry typo above i meant *coconut not Cookin.
Sorry I’m not sure about the link of the video for the lady who does tropical stuff like coconut yogurt..the linked vid just leading me to your tomatoes recipe on your site, whats her channel, name or site?
Also do you think I could just wing it from a recipe i found online with fresh or canned coconut milk and treat is as regular milk in the recipe?scalding it then adding some coconut yogurt or regular dairy starter and agar agar gelatin (since dairy free wont thicken) and hitting the yogurt feature?it just Says that to make dairy free yogurt thicker you can go over eight hours but i dont want it to turn sour. Hopefully as long as the two temperatures of initial 180 and 115 degrees are followed its safe to just experiment with dairy free and with the hours and additional fruit flavours?or does adding some fruit prevent thickening etc?
Also do you have to pre-sterilize the jars or do they get sterilized at the same time as the scalding in the instant pot?if you scald the milk in a seperate pan, must you sterilize the jars still? I know you said in your YouTube review of the Ultra (which i own)not to rely on the sterilize setting? Should i use the pressure cooking or steam setting on the Ultra for sterilizing jars for yogurt (if necessary) or the IP cant sterilize?
And can the finished yogurt be transfered to non sterilized containers for a week or two?Im new to the whole sterilizing idea etc
I don’t know. I see the right video. Here is a slightly different link, I hope this will work better…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpS38in9010
The jars can be freshly washed, they just need to be disinfected they do not need to be sterilized. However, if you scald the milk in the jars by pressure cooking for 1 minute, it will also zap the jars. I do not recommend using the sterilize setting because I have not seen any proper instructions from Instant Pot on how to use it and they could not give me an official source (governmental or research) for their chosen times and temperatures for this setting.
Ciao,
L
Can you use unsweetened almond milk? Do you scald this type of milk?
original post has typos- please review and correct.Can instructions be made abit clearer?
I am trying to make “cold start” Method in my Farberware 7 in 1 pressure cooker. It doesn’t have a “yogurt” setting. Do you know the correct temperature to use. The recipe calls for 8 hrs. cooking time, not pressurized. Thanks,
I’m sorry, if your cooker does not have a yogurt setting. You cannot use it to make yogurt. You can use the cooker as a container in a without-yogurt-maker method online.
Ciao,
L
Laura; I have made yogurt in the IP 3 times now and each time it tastes very good, but is stringy. Now that I have re-read the directions, I question if I have been doing it correctly and want to make sure I understand the directions. I have used a qt jar and set the IP on the yogurt “boil” function; sometimes 2-3x to see if that would make it thicker. Then set it for the 8-hr function. Now I wonder if I should be using the steam function for one minute instead of the “boil” (which should be used only for sanitizing??) Thanks for clearing up any confusion I have created for myself.
I have made this yogurt 3-4 times and enjoy it; my question is why does mine turn out stringy? I may have mis-read the instructions when scalding the milk; I have used the boil setting on IP; but when I re-read the instructions now, I think I should have sealed the IP and used the one-minute setting, instead. I this the correct way? I may have just sterilized the container with milk in it, instead of scalding it. Thank you for any help!
Nancy
Hello Laura,
I have seen a number of ‘cold start’ yogurt recipes for the instant pot where they sterilize the pot, dump the water, and then add the milk and starter culture, stir and put it on for the 8 hours. I haven’t tried it but was wondering if you had any thoughts about this method.
Thank you
I have tried the “cold start” using milk straight from the bottle… more times than not I would end up incubating undesirable bacteria. How did I know? My yogurt turned PINK!!! And, of course I had to throw away the whole batch.
Sterilizing just before incubating is the only way to make sure you are growing just the yogurt bacteria.
Ciao,
L
P.S. Apologies for the late, late reply. The last year has been filled with hospitalizations and family issues for me. I’m trying to get through all the comments I missed while I was having a rough time – even those from five months ago. Sorry! Things are finally improving.
I recently scored a Kuhn rikon 8qt stockpot pressure cooker at a thrift shop in excellent condition. I’m so excited to use it to cook (first thing I’m going to try is your risotto). I know that instant pot you can make yogurt. I am a bit of a purist and like using my stovetop instead of accumulating a ton of electric devices. Right now I make yogurt, the three steps you mention, sanitize then I put milk in mason jars and set in a stockpot of water and bring to the right temp. Then I cool it and I have a towel in a ice chest which I set the pot of boiling water in to create an incubation place … is it possible todo what you say an instant pot can do in a stovetop pressure cooker? Or because I need to use thermometers and what not, it isn’t possible to control the temp? I don’t mind making it my way but if there is an easier way with my new pot I’m up for it.
Catherine, you’ll have to continue your old method with your stovetop pressure cooker. However, because of the high quality of your Kuhn Rikon you’ll notice the pot will keep the heat much longer.
Ciao,
L