How I Make Yogurt In An Instant Pot

On the Bartl Homestead, we eat a LOT of yogurt. We cook with it, freeze it, add it to smoothies, the list goes on. So naturally I wanted to find out if there was a way that I could make it myself. I bought an Instant Pot about a year ago and it just so happened to have the yogurt function on it which makes yogurt making very simple. So below I am going to tell you how I make my own yogurt in the Instant Pot along with how to make it if you don't own this wonderful invention.

The basic ingredients you need for making yogurt is a gallon of whole milk and 3 tbs. of unflavored Greek yogurt with many live cultures (we use Chobani). You will also need a thermometer of some sort (I use my digital laser thermometer that I also use when soaping) and a whisk. If you are wanting Greek yogurt you will also need a strainer, a large bowl, and a cheesecloth or nut bag for straining out the whey. I actually use a flat cloth diaper because it is thin enough to strain out the liquid like cheesecloth but I can also wash it and reuse it.

The yogurt making process is pretty time lengthy due to the incubation period. Plan to be messing with your yogurt for two hours and then waiting on it to incubate for an additional 8-10 hours. I like to make mine first thing in the morning. So I would start heating my milk at about 8am, start the incubation time at 10am, and then straining and putting the yogurt into a container between 6pm and 8pm. Or you can also start it at night two hours before you go to bed so that when you wake up in the morning your yogurt is ready to be put in a container.

BASICS OF MAKING YOGURT

1. Heat whole milk to 180 degrees.

2. Cool milk to 110 degrees

3. Add yogurt culture (pre-made yogurt).

4. Incubate for 8-10 hours at 95-115 degrees

(going above 115 will kill your culture)

5. Place in a container and refrigerate.

So an Instant Pot isn't necessarily needed but definitely makes life easier. If you don't own an Instant Pot, you could heat your milk on your stove or in a crock pot and then incubate it in the oven with the light on only or in the crock off covered with a big towel.

MAKING YOGURT IN THE INSTANT POT

After you have made sure your Instant Pot is cleaned well, pour your gallon of milk into the pot and cover with the lid. Old milk works great if you are needing to get rid of it. The milk I used in this tutorial had already expired which made the perfect opportunity for yogurt making.

Press the yogurt button which will start heating up your milk. Your Instant Pot should read "boiL". If it does not press "adjust" until the display reads correctly.

Once your Instant Pot beeps, remove the lid, and give your heated milk a good whisk to break up hot spots and check the temperature. If the milk is 180 degrees then you are ready to move on to cooling it down. If your milk is under 180 degrees like mine always is, you will need to heat it again. You can do this by either running another "boiL" cycle by pressing the yogurt button and pressing adjust until it says "boiL" OR you can merely press the "Sauté" button. If you select "Sauté", be sure to frequently whisk the milk so that it doesn't burn while repeatedly taking the temperature until has reached 180 degrees.

Now that your milk is at 180 degrees, you can start the cool down process. To do this you can either take the pot out of the Instant Pot and set it somewhere to cool or if you are impatient like me, you can set it in the sink in an ice bath. The goal is to get the milk down to 110 degrees. Make sure to give your milk a good stir to get an accurate reading on the thermometer when you check the temperature.

Once your milk has cooled down to 110 degrees, you can now add your yogurt culture. Take out 1 cup of the milk and whisk it together lightly with 3 Tbsp of your already made yogurt. Pour this back into your milk in your pot. If you are wanting to add sugar, vanilla, or flavorings, you can do so at this point. We tend to keep our yogurt unflavored and unsweetened since I use it to cook and bake with. Now place the pot back into the Instant Pot and cover with the lid.

 

 Press the Yogurt button so that it says "8:00" hours. Make sure it doesn't say "24:00" and if it does just press "adjust" until your get "8:00" on the display. If you like your yogurt a little more tart and thicker, press the "+" to move the hour to either "9:00" or "10:00" depending on how tart you like your yogurt.

Once you have adjusted your incubation time to your liking, the Instant Pot will start and the screen will now say "Yogt".

Once the Instant Pot beeps that it is done, open the lid to see the glorious huge pot of yogurt you now have. If you are wanting plain, regular yogurt you can dump this into a container and refrigerate. If you are wanting thick, creamy Greek yogurt continue to the next step.

Set your strainer inside your large bowl and place your cheesecloth (or other straining material) into the strainer. Spoon your yogurt into the lined strainer and let it sit for a couple of hours. I set mine out for at least two hours. Due to the size of my stainer and bowl, I have to do this part in 2 phases, straining only half of the yogurt and then the other half. 

You can then dump your yogurt out of the cheesecloth into a container with a lid. The liquid that you have strained out is called whey. This is great to keep in a mason har and refrigerate for adding to bread or smoothies. Whey is a great source of protein and can be added to almost anything as a substitute for water.

The whey and the yogurt will last in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.

That's it! I will say it is time consuming but if you plan accordingly, you won't be working on it that much and you get a large amount of homemade yogurt for a small amount of effort.

My boys love to have their yogurt with a tablespoon of local raw honey and a 1/4 cup of granola. I bought popsicle mold bags on amazon to fill and freeze with yogurt that I have blended with fresh fruit. The boys love having these yogurt pops as a cool snack in the summer and I have piece of mind because I know every ingredient in them and they aren't full of sugar.

Have you made your own yogurt or are you interested in making your own? Comment below with your homemade yogurt ideas!