Living in the US, I used to buy yogurt from the store like most people here. It was too creamy for my Indian taste buds. I would always wonder, have they added something to it?? Sure enough…most of the yogurts in the market have gelatin added to make them seem creamier than they really are. Huh…so now what? There are yogurt brands which do claim to be gelatin free and live probiotic and organic.
I was living with them, but only until I started making homemade yogurt. You will never go back to the store bought one after having fresh homemade yogurt. And you might also save some bucks!
When preparing yogurt without the instant pot, it was hard to get it right each time. Especially in the winter when the weather is cold. Sometimes it would not get set properly, would be a bit runny and sticky. But with the instant pot, you take some of the possible uncertainties out.
That said, you can still prepare homemade yogurt if you don’t have Instant Pot. After you have mixed in the starter, place the bowl in an oven with the light on. That has also given me very good results.
This recipe is to make yogurt with the pot-in-pot method. I prefer this, so I can just remove the bowl and refrigerate it. Use whole milk to make yogurt, and you will get a better result. I also prefer to use organic milk, not just for this recipe, but in general. The reasons for that can easily be a separate post.
Try this easy yogurt recipe and Enjoy the taste of real yogurt.
Update: There is another new method to make yogurt in the instant pot, called cold-ingredients or no-boil method. This method does not need boiling and cooling of milk, but requires a specific type of milk which is ultra filtered (Fairlife).
Instant Pot Homemade Yogurt (Pot-in-pot / PIP)
Ingredients
- 4 cups Whole Milk
- 3 tablespoon Starter culture, or any yogurt with live culture
- 1 cup Water
Instructions
- Place the wire rack in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Pour in 1 cup of water and place the milk in a glass bowl on the rack. Close the Instant Pot and set it to “Steam” mode for 1 minutes with vent in sealing position.
- Remove the yogurt culture and keep it at room temperature.
- After the instant pot timer goes off, release the pressure naturally.
- Open the instant pot and let the milk cool down to about 110°F or 43°C, anything in the range from 108-115°F works as well. Approximately it will take an hour to cool down to this temperature. (I used a digital thermometer to check the temperature, until I got used to checking with my finger).
- Mix the yogurt culture and start the instant pot again in “Yogurt” mode. This will automatically set the timer to 8 hours.
- When the timer beeps, yogurt should be ready. Enjoy the yogurt as a side with your meal or as a snack topped with fruit or granola.
Notes
- (Optional) Sanitizing the instant pot to remove any odors: If you do a lot of cooking with spices, you may want to add this step. Add 2 cups of water with a few drops of lemon juice and put the instant pot in steam mode.
- Have the yogurt culture at room temperature when you are ready to mix.
- The temperature when you mix in the starter with the milk is very important. Initially it can be hard to get it right, so you can use a digital thermometer to check the temperature.
- Don’t keep the yogurt in the instant pot for long after the timer beeps, as it might be more sour. Unless you prefer sour yogurt.
Works perfectly everytime.
Hey Anju – Glad to hear the yogurt recipe has worked well!
Hi Meeta just love all of your recipes. I have one question if I steam 1/2 gallon of milk then for much time should I steam it. I don’t think 1 minute would be hot enough I’m assuming may be 7-8 mins. Thanks
Hi Gari – I would still do 1 minute steam if doing pot-in-pot yogurt. The instant pot just takes longer to build pressure and release pressure as the quantity increases.
Yeah that makes sense. Thanks
I’m another new user. Can I use one one-quart size or two pint-size mason jars to make this recipe?
Hey Mary – Yes, you can make yogurt in mason jars too. Once you have the starter mixed with the milk, pour it into the jars and set on yogurt mode.
Can I use one one-quart size or two pint-size mason jars to make tis recipe?
Hi… Can we use a steel pot for pot in pot method
Hey Shweta – Yes, steel pot will work well for pot-in-pot yogurt as well.
I just bought the Instant Pot and was looking at recipes to make yogurt. I love how you’ve responded to every post with so much patience and friendliness here. I’ll definitely try this!
Congratulations on the new Instant Pot, Manoj. I hope you were able to make yogurt in your new Instant Pot. I would love to hear if you try any recipes. Sometimes it may take a couple of days, but I do try to respond to every comment. Thank you!
Is the wire necessary? Or can I keep it directly?
Hey Nithya – I keep water in the main steel insert, hence I use the trivet to keep the bowl. I have not tried making yogurt without adding water in the main pot.
My glass bowl broke and milk came out of the vent,
Hello Ambarish – I am trying to understand what went wrong. I assume this happened when you boiled the milk. Did you use an oven safe glass bowl? Was the pressure released manually after the boil? With a natural pressure release the food would not spray out of the vent. Please let me know so I can help figure what went wrong.
Hi, I am new followed to your blog.
So, my instant pot doesn’t have the yogurt mode. is there another way to make the yogurt in instant pot? thank you so much!
Hey Arunima – I have seen some posts where people have made yogurt using the LUX ip model. Just try a search on google. Also, here is what I used to do before I had the ip – Boil milk in stovetop, cool and add starter yogurt. Keep it in the oven close to the oven light overnight. Keep the oven light on. Recently I have also tried adding a dried red chili on the top of the milk with the starter and that has worked too. Hope that helps!
Hi
Is the vent sealed when yogurt mode is pressed? Water is still in the bottom? I am doing a Pyrex bowl and not the entire container. Pls answer this
Hey Priyanka – Either way works for vent. I usually keep it sealed when making yogurt.