How to Make Instant Pot Yogurt Without a Yogurt Button

Making your own homemade yogurt is rewarding and cheaper than buying the grocery store versions. All you need are 2 ingredients: a yogurt culture (such as a unflavored, unsweetened yogurt) and whole milk. Let us dive into how to make creamy yogurt in your Instant Pot without the yogurt setting.

You have numerous Instant Pot models to chose from when buying an Instant Pot. I personally have the Instant Pot duo crisp + air fryer, which means I have an additional lid and basket that I can air fry things in. But, my Instant Pot does not have that fancy yogurt button, which helps you keep you yogurt at the right temperature while the culture ferments your milk. So when I found an Instant Pot yogurt recipe I was a little disappointed to see I did not have that button. This taught me that it is actually quite easy to make your own delicious homemade yogurt. 

Reasons to Make Homemade Yogurt

1. It’s cheap. Besides my equipment I already owned, I just needed a 1/2 gallon of whole milk and a little bit of yogurt. As you keep making homemade yogurt, you’ll only need about 1/4 cup of yogurt from what you’ve already made.
2. It’s delicious and customizable. You can add flavors or eat it plain. Maybe you enjoy a thicker, greek yogurt style and decide to strain half your yogurt while leaving the other half non-strained. The choice is yours!
3. It’s rewarding. If you’re wanting to be more self reliant, making your own food (no matter how much or little!) is very rewarding.
4. It’s good for you. Yogurt is packed full of probiotics that are good for your gut. A healthy gut helps to decrease your chances of illness and keeps you *ahem* regular. 

Tips to make your best instant pot yogurt

• Strain your yogurt – If you like thicker, Greek style yogurt, strain your yogurt after you make it. Get a large bowl and place a colander or strainer over it. Then lay cheese cloth or a flour sack towel over that. Pour your yogurt on top of your cloth of choice and allow to sit for 1-2 hours, depending how thick you want it to be.
• Make sure to use a good quality, unflavored yogurt – This is not the time to buy vanilla yogurt. You will want an unflavored and unsweetened yogurt to make this. If you have an heirloom starter, more power to you. But I have found that buying a good, thick yogurt such as Nancy’s probiotic yogurt or Fage yogurt is a great starter yogurt. 
• Use whole milk – The fats in milk help will help make the creamiest yogurt. I am not of the fat phobic variety and believe that fats in balance with protein is quite healthy and needed. So skip the skim milk and opt for a good, whole milk variety. (I have not tried this with non-dairy milks.)
• Take the rubber gasket off of your instant pot lid – The rubber holds onto scents and tastes from other meals you have made and could give your yogurt an off flavor.
• Save ¼ cup of your own yogurt – You can either freeze it or make sure you do not eat the last ¼ cup of your homemade yogurt. This way you do not need to buy live cultures or store-bought yogurt to make your next batch. 

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What You’ll Need to Make Instant Pot Yogurt Without A Yogurt Button

I used sous vide mode on my instant pot. But if you don’t have that, you can just use sauté mode. Heck, I use to make yogurt on my stove top then I’d put it in the oven with the light on to keep it hovering around the temperature I need. It’s really not super complicated (although the oven method was more tricky and the yogurt didn’t always turn out.)

• An Instant Pot with sous vide or saute button if you do not have the yogurt function
• A stock pot that will hold your milk while it’s cooling
• A thermometer (I use this one)
• 1/2 gallon of whole milk – Try to find a brand that is not ultra-pasteurized milk. This kills all the bacteria in the milk, including the “good” bacteria. Finding a local farmer who sells raw milk (you may want to see their cows or ask if they periodically send their milk for testing) or a brand who makes low pasteurized and non-homogenized Kalona Super Natural.
• 1/4 cup of unflavored, full fat yogurt with active cultures (or a yogurt starter you bought)

Directions on how to make instant pot homemade yogurt

1. Place your 1/2 gallon of milk into your instant pot and turn up the heat to 185*F if using sous vide or put to sauté mode if going that route. 
2. Heat milk until it reaches 180*F. This took me between 20-30 minutes. 
3. Place a new pot* that will hold your milk into the sink. Fill with cold water and ice. 
4. Turn off instant pot. Using hot hands, pull out inner pot (the silver cooking pot), and dump your hot milk into the pot that is sitting in the sink. Place inner pot back into your instant pot. 
5. Once milk has cooled to 110-115*F, add it back to your instant pot.  
6. Add yogurt and whisk together. Place your lid on (with the inner, silicon ring off.) 
7. If you have sous vide mode, set it to 110*F for 8 hours for the incubation period. Otherwise, wrap your unplugged instant pot with a thick towel and let sit in a warm, snug place for the incubation time. 
8. Congrats! You’ve made your own amazing yogurt. You want a thicker yogurt, use cheesecloth, thin flour sack towel, or yogurt strainer to strain. Otherwise, place in an airtight container in your fridge. 

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How to Make Instant Yogurt (with a yogurt button)

Yield: 2 quarts

Prep Time: 18 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 18 minutes

This recipe is a great and fairly simple way to make homemade yogurt. It's just needs 2 ingredients and can be made to the flavors of your liking!

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Ingredients

• 1/2 gallon whole milk
• 1/4 cup yogurt, with active cultures
• vanilla, optional

Instructions

1. Place your 1/2 gallon of milk into your instant pot and turn up the heat to 185*F if using sous vide or put to sauté mode if going that route.
2. Heat milk until it reaches 180*F. This took me between 20-30 minutes.
3. Place a new pot* that will hold your milk into the sink. Fill with cold water and ice.
4. Turn off instant pot. Using hot hands, pull out inner chamber (the silver cooking pot), and dump your hot milk into the pot that is sitting in the sink. Place inner chamber back into your instant pot.
5. Once milk has cooled to 110-115*F, add it back to your instant pot chamber.
6. Add yogurt and whisk together. Place your lid on (with the inner, silicon ring off.)
7. If you have sous vide mode, set it to 110*F for 8 hours. Otherwise, wrap your unplugged instant pot with a thick towel and let sit in a warm, snug place for 8 hours.
8. Congrats! You've made your own yogurt. If it's too watery for your liking, use cheesecloth or a thin flour sack towel to strain. Otherwise, place in an airtight container in your fridge.

Notes

• You never want to place a warm or hot pot into cold water. This can warp or break your pot. That is why I set up my ice bath with a different pot.
• Not cooling off your inner chamber will also help inoculate your yogurt by keeping it semi warm. 
• You can ferment your yogurt for a couple hours longer, but it will be more sour. My children do not like homemade yogurt if it's fermented for longer than 8-9 hours. 

Did you make this recipe?

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