InstantPot Greek Yogurt

Almost every person I talked has an InstantPot. I absolutely love that little gadget, its so versatile and cooks food literary within minutes. I actually have two InstantPots, an 8 and 6 quarts. I’m looking into buying a smaller one 4 quarts so when we start traveling in our expedition camper I can make quick meals when we are out and about.

One of the easiest things to make in my opinion in the InstantPot is yogurt, but let me make it clear that it is a process that takes over a day to do but most of it is just waiting but I believe me that it’s worth the wait. Once you make the yogurt a couple of times it will become second nature and you probably will not want to eat store bought yogurt ever again.
It is very hard to find a clean organic yogurt in the market. Most if not all yogurts have a ton of sugar and additives that are just not good for our bodies. By making your own yogurt, you know exactly what goes in and how much. My recipe has only two ingredients, milk and a yogurt starter.

There are different yogurt starters in the market, there is a powder yogurt starter, you can buy a pain greek yogurt no sugar added yogurt, or if you make yogurt often you can use one of the yogurts you made from an earlier batch as you starter, you only need about 1/3-1/2 a cup of starter per gallon of milk.

I like using 1% fat milk, it is a little bit more thin than 2% milk and whole fat milk. I have tried all different variations but I always go back to the 1% plus honestly is the only kind I can buy at Costco and is much cheaper and also organic.

I don’t like to add flavors or sweeteners to the yogurt because that limits how I can use the yogurt when is done. I use yogurt for baking, smoothies, overnight oats, etc., so by keeping it plain I can get a lot more out of it.
I also like to make buttermilk with some of the leftover whey when draining the yogurt, if you add flavor to yogurt as you make it you can’t really make buttermilk with the leftovers.

Read the entire recipe before starting to make your yogurt and don’t skip any steps! in the notes of the recipe I wrote how I make my buttermilk, it’s super simple if you want to give it a try.

What you’ll need:

InstantPot 6 quarts or bigger
Cooking thermometer
1-2 Mixing bowls
Cheesecloth/yogurt drainer/yogurt drain bag
Whisk
Ladle
Rubber spatula
10 to 12 one cup mason jars
Medium size glass bottle (optional if you want to make buttermilk with the whey left from the yogurt)

Instant Pot Greek Yogurt

Recipe by CarolCourse: UncategorizedDifficulty: Medium

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

26

hours 

Resting Time

36

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 gallon cow’s milk (1%, 2% or whole milk)

• 1/2 yogurt starter – I use Faye 5% plain Greek yogurt

Directions

• Sterilize the InstantPot by adding 1-2 cups of water, close the lid and set it at high pressure for 5 minutes. Manual release after is done. Wipe down the pot and allow it to cool off.
• Once the pot is cooled off pour the gallon of milk in the InstantPot, turn on the InstantPot, press the Yogurt button and then press the Adjust button a couple of times until you see Boil on the display. Bring the milk to 185-190F, this will take about an hour or so. Use your thermometer to ensure proper temperature. Whisk the milk a few times during they process.
• Once the milk has reach the desired temperature turn off the InstantPot and move the inner pot to a cooling rack or the sink and allow the milk to cool off to 110-115F, again keep checking checking with the thermometer until you reach the temperature, this process can take up to an hour. If you are in a hurry fill up the sink with cold water and ice and place the inner pot in the sink. Whisk occasionally to allow it to cool off faster and keep checking temperature.
• Add the yogurt starter to the milk once the temperature is between 110-115F, use a whisk to dissolve the yogurt in the milk (if you want to add flavors or sweeteners, this is the time to do it
• Close the lid, turn on the InstantPot and press the yogurt button and adjust it to 24 hours and let the yogurt process begin. DO NOT open the pot until the 24 hours incubation time is complete.
• Once the incubation period is complete remove the inner pot and place it in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight to fully cool off (cover the pot with a lid or aluminum paper. I personally like to leave it in the refrigerator overnight.
• After the yogurt has cooled off its time drain it. Place yogurt in Cheesecloth/yogurt drainer/yogurt drain bag. If you use cheesecloth or a drain bag I suggest you use a colander on top of the mixing bowl to keep the whey away from the draining yogurt. Place draining yogurt back in the fridge. If you want regular yogurt drain for 1-2 hours, for greet yogurt drain between 6-8 hours or overnight.
• Once desired consistency is reached begin transfer your yogurt to the mason jars and refrigerate.

Notes

• Buy multiple seals for your InstantPot as they retain the smell of prior dishes that have been cooked before. I have a seal that I only use for yogurt to make sure scents from other dishes don’t transfer to the homemade yogurt.
• It is very important to sterilized your InstantPot before starting the process of making the yogurt, don’t skip this step as you are handling milk which can go bad very quickly or pick up bacteria and make you or your love ones sick.
• Depending how think you want the yogurt you can drain it for a couple of hours to overnight in the refrigerator. Greek yogurt normally has thicker consistency so I like to drain for at least 12 hours.
• If you’re making plain yogurt you can make butter milk but adding a few table spoons of yogurt in a 16 oz container and fill it up with whey. Keep the buttermilk in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks and use it for baking or cooking. I absolutely love to make buttermilk pancakes and have a recipe here in my blog if you want to check it out.

Enjoy your yogurt with fresh fruits, preservers, drizzled honey, granola or just plain. Use your yogurt to make bake goods or as substitute to sour cream or mayo.

If you liked this recipe don’t forget to leave me a comment below.

Enjoy!
XO, Carol