Homemade Yogurt in the Instant Pot

Step 1

Add 1 cup water to the Instant Pot and insert the steamer rack. Place your glass jars on the steamer rack and fill with milk. If you are using 4 pint-sized jars like I do, you will need about 8 cups of milk. Don't fill them all the way to the top as we will need a little room in the jar later in the process.

Step 2

Close the lid and turn the handle to sealing. Press the steam button and adjust the time to 1 minute. This will scald the milk and get it to 180 degrees.

Step 3

Once the steam cycle has finished let the pressure release naturally (or at least wait 10-15 minutes) before opening the Instant Pot and removing your jars of milk. Set them on the counter to cool to the proper incubation temperature (between 100-110 degrees). This process typically takes an hour or two, so I will set a milk thermometer in one of the jars and check it periodically.

Step 4

After the jars of milk have cooled to 100-110 degrees, add a heaping tablespoon of yogurt starter to each pint-sized jar and stir to incorporate. You don't want to add the starter if your milk is above 115 degrees as the heat will kill the good bacteria, but you also don't want to let your milk get too cool. If it gets below 90 degrees I would heat it up gently before moving to the next step.

Step 5

Place the jars back in the Instant Pot, close the lid and press the yogurt button. Now step back and let it do it's work for the next 4-24 hours! The yogurt function is preset for 8 hours, but you can adjust to your family's taste preferences. The beauty of the Instant Pot is that it maintains a consistent temperature throughout the entire incubation period.

Step 6

When the yogurt is finished, remove the jars from the Instant Pot and place them in the refrigerator. It's best to allow them to cool for a few hours before consuming.