Easy Instant Pot Yogurt With Flavor Variations

This easy Instant Pot yogurt will be the best yogurt you will ever taste. Once you start making your own homemade yogurt you won’t want to buy the store-bought stuff anymore! It’s easy to make too! 

The first time I made Instant Pot yogurt my mind was absolutely blown! It was so easy and so delicious.

My family prefers this version of homemade yogurt to the store bought stuff.

It’s so much healthier than all of those flavored yogurts with preservatives and tons of sugar.

Instant Pot Yogurt

This Instant Pot yogurt is a set-it and forget-it kind of recipe.

With the help of the pressure cooker you can have homemade yogurt overnight! It’s perfect to serve as-is or top it with various toppings for a yogurt parfait. 

Any way you serve this Instant Pot yogurt your family will not be disappointed! Especially if you top it with my homemade granola. Let’s dive into some basics. 

Ingredients for Instant Pot Yogurt:

Milk: Milk is the main ingredient in yogurt. I prefer to use 2% or whole milk for consistency sake. You want to use dairy milk for this recipe and not a coconut milk or almond milk.

Yogurt with Live Active Cultures: This part sounds counterintuitive but it is very important. You want to make sure your yogurt reads “live cultures” on the label.

This is basically your yogurt starter and starts the process. Once you make this yogurt once you can use the leftover Instant Pot yogurt as your starter instead of buying it at the store. 

I just buy plain store bought yogurt with live active cultures. 

Sweetened Condensed Milk: This is an optional item. The version that we are making today is a sweetened vanilla yogurt. You can also make plain yogurt. If you want plain yogurt just leave this and the vanilla out. 

Vanilla Bean Paste: You can also use vanilla extract. Vanilla bean paste has vanilla beans running through it. You use it exactly how you would vanilla extract. It’s perfect for yogurt because you can see the vanilla beans throughout. 

Flavor Variations:

This recipe is so versatile because you can literally make any flavor variations you like. In the No Shop Instant Pot Cookbook we make Cardamom, Acai, Lemon-Chia seed, and Strawberry Mint.

Here are some other variations that my family loves!

Almond: Add almond emulsion instead of vanilla bean paste. 

Peanut Butter: Follow the recipe. Once the yogurt has incubated stir in 1/2 cup-1 cup peanut butter. Then chill. 

Chocolate: Follow the recipe. Once the yogurt has incubated stir in 1/2 chocolate syrup. Then chill. 

Cinnamon: Add 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon to the milk before boiling. Then proceed to follow the recipe. 

Pumpkin: Follow the recipe. Once the yogurt has incubated stir in 1/2 cup-1 cup canned pumpkin puree. Then chill. 

Salted Caramel: Follow the recipe. Once the yogurt has incubated stir in 1/2 caramel sauce. Then chill. 

Banana: Follow the recipe. Once the yogurt has incubated mash up 2 bananas and stir into the yogurt. Then chill. 

Storage:

You can store the yogurt in individual portions in mason jars or you can store the batch in a glass Tupperware container.

I love the individual portions because my kids can grab one and top it with granola, honey and fresh berries for an easy breakfast or snack.

Instant Pot Yogurt With The Yogurt Button:

Make sure you run the Instant Pot lid and insert through a heavy cycle in the dishwasher to sterilize.

If you have an extra ring for sweet dishes use that one instead so your yogurt doesn’t pick up any savory tastes. Pour the milk into the Instant Pot insert.

1. Press the yogurt button until it reads boil. You are heating the milk to 180 F.
2. Once the button beeps remove the lid.
3. Cool the milk to 115 F. You can place the insert into an ice bath, in ice water or just stir until the milk is cooled to 115 F.
4. Ladle one cup of warm milk to a mixing bowl and add the yogurt starter, vanilla bean paste and condensed milk. Stir to combine.
5. Add the mixture back into the insert with the milk. Stir to combine.
6. Place the lid back on and press the yogurt button until it reads 8:00 (you can also incubate 2 hours longer for thicker yogurt).
7. Once the 8 hours is up remove and place in the refrigerator to cool for at least 6 hours.

Instant Pot Yogurt Without the Yogurt Button:

Make sure you run the Instant Pot lid and insert through a heavy cycle in the dishwasher to sterilize If you have an extra ring Pour the milk into the Instant Pot insert.

1. Pour the milk into the insert. Turn on to saute mode. Heat the milk to 180 F.
2. Once the button beeps remove the lid.
3. Cool the milk to 115 F. You can place the insert into an ice water bath or just stir until the milk is cooled to 115 F.
4. Ladle one cup of warm milk to a mixing bowl and add the yogurt starter, vanilla bean paste and condensed milk. Stir to combine.
5. Add the mixture back into the insert with the milk. Stir to combine.
6. Place the lid back on and do not turn it on! Let it sit at for 8-10 hours to incubate.
7. Once the 8-10 hours is up remove and place in the refrigerator to cool for at least 6 hours.

Greek Yogurt Version:

For a thicker yogurt variation you can incubate the yogurt longer (2 hours or so). You can also place the yogurt in a cheesecloth over a bowl.

Let it sit in the fridge for 1-2 hours to drain excess liquid. This will create a thicker style yogurt.

Instant Pot Yogurt Recipe:

Yield: Serves 10

Easy Instant Pot Yogurt With Flavor Variations

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Additional Time: 10 hours 8 seconds

Total Time: 10 hours 22 minutes 8 seconds

The best homemade easy Instant pot yogurt is so much better than the store bought stuff!

Print

Ingredients

• 8 cups whole milk
• 2 tablespoons yogurt “with live cultures”
• ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract

Instructions

1. Run the Instant Pot lid and insert through a heavy cycle in the dishwasher to sanitize.
2. Add the milk to the Instant Pot insert and seal with the lid. Turn the valve to venting.
3. Press the yogurt button until the pot reads boil.
4. When it begins to beep remove the lid.
5. Remove the insert from the instant pot. Check the temperature and stir until the temperature reads 115 F.
6. When the temperature reaches 115 F ladle one cup of the warm milk to a mixing bowl.
7. Add the yogurt to the warm milk along with the vanilla bean paste and sweetened condensed milk. Stir to combine.
8. There will be some lumps still and that’s ok.
9. Add the yogurt mixture back into the insert with the milk. Stir to combine.
10. Place the lid back on the pot. You don’t need to move the valve.
11. Press the yogurt button until the pot reads 8:00. Let the yogurt incubate for 8 hours.
12. Then remove the insert and place in the fridge for 6 hours.