Instant Pot Yogurt Recipe (Step-By-Step)

5 from 7 votes

Making yogurt at home is easier than what you think. This instant pot yogurt recipe is easy to follow and gives you the creamiest yogurt.

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time10 10

Course: Basic

Cuisine: American, Mediterranean

Servings: servings

Make sure your instant pot (the inner pot, the lid and the ring) is completely clean. Rinse the inner pot with hot water and dry it. Place it back in the instant pot.
Pour the milk into the instant pot and adjust the lid. The valve can be either on sealing or venting.
Press the yogurt button on the instant pot and adjust it so the screen reads "boil".
Let the instant pot heat the milk. This will take about 60 to 90 minutes. Once it's ready, the instant pot will beep.
Take the lid off, and place the inner pot into an ice bath (a large bowl filled with ice water.
Place an instant read thermometer into the milk and read the temperature. It should show around 170 -180F.
Slowly stir the milk until the thermometer reads between 105 and 110F.
Take out 1/2 cup of the milk and mix it with 1/4 cup yogurt.
Return the yogurt and milk mixture back to the milk in the pot and stir.
Place the inner pot into the instant pot again (dry the pot first).
Press the yogurt button again and adjust it to 8 hours.
Let the instant pot do its work and once the 8 hours is finished, your yogurt is ready.
Cool for an hour in the fridge and then store it in glass or plastic containers.

You can also use 2% milk to make homemade instant pot yogurt recipe. Please don't use skim milk as the texture will be runny.
If you would like to make Greek yogurt, you need to strain the instant pot yogurt:
- Place a strainer on top of a bowl.
- Line the strainer with two layers of cheesecloth.
- Pour the yogurt into the strainer and let the whey drip out for at least one hour. If you like a denser yogurt, you can leave the yogurt and strainer with the bowl in the fridge for the whey to drip for up to 8 hours.
- Once the yogurt has reached your desired consistency, whisk it and store it. This yogurt is going to be smooth and quite dense.
You can sweeten the yogurt before serving with some honey or maple syrup.