Easy And Simple Instant Pot Greek Yogurt Recipe

Name: Simple Instant Pot Yogurt
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 9 h
Total time: 1 d 3 h 30 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 gallon of milk (whole milk is recommended); 1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt with these 5 Strains of Live Active Cultures (Very Important) L. Bulgaricus, L. Acidophilus, and Bifidus; S. Thermophilus and L. Casei; optional add ins: honey and vanilla extract

byathomeontheprairie updatedJune 3, 2025

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Making simple homemade yogurt in an instant pot is one of the easiest ways to add budget friendly probiotics into your family’s diet. Follow these step by step instructions to make a gallon of thick and creamy Greek yogurt.

small glass jars with homemade plain yogurt in them and a spoon laying next to them

As a family of nine, we can easily go through about a gallon of yogurt a week. Aside from eating a cup of yogurt with most of our lunches, we add it to so many recipes! Parfaits, smoothies, baked oatmeal, overnight oats, fruit dip or in place of sour cream sometimes.

You have to try using homemade yogurt in my kids’ favorite healthy fudgesicle recipe!

If we were buying a gallon of yogurt from the store each week, we’d easily be spending $20 on it. That’s just not going to work with our budget!

Making homemade yogurt in the instant pot has been a game changer for our family. We can enjoy as much gut healthy yogurt as we want for a fraction of the cost of store-bought Greek yogurt. And it only takes a few minutes of hands on prep!

So, if you’ve been wondering whether or not an instant pot is worth buying, I say it definitely is! Even if you just used it for making yogurt, you could save hundreds of dollars a year switching to homemade.

My favorite way to enjoy yogurt is to sweeten it with maple syrup, top it with frozen berries and chunky homemade granola. So, so good.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Get my full disclosure here.

a spoonful of creamy plain yogurt held over a jar full of homemade yogurt

What you need to make simple instant pot yogurt

Ingredients

Milk – while you can use any cow’s or even goat’s milk to make yogurt, whole milk will give you the thickest and creamiest result. Using low fat milk does work, just not as well. Scroll down to read about using raw milk for instant pot yogurt.
Starter – yogurt starter contains the live cultures that will multiply and turn the milk into yogurt. I use a 1/2 cup of plain (or vanilla) Greek yogurt as my starter. Make sure the yogurt you use contains “live and active cultures”. Chobani and Fage are good choices.

supplies

Instant Pot – For this recipe, make sure your instant pot has a yogurt function button.
Thermometer – It’s important to use a thermometer when you heat up the milk to make sure it isn’t overheated, killing the bacteria needed to make yogurt.
Whisk – To mix the starter into the milk.
Colander – For a thicker yogurt that is the consistency of Greek yogurt, it needs to be strained.
Coffee Filters – I’ve tried a variety of methods for straining yogurt, and I’ve had the best success lining a colander with coffee filters. You can use cheesecloth if you’d rather.

How To Make Simple Instant Pot Yogurt

Prep – Make sure your instant pot smells clean and free of any smells from the last thing you made in it. Mine can smell like onions sometimes, so I always double check to make sure I won’t be making onion flavored yogurt! Pour milk into the inner pot of your instant pot and hook a thermometer onto the edge of the pot.

Heat the Milk – Press the “Sauté” button and let the milk heat until it reaches 180 degrees. Heating the milk kills bacteria that will keep it milk from turning into yogurt.

Did you know you can make yogurt without heating the milk? Read more about the cold start method in this post.

an instant pot of milk with a thermometer that reads 180 degrees

Cool – Remove the inner pot of the instant pot and let it sit on the counter until the milk has cooled down to room temperature or about 110 degrees. (this step can take a few hours)

Add the Starter – Set the inner pot back into the instant pot and pour in your yogurt culture. Lightly whisk the milk and starter together.

a spoonful of plain yogurt being poured into a bowl of milk in an instant pot

Use the Yogurt Setting – Remove the rubber gasket from the instant pot lid (to keep any other flavors from affecting the yogurt) and set the lid onto the instant pot. (you could just cover it with plastic wrap instead) No need to make sure it locks.

Press the yogurt button on the instant pot. Using the arrow buttons, set the time to 9 hours.

When the 9 hours are up and the instant pot beeps, remove the inner lining of the instant pot.

Strain the Yogurt – Set a large colander/strainer over a large bowl. Line the colander with coffee filters or cheesecloth. Pour all of the yogurt into the colander and let most of the excess liquid (whey) strain out so that your yogurt is nice and thick.

homemade yogurt being poured into a colander lined with coffee filters

This process can take awhile so it’s best to set the colander and bowl in the fridge. Let the yogurt strain for 12-24 hours until the consistency isn’t runny anymore and it’s looking almost as thick as sour cream or cream cheese.

Flavor the Yogurt (optional) – When the consistency is right. Put the yogurt in a bowl and stir in honey and vanilla extract to taste.

Tips For Success

To Serve – Enjoy homemade yogurt the same way you would use store-bought. In smoothies, baked goods, parfaits or just by itself. Add honey and vanilla for a delicious, healthy snack.

To Store – Homemade yogurt can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Substitutions – Any cow’s or even goat’s milk can be used to make instant pot yogurt. I recommend whole fat milk for the creamiest results.

Starter Options – After you make your first pot of yogurt, save 1/2 cup of yogurt to use as the starter for your next batch! Over time, the cultures in the yogurt will weaken, so you’ll have to use store-bought starter when that happens.

Variations – Make different flavored yogurts by stirring in jam or fruit.

why you should make your own yogurt

It’s absolutely delicious, thick and creamy with a tangy yogurt flavor. Sweeten it with honey or flavor it with vanilla to take it to the next level.
Homemade yogurt is actually healthier than store-bought that usually contains artificial thickeners, and additives.
It’s super simple and easy to make and once you make it once, you’ll make it regularly!
You can make your own yogurt for less than half the cost of the leading brand of store-bought Greek yogurt.
It only takes 2 simple ingredients: milk and a yogurt starter. That’s it!

FAQ About simple Instant Pot Yogurt

is it worth it to make yogurt in an instant pot?

Definitely! Homemade yogurt is so simple to make using only 2 ingredients. Not to mention it ends up being only a fraction of the cost of store-bought yogurt!

what can you use as a starter for instant pot yogurt?

There are several different kinds of starter you can use to make instant pot yogurt:

1/2 cup of store-bought yogurt that contains live and active cultures is the most common starter for making homemade yogurt.
1/2 cup of homemade yogurt can be saved from your batch of yogurt to use as a starter next time you want to make yogurt. After awhile the probiotic strains will get weaker and weaker and you will need to buy a fresh starter again.
premium probiotic powder can also be used as a starter. Make sure it contains these live and active cultures: Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streprococcus thermophilus, Bifidobacterium lactis or Lactobacillus acidophilus. A quality probiotic powder will require refrigeration.
leftover whey that was strained form your last batch of homemade yogurt. Don’t throw that yellow liquid away! It’s full of probiotics and can even be used to make another batch of yogurt!

what can you do with leftover whey liquid?

Whey is the yellowish liquid you’re left with after straining homemade yogurt. You might be frustrated with how much whey you get compared to yogurt, but don’t be! Whey is high in vitamin B, calcium and probiotics.

Here are some ways to use whey (pun intended):

in place of water or milk in baked goods
in place of buttermilk
smoothies
in baked oatmeal recipes
pancakes and waffles
in sourdough bread
as starter for making yogurt
to make certain cheeses
in overnight oats recipes
soak chicken feed in whey
freeze for later

a colander set on top of a bowl, lined with coffee filters. The colander is full of homemade yogurt

what kind of milk can you use to make instant pot yogurt

Any kind of cow’s or goat’s milk can be used to make instant pot yogurt. While you can use either whole, 2% or skim milk, whole milk will give you the best results.

The higher the fat content in the milk you use to make yogurt, the sweeter and more consistent texture you will get.

why do you heat the milk before making yogurt?

Heating the milk to 180 degrees F kills any bad bacteria that might be present in the milk. This way only the good bacteria is cultured during the yogurt making process.

Taking this extra step also gives you a creamier, less runny yogurt.

can you use raw milk to make instant pot yogurt?

Raw cow’s or even goat’s milk can be used to make instant pot yogurt. Store-bought milk has undergone a process called pasteurization that is essentially heating it to a temperature of 180 degrees to slow the growth of bacteria and extend it’s shelf life.

While pasteurization does make milk safer to drink, it’s been proven to make it harder to digest.

To maintain all the benefits of using raw milk, it isn’t necessary to heat the milk to 180 degrees like it is with pasteurized milk. Raw milk just needs to be heated to 110 degrees before adding the starter.

an instant pot of homemade yogurt witha spoon stuck in it to show how thick it is

why did my instant pot yogurt fail?

There are a few different reasons why your yogurt might not have turned out:

The milk was not heated high enough. Pasteurized milk needs to be heated to 180 degrees F and raw milk to 110 degrees.
The milk was cooled down too quickly. Even thought it might be tempting to cut down on the time it takes to make yogurt by cooling the heated milk down in the fridge, doing this will give you a runnier result.
Not using enough starter.
The yogurt you used as a starter, did not contain all of the active cultures needed to make yogurt. Make sure your starter contains: Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streprococcus thermophilus, Bifidobacterium lactis or Lactobacillus acidophilus.

why is my instant pot yogurt so sour?

Yogurt that has been cultured too long on the yogurt setting will taste extra sour since the bacteria in the yogurt starter turns the milk sugars (or lactose) into lactic acid.

The longer you leave the milk at room temperature in the instant pot, the less lactose will be left in it, making your yogurt less sweet and more sour.

More easy Instant Pot Recipes

Pin these steps to try later. Tag @athomeontheprairie on Instagram to share what you’ve made with us!

Simple Instant Pot Yogurt

Yield: 1/2 gallon of yogurt

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 9 hours

Straining Time: 18 hours

Total Time: 1 day 3 hours 30 minutes

Making Greek Yogurt in the Instant Pot is one of the easiest ways to add budget friendly probiotics into your family's diet. Just follow these simple steps to end up with an entire gallon of thick and creamy yogurt with only 10 minutes of active prep time!