Easy Homemade Yogurt Recipe

Learn how to make yogurt easily with your instant pot and this recipe! There is the option to make Greek yogurt, too!

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Homemade yogurt has never been easier to make than with an instant pot. Basically all you have to do is dump the ingredients in and push a button and let the instant pot do the rest.

I started looking into making my own yogurt because I love Greek yogurt, but Greek yogurt can get pricey especially if you are wanting organic yogurt. With this recipe, you can make regular yogurt or go one step further and easily turn it into Greek yogurt.

Are you ready to make your first batch of homemade yogurt?

Is it cheaper to make your own yogurt?

Yes, it can be cheaper to make your own yogurt. I started making my own yogurt because I wanted organic plain Greek yogurt. The cheapest price I could buy organic Greek yogurt was for a bit over $5, but I can buy enough organic milk to make the same amount of yogurt for $3.75.

If I was just making regular yogurt, I could make twice as much for $3.75, but for Greek yogurt, you strain out the whey to make it thicker. This cuts the amount of yogurt in half. 

Most of the time, the milk you buy to make yogurt with will be cheaper than the kind of yogurt you were trying to make especially if you want Greek yogurt.

What milk do you use to make yogurt with?

Any milk will work, but for nutritional value, raw milk is the best with pasteurized, but not homogenized in second, organic vitamin D whole milk in third, A2 milk in fourth, and a store brand in fifth.

For this homemade yogurt recipe, I’m using organic vitamin D, whole milk from Aldi. 

If you are using raw milk, I hear you need some kind of thickening agent like gelatin powder in order to get a thicker consistency. 

Is homemade yogurt better for you?

Homemade yogurt can be healthier because you have control over the type of cultures and ingredients. Most store-bought yogurts have too much sugar and additives like xanthan, compacting, and other things added to them.

Making your own yogurt at home gives you the freedom to control the sweetness (if you do choose to sweeten the whole batch) and to leave out any ingredients you would like to avoid.

What do you use for the starter culture?

You can either buy an actual yogurt starter culture or you can use some store-bought yogurt that has live cultures listed in the ingredient list. It has to be live cultures in order for the culture to culture the milk and turn it into yogurt.

Once you make a batch of yogurt, you can use some of that yogurt to go to the next batch instead of buying more. This is the beauty of making homemade yogurt.

What You Will Need

Tools:

• 6 quart Instant pot (with yogurt button)
• 1 c Measuring Cup
• Spoon
• Whisk
• Jars with lids or storage containers
• Canning funnel – If you are using jars, this comes in handy because it’s a funnel that is designed to fit in jars, but is wide enough to allow a large amount of stuff to fall through. 
• Ladle
• Greek yogurt strainer – This is only necessary if you want to make Greek yogurt otherwise you do not need to strain the yogurt. Any fine mesh strainer will do.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 gallon of whole milk
• 3/4 to 1 cup of yogurt – with live cultures

Instructions:

• Add milk to the Instant pot. 
• Add 2 to 3 big scoops of yogurt and whisk it to break up any clumps.
• Seal the Instant pot with the rubber seal on and the pressure valve set to pressure. 
• Push the yogurt button and drop the time down to six hours. You can definitely let it go for longer, if you don’t mind tangier or more sour yogurt.
• Once the time is up, open the Instant pot, and ladle the yogurt into your choice of containers and refrigerate. 
• To make Greek yogurt, add your homemade yogurt to a Greek yogurt strainer container and refrigerate allowing the yogurt to strain for 2 to 4 hours or overnight before transferring it into a jar or a container to store in the fridge. 

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