Canadian Beauty

This homemade Instant Pot greek yogurt recipe is so good and so easy, you’ll never want store-bought again.

Not only is my Instant Pot Greek Yogurt Recipe super easy and practically hands-off, it’s basically everything you never knew you needed! I originally posted this in 2019, and it’s still something I make at least once a month and one of my most read posts in the 10 years of this blog!

I use my greek yogurt recipe in loads of different recipes including overnight oats, naan bread and smoothies.

My daughter Everly loves it.

So I was thrilled when I realized that not only does my Instant Pot have a yogurt setting, but that its a super simple process that can be customized to your own tastes.

I’m going to use a cold method Greek Yogurt Recipe here (more on that shortly) and you’ll be shocked at how easy Instant Pot Greek yogurt is. It can even be made lactose-free!

INSTANT POT COLD METHOD GREEK YOGURT

There are two different ways to make yogurt with your Instant Pot.

One involves boiling the milk and then regulating the temperature. The other is kind of a ‘set it and forget it’ kinda recipe and you know that’s what I’m all about!

This is commonly referred to as the cold method or no boil method, and there are some very important factors involved in order to have your yogurt turn out.

Firstly, you need to choose a lactose-free, ultrafiltered or ultra-pasteurized milk.

This is the most important step in the whole recipe, and a make or break situation.

In Canada, we can get Fairlife and Natrel, which are both lactose-free, ultrafiltered milk that comes in a variety of percentages. I’ve used both, and found no difference between them, other than the Fairlife bottle measures to exactly the amount needed for the recipe which is handy dandy!

*FUN FACT* Because the filtration process, this type of milk is higher calcium and protein and lower in sugar! 

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• An Instant Pot that has the Yogurt Setting like this 6Qrt or 8 Qrt
• YOGURT STARTER*: This is just a 2 tbsp of your favourite greek yogurt. It’s extremely important to choose one that states it has active bacterial cultures in the ingredients. I’ve used Oikos, Olympic, Liberte and they’ve all worked fantastic. Choose a yogurt you already like the taste of. Once you make your own, you can use it as your starter!
• Ultra-Filtered/Pasteurized lactose-free Milk of choice – I chose Fairlife Skim for this recipe but have used 2% and 3% previously.
• A method to strain the yogurt in order to make it a rich, thick greek yogurt texture. You can use a strainer like this, I have the Euro Cuisine Yogurt Strainer one, but this greek yogurt strainer also looks great and nice and compact. You could even use a nut milking bag but choose something that can hold a decent capacity and can fit over a bowl to catch the excess whey!
• OPTIONAL: sweetener such as sweetened condensed milk (this can be skipped if you prefer your yogurt with no sweetness or like to sweeten per tastes).
• NOTE: using sweetened condensed milk does have lactose in it.

*For all future yogurt making you can freeze the yogurt you used in ice cube trays to use as future starters, or you can freeze some of the yogurt you make to use as the starter. Two ice cubes worth of frozen yogurt starter is perfect for the next pot (bring to room temp first)

HOW TO MAKE GREEK YOGURT IN YOUR INSTANT POT

The basics of Instant Pot Yogurt are so simple: Milk, starter and set it.

I prefer mine to go for 8 hours and 30 minutes for the perfect tangy treat, but you can generally set it for a minimum of 8 hours and a max of 10 should you like. I find the 8 hours and 30 minutes has a good tang (and I do like sour things!) so feel free to experiment!

Simply mix your starter, the milk and the sweetener if using and give it a good wisk to make sure it’s all completely incorporated.

Making a Half Recipe of Instant Pot Greek Yogurt

Halving this recipe is no problem, I’ve done it loads of times! I simply use the same amount of starter, but half the milk/sweetener. Easy!

Sweetened Instant Pot Yogurt

If you likeyour Greek yogurt sweetened like me, then this is where the sweetened condensed milk comes in. I prefer half a tin for a full batch of yogurt as I like mine just lightly sweetened. Again, more experimenting for your own tastes, but you can always sweeten afterwards with honey or maple syrup, fruit jams etc.

*If lactose is a concern for you, then you will want to skip the sweetened condensed milk. Some people have luck with Natural Bliss Coffee Creamer to sweeten their yogurt, but it isn’t something I’ve tried. I would simply leave the sweetener out and sweeten to taste after the yogurt has set.

Set it and forget it

Using the Yogurt setting on your Instant Pot, set the timer for how long you want to let your yogurt “brew”; I prefer 8 hours and 30 minutes.

You will also need to make sure your Yogurt setting is set to “Normal” for this method.

Chill and Strain

After your time is up, your yogurt will be warm and need overnight to chill and finish setting. I strain at the same time using my Euro Cuisine Yogurt Strainer which is 100% worth it in my option, but you could also use a nut milking bag or many layers of cheesecloth.

When your Instant Pot timer first goes off, your yogurt should be set up enough that you can still a spoon in it and it will hold straight up and down.

Enjoy

I love this easy greek yogurt on its own, in homemade tzatziki (unsweetened of course) and with my Quinoa Granola Recipe on top with some dried fruit.

It’s also amazing in smoothies, yogurt popsicles, in baking and don’t forget to freeze in ice cubes to carry forward some of your yogurt to be used as a starter!

I promise once you make your own Instant Pot Greek Yogurt, you’ll never want to go back! It’s rich, creamy and thick and sure to be a family favourite.