How to Make Cold Start Yogurt in an Instant Pot with no Yogurt Button

You absolutely CAN make cold-start yogurt in your Instant Pot even if it doesn't have a Yogurt button. Just follow these easy step-by-step instructions and you will have delicious, creamy, homemade yogurt any time you want it! No sugars or sweeteners added (although you can sweeten after making).

[@ShortPlusSizeMe]

Tip if anyone else strains their yogurt, you can pour the whey into a muffin pan and freeze portions of it. It works well as the starter on the next batch.

[@squidben5780]

What quantity would you put of whey back into bext batch, same as yogurt or more ??

[@ShortPlusSizeMe]

@@squidben5780 I use two when I make a pot. Make sure you thaw your portion in the fridge before you add it to the scalded milk.

[@WenhuiSun]

Thank you!

[@mishelsmith2003]

Turned out great. Thanks

[@MakeAheadMealMom]

Excellent - I'm so glad!! :)

[@jenniferbutturini9865]

My first batch came out perfect and each batch since has been runny. :( I've used fresh starter each time. Do you let the temperature go down to 100 degrees before you put it back in the instant pot and seal it? It looked like it was around 107 when you put it in and sealed it. Thank you for making this video!

[@scrane5500]

Was given an instant pot for Christmas so will definitely try this but plant-based as I have a family history of cancer and need to avoid all the estrogen in dairy--thanks for posting

[@MakeAheadMealMom]

This method also works for making dairy-free coconut milk yogurt, too. ;) You will need gelatin though and a non-dairy yogurt starter or probiotic with live cultures.

[@muzikmon2267]

What does the ceiling mean on the lid ( does that mean it's sealed with no pressure? )

[@MakeAheadMealMom]

Yes, seal the vent like you would when you pressure cook. But it will not build pressure. It's just to help keep the heat from escaping.

[@amandaland1330]

Thanks for the video! I tried my first batch of IP yogurt last night and unfortunately it didn't turn out. After 8 hrs of incubation it was runny and grainy. I used a thermometer so the temps were correct, the only thing I did differently was use non-organic whole milk and a powdered yogurt starter instead of store bought. Maybe I should have let it incubate longer? Any insight on what went wrong? Thanks :)

[@MakeAheadMealMom]

Generally when it doesn't culture and thicken, the first thing to look at is your starter. In most cases where mine has failed, this has generally been the culprit. I've only used a powdered starter once before and it didn't work well. I've tested several probiotic pills (which is almost essentially the same as a powdered yogurt starter) and of the 6 brands I have tried so far, only ONE has actually worked...that should give you an idea of how finicky this stuff can be unfortunately. The grainy part is also indicative of there being an issue with your starter perhaps, or an additive in the milk or starter that conflicted with culturing. When my first batch fails to culture, I usually rerun it with a different (or new) starter. But there can be a food safety issue, so I don't necessarily recommend that without boiling for the second batch to kill off any bad bacteria that might have gotten in (although if you've left your batch sealed in the pot you should be okay). However, if it was grainy, I would not try to rerun it. I have had the best luck with using commercially bought yogurt as starter - I usually use Fage 3% or 5%. The fresher the better. The organic vs. non-organic shouldn't be a concern, as long as you make sure the milk is UHT pasteurized. If it wasn't, then that could also be factoring in to why it didn't work (the UHT milk is processed at ultra-high-temp which not only pasteurized the milk but also changes the protein structure of milk a bit which in turn aids in culturing). But usually in that case it will still culture, but will just be a thinner yogurt. So if it's still runny like normal milk, it's most likely your starter didn't grow for some reason. I'm so sorry - I know how frustrating that can be, especially after having to wait so long only to find out it didn't work! Making yogurt is "technically" easy (meaning it doesn't involve a lot of technically complicated steps) but it is definitely finicky!

[@amandaland1330]

Make Ahead Meal Mom Thank you so much for such a thorough answer! Since my ingredients were going to waste anyways I did end up doing a second run out of curiosity. I used the same starter bc that was all I had on hand at the time, and I allowed it to culture for 12 hours. After straining the result was the texture of ricotta with a Greek yogurt flavor, so the flavor was correct at least. I’m going to try again with a different milk and starter ☺️ I enjoyed the experiment even though it didn’t turn out and now that I see that the process isn’t too hard. Any ideas of what I could do with the extra powdered starter I have left? I have a whole unopened box.

[@MakeAheadMealMom]

@@amandaland1330 You could try a different milk with that same powdered starter (use a small amount of milk in case it doesn't turn out) to help narrow down whether it was the starter or the milk. If you can get your hands on Fairlife milk, that is the gold standard for cold start, so if the powder doesn't work with the Fairlife, then it is almost definitely the powder. If it DOES work with Fairlife, then the other milk was likely the problem. Or you could store the powdered starter in your fridge for a few days while you do a batch or two with a different milk and starter, and once you get a batch working, you could then go back and try a new batch with the powdered starter again to see if it works any better.

[@marymurphy1393]

Is your temperature in Celsius or Fahrenheit? I'm living in Ireland and we use Celsius

[@mukulseth]

This is in Fahrenheit. You want it around 43.5°C - 46°C.

[@mariahlima8655]

Have you ever added sweetener before making it, such as agave or condensed milk? Or do you need to make it plain because it is not made with a yogurt button?

[@MakeAheadMealMom]

I add maple syrup for sweetener, and I do add it before I set it to incubate.

[@carlalambert9686]

I have Added sweeten condensed milk on numerous occasions and it turns out good

[@gagaloo83]

I'm trying this for the first time right now 😬 could you put fruit in before it incubates? I added some vanilla and sweetened condensed milk ( 1/4 can) before I put a lid on and covered it.

[@MakeAheadMealMom]

It is best to leave fruit and other flavorings out until after the yogurt has incubated, as it can potentially interfere. Sweeteners like the condensed milk are fine to add before, as that is a sugar source for the bacteria.

[@gagaloo83]

Thanks! I used 3% and set the time for 8 1/2 hours. I'll be able to check it in 40 minutes 😁

[@rddav1]

What's with the towels/heavy blanket? Curious minds wants to know!

[@schellby7207]

I know this is an older question, but it helps keep the heat in long enough for the incubation period to work. (That's what I have been told)

[@MakeAheadMealMom]

Yup, what Schellby said - it is insulation to help keep the heat in long enough for the yogurt to culture. It isn't absolutely necessary, but helps. If you make it without the towel or blanket, you'll just need to increase your incubation time a bit.

[@ThomasMendenhall]

is ultra pasteurized the same thing as ultra high temp? I used Fage 5% bought same day into a gallon of ultra pasteurized labeled milk and got a kind of runny yogurt.

[@ThomasMendenhall]

let sit for 24hrs as well.

[@MakeAheadMealMom]

UHT is the method for pasteurizing shelf-stable milk. It is often referred to just as ultra-pasteurized, but I'm not sure if that is correct in every situation - I'd need to go look through the FDA labeling rules to verify. The yogurt can be runny after processing and will usually firm up once refrigerated overnight. If not, there was something preventing the bacteria in the yogurt from working as efficiently. Yogurt is "simple" in that there are only a few steps, but it is actually a very technical chemical process and a lot of things can go wrong and it can be hard to diagnose what happened. You can run the batch one more time with a bit more yogurt if you want to see if that helps.

[@ThomasMendenhall]

@@MakeAheadMealMom Thanks for the reply! Will try again!

[@muzikmon2267]

Why does the milk have to be all high temp pasteurized is this because it doesn't have a yogurt button?

[@MakeAheadMealMom]

When you make yogurt, you need to take it first to 180F to kill off any competing bacteria so the yogurt bacteria will have a sterile environment in which to grow (and the high temp helps denature the milk proteins). If you use UHT pasteurized milk, you can skip that temp, because the UHT process goes well above the 180F mark and has already done that step for you. If you don't use UHT milk, you'll need to start by heating your milk over 180F. That is called the traditional "boil method". If you use UHT pasteurized milk and skip that step, then it is called the "cold start" method.

[@cskye6529]

Well wrapping it in a blanket I could do with any pot in a stove. I thought maybe Instant Pots you could set the temperature on them.

[@MakeAheadMealMom]

Yes, this is really no different than how you would do it on the stove. (That is how I did it before my IP when I made yogurt.) For Instant Pots that HAVE a yogurt button, yes, you can set it with the programmed button and it keeps the temp so no need for a towel. For the higher end models you can set the temp, too. But for the Lux models that do not have a yogurt button, this is about your only option. But like you said, this isn't really any different than just doing it on the stove. I have tried doing it in the Lux model with using the Keep Warm setting, but it is meant to keep food at 140F or higher, which is too high for yogurt (it kills the bacteria).

[@cskye6529]

@@MakeAheadMealMom Yeah 140 is too high. So the digital display is just for the timer? I thought maybe you could choose the temperature on it. What about rice cooking. What temperature does that drop down to once the rice is done?

[@MakeAheadMealMom]

@@cskye6529 some models you can adjust the temp, but that’s for sous vide cooking usually, although it could potentially work for yogurt if the temps went low enough. But most models that have a sous vide function also have a yogurt function. It’s really only the Lux model I think that doesn’t have the yogurt option. I do have a model with the adjusting temperature and I’ll give it a try with the yogurt. To my knowledge, anytime the Keep Warm setting is on, the pot will hold at 140F (lowest safe temp for holding food). So if you cook rice and then it finishes and goes to Keep Warm, it is holding the temp to 140F or slightly above.

[@cskye6529]

@@MakeAheadMealMom ok thanks. I just tried yogurt again with my pressure cooker and feathering (constantly adjusting) the burner temperature and kept it around 107 degrees but it still ended up runny.

[@muzikmon2267]

Okay let me explain to you my situation and it didn't work.. hope you can help me :-) I used one gallon of milk brought it to 180° on the sear mode on my neutrapot pressure cooker.. There was some scalding on the bottom or you can say Browning of the milk but I strained that and got rid of it.. Then I cool the pot down with cool water on the outside of it.. When it reached about 110°, I put my yogurt in it brand new unopened from the fridge. it was plain Greek yogurt that said live and active cultures they were five cultures listed no other ingredients. I put a little bit over two tablespoons into the gallon of milk stirred it in. Did the exact same thing that you did let it sit for 9 hours.. absolutely no yogurt happen it was just milk.. So then I read an article about you can try it again bring it up to 115° and do it over.. so I did just that but this time I put four tablespoons in because it was a gallon of milk maybe a little bit more. Let it sit overnight for 9 hours when I opened it up about half the pot was yogurt not thick though and the other half look like a half gallon of whey because of the color.. So I put put the cover back on it was sealed again now I'm going to wait another four hours I'm wondering if you have a gallon of milk do you need twice as much yogurt and have to wait twice as long, meaning instead of 9 hours you have to wait 18 hours? FYI THIS IS THE YOGURT I USED www.amazon.com/dp/B00K1XKUYM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_6ZPQFb5XF7JTS

[@MakeAheadMealMom]

I'm so sorry - that is very frustrating! I will do whatever I can to help! I'll respond here, but if you'd like more indepth explanations or want to troubleshoot further, feel free to email me at makeaheadmealmom at gmail dot you-know-the-rest. ;) I need additional information - were you trying to use the boil method or the cold-start method? And what type of milk were you using? (Organic, whole, 2%, UHT?) From what you have explained, I think that something was off with your starter. The live bacteria were either dead or dying. I have seen that happen with unopened yogurt from the store. It can happen as a result of several things (sitting too long on the shelf at the store, big temperature swings in transport from factory to store, etc.). It sounds like you have done everything right. I would try a different starter (different brand) and check the best buy date to find one that is as new as possible. And rather than risk an entire gallon, try just a half gallon. You can still use the 2tbsp of starter without a problem. This one is a little puzzling as it sounds like the first time it didn't culture, and then the second time it actually over cultured (when you have a lot of whey)! It could be that the first batch just needed longer - if you are doing cold start you should be cultured by about 9-10 hours. But you said you heated the milk to 180F which is only done if you are doing the boil method and not using UHT milk. IF you are doing the boil method, the protein content of the milk is not as high and it will need longer to culture, so culture time on a batch of boil method yogurt in an IP with no yogurt button will be closer to 10-12 hours. It's possible your batch needed more time. And then when you heated it again and added more starter, it kick started it but then went too far as there was too much bacteria and it ran out of food. (Hard to tell without seeing the end result in person). Yogurt is "easy" in the sense that there aren't a lot of steps involved, but it is SUPER finicky! It is basically a chemistry experiment, and there are many different variables that factor in to it - get one wrong by a little bit and the whole thing fails. While frustrating (and a pain to have to waste ingredients and time to no avail), if you keep at it I know you'll get it. I've been doing homemade yogurt since before digital pressure cookers were around (I've made it in crock pots and even just using the stovetop) and I still occasionally have a batch that fails on me. ;) Email me and we can talk more details and narrow down what might be causing issues.

[@rr.annisawitasari]

What the temperature unit do you use,fahrenheit or celcius?

[@precious72021]

I think it’s Fahrenheit

[@andrearobinson2512]

It is Fahrenheit.

[@rr.annisawitasari]

@@precious72021 thank you

[@rr.annisawitasari]

@@andrearobinson2512 thank you

[@MakeAheadMealMom]

Yes, Fahrenheit. I'm so sorry I overlooked specifying that.

[@staceywilliamson8300]

I followed your directions exactly and it didn’t work 😩 at 9 hours with whole milk it was still very very runny. Any tips or tricks? I’d love to make this work!

[@MakeAheadMealMom]

Oh no! I have had that happen, and it is usually my starter. Don't give up. Try a smaller batch (so you don't waste too much milk) and a different starter yogurt. If possible, one you have gotten that day at the store. Also, double check that you are hitting the correct temps. Even just a degree or two above 120 and the bacteria can die. You can try to re-culture the batch that didn't set by putting in different yogurt starter and letting it go another round, but you'll need to get a different start as that is the most likely culprit. I had one fail just a couple weeks ago because my yogurt had been in the fridge too long. Got new stuff and made another batch the next day and no problems. Yogurt is technically 'easy' but it is VERY finicky sometimes!

[@Dashitishere22]

@@MakeAheadMealMom thanks for the helpful info! I'll be retrying with some live cultures next

[@MakeAheadMealMom]

@@Dashitishere22 Definitely let me know how it goes! Keeping fingers crossed it works for you!

[@Adeline9418]

I'll be using shelf stable unsweetened soy milk.

[@MakeAheadMealMom]

Generally those will not work - there are additives in there that prevent culturing/thickening. :( The only soy milk that I've had any success with is homemade. (If you find a brand that does work, let me know as I often have people ask but haven't found any that seem to work yet!!) But you can use canned coconut milk! We make that regularly. The process is slightly different though as you will need to add a thickener. Let me know if interested and I can send you the recipe and instructions for coconut milk yogurt using the cold start method.

[@ShortPlusSizeMe]

I have used soy milk but you do want one that is the least number of ingredients. Eden soy and pacific soy are pretty good.

[@ShortPlusSizeMe]

The silk brand I tried was a disappointment.

[@joelewandowski8232]

I guess I should've watched your video before trying to make my first batch ( it failed )

[@MakeAheadMealMom]

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that. Making yogurt is technically "easy" in that there aren't a lot of steps, but it can be VERY finicky and is a delicate chemistry experiment, and if just one thing goes wrong or is off a little, the entire batch can fail. I've had it happen more times than I can count. If you would like some help, feel free to reach out at "candi at makeaheadmealmom dot com" and I'll try my best to answer any questions.

[@muzikmon2267]

Why do you have to put a blanket around it?

[@MakeAheadMealMom]

The blanket helps insulate the pot and keep it warmer - you need a warm environment for the yogurt bacteria to grow in. As it cools down, it takes longer to culture, so keeping it warmer for longer helps it culture faster. You could leave the blanket off entirely, you would just need to let it culture for a bit longer, that's all.

[@rodell100]

That’s a lot of work. Buying machine that has a yogurt button.

[@Joy-en8nj]

well, things cost money.

[@MakeAheadMealMom]

It's really only a step or two more than the other machines with the yogurt button. But when people ask, I always tell them to make sure to get a model with the Yogurt button if their budget will allow. ;) Just easier that way. This video is really just for those who bought earlier models without the Yogurt function and want to still try it without having to buy a new IP. Not that having multiple IPs is bad...because more IPs means more cheesecakes! ;)