Instant Pot Greek Yogurt Recipe

March 27, 2018Van

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 10 hours

Serves: 6

Greek Yogurt is one of the most popular styles of yogurt — it’s thick, creamy and has that lovely tart yogurt flavor. Beyond the glorious taste and texture, it packs a nutritious punch found in few foods. With a high protein content and low sugar—plus all those great probiotics—this is a must make for your family. Top it with some granola clusters, fresh fruit or a drizzle of fresh honey to make your morning extra sweet.

I’ll teach you the traditional way of making yogurt here—heat to 180°F to alter one of the main whey proteins (lactoglobulin) which allows the yogurt to thicken when culturing. Next let the milk cool to 115°F before adding the yogurt cultures—which are sensitive to heat and will expire in heat above this range. Make sure you’re actively monitoring the temperature with a kitchen thermometer to avoid killing all that good bacteria that creates your yogurt. I think this method creates the most delicious yogurt!

If you want to skip all the temperature monitoring, you can use Ultra-Pasteurized Milk, it has already been pre-heated to 280°F so you don’t need to boil it before using it to make yogurt.

You can use a yogurt starter powder or buy any plain yogurt from the grocery store that has live cultures to make yogurt. Make sure you check the label and verify that the ingredients only include milk and live cultures, these are the most common yogurt cultures: Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidus, and Lactobacillus casei. Choose a yogurt that you enjoy eating as your starter because the yogurt you make with it will share similarities in taste and texture with your starter yogurt. Oui and Fage make very mild tasting yogurt, while Siggis or Trader Joe’s Greek will create a tarter yogurt.

Euro Cuisine Greek Yogurt Strainer (click here to purchase one)
Instant Pot Greek Yogurt Recipe

After 10 Minutes of Straining Instant Pot Greek Yogurt Recipe

Strained Overnight, ended up with 4 Cups of Yogurt and strained out 4 Cups of whey Instant Pot Greek Yogurt Recipe

Instant Pot Greek Yogurt Recipe

Be sure to click on the accessories list below to get the most out of your Instant Pot.

Instant Pot Greek Yogurt Recipe

March 27, 2018 Van

Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 10 hours

Serves: 6

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Ingredients

½ Gallon Milk (8 Cups)
1 Tablespoon Plain Yogurt with active cultures

Supplies

Kitchen Thermometer
Yogurt Strainer

Method

1)
Place ½ Gallon of Milk into your Instant Pot. Press the Yogurt button, then hit adjust so it says ” boil” on the screen. Close the lid and check the temperature with a kitchen thermometer in 25 minutes, if it’s at 180°F or above turn off the Instant Pot and let it cool to 110°F. You can place the liner into a cold water bath in the sink to help cool it faster.

*If the temperature is not at 180°F, press cancel, choose “Saute”, then press adjust so it’s on the “less” setting. Check every 5 minutes or so, once it hits 180°F turn off the Instant Pot and let it cool to 110°F.

**If you’re using Ultra-Pastuerized milk you can skip heating the milk and just do Step #2.
2)
Use a large spoon or mesh strainer to remove the film that formed on top of the milk. Place 1 Tablespoon of Plain yogurt into a bowl with a ¼ Cup of the cooled milk, using a whisk, mix it extremely well so there are no lumps. Pour the yogurt and milk mixture into your Instant Pot. Stir the milk so the yogurt is evenly distributed, and try to avoid scraping the bottom of the pot — there’s usually milk solids that form on the bottom of your pot that could give your yogurt a gritty texture.

*If you like sweetened yogurt, you can add the sweeteners at this time. You can add ½ – ¾ Cups of Sugar, Honey, Agave, Maple or Sweetened Condensed Milk. Whisk very well so it’s evenly distributed, especially if you’re using Sweetened Condensed Milk.
3)
Press the Yogurt button and make sure that it’s on “Normal” – set it for 10 hours. When the timer is up, taste your yogurt to see if you like the tartness level, if you want it more tart, set it for a few more hours. I have done anywhere from 12-20 hours.
4)
You can place the liner into the refrigerator to cool or gently pour the yogurt into a large glass bowl, refrigerate for about 3 hours so it can set before you strain it.
5)
If you’re using a Euro Cuisine Yogurt Strainer, simply pour the yogurt into the mesh basket, seal with the lid and place it in the refrigerator for about 12 hours to strain. You can also use a large nut milk bag, fine cheese cloth or coffee filters in a colander and place it over a large bowl to strain. About 12 hours of straining will give you Greek Yogurt, strain a little longer if you like you’re yogurt extra thick or you can strain it for a shorter amount of time if you prefer a lighter texture.
6)
When the yogurt is done straining, whisk to get it smooth and store in a lidded container.

You can save 1 Tablespoon from this batch to make your next batch of yogurt – you can do this 2-3 times before needing to use a brand new starter.