Instant Pot Homemade Greek Yogurt

I love Greek yogurt. I actually make a “batch” every weekend and eat it every day (yes, sometimes twice). Using the Instant Pot and its yogurt setting, it’s super easy to whip up a batch on the weekend to have throughout the work week. Hubs is finally realizing that it will never again be feasible for him to walk through the kitchen on the weekend.

Can we also talk about how much I love my Instant Pot? I love the idea that one appliance has so many uses. I KNOW you can get appliances specifically designed to make yogurt, but my house is small and cabinet space is a premium (my bread machine gets stored lying on its back, folks). I have the 7-in-1 version, but there’s also a 9-in-1 version. I highly recommend you get the additional lids and for this recipe, I used this one (here). Make sure you get the size that’s right for your pot.

I found a mesh strainer on Amazon (here) that has a two-fold purpose. I use it to strain the skin that forms on the milk and then again to strain the whey off the yogurt to create Greek style yogurt. If you like a less thick yogurt, you can skip that step and have regular yogurt instead.

I always use whole milk. I prefer milk from local dairies, if available, and there are two in my State that are in my local grocery store. If they are sold out, I go for the organic milk from Walmart, Horizon. It is ultra-pasteurized which allows you to skip the step of bringing the milk to scalding and then cooling back down. I still bring the milk to 105 degrees Fahrenheit before adding my culture, however, and strain it to remove the skin that forms which is made of thickened protein and called lactoderm (what else?). If you are using a purchased, dehydrated culture, they recommend you avoid the ultra-pasteurized milks and I usually do as well.

My preferred yogurt for a starter culture is the Fage brand. I use the 5% which is the full fat version. I read somewhere that you could also use kefir (pronounced kuh-feer) and I tried that as well. It was pretty bad. It made something on the order of a soured-bitter milk and I couldn’t eat it. I tried telling myself it was fine, but ended up throwing the whole batch out and I actually DO like kefir. If you are out there and using kefir, you are MUCH more holistic than I am. I believe the take-away here is your end product will taste like whatever culture you choose, so use your favorite, plain, unflavored yogurt brand as a starter. You can use a previous batch, but the culture will get weaker with each iteration, so this will probably only work once for you.

Dehydrated cultures can be purchased from Amazon. Keep in mind that if you purchase a Greek yogurt culture, this does not mean you don’t have to strain it to get the thick, Greek-style yogurt that you love. I hope the person that held up the little jar of white slime in the reviews will read this. Yogurt is just yogurt until you strain the whey and then it’s Greek yogurt. I don’t use these cultures because of both cost and convenience.

I usually eat my yogurt plain, but occasionally add honey and lemon to make a cheesecake flavored yogurt or honey and vanilla, or honey, vanilla, and chocolate—you get the idea. Sprinkling granola over the top gives you a yummy way to get a few carbs in the morning for breakfast. You can add fresh fruit for a great breakfast or dessert without having all the gooey, syrupy fruit in the store bought versions.

I’ve discovered yogurt, especially the Greek style, is a great substitute for sour cream. I use it in recipes like ranch dip/dressing (here), dill sauce (here), and cucumber salad (here) and put it on tacos and baked potato, or anywhere else I might want sour cream added.

But, how much do you actually save by making your own Greek yogurt? Only pennies because you lose substantial volume when you drain the whey. A small bonus is that re-using your own jars and buying milk in recyclable jars moves you closer to your zero-waste and sustainability objectives. So, in spite of not having any substantial impact on my grocery bill, I will continue my little weekly routine because it is truly effortless with the Instant Pot and there are no store bought brands that rival its taste and texture.