Thick Instant Pot Greek Yogurt & Regular Yogurt Recipes

Thick Instant Pot Greek Yogurt is so simple to make. This creamy and smooth Greek Yogurt will save you so much money. Make some yogurt in 9 easy steps!

Instant Pot Greek Yogurt (photo by Beth Braznell)

Once! One time is all it takes and you will never buy yogurt again. Instant Pot Greek Yogurt will have you jumping for joy. Only two ingredients are needed to make incredible Instant Pot Greek Yogurt in the Instant Pot Smart DUO or Instant Pot DUO. Only a few steps and some patience and knowledge, will get you there fast.

Directions for the Instant Pot Smart DUO60 and Instant Pot Smart DUO60 are identical. For Yogurt made in a GoWise 8 Quart Pressure Cooker, please see my GoWISE USA Greek Yogurt Recipe.

Directions for the Instant Pot Ultra, Instant Pot Smart, Instant Pot DUO and DUO Plus are all found on the COMPLETE RECIPE CARD following the pictorial narrative.

Fresh Berry Yogurt Parfait

Fresh fruit, Agave and a sprinkle of Orange Ginger Pecan Granola makes a delicious Parfait. I also love Fresh Berry Compote with Instant Pot Greek Yogurt and more often than not, I add a couple of Tablespoons of my Fresh Berry Compote and/or Lemon Curd to the bottom of 15-16 Kerr Half Pint (8 oz) Mason Jars and then fill up the jars with the thick yogurt and store in my refrigerator.

Instant Pot Greek Yogurt is cost effective. If I bought single containers of yogurt, it would cost about a dollar a container and that is for only 6 oz!

Big savings, plus, the taste of this homemade yogurt is divine. A wonderful Grab and Go breakfast!

Mason Jars full of Dannon Dutch Apple Yogurt

After reading about yogurt failures, I did extensive experimentation to recreate and figure out all the issues, so that you will have great Yogurt on your first try.  Many people assume that when your Instant Pot Pressure Cooker beeps after the boil cycle, the temperature is 180 degrees. It doesn’t always happen.

Just an FYI – This post with these tips/tricks/findings/method are all my unprecedented and original work from February 2016.

While many think it is not imperative to get your yogurt to 180 degrees, I am here to tell you that you will have better results. In fact, my best and thickest yogurt is when the milk reaches 182-185 degrees.

Granola and Strawberry Compote Yogurt Parfait

Pressure Cooker Fresh Strawberry Compote is my husband’s favorite way to eat Instant Pot Greek Yogurt

He did not like that I put granola on his and promptly removed it!

It’s also really important to stir the milk before taking the temperature, to avoid hot spots and an inaccurate reading. This could be one of the reasons you are having a failure, assuming that is what is happening.

Another reason for failure has to do with the setting of the time for the yogurt to incubate.  It is important you understand about the buttons and how they work.

Instant Pot DUO + Milk + Starter

Start by sterilizing your Instant Pot cooking pot.  Pour 3 cups of water into the cooking pot and run it through the Steam Cycle for about 5 minutes.  {Full Directions are at the end of this Article.}

It is important to start with a cold pot, so that your milk won’t scorch on the bottom and have trouble getting up to temperature.  Allow the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker itself to cool down naturally or pop it in the fridge for a few minutes.

Type of Milk and or Starter (culture) plays a role.  Ultra Pasteurized Milk is heated to 280 degrees, which kills about 99.9 percent of the bacteria needed to properly culture yogurt, so therefore, it doesn’t generally set up well.  Milk labeled “Organic” is most likely Ultra Pasteurized.

The “Starter” you use for the yogurt is very important too. The first time making yogurt, purchase a high quality container of yogurt containing milk and live active cultures; nothing more, nothing less.

Some recipes call for powdered milk;  it’s a crutch and if prepared properly, you never need anything more than Milk and Yogurt Starter.

Homemade Yogurt Starter

After the first time making yogurt, you will have your own “Starter,” so make sure you save a little bit from each batch.  You should never need to purchase “Starter” again.  The starter can be frozen.  These King Size Ice Cube Trays (for starter) are the perfect size to hold 2 Tablespoons of starter.  They are perfect for Scotch on the Rocks! 😉

Yogurt is great in place of sour cream. Greek yogurt is higher in protein and lower in sugar because of the straining.  Your Whey can be used for my Instant Pot Yogurt Whey Dutch Oven Crusty Bread recipe!

I suggest making a really good and plain yogurt and adding in flavoring and sweeteners, before you eat. Many people save the whey for bread making so you probably don’t want flavored or sweetened Whey! For a delicious Noosa like recipe, try my Instant Pot Homemade Noosa Honey Yogurt Copycat recipe.

Here are some wonderful and sweet add-ins:

Pressure Cooker Fresh Berry Compote (Stewed Fruit)

Pressure Cooker Fresh Strawberry Compote

Pressure Cooker Easy Key Lime Curd

Homemade Orange Ginger Pecan Granola

Pressure Cooker Easy Lemon Curd

Pressure Cooker Dannon Dutch Apple Yogurt Compote

Pressure Cooker Fresh Peach Crisp Compote

Pressure Cooker Pumpkin Apple Butter

Pressure Cooker Orange Ginger Cranberry Sauce

Remove Frozen Starter Cube from Freezer

If you have previously frozen starter from your last batch of yogurt, remove one cube from the freezer, so that it will be defrosted by the time you need to add your starter.

Add Fresh Milk to the Instant Pot DUO

If you feel you want to use flavoring, like Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Beans prior to incubation, add it to the milk when you add your starter.

Please click the giant PINK BUTTON below to go to Page 2 (Detailed Printable Recipe follows the Step by Step Tutorial).