Out of all the meals in the day, breakfast can be the most challenging. Not because it is hard to make, but it is difficult to have much variety. And, I want breakfast to be reasonably filling and nutritious, since we are often doing manual labor around the homestead. My go-to breakfast is fried eggs. My toddler will eat 3 eggs for his breakfast, and be perfectly full and happy until lunch time. I also like to make Thai Sweet Chili Egg Bake, French toast with homemade bread, baked oatmeal, and a few other staples. One of these breakfast options is plain Instant Pot Yogurt from Raw Milk that we get at a neighboring farm.
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Why Use an Instant Pot to Make Yogurt from Raw Milk?
The Instant Pot keeps the fermenting milk at a constant temperature around 108-110 degrees, which is ideal for making yogurt. And, it will keep it at that temperature until the timer on the Instant Pot runs out. There are other yogurt makers out there that will do the same thing. But, then you have a separate appliance to store and manage. I love that I would own the Instant Pot anyway since I use it to make so many things (like Bone Broth), and the fact that it is also a Yogurt Maker is just a bonus.
Instant Pot Yogurt from Raw Milk is a great breakfast staple. It is a gut-healthy way to get probiotics, has protein, and is appropriate for pretty much any age group. You can sweeten it, use it in smoothies, or pile it with granola and fruit.
As I mention in my post “How to Keep Babies from Becoming Picky Eaters”, infants should be introduced to fermented foods before they turn 6 months old. Fermented foods have a uniquely sour flavor, and infants tolerate it much better if they acquire a taste for it early on. This Instant Pot Yogurt is a great way to do that. It does not require any chewing, and you can control the level of sourness by controlling how long you ferment it for. When I eat this yogurt, I prefer to sweeten it with a little maple syrup. But, my kids eat it straight or with just some fruit added to it.
Recipe for Instant Pot Yogurt from Raw Milk
First, pour half a gallon of Raw Milk into your Instant Pot.
Sterilizing the Raw Milk before making Instant Pot Yogurt
Then, press the Saute button. This turns on the burner at the bottom of the Instant Pot, which will heat your milk up so you can sterilize it. Obviously, the milk will no longer be raw once it is sterilized, but I just feel better about the original quality of the milk. Plus, farm-fresh milk tends to have way more cream than store-bought milk does.
Heat the milk to 180 degrees. Continue to heat the milk while whisking continually to keep it from scalding on the bottom of the pot. Check the temperature with a Thermometer every couple of minutes. Once it reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit, then turn the Instant Pot off and allow the milk to start cooling back down. Heating it kills off any existing bacteria. That way, you can use your culture to introduce exactly what bacteria you want to propagate in your yogurt.
Adding the Culture
Continue to allow the milk to cool down until it reaches 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, add your culture. You can use a scoop of an existing yogurt, or a culture packet. I prefer to use the culture packet to start with because it has three strains of good bacteria. Most store-bought yogurts only have one or two strains. Once you have a batch of yogurt though, then you can use that to culture future batches. However, I do recommend starting over with your culture every few times just to keep the integrity of the bacteria strains.
The photo below shows the culture I buy from our local health food store. It comes in 5g packets (6 packets to a box). 5 grams of culture will ferment one quart of yogurt. So, since I like to make a half gallon of yogurt at a time, I use 10 grams of culture.
Sprinkle the culture on top of the cooled milk, and whisk it until it is dissolved.
Now, Let’s Make this Instant Pot Yogurt from Raw Milk
Remove the silicone ring inside the Instant Pot lid. The Instant Pot does not seal or pressurize while making yogurt, so you do not need the Silicone Ring. And, if you cook a lot of beef, pork, and bone broth like I do, then your Silicone Ring will have a lingering aroma of these things. So, just put it aside until your yogurt is made.
Press the “Yogurt” button on your Instant Pot.
Set the timer to 8 hours. I only ferment my yogurt for 8 hours, because that is as sour as I like it. However, if you prefer a heavier sour flavor, then you can ferment it for 12-24 hours. The longer fermentation times can also help people who do not digest milk well. A 24 hour fermentation period can breakdown the milk components enough that they are more easily digestible. Although, if you have a true milk allergy, then this recipe is not for you.
Your Instant Pot Yogurt from Raw Milk is now Ready to Enjoy!
Once the timer is done, remove the lid and check to make sure the yogurt looks good. Stir it, and pour it into a container. I prefer using Half-Gallon Mason Jars and BPA-free Plastic Mason Jar Lids for storing my yogurt in the fridge. It will keep for at least 2 weeks.
This is my favorite way to serve our Instant Pot yogurt: with healthy granola and fresh fruit. These are some fresh Maine Blueberries from another neighboring farm.
Enjoy, and do not forget to Pin this Post for Later.
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Ball Half-Gallon Jars, Wide Mouth