You only need two ingredients to turn soy milk into Instant Pot yogurt. It could not be easier. Join me, as I spill all of my yogurt-making tricks!
When I got my Instant Pot last year, one thing I was sure I'd never use was the yogurt function. We have so many good vegan yogurts on store shelves, why bother making my own? Oh how wrong I was!
Y'all, I make soy yogurt on a weekly basis now. It is SO much cheaper than store-bought, and my homemade soy yogurt is free of additives. But my favorite thing about it is that it's unsweetened.
Why make Instant Pot soy yogurt?
Store-bought soy yogurts - even most marked "plain" - are all so sweet. I can't handle it. And I like sweet food!
But when you're cooking with yogurt, maybe you're trying to make something savory or maybe you just want to mix in some strawberry jam without turning your breakfast bowl from a little bit sweet to tooth-meltingly sugary.
When you make your own soy yogurt from scratch, it can be truly unsweetened, so you have a lot more control over the sweetness when you're cooking with it.
About this recipe
My recipe is based on my adventures with the soy yogurt recipe in Vegan Under Pressure by Jill Nussinow. At first, I was hesitant to post my recipe, since in some ways it's so much like the one in the book.
But after answering tons of questions from friends, family, and readers about how to make yogurt in the Instant Pot, I felt like it might be worthwhile to share what I'd learned.
There are dozens of amazing pressure cooker recipes in Vegan Under Pressure, and I encourage you to grab a copy. I refer to it several times a week for full recipes and for her bean, grain, and veggie cooking times, which are way more accurate than the booklet that came with my Instant Pot.
The recipe below is what I landed on after a lot of tinkering with cooking times and some technique changes that make it less messy.
I've also included two variations:
- a variation from my friend Erin at Kitchen Gadget Vegan. She does a soy-coconut mix that her family loves.
- instructions for how to make this with probiotic capsules instead of store-bought yogurt
Choose the right soy milk
The key to making soy yogurt in the Instant Pot is exactly what Nussinow says in her book: you have got to use soy milk that's only soybeans and water (sweetener and salt are okay). No gums. No gels. No thickeners. Trust me.
I didn't believe this at first, and I tried using the gum-thickener-gel-ful soy milk from our fridge, and the yogurt it produced was sticky a nightmare floating in a jar of water.
I don't throw food away lightly, and I threw this out after just a couple of bites. There was no way to stir the floaty part and watery part together. It was a total lost cause.
There are two common brands that fit the bill: Eden Foods and Westsoy. I have some ethical issues with Eden Foods, so I go for Westsoy Organic, and it works like a charm. If you can't find it in the store, you can order online.
The great thing about Westsoy is that it doesn't need to be refrigerated, because of how it's packaged.
Trader Joe's also stocks thickener-free soy milk. It comes in shelf-stable boxes and is very affordable.
The starter
A yogurt starter is just what you use to get probiotics into your soy milk. For this recipe, you have two options:
- a small amount of vegan yogurt
- probiotic capsules.
If you're using vegan yogurt, I recommend choosing plain or vanilla. Sometimes, fruity flavors can come through in your finished batch, even though you're only using a couple of tablespoons as your starter.
Prefer probiotic capsules? Easy peasy. Just make sure that you use vegetarian or vegan gelcaps.
You want the kind of probiotic capsules that you can open up and pour powder out of. Solid pills that would need to be crushed up won't work well in this recipe.
I've had great success using Jarro-Dophilus EPS capsules in this recipe. I made the yogurt in the new photos using these capsules, and my seven-year-old loves it!
When you stir the probiotic powder in, it's not going to fully dissolve, and that's okay! See the photo below -- lots of powder floating on top of my jars before they went into the pot. The yogurt turns out just fine.
The cost
One 32 ounce box of soy milk makes two pints of soy yogurt in the Instant Pot. The Westsoy that I linked to shakes out to about $4 per box. That's $2 per pint of homemade, additive free, organic, unsweetened soy yogurt. See? Worth it!
Cooking time
I've seen cooking times for Instant Pot yogurt that vary anywhere from 8 hours to 24. That's a big range, and it took me a lot of batches to hone in on the ideal time.
Fourteen hours seems to be the magic time for making Instant Pot yogurt. You can go as low as 10 hours, but for that perfectly-tangy soy yogurt that's thick enough to eat with a spoon, 14 is ideal.
If you're using probiotic capsules, I'd say 14 to 16 hours is a good range, depending on how tangy you like it.
Timing is everything!
There's nothing instant about making Instant Pot yogurt.
Making that 14 hour cooking time work for you is all about planning. Don't make the mistake I did a few times, starting your batch of yogurt in the morning.
If you do that, your Instant Pot will be tied up all day. It won't be there for you when you want to make rice and steam broccoli for your supper.
Instead, start your yogurt in the evening, so it will be ready for the morning. If you normally get up and have breakfast at 7am, start that yogurt at 5pm. Fourteen hours later, it's ready for breakfast, like magic!
There's nothing like starting the day with a bowl of fresh yogurt that you made yourself. And since most of the cooking happens while you're asleep, it makes the 14 hours seem a little bit more instant.
Thickening homemade soy yogurt
Homemade soy yogurt with no added thickeners is not going to be as thick as the soy yogurts that you're used to eating. That's just science. You have three options:
- Add a thickener. I do not like working with thickeners, so if that's what you want to do, I'd suggest looking at the Vegan Under Pressure recipe. Jill has directions there, if you want to go that route.
- Strain it. You can strain the yogurt through a few layers of cheesecloth to get rid of some excess whey and make a thicker yogurt. This takes longer, and you end up with a little more than half of what you started with, so I don't do it. But you can!
- Embrace it. This yogurt isn't Greek yogurt, but it is freaking delicious. You can eat it with a spoon or treat it like a thick yogurt drink.
My favorite way to eat it is with strawberry jam mixed in. Darrol Henry prefers his with maple syrup. It's also great in any recipe that calls for yogurt or as a replacement for sour cream.
📖 Recipe
How to Make Soy Yogurt in the Instant Pot
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 32 ounce box soy milk Choose a brand that’s ONLY soybeans and water – see above.
- 2 tablespoons plain vegan yogurt of your choice Don’t worry – the small amount of gums in this won’t mess with the final yogurt’s texture! (see note for probiotic capsules option)
Instructions
- Divide the soy milk between two wide mouth pint jars. Add a tablespoon of yogurt into each jar, stirring well.
- Carefully place the jars into the bottom of your Instant Pot (not on the rack – for some reason, it won’t make yogurt if you do that). Lock the lid, make sure the vent is sealed, and press the Yogurt button. Set it for 14 hours.
- In the morning, you’ll have yogurt! Stir before serving, since it does tend to separate. Your soy yogurt will keep for about 5 days in the fridge.
Mary Schings
I made my first batch of soy yogurt. I first made my own soy milk using only water. I cooked the beans in instant pot then I mixed them with water in Blentec. I then used your recipe and used Udo's kid probiotic tablets. The yogurt came out after 14 hours as liquid. I am almost certain the probiotics used did not work for that application, I also wanted to know if you have ever used homemade soy milk to make the yogurt. I am getting some vegan soy culture kits so I will try with that next.
I did make some yogurt drinks using the yogurt with blueberries and maple syrup. It was good. Thank you for your help!
Becky Striepe
Oh I'm sorry to hear it didn't work out. I haven't tried using homemade soy milk, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. Let me know how round two goes!
Ashley
Hi Mary, I think to make homemade soymilk you need to blend the soybeans raw with water. You cook the milk produce it makes.
Mary Schings
Do you put in any water into the instant pot or just the jars with yogurt in them? I know for most things you need to add at least a cup of water. Thanks
Becky Striepe
No water needed. I know how you feel -- it felt wrong to me the first time I tried it, too!
Kavita
I make this all the time; it is easy and delicious. I use about 2 T yogurt as the starter, and Trader Joe’s soymilk witch is $1.79. After the yogurt is done, I stir in chia seeds to thicken. Even my non-vegan friends love this.
Becky Striepe
Oh, what a great idea for thickening! Do you grind the chia seeds first?
Sara
Would it work to make the yogurt in one 32 oz glass jar instead of 2 pint jars? I only have 32 oz jars. Thank you.
Becky Striepe
I don't see why not, as long as it fits in you Instant Pot with the lid sealed!
Britt Hallenberg
Looks so yummy! I'm excited to try it. Would you happen to know how to do this without a yogurt button?
Becky Striepe
Hey Britt! I'm unfortunately not sure that you can. The yogurt button holds the inside of the pot at the ideal, safe temperature for yogurt to ferment without fostering bad bacteria growth. I'd hate to guess and have your yogurt get ruined or, worse, make you sick!
Britt Hallenberg
Good to know! Thanks!
Jean Legge
I made Greek yogurt for years in my dehydrator set at 115 degrees. Now I have an Instant Pot and making yogurt is very simple with it. I think you can read about gentle heating alternatives to make yogurt - look at other recipes without the IP. This soy yogurt is great, creamy and very delicious. I tried it to make for my daughter who can't eat cow's milk products due to allergies.
Kayla
I have been making this for weeks, and it’s so good. Today, though, I forgot about it, and have 13 hrs my instant pot turned off and it was left in the instant pot for another 7 hours, in the instant pot at room temp. Think it’s still good? Has anyone done this before?
Mija288
I actually subscribe to you on both YT and Instagram but never saw anything re: your instant pot vegan yogurt until today after a general search and your recipe popped up. I used Westsoy and “Cultures For Health” vegan culture. Today was my 2nd batch and first successful one. I did 9 hours because thats the time the Jaroudi Family’s recipe used. I really wanted a thicker “Greek-ish” consistency and so I put some cheese cloth over a fine mesh strainer and THAT was a hot mess BUT! I took the liquid-y part, added apple cider vinegar and now that “buttermilk” is hopefully going to make some awesome cornbread today. Anyway, trial and error right? I’m loving the intense almost umami savory tang and if I can just get it thicker without the leftover “juice” I’ll be so happy. I DO want to try different starters but trying to find plain soy yogurt has been a challenge but I’m sure it’s out there. Thanks for this awesome informative thread!
Becky Striepe
Oh it's so nice to "meet" you! Yeah, finding plain vegan yogurt can be challenging. You might try it with the probiotic capsules instead. I just added this method recently, because I was having the same problem finding plain soy yogurt with grocery stores the way they are rn. You only need 4 capsules to make a batch, so a box lasts for ages.
For Greek style, I've seen some people recommend pouring the excess water off of the top when the yogurt comes out of the IP, rather than stirring and then straining. That looks less messy. If too much yogurt was oozing through the cheesecloth, you probably need to layer it up more. I'd do 3-4 layers to strain yogurt.
Elisa
Just made this yogurt today with success. I tried two coconut yogurt recipes before this with poor results, so I'm excited to get a batch that fermented correctly! I'm looking forward to trying it tomorrow after it cools and I strain it. I'm thrilled that this will save me so much money on premade yogurts. Love the idea shared by a commenter to stir in blueberries and maple syrup too. Thank you so much for sharing!
Becky Striepe
Thank you so much, Elisa! I can't wait for you to eat it tomorrow! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment and a rating, too.
Collette Turner
Hi Becky,
I made soy yogurt for the first in my instant pot yesterday. I used Belle and Bella starter. I started early in the morning and shut it off after 10 hours. It was no where near tangy enough. Can I turn it back on for another 4-6 hours or so, or will I ruin it? It also wasn't very thick.
Thanks for your help!
Collette Turner
Becky Striepe
You should definitely be able to turn it back on to ferment further. 10 hours doesn't seem long enough to me. I usually go for 12-14. This yogurt isn't super thick, unless you strain it or pour the liquid off of the top instead of stirring it in. That's because it doesn't use thickeners, like store-bought soy yogurts do.
Alex
I tried making soymilk yogurt with Yogurmet starter, 14 hours in the InstantPot on yogurt setting. Went to check it this morning, and I have three jars of yellow-ish liquid (whey) with stuff floating on top. Poured into a strainer to see how much ‘yogurt’ I got and basically all of it went through the strainer with maybe a tablespoon of yogurt on top.
Becky Striepe
Oh no! That is not ideal! What kind of soymilk did you use? Also wondering about the strainer you used. Was it fine mesh? It's hard to troubleshoot remotely, so forgie my random starter question. :) I'd love to help you figure out what went wrong here!
Alex
I used Silk shelf stable unsweetened soy and a nut milk strainer I use for homemade milk (it’s very fine). Not sure, but I’ve tried homemade yogurt before and had better results, but I don’t remember the milk/started I used.
Is there anyway to ‘fix’ it? Thanks.
Angela
I tried this recipe yesterday!!! Was super excited and used my homemade soymilk and a yogurt starter...14 hours later it was very thick almost like a curdled milk? What did I do wrong? Any suggestions? It tasted very strong and when I mixed it it became a chunky liquid not smoothe...thats the best way to explain it.
Becky Striepe
Oh dear. This sounds like what happens when your soymilk includes gums, but homemade soymilk wouldn't have that issue. Curdling can also happen if you go too long or the temperature is too high. 14 hours has always worked great for me with store-bought soymilk, but maybe it's too long for homemade for some reason? Or maybe your Instant Pot is running hot? I'm just guessing here, since there are several variables at play.
This post has some tips on what to do with curdled yogurt. It's about dairy yogurt, but I don't see why the same tips wouldn't work with soy. I hope that it helps! https://nourishedkitchen.com/troubleshooting-homemade-yogurt-questions/
CeeCee
Silk soy milk in the shelf stable green box has gellan gum in it. Maybe that is probably why your yogurt didn't work.
Elyse
I gave five stars buti haven’t tried this yet you are fun and I love the time saving recipes. So this soy yogurt only lasts 5 days? Have you tried with other nondairy milks?
Becky Striepe
Thank you so much, Elyse! Yeah, I wouldn't push it far past 5 days. I'm kind of a stickler about food safety, since I got food poisoning 3 times in the same year a few years ago. I haven't tried other nondairy milks, but that's a good idea!
Melissa
I'm pleased as punch with this recipe! Beautiful thick texture, easy, and cheap!
I have tried to make vegan yogurt for years now, and each time wound up with warm soy milk, so I didn't have high hopes that this time would be any different. Imagine my surprise when I opened my Instant Pot this morning to find that my yogurt had "yoged"!
I used a carton of WestSoy milk and plain SoDelicious coconut yogurt. I used two heaping tablespoons of yogurt total, and regular mouth pint jars. The texture is beautiful, mine thickened quite a bit like a dairy yogurt - it's kind of like a flan texture, as someone else mentioned.
I could only keep it in the IP for 12 hours, but I'm hoping to try my next batch for 14-15 hours because I like my yogurt super tangy. I'd also like to try it with homemade dairy free milks, using the previous batch of yogurt as starter.
THANK YOU! I have been vegan for 10 years and have only really missed yogurt - now I'm delighted to have a recipe I can make at home that doesn't result in tons of plastic waste.
Becky Striepe
Oh my gosh, thank you so much for taking the time to review and for this thoughtful comment! I am so glad you're loving this yogurt and hope you'll report back the results of your experiments!
coukie
I made this and it came out perfect!!! it was kind of flan like texture (so very close to greek yoghourt). I used a big one liter thingy (not tall but wide) to make it. Great recipe, thanks
Becky Striepe
Thank you so much for leaving a review and comment -- I'm glad to hear that you loved the recipe! Did you use any thickeners during or after to get that Greek yogurt texture?
Kaitlin
Hello! I have a couple of questions--
1. Can you use a homemade soy milk?
2. Can you just dump it all in the body of the Instant Pot rather than dividing up into smaller containers? I have three boys--I want to make huge batches, if I can.
3. Just to clarify--you DO NOT need to bring to a boil before adding culture? I have seen some recipes (plant based) that do and other that do not. I am getting desperate and this recipe looks soooo good!
Thank you!
Becky Striepe
These are all great questions.
1. I haven't tried using homemade, but it should work. The boxed type I recommend is as close to homemade as it gets at the store.
2. Yes! I only use the jars because then I don't have to wash out the inner pot afterwards.
3. I have never boiled it before adding the yogurt, and it always works great.
I hope you'll come back and share your results, Kaitlin. Happy yogurt-making!
Tamy
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! My 3 year old has been df his entire life. Everything I buy him df yogurt, I cringe at all the junk in it. Now that I’ve tried your recipe, I’m kicking myself for not making this sooner! No more junk in his yogurt!
This morning we sat down and enjoyed a delicious bowl of fresh from the IP, wholesome yogurt! He had a little raspberry jam and fresh raspberries in his and I had a dash of maple syrup.
I did try straining some to get a thicker consistency but found i was wasting so much goodness in the pursuit of familiarity, that it wasn’t worth it. I ended up eating it just the way it is and it was fine! I’ll
Learn to accept thin yogurt as the new normal!
Thank you for this wonderfully easy recipe.
Oh, and I used 64oz Westsoy organic with 1/4 c silk vanilla soy yogurt (I looked all over for plain but due to allergies we are limited to soy and oatmilk yogurt and nobody had plain - and i simply didn’t want to to wait to order a vegan starter). Which cost $5.50 in total. I may try the next round with our Garden of Life Raw Kids Probiotic just for kicks, but I also reserved 1 c of yogurt to freeze for the future.
Becky Striepe
Oh my gosh, Tamy, thank you for this comment! I'm so glad that you and your 3yo are enjoying it. I agree - straining makes you lose so much of the goods. I've also accepted a thinner yogurt in exchange for more yogurt. :) Raspberry jam and fresh berries sound like lovely mix-ins!
michelle
I use the big box of WestSoy (right in my inner pot), heat to 180, cool to 110, add 1/4 c of a Vanilla Silk Soy yogurt (or some saved from last batch), Stir really well to combine.
Put the IP lid on and leave to do it's thing on yogurt setting for 8-12 hours.
Comes out thick and creamy!
Becky Striepe
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience, Michelle. I appreciate it!
Adrienne
Becky, where have you been the past 2 days of my life? I have been on Pinterest looking for non dairy recipes until my head was spinning! Then I found yours....and I'm hooked! I used 1/2 size pint jars, TJ soy milk, and Kitehill vanilla yogurt. AMAAZING! I had some yogurt left over, so I froze it to try with my next batch. I was only able to let it cook for 10 hours because I leaving out early the next day, but I added Chia seeds and that thickened it up. Next time I'm going to let it cook for at least 14 and experiment with adding strawberry jam on bottom. The REAL test will be when my hubby tries it. He's so use to the "might as well be a dessert" yogurts we have been buying. But I think the jam will do the trick. Thanks again, and also to other commenters who have given excellent tips. This is making our dairy free journey easier (and cheaper!)
Becky Striepe
Oh, I am so glad that it was helpful! Great tip about using chia to thicken. Did you do whole seeds or puree them?
Adrienne
I used the whole seed, added frozen fruit and a little agave. Hubby loved it!
Debbie
At what point in the process did you add the chia seeds? Asking for a friend ??
Julie
I’m excited to try making this in the jars (have never done that before!) but am wondering if, for subsequent batches, I can use leftovers from my previous homemade batch as the starter? Thanks!
Becky Striepe
I've heard people having mixed results doing that. If you do, I'd suggest doubling the amount of starter yogurt, but I can't guarantee that it will work.
Julianne
This recipe works like a charm! I used eden soy (that’s what I found available in canada), and the starter yogurt was Yoso premium creamy cultured coconut.
This morning my son and I gobbled up a whole jar with a spoonful of hemp hearts, fresh raspberries, and a bit of honey. Amazing, I’ll be making this on the weekly!
Becky Striepe
I'm so glad you and your son enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a rating and such a thoughtful comment!
Heather
This recipe totally works! I mixed the soy milk and yogurt starter in a mixing bowl and then divided among the glassware I have. Come to find out the smaller containers rendered thicker yogurt! So cool. I'm not sure if this is the right tangy for me but I'm using it to help make vegan cheese so it may not matter. I have a store bought cashew yogurt, Forager, and there is a difference in taste. It might be that I tried my yogurt warm versus the store bought being cold, so I'm trying that out. I was amazed this worked so well. Nice job!
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Heather! And I appreciate you leaving a rating and thoughtful comment! I'd love to hear more about this cheese that uses yogurt as a starter, too. That sounds like fun!
Jan Rader
Delicious! And so simple!
Tish
Recipes that call for heating the milk are using cow's or goat's or sheep's milk. Milk from animals have competing microorganisms that will overpower the yogurt makers.
Tish
An additional comment: To the people who have not had success: are you using open containers of milk or yogurt. That can cause unwanted bacteria to contaminate them. I use only new sealed ingredients and have never had a problem.
Jeri
I think the purpose of heating the milk before culturing the yogurt is to kill off harmful bacteria so they don't contaminate your final product. Culturing yogurt at 118 F encourages bacteria to grow, and you only want the beneficial bacteria (probiotics) to grow. If you use a newly opened container of soy milk, and newly opened yogurt (2 T.), you should be okay without boiling the milk first.
This recipe worked great for me! I used a pyrex bowl instead of jars in the Instant Pot, and made it into Greek-style yogurt by letting it drain in a fine mesh bag and strainer in my fridge after it cultured. Delicious and very thick and creamy! Thank you for sharing your technique!
Becky Striepe
That Greek-style sounds lovely, Jeri! Thank you for sharing your insights!
Kristen
I have followed your recipe twice now with the exception of trying more time with my second batch. If I wanted the yogurt to be thicker what would I need to do? I am making this for my twin 2 year olds because of food allergies and it is less mess if it is thicker. They loved it when I made the first batch and because I know that the ingredients are allergy safe, I would prefer to continue to make this yogurt for them.
Becky Striepe
Yeah, it's a bit on the thin side, since it doesn't contain additives. I hear ya on making it less messy, though. My kid makes a huge mess eating this! I'd suggest straining it through a few layers of cheesecloth to thicken it. There are also suggestions in the comments for this post on how to use thickeners. I don't use any, so I can't speak to it, but the folks commenting seem to know their stuff! Might be worth a shot!
Tamra
You can make this thicker by blending 2/3 cup of raw cashews with the soy milk until smooth.
Becky Striepe
What a great idea!!
Ski
can it be other nuts, like almonds or walnuts?
i am going to use homemade soy milk since Vitamix can easily do this. The soy milk from vitamix is thick since i dont strain them, maybe the yogurt will also come out thicker. I will have to experiment on this.
Becky Striepe
I have not tried it with other milks, so I can't say. I will say that unstrained, homemade soymilk may curdle. You might want to dial back on the time. Another commenter just today said her homemade soymilk curdled when she used it for yogurt. I'd recommend starting with 8 hours. You can always put it back in for more time, if it's not fermented enough for your liking. If it does curdle, this post from Nourished Kitchen has some tips that might help: https://nourishedkitchen.com/troubleshooting-homemade-yogurt-questions/
Lori Rasmussen
Thanks for this awesomely thorough post, Becky! Just ordered my first instant pot (I know; I resisted because of my lack of space) and am looking forward to making yogurt. My former boss actually gave me a copy of Vegan Under Pressure a couple of years ago, but I've been unable to put it to good use yet. Excited! :)
Becky Striepe
Oh I'm so happy for you! Enjoy the IP. I totally get space concerns. Our kitchen doesn't have a ton of storage, either.