How to Make Instant Pot Coconut Yogurt
I first started making this dairy-free coconut yogurt back in 2014. When my daughter was born, she had a Milk and Soy Protein Intolerance (MSPI, for short), meaning that even the slightest bit eaten by me would come through my breastmilk and cause her incredible stomach upset. It only lasted six months, but in that time, I discovered that my body functions better without dairy. It was confirmed later when I did my time on the AIP diet to find food intolerance.
That's how I discovered the amazing versatility of cashew cream. And that's when I started making my own dairy-free Instant Pot coconut yogurt. It's such a great AIP breakfast option (or any dairy-free diet).
Why should I make this coconut yogurt recipe?
Making yogurt in the Instant Pot (dairy-free or otherwise) is so incredibly fool-proof. If you've ever been intimidated by making your own yogurt before, the Instant Pot is your answer. It makes it so hands-off and so simple-it's honestly almost easier than just going to the store to buy premade coconut yogurt.
And my gosh, can you save some serious cash by making your own yogurt at home-especially the dairy-free stuff. At our local grocery store, a five-ounce cup of coconut milk yogurt runs about $1.99. You can make an entire quart-32 ounces worth-of Instant Pot coconut yogurt for less than $4. It'd cost you $12.74 to buy that much pre-made! And when you go through as much yogurt as we do, that adds up fast.
Another (huge) added benefit: you can control everything about your yogurt-the thickness, the tanginess, and most importantly to me, the probiotic levels. Most store-bought yogurts are barely fermented at all-some sources say that yogurt from the store can be fermented for as little as one hour! One hour does not get you much healthy bacteria, but you know what does? Using your Instant Pot to ferment for 24 hours or more. Yogurt that is fermented for 24 hours has more healthy probiotics per cup than any over-the-counter probiotic pill-we're talking billions of good guys helping to keep your gut happy! And it's way more delicious than popping a pill.
Are there any drawbacks to making Instant Pot coconut yogurt?
The one caveat with Instant Pot coconut yogurt-it's never going to get as thick as cow's or goat's milk yogurt without some help. That's because coconut milk just doesn't have the lactose and proteins that transform the texture when fermented.
How do I make thick, creamy homemade coconut yogurt?
If you love good thick yogurt like I do, I highly recommend using any or all of these three ways to get there:
- Use the right coconut milk. Full-fat coconut milk from the can (not "Lite" coconut milk or the coconut milk from the refrigerated cartons) is going to give you the thickest, creamiest yogurt. In fact, if you can find straight-up coconut cream (this is what I usually use), you're going to get the best results.
- Go for a long ferment. Yes, coconut milk won't thicken like cow's milk during fermentation, but it will thicken some. The baseline time I recommend to turn your milk into yogurt is eight hours-but that's not going to thicken your yogurt at all. If you set your fermentation time for closer to 24 or even 36 hours, you're going to get a naturally thicker yogurt.
- Use a thickener and chill. This is absolutely optional, but I usually thicken my yogurt using unflavored beef gelatin (I've also had good results using agar agar for a vegan version). I just add enough to give it a little bit of body-and not turn it into yogurt Jello-and then I chill until completely cold.
It might take you a bit of experimentation to figure out the right combo that makes your family happy. But once you land on it, you'll never go back to buying yogurt again!
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What kind of starter do I need for this coconut yogurt recipe?
When you're making your yogurt, you will need to inoculate your batch with either yogurt starter culture or pre-made plain yogurt from the store. I've done both, and they both turn out beautifully. If you choose to use a yogurt starter, this Yogourmet starter is my absolute favorite*. It has very specific strains of bacteria that are great for your tum-tum-my naturopath has actually recommended I eat yogurt only when it's made with the strains in this yogurt starter to protect my gut health.
(*Please note: this starter contains skim milk powder. If you're looking for a completely dairy-free way to start your batch of coconut yogurt, you'll want to use a different starter or a dairy-free yogurt with live active cultures like we mention below!)
The way easier (and cheaper) route is to use premade yogurt as your starter. Just take three tablespoons of whatever plain yogurt you'd like (dairy, soy, coconut, almond-all fine) that has live, active cultures in it-and whisk that in to innoculate your batch of yogurt. Then, when your batch is done, reserve about ¼ cup of it to make your next batch. You'll never have to buy yogurt again! It's the gift that keeps on giving.
What if I don't have an Instant Pot?
Of course, you absolutely don't have to have an Instant Pot to make yogurt. You can do it in the slow cooker or on a heating pad (my preferred method pre-Instant Pot) or even under the light in your oven-basically, any way you can consistently keep your yogurt around 100°F for 8-36 hours while it ferments will do the trick. The Instant Pot just makes keeping the temperature there SO FLIPPING SIMPLE. It removes all the variables and just makes for perfect yogurt every. single. time. Happy yogurtmaking!
How do I flavor or sweeten homemade coconut yogurt?
When the yogurt is finished and cooled is a great time to stir in any sweetener (or this pumpkin butter recipe!) or flavoring like vanilla extract or honey.
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Coconut Yogurt
Ingredients
- 1 quart full-fat canned or boxed coconut milk I get best results from this coconut cream, but any full fat coconut milk will work
- ¼ cup maple syrup do not sub in honey-it has its own bacteria that will fight the yogurt culture
- 3 tablespoons plain yogurt with live active cultures dairy, soy, coconut, almond-all fine OR one packet of freeze dried yogurt culture (I like this one)
- OPTIONAL THICKENER: 1 to 2 teaspoons unflavored grass-fed beef gelatin OR ½ to 1 teaspoon powdered agar agar
Instructions
- Pour the coconut milk and maple syrup into the pot of the Instant Pot. Whisk well, then press the "Yogurt" button, and then adjust the setting until you see "boil." Let the Instant Pot run through the process (it's getting the milk up to a temperature of around 185°F), whisking occasionally. No need to place the lid on the Instant Pot during this stage.
- When the Instant Pot beeps that it is finished, allow the milk to cool until it is between 100ºF and 110ºF. This can take upwards of an hour.
- If using starter yogurt: When the milk is at the correct temperature, ladle out about ½ cup of the warm milk into a small bowl, and whisk with the 3 tablespoons plain starter yogurt until smooth. Pour the mixture back into the Instant Pot and whisk well.
- If using freeze-dried yogurt culture: When the milk is at the correct temperature, sprinkle on one packet of the starter culture and then whisk very well to combine.
- If using a thickener, sprinkle on top of the warm milk, and then whisk very well to combine.
- Close the lid of the Instant Pot (no need to seal), and press the "Yogurt" button. Adjust the setting until you see the time display. Set for the desired amount of fermentation time. Eight hours is bare minimum, but I *much* prefer yogurt that has been fermented closer to 24-36 hours. This results in a naturally thick and tangy yogurt-very like regular Greek yogurt. Plus, it has more probiotics! (See notes for more info about time and temp)
- When the fermenting time is up, transfer the yogurt to a glass storage container (I use a wide mouth quart jar) and keep in the fridge. It will thicken up considerably as it cools.
Video
Notes
- If you like thicker, Greek-style yogurt, I recommend using either the gelatin or the agar agar. However, if you want to leave those our, the longer you ferment, the thicker the yogurt gets naturally.
- If you do use the thickeners, the upper range will get you a thicker, Greek-style yogurt, while the lower will just thicken to a "normal" yogurt consistency.
- Since coconut milk doesn't have the same kind of sugars that cow's milk has, the added maple syrup is to give the bacteria a jump-start meal-they eat almost all the sugars and the resulting yogurt isn't sweetened at all.
- My favorite starter (linked in the post and the recipe above) contains skim milk powder. If you're looking for a completely dairy-free way to start your batch of coconut yogurt, you'll want to use a different starter or a dairy-free yogurt with live active cultures.
- Some people recommend using opened probiotic capsules as yogurt starter, and it can work-depending on your probiotic. Proceed with caution though, as some can make yogurt taste really not good.
- When you spoon your yogurt into a container for storage, make sure to reserve a little bit for the next batch of yogurt in a small jar (I just fill one of these quarter-pints). That way, you'll never be without yogurt starter.
- I love my Thermapen for yogurt-making (and honestly, everything else in the kitchen), but if you don't have a thermometer, it's not a big deal. Another trick is to place a (clean!) finger in the milk-when you can hold your finger in the milk while counting to ten, it's cool enough to pitch in the yogurt starter.
- Some folk in the comments mentioned that their Instant Pot only maintained the desired yogurt fermentation temperature (around 110°F) when set for up to 8 hours. Set for longer than 8 hours, their IP used a lower temperature (around 88°F). Our IP doesn't adjust the temperature in this way, so please check your owner's manual before choosing your time setting!
Hi! Have you tried this recipe with any other nut milks? Just wondering if I can interchange and use cashew or almond milk as well?
Hi Kerry! We haven't tried this recipe with other nut milks, so we're not sure if it would work the same way. If you're up for experimenting, please let us know how it goes. Otherwise, it might be best to find a recipe that uses your nut milk of choice!
Hi, the coconut milk you reccomend has recently changed the ingredients and it now has some kind of preservative. Will that affect the yogurt making ability?
(I was bummed out about it. I love that coconut milk...)
Thanks
Hi Daniela! Thanks for the heads up! It shouldn't change the yogurt making ability, but if you find it doesn't turn out even though you haven't done anything differently, that could be why. Hopefully, it works the way it always does! Please let us know how it turns out for you =)
Hi Danielle, do you think there’s a way to do this if my instant pot doesn’t have the “yogurt” button? It looks like a great recipe!
Hi Amy! Yes! We have instructions on how to make yogurt without an Instant Pot in this post: https://wholefully.com/yogurt-making/ Follow the stove-top instructions, and you should be good to go! It may take a bit of trial and error to find a fermentation method that works for you, so be sure to read through the post or check out the first note in the recipe card with more ideas for options to try. Let us know how it works out for you!
Can you strain this yogurt through a cheese cloth to make it thicker as you can do with milk yogurt?
Hi Robin! It might be too thin for that depending on how you made it. If you want to give it a go, you could try cooling it first (it will thicken as it cools), then straining it. We think using a yogurt strainer will give you the best chance for success with this recipe, but a cheesecloth lined sieve could work. We haven't tried it ourselves!
Is there any way to revive this if it’s very liquidy and doesn’t thicken after refrigeration?
Hi Marla! You could try additional thickeners like gelatin, which doesn't need to be heated to work. Otherwise, most folks have repurposed the batches that didn't work by using them to make frozen yogurt, a dressing or dip, or a yogurt sauce. If it didn't thicken even after chilling, then you may either need to add a thickener when you make it (if you didn't this time), or try another brand of coconut milk or cream. Lots of folk (ourselves included!) have found that different brands set up differently—some end up thicker than others. Please keep us posted on what you try and what works!
Mined turned out tangy and tastes yummy, but after refrigerating it over night, the mixture totally separated into fat on the top, solids in the middle and liquid on the bottom. Is this normal, and if so, do I need to mix everything together or strain the liquid out?
Hi Anne! That can happen with some coconut milks. A quick whirl in the blender should get it smooth and creamy again! This is also a great task for an immersion blender if you have one. Either way, you'll want to mix it all back together without straining anything out!
I have been making this yogurt for a few months now. It seems watery when I pour it from the Instant Pot to my jars but by the following day it is nice and set. It's not as thick as Greek yogurt but at least as thick as your run-of-the-mill store bought!
My question is how long can I use this yogurt as my starter? I've been freezing a small container to use as a starter for my next batch. I think I've done this at least 4 times now. Should I be buying a new store-bought for my next batch or can I use this indefinitely?
Hi Deb! If you're using a store-bought yogurt for your starter culture, the culture will usually weaken over time. Three to four batches is a good amount for a store-bought culture. Yogurt made from a dedicated starter culture can be re-cultured for more batches (and heirloom cultures say they can be used indefinitely!). So you have multiple options and all are great—feel free to use whatever's working for you and fits into your life and budget more easily!
How long will this keep?
Hi Jan! Because of the high amount of good bacteria in this, the shelf life would be about the same as regular yogurt!
Can I use an alternate sweetener like monk fruit?
Hi Debbie! It needs to be a caloric sweetener because it's food for the starter culture. We don't recommend honey because it has its own bacteria that could compete with your culture. Otherwise, any sweetener that has calories will work in this recipe!
Hi! Thanks so much for the recipe. So I used regular organic full fat coconut milk and after 36 hours in the instant pot...it molded. I mean there were patches of orange and a couple purple streaks. Smelled very yeasty. So is this a me problem? I only used one can? Or was my instant pot not pristine enough?
Hi Lily! Sorry it didn't turn out—mold is definitely a problem, but the problem might not be with you. You may want to check your Instant Pot owner's manual for the temperature settings when in yogurt mode. We've have a few comments about people's Instant Pots having different temps for different durations. Someone specifically mentioned that their IP maintained the correct temp for yogurt for only 8 hours. Anything more than 8 and it used a lower temp. Ours doesn't do that, so we've never had that happen. But if the temperature was too low, that could have caused the mold. As for the pristine condition of the pot, usually a good wash in hot soapy water does the trick. You might try washing the pot, the lid, and the ring just in case. But definitely look into the temperature settings. That's been an issue for a few folks before!
Ok! Thank you!
I made the yogurt trying to follow the recipe as close as I could. I used Savoy canned yogurt cream and found a good probiotic yogurt to use as a starter. The one I used was called Cocojune and had I think at least 4 different bacteria. I had some beef gelatin on hand so I used that to sprinkle on top as directed. After 30 hours I decided to take it out of my Instant Pot and was sort of disappointed as the mixture was still very liquid. I didn't want to waste it so I thought I'd pour it into a container and refrigerate it to use as a coconut milk. I was surprised the next morning to see a nice yogurty consistency in my container. I'm posting this to let others know not to throw out their yogurt if it seems too thin.
Thanks, Deb! That's a great reminder—the yogurt will definitely thicken more as it chills in the fridge!
I just tried making this for the first time, and after 17 hours on the yogurt setting there is no thickening or fermentation at all. I checked the temperature and as one other commentor noted it was about 88°. I played with the settings and looked at the manual on the instant pot, and it looks like, if you select the eight hour option, it goes up to the correct temperature. However, if you select the 24 hour option, it only heats it at very very low heat. I said it for another eight hours and hopefully it works!
Thanks for reporting back, Tina! All the various Instant Pots can have different settings, so it's good to know to be on the lookout for the temperature setting at different times. Our IP maintains its temperature even at the longer time, so we didn't know to mention this. We've updated the recipe card to reflect this info. Thanks again!
Hi Danielle, I left the yogurt mixture in the IP for 17 hours on the 24 hour setting with the temp that was only 88, then another 24 hours at the right IP temp but the mixture never thickened. It got somewhat tangy, and the texture of thin gravy, even with 2 tsp of gelatin. I used a very high-end plain organic coconut yogurt from Whole Foods (Cocojane) as the starter and canned whole coconut milk. Any idea what might have gone wrong? I'm going to turn this batch into frozen yogurt 🙂
Hi Tina! First—frozen yogurt is a delicious idea for repurposing early yogurt-making experiments! As for what happened, the fact that it's tangy sounds like the cultures did their job. Hooray! But since the consistency isn't where you want it to be, even with the gelatin, then it might be time to try a different brand of coconut milk. We've had different results with different brands. We've also had the most success making thick and creamy yogurt with straight-up coconut cream, if you can get your hands on that. Otherwise, stick to the full-fat canned coconut milk and try another brand to see if that gets closer to the consistency you're looking for!
I really want to try this, thanks for sharing the recipe! Is the maple syrup for flavor? Because we’d be making this to stay within a strict non-sugar diet for medical reasons, so I wonder if it’s necessary to the recipe or more superfluous. Thank you!
Hi, Pauline! The maple syrup is food for the yogurt culture. Here's what we say about it in the recipe notes: "Since coconut milk doesn’t have the same kind of sugars that cow’s milk has, the added maple syrup is to give the bacteria a jump-start meal—they eat almost all the sugars and the resulting yogurt isn’t sweetened at all." Since you're asking for strict medical reasons, we highly recommend you consult with your medical team before making any adjustments or changes to your diet. They'll be able to guide you through your particular needs and advise you on whether a homemade or store-bought non-sugar yogurt will be your best option.
I’m excited to try this recipe but confused about the ingredients which call for 1 qt full fat boxed or canned coconut milk. Directly following
there is a link for coconut CREAM and it is stated the cream gives the best results. Since these are 2 completely different products I am unsure what to use. Thank you kindly 😊
Hi Kari! Any of the products listed will work in this recipe as long as they're full fat. We prefer the rich and creamy results that we get when using coconut cream, but we've made and enjoyed yogurt from full fat coconut milk, as well. The best one for you to use will depend on what you have access to and your personal preference. You might need to try more than one type and/or brand to find the one you like best. If you give it a try, please let us know how it turns out for you!
Cassie, After 36 hours of cooking, my yogurt was 88°. I thought that was low. Shouldn’t it have been around 100 to 110°. Is my Instant pot working correctly? Your thoughts please.
Hi Sue Mae! That is low for making yogurt. You'll have to refer to your owner's manual to see if perhaps the setting need to be changed or if something else is the matter. But you're right, you're aiming for between 100 and 110 degrees.
Hi I would like to try this recipe using my Instant Pot Duo Crisp. Unfortunately my IP has a Sans-vide instead of a yogurt button. How do you suggest I go about using this button. I can apparently regulate the time and the temperature but I don't know the temperature for the fermentation process. thank you in advance
Hi Lorraine! We've never used that particular device before, so we're not sure how to adapt this recipe to fit your appliance. But you may be able to make it work by consulting your user manual and a little trial and error. The temperatures you'll need are all in the recipe steps, but I've summarized them here to make it easier to find: heat the milk to 185°, then let it cool down to between 100° and 110°, then pitch in your starter culture and optional thickener if using, then ferment at 110° for however long you like. We prefer ours for 24-36 hours, but your yogurt will be "ready" in as few as 8. Hopefully that will help you get started! Let us know how it works out for you =)
How many cans of coconut cream is this?
Hi Kelly! That depends on the size of the can. You're looking for 1 quart or 4 cups worth of coconut cream for this. Check the serving information on the can for how many cups it holds and go from there!
how do i store the reserved yogurt starter for longer periods so it doesn't go bad. can i freeze it or just refrigerate it, and for how long?
Hi Tina! The reserved starter will stay just fine in the fridge for a few weeks, but you can also freeze it. Some folks like to freeze it in ice cube trays, so you just thaw a cube or two when you need it!
Used Trader Joe's coconut milk. Absolutely DO NOT USE IT!! This was a soupy mess that separated and never turned yogurt-y. Huge waste. 🙁
I used boxed coconut milk and this did not work. Probably better with canned.
My baby is almost to the 6 month mark. I have been dairy free for him most of his life because of how the diary in my diet effects him. I keep meeting more and more people with the same problem. I will definitely be trying this recipe soon!
What are the steps to use if we don’t have the yogurt button?
Hi Amie! You can find more info about how to make yogurt without an Instant Pot with the yogurt button in our How to Make Yogurt (With or Without an Instant Pot!) post here: https://wholefully.com/yogurt-making/