Easiest Way to Make Homemade Yogurt

This is by far the easiest way to make homemade yogurt that I’ve found. Not only is this method easy, but it also creates a delicious, thick, and creamy yogurt that is sure to please. Making your own yogurt at home has never been simpler!

A bowl of homemade yogurt sits on a table with a spoonful of strawberry jam on top.

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Making yogurt at home is a really great way to get a delicious product for a margin of the store’s price, plus a better tasting and healthier product. Plus, if I can do it myself rather than depend on someone else to do it for me, that is something I really enjoy!

This is really the easiest way I’ve found to make yogurt at home. There are other ways to do it, like to use a cooler to keep the temperature consistent as it ferments, but this truly is so simple that it makes the yogurt making process so much easier (and manageable for busy families!).

Let’s jump right into this process!

Ingredients Needed for Homemade Yogurt
Tools Needed for Easiest Homemade Yogurt
How to Make Homemade Yogurt
Save this Recipe
Other Homemade Recipes to Try

Ingredients Needed for Homemade Yogurt

To make this homemade yogurt, you’ll only need a handful of ingredients:

Whole Milk: This can be fresh or store bought, just make sure it’s not “ultra-pasteurized”. You need that good bacteria! You also want the fat in the milk to give your yogurt a creamy texture. You can use a half gallon to a gallon. I use a half gallon of milk to yield 1 and a half quarts of yogurt.
Plain Yogurt (or Vanilla) Starter: The starter yogurt is the source of the good bacteria and live cultures that makes the new batch of yogurt. Don’t go cheap on this- you’ll want to use a name brand cup of store yogurt. It’s a one time investment that ultimately is going to save you money in the long run. When you’re choosing your starter yogurt, make sure it says that it has live cultures. I used a 6 ounce Yoplait Original French Vanilla cup for my starter.

*Tip: When you make a new batch of yogurt, you can freeze a cup to use as your starter for future batches.
Vanilla: If you want a vanilla flavoring in your yogurt, you’ll want to add in 2-3 teaspoons of vanilla to your yogurt. I use our homemade vanilla, which is another great food to make at home to save money (and get better flavor!).

A woman holds a spoonful of white, creamy, thick yogurt over a jar.

Tools Needed for Easiest Homemade Yogurt

There are only a couple of tools needed to make this homemade yogurt:

Instant Pot: This is by far the most important tool and the reason why this is the easiest way to make homemade yogurt. The instant pot keeps the milk/yogurt mix at a consistent temperature for fermentation, which is what makes the yogurt turn into that thick and creamy texture we all love! You’ll just want to make sure your instant pot has a yogurt setting.

As I mentioned before, you can make homemade yogurt other ways. For instance, I’ve made it with a cooler to keep the temperature for many years before having an instant pot, but it was a lot more hassle and dishes!

If you need an instant pot, check out this one (it’s the same one I have) from Amazon.
Whisk: You’ll use a whisk to incorporate the starter into the milk after it’s reached temperature.

How to Make Homemade Yogurt

Making the yogurt can be broken down into a few simple steps.

Warm the milk to 180 degrees using the sauté option on the Instant Pot. This temperature kills competing bacteria and will help create the creamy texture you want in yogurt. You’ll want to make sure to stir the milk as it heats so that it doesn’t scald on the bottom of the pot. You can also heat the milk using a double boiler or on the stovetop, if you’d prefer. Using the instant pot, the milk will be at temperature within about 5-10 minutes. Try to keep the yogurt at 180 degrees for 10-20 minutes to improve your yogurt’s texture.
Cool the milk to 108-112 degrees. This warm temperature is what you’ll want the milk to be consistently at during the fermentation process, which is where the instant pot comes into play to make this the easiest way to make homemade yogurt. To cool the milk quickly, you can place the pot of milk into a cold ice water bath in the sink. The cooling process will take about 5-10 minutes this way, so keep an eye on it!
Whisk in your yogurt starter and vanilla (if using). At this point, you’ll want to whisk your yogurt starter into your milk, making sure it is incorporated well. You can also whisk in your 2-3 tsp. of vanilla if you are using that in your yogurt.
Return milk mixture to the instant pot and push the yogurt button. Allow your milk mixture to ferment for 8 hours on the yogurt setting.
Place your yogurt in the refrigerator. After it’s been fermenting for 8 hours, you can remove your yogurt out of the instant pot and place it in jars or another container of your choice. It will thicken a little more in the refrigerator, but you will have a good idea of the texture at this point.
Enjoy your yogurt! Top your serving of yogurt off with a teaspoon of maple syrup, honey, strawberry jam, and/or fresh fruit and granola. The possibilities are endless with add-ins! Experiment and see what you like best.