Instant Pot Cold Start Yogurt

Yes, I’ll admit I’ve riding the Instant Pot bandwagon for years. I’m usually one of those that avoids participating in popular trends, or at least I wait until the hype as died down. But there was something about the Instant Pot that really appealed to me, and as soon as mine arrive on my door step I can confidently say that it’s one of the most consistently used kitchen appliance in my house. And my absolute favorite thing to make is the Instant Pot Cold-Start Yogurt.

This Instant Pot Cold Start Yogurt recipe is the easiest. It’s the no-boil method which means that you MUST used a milk that is ultra-high temp pasteurized. Fairlife milk fits this requirement, and many organic milks will also but you’ll need to check the label. Fairlife milk also has a higher protein content which adds bonus nutritional value to your cold-start yogurt. With my family that includes hungry, growing boys, I often will double the recipe as we go through a lot of yogurt! It’s perfect for breakfast or snack time!

Other favorite ways to use the Instant Pot

• Risotto doesn’t require me standing over the stove for an hour constantly stirring the arborio rice while I slooowly add broth a cup at a time. While a parmesan mushroom risotto is cooking in the IP, I usually roast some shrimp to add on top. Bonus: my toddler loves risotto.
• Steel cut oats are a set-it-and-forget-it option.
• If I forget to defrost ground beef for dinner (which happens more often than not), I can still cook it from frozen in the IP and have taco meat ready to eat in under 30 minutes without standing over the stove browning the meat.
  • Place trivit at bottom of Instant Pot. Add 1 cup of water. Place frozen ground beef onto trivet. Manual setting (High pressure) for 25 minutes with a quick pressure release. Remove lid and carefully take out trivit. Break up the ground beef in the pot and switch to Saute setting to finish off browning any meat that may not have fully cooked. While on sauting, add any taco seasoning/ingredients and cook for about 5 minutes to allow some of the excess liquid to evaporate. Turn off saute setting once ready to serve.
• In Minnesota, we love wild rice, and the IP cooks it perfectly without need to watch it on the stove. I haven’t had boiled-over rice water stuck to my glass stove cooktop in over a year. Can I get a hallelujah?!?!
• I cooked a 5 lb brisket in the IP in less than two hours, and it was cut-with-a-fork tender!
• Potatoes! Baked potatoes are super easy. Boiled/steam potatoes are so fluffy and moist and can be mashed right in the IP afterward.
• Soups and stews are excellent to make in the IP. I had great success with ham & split-pea soup using my homemade ham stock.
• Making beef/chicken/turkey stock is super easy and cook time is cut in half (at least) compared to making it on the stove.
• Hard-boiled eggs. We go through a lot of “hard eggs” as my kids call them, and using the IP makes them easy peel!

Limitations of the Instant Pot:

• There can be a learning curve, and it’s still an appliance that does require some cooking skills and knowledge.
• You’ll never get crispy meat. You’d need to transfer meat to the oven to get a crispy crust on it, and that would eliminate the convenience factor of the appliance.
• Vegetables. Softer vegetables can easily turn to mush so you need to be careful with them, or use a different cooking method. Root vegetables probably work the best in the IP. I’ve also done corn-on-the-cob in the IP with great success.
• It’s not a small appliance by any means, and does take up some significant counter/storage space.