Instant Pot Dairy-free Yogurt

When I got my Instant Pot, I loved making yogurt! Unfortunately, after being diagnosed with dairy intolerance, I could no longer enjoy my favourite yogurt. So I set out to make a dairy free alternative. After much trial and error, trying every recipe I could find out there, I have come up with this thick and creamy yogurt that I now make every week.

Instant Pot Dairy-free Yogurt

Dairy free yogurt made with almond and coconut milk

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 6 hrs

Course Breakfast, Snack

Servings 8

Equipment

• Pressure cooker
• High powered blender
• Cooking thermometer

Ingredients

  

• 150 grams blanched almonds or almond meal or flour
• 4 cups water
• 3 tsp calcium water (from Pomona's Pectin packet)
• 1 1/2 tsp pectin (Pomona's Pectin)
• yogurt starter (amount as directed on package)
• 1 can coconut milk 400ml/13.66oz

Instructions

 

• If your home is warm, place can of coconut milk in the fridge to ensure coconut cream will solidify and separate from the coconut water.
• Place almonds or almond meal/flour in Vitamix (or other high powered blender) with 4 cups water. Start the Vitamix and increase the speed to Variable 10. Blend for 3 minutes.
• Stop the blender and add the calcium water. Blend on Variable 1 for 30 seconds.
• Transfer the almond milk to the Instant Pot (I use my 3 quart Instant Pot Mini). You don't need to use the pressure cooker lid (unless your model requires it), you can just use a pot lid or even a dinner plate. Press the Yogurt button until "boil" shows in the control panel. When the Instant Pot beeps to signal it is done, push the Cancel button.
• Pour about 1 cup of the boiled milk back into the Vitamix. Add the pectin. Turn on the Vitamix and blend at Variable 1 for 30 seconds. Remove the inner cap from the lid, and pour the remaining milk in, while still blending on Variable 1.
• Leave the milk mixture in the Vitamix to cool. It should cool to not more than 110 degrees F before continuing. Use a digital thermometer to check the temperature.
• When the temperature is at or below 110 degrees F, add your yogurt starter and blend on Variable 1 for 15 seconds.
• Transfer the mixture back to the Instant Pot. Cover with pot lit or plate. Press the Yogurt button until a time shows in the display, and the Normal light is lit up. Press the +/- buttons if required to get to 6 hours.
• When the Instant Pot beeps that it is done, transfer the yogurt back to the Vitamix. Open the can of coconut milk and spoon the solid coconut cream into the Vitamix. (reserve the liquid portion for another use). Turn on Vitamix, increase to Variable 4 and blend for 30 seconds.
• Pour into storage containers and refrigerate.

Notes:

• Non-dairy yogurt will not thicken the same as dairy yogurt, and needs an added thickener. I use Pomona’s Universal Pectin for this. It may be available in health food stores, or through Amazon (see below). I purchased a bulk pack because I use it a lot for yogurt and also for preserves. The package contains 2 packets. There is a small packet of calcium and a larger packet of pectin. You mix the calcium packet with water, as directed on the package. This calcium water can be stored indefinitely in the fridge. You will need 2 teaspoons of the calcium water for this recipe.
• You can use your choice of yogurt starter – follow the directions on your started packet for the amount of starter to add for one batch of yogurt. I use the Bacillus Bulgaricus Bulgarian yogurt starter (see Amazon link below). I use 1/4 teaspoon of this starter. Note that they have stated on their website that the starter “contain a small quantity of dried organic skim milk powder (that’s the medium on which the lactic acid bacteria is grown and when it is packaged, part of it ends up in the sachet) and as such they are not vegan, that milk powder gets completely consumed by the bacteria during incubation, which makes the yogurt you make completely vegan, provided that you used non-dairy milk to make it.” Some people may not consider this to be vegan, if you are making non-dairy yogurt for vegan reasons. I have also used the Yogourmet Non-Dairy Yogurt Starter – it comes in individual packets, so you just need to use the contents of one packet. It has not been available for a while though – their website states that the company is under new ownership, so not sure if it will be returning.
• I have tried another brand of coconut milk, but I have found the best results using Thai Kitchen full fat coconut milk. See the Amazon link below for the one I use. I do buy it by the case from Amazon as it is so much cheaper than my local grocery store.
• I find it keeps best when I store it in individual serving containers. I use 4 of the 1 1/4 cup Rubbermaid Easy Find Lid containers (see Amazon link below for the containers I use). Each one contains enough for 2 servings (which I use at one time, for my husband and myself. Give the yogurt a good stir before serving, it will get nice and creamy.