Vegan soy yogurt that is thick, creamy, and delicious! Free of sugar and gluten and made with your favorite probiotic! It’s so easy to make your own you may never need to buy it again!
Living without dairy for the past 18 years, I have made many attempts to make my own vegan soy yogurt. Years ago, Silk brand sold large containers of plain and vanilla yogurt. These were great and my family loved them. Over the years the containers got smaller, it got more expensive, and they changed from organic to non-organic soy. I tried many other brands and varieties including coconut and almond yogurt, but my family hated them, and they just wanted soy yogurt again.
When my son got sick with PANDAS, an autoimmune disorder associated with strep infections, I realized that he did not tolerate the streptococcus thermophilus probiotic found in most yogurt, so I had to make my own using probiotics that did not contain this strain of probiotic.
Homemade soy yogurt is a tricky thing!
I like the challenge of veganizing things, so I took on the yogurt challenge with a smile. That is… until I failed about 20 times. It would come out okay occasionally, but it was never really taste as good as the vegan soy yogurt that I used to buy.
What method should I use to make soy yogurt?
I used many methods over the years. I made it in a slow cooker, in the oven with the light on, and even borrowed a friend’s yogurt maker. The yogurt maker had the most consistent temperature, so it did work the best, but it only made a very small batches. It would take ½ a day to make it and 15 minutes for my family to eat it all.
Is an Instant Pot really worth it?
YES! I finally splurged and bought an Instant Pot with a yogurt setting! It makes it so much easier, and it’s totally worth it if you plan on making yogurt regularly! Instead of pouring milk into little jars, you can just pour the milk directly into the instant pot and you’re ready to go! I frequently double the recipe and make 8 cups of yogurt at a time.
Making this vegan soy yogurt with an instant pot is so easy, my 9 year old has actually claimed it as his job.
How to make vegan soy yogurt:
- Simply pour in a 32 oz. container of soy milk.
- Add the starter.
- Give it a little stir.
- Press “yogurt” on the Instant Pot.
- Come back 15 hours later to find beautiful thick, creamy, vegan soy yogurt!
Note: (It will start to look like yogurt after 8 to 12 hours, but I always give it 15 hours to allow more beneficial bacteria to grow and give it more of a yogurt tang).
What type of soy milk is best for soy yogurt?
There is only a few ways that you can mess up this yogurt, the main way is to use the wrong soy milk. There are so many kinds out there it will make your head spin. However, there are only a few that actually work to make vegan soy yogurt. You MUST use the ones that only have soybeans and water, any added sugar or vanilla will ruin your yogurt! I like the Trader Joe’s brand, but Westsoy also makes a plain variety that works well too.
What is the best starter for soy yogurt?
At first, I was intimidated by the yogurt starter, but it turns out that you don’t need anything fancy. You can just use any probiotic that comes in a capsule that pulls apart to sprinkle the contents into the soy milk. (I use a general acidophilus probiotic with 2.4 billion CFUs per serving that comes in a vegan gel cap).
Pro Tip: Make sure to use a whisk and stir well after adding each capsule until you can’t see any powder.
Only 5 of these capsules are needed to put in 4 cups of soy milk the first time you make your yogurt, then save ½ cup of yogurt to use as your starter and you won’t need the probiotic again unless your starter stops working. (Starter typically lasts a few months. Don’t use if it changes color or starts to smell funny).
Your first batch of yogurt will come out okay, but not great. Don’t worry, this is normal. It is only after you save your starter and make another batch or two, your yogurt will start to taste amazing! I have been using the same starter for months now and it just keeps getting firmer and tasting better with each batch.
After your yogurt has finished, allow it to cool to room temperature and use a large flat spoon to remove any liquid that has formed at the top, then transfer it to containers with a good seal.
How should I store the starter for my next batch of soy yogurt?
It’s hard to remember not to eat up the last ½ cup of yogurt, especially if you have other people in your house that may unknowingly gobble it down.
I store my yogurt in these glass containers which have snap on sealed lids to keep it air tight. Use the size that holds 4 cups to store the yogurt for the family to eat, and then store ½ cup of starter in the smallest container and write STARTER across the top, so no one touches it.
Use the starter again within 10 days to make a fresh batch of soy yogurt. (Make sure your starter is stored in a clean and sealed container)!
How can I make vanilla soy yogurt?
Plain yogurt has a sour tang to it and you may want to add a sweetener. You can keep it plain and let people add berries, sweetener, or vanilla extract. If you know your family will want vanilla, add 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 2-3 TBS of sweetener of choice to 4 cups of yogurt for vanilla yogurt.
Another great trick that I love is to add 100% fruit preserves or jam to the bottom of a jar and layer the top with yogurt. One batch will make about 10 of these fruit on the bottom jars ready to grab and go! You can also make the yogurt in these jars! Check out this post from Little Blue Plates to see how.
The secret to making vegan soy yogurt perfect every time:
- You MUST use unsweetened plain soy milk with the only indigents being soybeans and water. If there are any other ingredients in it, it will NOT come out!
- You don’t need to preheat the milk if you are making it from a new sealed container. If you make a smaller batch from milk that you already have open, you will need to heat it to 180 F first to kill any bacteria that may have formed.
- Open the lid of the Instant Pot and flip it over quickly to capture any condensation at the top of the lid.
- Drain off any liquid that has formed at the top of your yogurt.
- Use a large flat spoon to carefully remove liquid at the top of the yogurt.
- Let it cool in the Instant Pot before transferring it to another container or stirring.
- Once you have made your first batch, don’t throw away your starter! It gets better with each batch!
- If not using an Instant Pot, make sure you have a way to keep your yogurt at a consistent temperature of about 112 degrees F for 12- 15 hours.
- Make sure to time the start of your yogurt at a time when you will be home 15 hours later to refrigerate it.
- Don’t stir your yogurt after you have mixed in your starter.
- Make it a least 3 times from starter to get the best quality taste.
- Don’t make it from a probiotic and expect it to taste like store bough yogurt after the first batch.
Why make your own yogurt?
- It has more beneficial bacteria! Many brands are pasteurized, killing most of the probiotics.
- You can control how long you ferment it to grow more beneficial bacteria and control the taste.
- You can store it in glass containers to avoid the BPA leaching into your yogurt.
- You can pick the probiotics that you like best to use as a starter.
- Soy yogurt is free of refined sugar and you can control the type and amount of sugar in your yogurt.
- The Instant pot makes it easy!
- It’s fun! (It kind of freaked me out at first, but now I love it! It’s like magic to see your soy milk change to thick creamy yogurt, and I’m protective of my little starter army that makes this magic happen)!
Make a batch of these healthy Miracle Muffins along with your yogurt and you will have breakfast the whole family will be excited about!
Don’t forget to pin this easy vegan soy yogurt recipe for later!
The easiest way to make thick and creamy soy yogurt that comes out better and better with each batch!
- 1 32 oz. container of unsweetened PLAIN soy milk water and soybeans as the only ingredients
- 5 probiotic capsules with 2.4 billion CFUs or any number of capsules totaling 12 billion CFU (first batch only). For all subsequent batches, use ½ cup of plain yogurt from your last batch as a starter.
- Add the contents of a new factory sealed container of soy milk directly into a clean instant pot.
Add the probiotic or starter.
Stir well with a whisk until completely blended.
Push the yogurt button on the instant pot and use the + sign to change the time to 15 hours.
Place the lid on top and make sure the valve is turned to vent to allow humidity to escape.
Wait 15 hours and come back when the yogurt timer beeps.
Use a spoon to drain off any water that formed at the top of the yogurt.
Let it cool to room temperature and transfer to sealed containers.
Save ½ cup of yogurt with nothing added for your next batch.
- The yogurt will taste more like store bought soy yogurt once the culture matures and you make the yogurt from starter.
- Reduce cook time by an hour or two for less tangy yogurt.
- Increase cook time by an hour or two for more tangy yogurt.
I made the first batch and was so excited that I forgot to save the starter! So…I went back and made a second batch with probiotic and pulled out my starter first thing! It turned out great, but I really love Greek yogurt (I’m dairy free while nursing) so I did decide to strain it for a few hours to make it thicker- I was super happy with the outcome! I’m wondering if it’s ok to freeze the starter and then thaw it in the fridge before using it in my next batch? Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Amalia. I’m so happy that the yogurt turned out well for you! Great idea to strain it and get a thicker Greek yogurt! I’m not sure if it will work if you freeze your starter. I have never done that. I know that you can with dairy starter if you only freeze it for a few weeks, but the soy yogurt is very sensitive, so I can’t say for sure. I will try it out soon and let you know. Your yogurt will taste better and be thicker with each batch you make as long as you save and use the starter. Enjoy! 🙂
I am anxious to try your recipe.
Can I use store bought soy yogurt for my starter?
Hi Barbara, no, sorry you can’t use the store bought soy yogurt for the starter. They just don’t have enough live culture in them to work. I find that a strong probiotic works the best.
Hi, thank you so much for this, I followed this recipe. I got the trader joe brand soy milk. I also got the probiotic tablets, instead of capsules. I crushed the tablets in powder and mixed it. I press the yogurt button for 10hours. However , I left the yogurt for maybe 19hours before removing it off the instant pot- it tasted sour and almost spoiled . Do you have any idea what happened? Also, can you give me a description of how your first batch should taste?
Thank you, trying to avoid dairy products
I’m not sure about cooking it for 10 hours and then leaving it for another 9. That should have been fine, but it could have had some unwanted bacteria in it and caused it to spoil. It will taste sour almost like there is lemon juice in it, but not rotten. If you have only had store-bought yogurt before, you may have never tasted a true plain yogurt. I would say to make it again being sure that all of your equipment if clean and you are starting with an unopened container of soy milk (Don’t use some that you have opened previously and kept in the fridge for a few days) and heat it for 15 hours on the yogurt setting. Save a 1/2 cup as your starter and add some vanilla and sugar to the rest of it. The taste will get better with each subsequent batch. Hope that helps! 🙂
Hi there!
I’m not sure if i understood this correctly. Is it right to say that the first batch made is saved as the ‘starter’ in subsequent batches? And since they are used as the ‘starter’ there is no need for probiotic capsules added to subsequent batches?
Thanks for clarifying 🙂
Hi Cheryl, You can eat part of the first batch, but you need to save 1/2 cup of it for your starter on your next batch. The first batch comes out okay with the probiotic, but the next batch will taste even better when you use the starter. You will only need 1/2 cup of starter for your subsequent batches as long as you make the yogurt about once a week. Hope that helps. Enjoy! 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! Just to clarify, does the starter last 10 days or 6-8 weeks? In the original post, it says use within 10 days, but in response to one of the comments, you wrote it lasts 6-8 weeks. Do you use the full 1/2 cup of starter for the next batch? Thanks for the help!
Hi Joanna, You have to use any starter that you have in your fridge within 7-10 days or it will start to go bad. As long as you keep making more yogurt about once a week, you can continue to save 1/2 cup of starter each time and do this for about 6-8 weeks. After about 2 months of doing this, I find that my starter dies (gets a pink color and a funny smell) and I have to throw it out and start fresh with probiotic again. Keeping your starter in a very clean and sealed container will help it live longer. You need to use all of the 1/2 cup starter that you saved for your next batch. You will then save another 1/2 cup of starter from each subsequent batch. Let me know if you have any more questions. 🙂
How often do you have to add more probiotics to the yogurt? I understand that you save 1/2 cup each time, but when does that need to be changed?
I have found that as long as you keep the starter clean (sealed in a very clean container) and in the fridge and use it at least once a week, it lasts for about 6-8 weeks before it goes bad. If it starts to turn an orange color or smell funny, throw it out and start with probiotics again. I never add more probiotics to the starter though. I hope that answers your question. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
I looked everywhere for a soy milk that was only soy beans and water. Closest I came was Natura unsweetened, plain. It contains vitamin A and a scant few such vitamins but I was do excited to try it, I went ahead despite your warnings that it prob wont work out. I happened to have vegan probiotics in my fridge, prob too old now, but at peak strength were 15 billion in 1 capsule. I added 1 and hoped for the best! 15 hours later, it looked and had the consistancy of slightly thickened milk. I’ve put it in glass containers overnight in the fridge and am hoping the cooling process will help it into a thicker mixture. Worst case scenario I will add China seeds to thicken it naturally and boost the vegan protein. I’ll keep looking for the brands you mentioned and persevere though. I’m totally pumped about eating yogurt again, but this time,dairy-free!
Hi Mandy, I’m happy to hear that you tried it. It is so weird how it will not work with any ingredients other than soybeans and water, but I’ve tried it with a bunch of brands too, and it only works if those are the only 2 ingredients. I hope that you are able to find one of those brands soon! Good idea to thicken it with chia seeds though! 🙂
I bought an instant pot specifically for yogurt and I decided to give this recipe a try. I used West Soy organic plain unsweetened soy milk and my own probiotic 40 billion cfu’s. When I came back 15 hours later it was like nothing had happened! My hopes were dashed! My instant pot never feels warm on the yogurt setting and I was wondering if you use the boil setting at all. I even tried using a Kite Hill yogurt as a starter and saw a little thinkening after 24 hours. But that’s 24 hours with little to no progress. I’ve been reading and watching videos to determine what I’ve done wrong but I just can’t figure it out. I’m starting to wonder if I have a defective instant pot.
Hi Lea, I’m sorry to hear this. It sounds like something is wrong with your instant pot. It will feel warm on the yogurt setting. It is warm enough that there should be condensation on the top of the instant pot lid after a few hours. I’ve made this many times and have heard from many people that it has worked for them.
Exciting update: I returned the defective instant pot and have made a couple of successful batches now! The last one was the best and was a big hit with everyone. I added a little vanilla extract and stevia to the yogurt before putting it in the fridge. 🙂
So happy to hear this Lea! I knew that there had to be something wrong with your Instant Pot! Glad you’re able to enjoy it now! 🙂
Does it change the yogurt at all if there are more than 12b cfu’s? Like 15 or 40
It may work a little faster. You may want to check it after about 12 hours to see if you think it’s done. It should work fine though. Enjoy! 🙂
If I make this in a quart-sized jar (in the instant pot), should I put a lid (loosely) on the jar or not use a lid at all? Thanks!
Lisa – Don’t put the lid on at all. You want some the liquid to evaporate to make it thicker. 🙂
I had to give up all dairy for health reasons and was so sad to lose my morning yogurt…until I found this recipe! THANK YOU! Now, even if dairy was an option, I would rather have this yogurt, made exactly as you’ve so well described. Now I want to double the recipe so I don’t have to make it as often, and I see where I should use more starter…but do I also have to let it ‘cook’ longer? I can’t seem to find any advice about that one…
It’s an art to strain it to just the right thickness for ME, but oooo chilled and topped with my homemade granola! Starts the day just right!
You’re welcome Stacy! I’m so happy that it works well for you. It took me a lot of trial and error to get it right, but now that I have, we love it too! Enjoy! 🙂
Do I have to cook it longer if I double the recipe?
Hi Stacy – No, you don’t have to let it incubate any longer with a double batch. 15 hours always seems to work well no matter how much I make. 🙂
I tried this and it failed. The yogurt was way too thin. Aren’t different brands of probiotics different? Which brand did you use? I also kept the vent open. Then I tried it again, but this time I used cashew yogurt as a starter, and it was still not right. Tried one more time using almond milk yogurt as the starter with the vent closed, and it came out great. Many recipes online say to close the vent. I have been trying to make yogurt for a while now, even before these, and this last one was the only one that had a thicker consistency. I also doubled the amount of starter. I used 4 TB of almond yogurt for 32 oz. soy milk.
June, I only use probiotic the first time that I make this and then save the plain soy yogurt that I make as starter. Make sure that you use a new probiotic that has been kept in the fridge. Old ones will not be as strong. Also, make sure to use enough probiotic to total of 12 billion CFU. You can also try to incubate it a little longer. 15 hours is usually a good amount of time for my taste, but you can go up to 24 hours. The link in the post is the exact probiotic that I use for it. I hope that helps! Here is the probiotic.
Hey! My husband and I made your yogurt overnight and it turned out fantastic! Thank you!
I have one question:
When you double the recipe by using a 64oz container of soymilk, do you need to also increase the amount of yogurt you use as a starter? We held out 1/2 cup to use next time. But we would definitely like to double the recipe of finished yogurt. Thank you in advance! 🙂
Hi Robin, So glad that it came out well for you! Yes, I double the starter when I double the recipe. You could use half starter and more probiotic too if you want to try that. Enjoy! 🙂
Does the Instant Pot soy yogurt pick up the smell/flavor of anything you’ve previously cooked in it? I’ve done salmon and chili in my IP and the ring has an odor no matter how much I clean it. Also, after being in the IP for 15 hours, does it need refrigerating before it thickens enough to eat it or is it ready straight out of the IP? Thanks so much!
I have not noticed that it picks up the smell of anything that I’ve made before. Make sure you clean it as well as possible before you make the yogurt, any bacteria that shouldn’t be there can effect it negatively.
I made shawarma in mine and the ringsmelled soooooo strong I just decided to buy another from the instant pot website so I now have a ring for strong smelling foods and one other foods for yogurt and steel cut oats so the smells don’t mix. It’s free shipping on your first order and only like $8. Definitely worth it!!
Thanks for the tip Emily! That’s a great idea to just have 2 rings and switch them! 🙂
Hi,
I was just wondering about this being sugar free (love the sound of it). My question is: Doesn’t the Bactria need sugar? I might be misinformation.
Thanks 🙂
You’re welcome! 🙂 There are some natural sugars in the soy beans that the bacteria live off of, but there is no added sugar unless you choose to add it once it done.
Question about the Vanilla variant of the recipe… Does the vanilla extract and the sweetener added to the initial batch create issues when creating subsequent batches from starter? The admonitions in the text of the article about using soymilk with only water and soybeans give me pause about adding flavor and sweetener. Thanks!
Take the starter out before adding any sugar or vanilla! The starter needs to be only the soy milk and probiotic.
Hi, I am used to making dairy yogurt and like to use as a starter a purchased plain yogurt that has five different kinds of bacteria. I’m okay for now with using that for the starter, even though it’s not vegan. I might try to find different kinds of starters in capsules and experiment with using one of each later, but I’d rather not do that experiment until I get used to culturing with soy milk, Have you ever used a combination of bacteria types to make this yogurt? What have your experiences been? Andrea
Hi Andrea, I haven’t played around with the probiotic much. I found one that worked well and I still have 1/2 a bottle of it, so I didn’t try others yet since that works so well. Wish I could be more help. Let me know how your experiments turn out. 🙂
Hi, I am excited to try this recipe. I have everything but my Probiotic capsules are 50 billion cfu’s. Would you recommend using these or should I wait?
Wow! That’s a strong probiotic! You could try it with about 1/2 of a capsule of that probiotic since it is so strong. I never used that strength, so it is hard to know. If you try it, let me know!
My probiotic capsules are 30 billion cfu’s and I used the whole capsule for the recipe. My yogurt turned out great.
Great to know! Glad that it turned out well for you!
I need a little help troubleshooting this recipe. I made a first, initial batch using the same ingredients and cooking method with the Instant Pot. It turned out great. However, I realized that I only used 5 capsules for the 64 oz container rather than the 10 capsules (since the batch was doubled). On my second, and third attempt, I did everything the same but added the 5 additional capsules to the recipe (expecting it thicken the batch a little more than the first batch) but each time the recipe failed: the mixture smelled funny and was separated with the soy on the surface of the pot and the liquid below. Any suggestions as to what may be causing this? Am I doing something wrong… or is there something different I can do to get consistent, successful results? Any tips and advice are much appreciated.
Sean, I’m glad that it turned out well the first time. I’m not sure what you may have done wrong in the next batches. Make sure your pot is very clean and you are using a fresh factory sealed soy milk. (Make sure the soy milk is the kind with only soy beans and water). I would also just make a single batch and then when that works use the existing yogurt to make more batches. It does come out better when you use the yogurt as starter. Hope that helps!
I have tried and failed so so so many times to make soy yogurt. Even though I’ve made dairy yogurt many times with success, for some reason using the same process to make soy yogurt was an unqualified failure. Until this recipe. I followed it to the letter and give it A+! I’m so excited to finally be able to make vegan yogurt at home!!!! Instant Pot yogurt making for life. I think the keys are instant pot (maintains stable temperature) and particularly the vegan milk without any additives whatsoever.
Hi Tara, I’m so happy that it worked for you! It was life changing for my family to have a way to make yogurt easily and consistently. Don’t forget to save that starter and use it each time. It gets better and better! 🙂
I suppose what I make would be considered kefir, but both are essentially fermented soymilk so I’m not sure there is any real difference. I skip the heating process. All I do is empty a probiotic capsule into a carton of Trader Joe’s soy milk, shake it up, and let it stand at room temperature for 12-48 hours depending on how tangy I want it. It is much thicker than the original milk, though still liquid. Tastes the same as yogurt.
Wow! That’s a neat way to do it! I am guessing that heating it in an instant pot or yogurt maker makes it a little firmer, but I will have to try the “kefir” method that you describe! Thanks for sharing!
This was really easy and is saving me so much money on store bought yogurt!
So glad you are enjoying it!
The best homemade soy yogurt ever!