Vegan soy yogurt that’s 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 never really tasted 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 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 are 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 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 Tips:
- 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 a 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 a snap on sealed lids to keep it airtight. 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 bought 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 the 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.
After buying organic West Soy soymilk on line for $2.50 per 32 oz. I discovered the 64 oz. organic, plain, unsweetened soymilk from Westsoy, with only soybeans and filtered water for $3.98 at Walmart. I could have saved some money. Thought I would let your readers know.
By the way, this one does not have sea salt and brown rice syrup but I had pretty good results from the one I bought online. I am trying a new batch at this moment with the correct soymilk, one half a capsule from a 30 billion cfu probiotic and about a teaspoon of pectin.
Thanks for letting us know. I haven’t had any batches come out if they have anything in the milk, but soybeans and water, but I’m excited to try it.
Hello! I couldn’t read through all the comments but do you have probiotics you recommend? Thank you!
Hi Sebastiaan, I have a link to the probiotic that I use to make mine above in the post. It comes in vegan gel caps that are easy to pull apart. I find it at Whole Foods, but you can get it from Amazon too. I have heard from my readers that many varieties of probiotics will work. Let me know how it goes! Enjoy! 🙂
Hi! I made your amazing yogurt this weekend, did 3 batches back to back! I tried a couple of things I read elsewhere and wanted to share. I found this site where this person tested how much starter to use and how low to let it incubate. My last batch, I only used 1 teaspoon of my starter and left it in the Instant Pot for 8hrs, and it came out wonderful. The other thing I tried with the second batch was too put it in a cheesecloth and let it drain for ~ 1hr, like they do for Greek yogurt. That also came out fantastic. I puréed some left over mangos I had and mixed it all together… I am never going back to store bought! Thank you!!!
Hi MJ, I’m so happy that it worked well for you! I’ve never tried using so little starter, but I’m glad to hear that you had success with it. I’ve made Greek style with a cheese cloth too, but I felt like I lost half my yogurt that way. I have to come up with something to do with all the liquid that I drain off, maybe put it in my smoothies or use it for homemade vegan cheese. I’ll have to test it out some more! So happy that you liked it! Thanks for leaving a review! 🙂
Hello! You recommended Trader Joe’s Unsweetened Soy Milk which is what we always have, you also mentioned only soy and water as ingredients but TJs ingredients are: filtered water, organic whole soybeans, calcium carbonate, sea salt, natural flavors, carrageenan, vitamin a palmitate, ergocalciferol (vitamin d2), riboflavin (vitamin b2), cobalamin (vitamin b12).
Is this ok? Thanks! Can’t wait to try this!
Hi Alice, I’m sorry, but that is not the one that will work for this yogurt. It has to be the shelf-stable one that they sell on the shelf near the cereal. This one only has water and whole organic soy beans. (It’s in the picture above being poured into my instant pot). I just tried Ripple last night and it worked GREAT! So, that is another choice for you too. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Anxiously awaiting you to do this with oat milk !!
I just tried it with my homemade oat milk last week and it did not work. I’m going to try it tonight with Ripple (pea milk). I’ve heard from many others that it works well. I’ll let you know! 🙂
Hi there. I used Westsoy. 64 oz. I used a probiotic that has 100 billion per capsule, 34 strains. I only cooked it for 11 hours because I needed to go to bed and I didn’t time it out well. After spooning off the water, the yogurt had some clumps and was thin in some spots and think in others. I used an emulsion blender to smooth it all out. It was more of a Kiefer consistency than yogurt. I put it in the refrigerator. In the morning it separated. Liquid was on the bottom and the thick yogurt was floating on top. I scooped all the yogurt off the top and dumped the liquid. It was lot of liquid, 1.5 cups. Now I’m left with perfect yogurt. I added agave, vanilla and strawberry jam. It fantastic. I’ve never made yogurt. First try and I came out great. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I read many recipes before choosing this one. I wanted a more economical way to give my family of 4 the benifts of probiotics. Success! Thanks again for sharing the recipe and all your tips.
Nicole, I’m so happy that it worked out well for you! I think that you will have even more success if you can time it to leave it in for the full 15 hours. I’ve never been able to get that much liquid off of mine, but I’m so happy that it worked well for you!
I used 1 tablespoon of store bought Silk unsweetened soy yogurt as my starter, set the instant pot to yogurt for 14.5 hours, the result is super sour and tofu pudding in texture, not yogurt. I did eat out of the Silk yogurt for two days so maybe bad bacteria got in? Is the half hour extra too much? I would appreciate it if you could give me some pointers.
I usually use probiotic for a starter. I can’t find the plain unsweetened soy yogurt where I live, so I don’t use that. I have a feeling that the yogurt itself had some bad bacteria in it if it had been opened and used for a few days before making the yogurt. I think that you would also need more than a tbsp of yogurt for a starter. I use 1/2 cup of yogurt as a starter and the store-bought type doesn’t have as much live culture. Hope that helps. 🙂
Hi Monica,
Thank you for this recipe! I bought the instant pot and can’t wait to start making my first yoghurt. Will your recipe also work with half of the amounts, 2 cups of soy milk?
Hans, It will work with half as well. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
How come it’s only soy milk that seems to be the only plant milk to make thick yogurt? So far I’ve tried to use almond milk and cashew milk (the clean ones from Rude Health) in an instant pot 🙂
Hi Michael, Yogurt is a very specific scientific process. It has to be the right conditions for the culture to grow. Soy just seems to be better for that. I have heard that ripple (pea milk) and oat milk also work well. I’ll be testing them out soon and will let you know how those work. 🙂
Hi Monica! I use my 8 quart Instant Pot to make my own homemade soy milk (I start with 400 grams of beans, soak 24 hours, blend and mix with 12 cups water total, cook on high 5 minutes and natural release). I assume since I just cooked it, that all I need to do is let it cool down to proper temp, mix in probiotic and put in my other Instant Pot that has the yogurt feature? (I really need to get one of the bigger ones with yogurt feature also…)
Wow! I have never made it from soybeans before, but yes, I think that it will turn out the way you are describing. Let me know how it goes. 🙂
we are making yogurt but we didnt used instant pot. you said to keep it maintain 112°F while incubate. did you put the first batch with probiotic at 44°c? or higher than that?? need answer and so exicted to try.
Hi Bella. I add the probiotic to the soymilk before heating it. Then the Instant Pot slowly heats it to 112 F / 44 C and keeps it at that tempature for 15 hours. (I do this with every batch). Hope this answers your question. 🙂
This method of yogurt-making has yielded perfect yogurt in my 3Q mini. The first batch, made from cultures, was actually quite good. This time I used starter from the first batch and the results are amazing – thick, perfect-tasting yogurt. Thanks so much!
I’m so happy that it came out well for you! Enjoy! 🙂
I love this recipe. My first few batches have been great. I’ve even had good results using a frozen portion of yogurt for the starter (defrosted). My only questions is it’s a little grainy. The flavor is fantastic and the grainy texture doesn’t matter much, but is there a tip to to fix this? Thanks again! I had largely quit eating yogurt after becoming vegan because it was so hard to find anything that tasted right. This does the trick and is so easy!
Robin
I’m happy to read that freezing the starter works! I haven’t done that yet, so I’m not sure what to do about the grainy texture when you defrost it. Maybe try stirring it really well before adding it to the milk? 🙂
Anxious to try for my child with a milk allergy. Bought all the ingredients, but when I hit the yogurt button, it said “boil.” After about 5 mins it said “yogt.” I wasn’t then able to set the timer for 15 hours. The yogurt button is lit and the pressure level says low. Timer is counting up not down and lid is not locked. Not sure if I’m doing this right… 😐
I’m not sure what is going on with your Instant pot. Is it a different brand? Mine does not boil before going to the yogurt setting. Your yogurt should not be under pressure and you don’t want your probiotic to heat past about 115 degrees F. Do you have the vent open? If you think that your probiotic got overheated, throw it out and start again, otherwise wait 15 hours and see what happens. Good luck! 🙂
Hello,
Thank you for sharing your recipe! I just tried this recipe with the organic plain soymilk and one probiotic capsule with 60 billion. The consistency was watery and clumpy. The taste was the perfect yogurt tartness. Should it be clumpy? Or is that the wrong consistency?
It comes out slightly different each time that I make it. It’s not usually clumpy, but with fall apart easily. If you stirred it before you drained off the excess water, then it will have a clumpy texture. It also gets firmer once you make it a few times and the starter matures. Get all the liquid off of it that you can and use it for the starter for a second batch and I think you will have good luck. (Make sure it’s the soy milk with only soybeans and water too). 🙂
Hi,
So I’m on my fourth batch of yoghurt. The third batch, I didn’t have enough time to let it go the whole fifteen hours (just never enough time between shifts 🙁 ) so I turned it off around 13 H and put it in the fridge right away. It wasn’t as thick as previous batches, but it still was still a bit tangy and creamy. Since I knew there was less culture in that batch, for batch four I used twice as much starter as usual. I let it go for the full 15 H, cool for about half an hour, opened it up and found it looks like this – https://photos.app.goo.gl/R9bYDzL2TpmZ24yX8 – it seems to be floating somewhat in water. There’s water all around the sides and the yoghurt moves. Ever other time, the water has been on the top. Do you know what might be going on?
Also, regarding the issues other folks are having with mould, I haven’t had any thus far. I run the steam setting for 2 minutes, chuck out the water, careful not to touch the inner pot, use just-opened soy milk, and sterilize my whisk in boiling water first. When it’s done, I also dunk the jar I’m keeping the starter in in boiling water, along with the spoon I use to remove the water with.
Hi Alex, I’m glad that you are having some success with this recipe! The water is normal. Make sure your vent valve is open so some humidity has the chance to escape while incubating. You can also take the lid off a few times during the 15 hour process and spoon off excess water. If you have time, you also want to let the yogurt cool uncovered to allow the extra moisture to escape. Just make sure to spoon off any excess liquid before you stir the yogurt. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
For subsequent batches, use 1/2 C starter… to how much soy milk? Still 4 C? Thanks!
Yes, follow the recipe the same way except for use 1/2 cup of starter instead of the probiotic capsules. Each batch with the starter will yield 4 1/2 cups of yogurt. (But save 1/2 cup for your next batch). 🙂
Hi Monica,
I have a quick questions – I have 50 billion probiotic, how many capsules should I use for this recipe?
Thank you!!!
Wow, that’s a powerful probiotic! You probably only need about 1/2 of the capsule. I have never used one that strong, so it’s hard to say. It also depends on how fresh they are and if you have kept them under the proper conditions. If you have had it a while, you may just want to put in a whole capsule. Good luck. Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
I can’t find unfortified soy milk ANYWHERE where I live. Soybeans, water, no vanilla or sugar, but lots of added vitamins for some reason. Will it work? 🙁
Linden, unfortunately, it will not work with anything but the plain soy milk with nothing added. Some people have reported that it has worked with Ripple pea milk. You could try that if you can find it.
My very first try turned out perfect. Thank you! Have you ever tried straining the yoghurt through a chesse cloth to achieve something close to Greek style yoghurt?
So happy to hear that it turned out so well for you! I have strained it to make a Greek style before, but I was only left with a small amount, so I don’t normally do that. I make sure to skim all the water I can off the top and let it cool uncovered to allow all the excess steam to evaporate. That helps to thicken it up. Also, it will get thicker as your yogurt culture matures. Enjoy! 🙂
When I took my lid off the entire top film was pink. Is that a sign of bad bacteria?
Yes! If it is pink you have to throw it away. Some bad bacteria got in it somehow. Wash all of your equipment very well in very hot or boiling water, dry it completely and start again. Make sure to start with a factory sealed container of soy milk too!
I just bought an Instant Pot and the very first thing I made was this vegan yogurt recipe. It came out perfect! I did have to add 1 tsp of vanilla and 2 tbls of agave because it tasted like sour cream (now I know how to make sour cream haha) but with the sweetener it was absolutely perfect. I’m a sweet over savory type person anyway. So thank you for this recipe. I saved my 1/2 cup of starter and look forward to the next batch. Maybe I will try 14 hours as I read here the less time the less sour/tangy. Thanks again!
If you are not used to homemade yogurt, it is very sour. I need to add a little sugar to mine as well. If you buy the store brands, they will have a lot of sugar.
I don’t have a machine. Soak 2 and 1/2 cups of high quality, organic soy beans over night. 10 hours. Boil a gallon of water in a soup kettle. I use a Victoria hand crank grinder to make a paste of the soaked beans and then put them in the boiling water and cook, covered, at low temp for 30 minutes. Watch carefully because it will foam up, push the lid and over flow. Keep a 1/2 cup of cold water at the ready in this case; pour in a stream of water down the middle and the foam will subside. but keep the lid on, or yuba will form, which is also very good, if that is what you want.
When this is done cooking, i put in two heaping table spoons of honey and a couple of teaspoons of vanilla, stir well, and then pour the milk thru cheese cloth lining a colander into another large pot and squeeze out all of the milk. boil two more cups of water, open the cheese cloth and pour it in, re-wrap the okara, and press it again for maximum yield.
at this point you make the yogurt, while the milk is still very fresh and hot. i buy a container of good dairy yogurt and put a dollop of it on the bottom of the jars, but will try out the 1/2 cup starter method soon. shake them up good. then I put these jars in a cardboard box lined with aluminum foil and use some small towels to fill the gaps; cover with foil and close the box lid. I then put a pot of boiled water, lid on, on top of the box, and then let this sit for 8 hours.
This yogurt turns out sweet, and not beany or sour at all. This is because of the high quality, fresh organic beans and minimum cooking time.
This will make a half gallon of yogurt and a 1/2 gallon of soy milk. you can also easily slip in some vinegar into the hot milk and then press the curds for fresh tofu.
most of this i learned on The Farm, from Louise Hagler and Barb Bloomfield.
Wow Mark! Thanks for all the details on how to make it this way! I’ll have to give it a try! I’ve always wanted to make my own tofu, but haven’t attempted it yet.
Wow! What a gift this recipe is. My husband and I used to love yogurt as a snack but gave it up when we gave up dairy a few years ago. I made yogurt often dairy and then tried non-dairy, and gave up. Lot’s of effort with little success. I refuse to pay the high prices for non dairy yogurt. I got an instant pot a few months ago and came across this recipe. I have made several batches and it comes out perfect every time. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I’m so happy that this recipe has helped you guys be able to enjoy yogurt again! 🙂
Mine was watery and not sour. I am unsure what I did wrong. Followed the instructions!:(
I have been making this for years without any problems, but my last batch didn’t turn out well either and a few people have reported the same thing lately. I feel that there must have been a change in manufacturing. I hope that it was just a bad batch of soy milk. Maybe wait a few weeks and try it again. I will try to contact the company and see if there was a change.
Hi there! Quick question:
I’ve attempted this yogurt recipe twice now. The first attempt was with soy milk that had added vitamins and minerals. It turned out to be too liquidy and had a bunch of pink coloration on top.
In the second attempt, I used the Westsoy brand of milk, sanitized my instantpot, and success! Well…sort of. I noticed that the top of my yogurt has a pretty thick skin on top and I noticed two very small, faint areas that were slightly pink. Is this normal? If I scrape the skin off the top, is this safe to consume? There doesn’t seem to be any pink areas throughout the rest of the yogurt.
I have been making this for years without any problems, but my last batch didn’t turn out well either and a few people have reported the same thing lately. I feel that there must have been a change in manufacturing. I hope that it was just a bad batch of soy milk. Maybe wait a few weeks and try it again. I will try to contact the company and see if there was a change. (I’m not sure about the skin on the top, that has never happened to mine). It should be fine to consume, but if you don’t think it smells right, throw it away and try again.
I followed this recipe exactly, used West Soy, plain unsweetened (only 2 ingredients, water and soy), and followed the instructions exactly, 15 hours, and 12 billion CFUs. When it went off after 15 hours the mixture inside was pretty much completely liquid still. Any idea why this might be?
I used Kroger brand probiotic, that is stored in the cupboard, not the fridge. Would that make a difference? The final mixture does have a slightly sour taste, and at the very bottom there’s a residue that formed, that makes me think it was kind of thickening up, but again, it’s mostly liquid. What could I try next?
Also, at the end of the 15 hours my Instant pot was warm to the touch, but not ‘hot’. How hot is the Instant Pot supposed to be after using the yogurt function? Too hot to handle? I could handle mine with no problem, at the temperature it was at. Again, warm, but not hot. Is that right?
Your Instant Pot should be warm but not hot. The ideal temperature is 112° F for incubating the yogurt. You could get a thermometer and check it if you don’t think it’s right. Good Luck! 🙂
Hi Natalie, I suspect that your probiotic was old. It should be kept in the fridge to stay the freshest. I would buy a new probiotic and give that a try. It’s not super thick yogurt, but it should not be watery. Hope that works for you!
I’ve been making cows milk yogurt for a while and always use the whey as my starter. (I always strain my yogurt with cheesecloth)
I’ve recently switched to soy using 50billion probiotic as my starter. My question is have you ever used the soy “whey” as the starter?
Hi Jay, I’m sorry, but I’ve never tried the soy whey. Let me know how it goes if you try it.
It went well!!
Now if I could only get used to the taste. Any suggestions if your to ease the sour taste?
I gave this a shot, using fresh Trader Joe’s soy milk, the same brand of probiotics as you, and a 15 hour yogurt setting on my instant pot. My yogurt looks nice and thick but there are spots of pink mold on it. I’m guessing the cause would be my instant pot not being clean enough. How do you recommend sanitizing it before I try again? Boiling water? Would it work to pressure-cook some water?
The only other culprit that I can identify is that my instant pot is an Ultra, and there are various possible settings for “yogurt”: Low (91 F)/Med (107 F)/High (181 F)/Custom (104-176 F). I didn’t see the custom setting at first, so I went with medium. Next time I’ll try Custom and aim for 112 F.
The pink spots are probably from your pot not being clean enough. Wash it well and rinse it in very hot water. You may also want to try the West Soy brand instead.
I really, really appreciate your help, but this recipe just hasn’t worked out for me, even following the instructions perfectly. I tried again, pressure-cooked some water inside the instant pot to sterilize it, and used the boiling water to rinse my whisk. Nothing unsanitary came in contact with the soy milk. Then I followed the recipe precisely, including setting my instant pot to 112ºF. This time, the finished product again had pink mold spots, but didn’t thicken. At this point I don’t have a clue what the culprit was, but I do have a lot of probiotic capsules left, so I suppose I’ll keep experimenting.
So sorry that this happened, Jennifer! I have a suspicion that It could be Trader Joe’s soy milk batch at the moment. They were out of stock for a while and I just made it with the newly stocked soy milk and the same thing just happened to me. I’ve made this 100 times with it working every time. I think that they may have had a bad batch. Switch to West Soy or try again with another batch number.
Hi
Is it normal if my soy yogurt tastes slightly sour
I removed it from the fridge 7 hours ago
Made it yesterday and refrigerated it instead of eating right away
Normally i ate right away after making and did not taste sour at all
This time it is slightly sour….smells ok…looks ok
Based on your experience does it turn sour if you leave it longer
My soy yogurt usually tastes a little sour to me. The longer you incubate it, the sourer it will taste. If this batch is too sour for your taste, you could reduce the time you leave it in the Instant Pot. Maybe try 13-14 hours of incubation next time. (Also, if you didn’t start out with a very clean pot, other bacteria could start growing and change the taste). Hope that helps. 🙂
Hello! I’m just curious on how precise the CFUs must be? If there’s more or a bit less is that alright? Thanks!
I have just found that 12 billion CFUs works well. I would use a little more rather than a little less if I had to choose.
Any update on freezing the starter?
Not yet. My local Trader Joe’s has been out of the soy milk lately, but I’ll try it as soon as it’s back in stock and let you know.
Any suggestions to use coconut or almond milk? I avoid dairy and soy….thank you.
Hi Cindy, It won’t work with coconut or almond milk, but I have heard people having success with Ripple which is a pea based milk. I hope to try Ripple soon and I’ll report back on how it works.
This worked out so well for me, thank you 🙂 I use an actual yogurt maker that keeps it at a constant safe temperature and you’re right, definitely after the first few batches it turns out even better. I made my first batch in October 18 and all of my subsequent batches have worked great as a starter. I get through it so quickly that it’s definitely saving me some money!
I’m so happy to hear that it’s working for you! It does save a ton of money if you buy a lot of soy yogurt! Enjoy! 🙂
My insta pot does not have a yogurt setting. Can I use a different setting or can you tell me to make it in my crockpot?
I don’t think that there is another setting on the Instant pot that you can use. The warm button will keep it about 150° F which will be too hot. You need to find a way to keep the soy milk close to 112°F for 15 hours. Some people do it in the oven with the oven light on. The heat from the light is enough to keep the oven warm. You can also put it inside another container then put it in your crockpot and turn it to warm for a few minutes. Then turn off the crockpot and wrap a towel around it to keep the heat in. Check it every few hours and if it starts to cool off, then turn it back on for a few minutes. (It is hard to regulate the temperature with the crockpot or oven though.
It worked well for me in my Excalibur dehydrator.
Wow Ruby! That’s great to know! Thanks for commenting and letting us all know that there is another way if you don’t have an instant pot.
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!