Instant Pot Cashew Yogurt

Homemade cashew yogurt is deliciously tangy, creamy, light in calories, and made with just 2 ingredients. This vegan yogurt recipe has no gums or added sugar, and can also be made without an Instant Pot. A few key tips and ingredients will ensure yogurt success every time. Also includes instructions for making extra thick Greek-style vegan yogurt!

Why You'll Love It

This healthy non-dairy yogurt:

• has only 135 calories per 8 ounce cup. Compare that to those tiny servings of store-bought yogurts. *Of course, the caloric value changes if you make the Greek-style yogurt option.
• cuts down on single-use plastic containers.
• can be more or less tangy, depending on your preference.
• is 100% unsweetened, which means it's perfect for savory dishes, too (like creamy mashed potatoes)!
• is naturally creamy, not gelatinous like some store-bought yogurts with additives.
• can be sweetened any way you like. From jam to fruit puree to maple syrup, add your favorite sweetener to individual servings for ultimate flexibility.

I consider myself pretty new to the Instant Pot. In fact, this is the very first Instant Pot recipe I'm sharing on the blog (woohoo)! I held off on buying one because we don't have much storage or counter space, but about 5 months ago, I finally gave in. And one of the very first things I wanted to try with my new Instant Pot was homemade vegan yogurt.

I started with soy yogurt, and that first batch blew my mind! The flavor was so pure and clean. I would even describe it as "crave-able," not to mention CHEAP!

If you're interested in making soy yogurt, Becky over at Glue & Glitter has a great tutorial.

UPDATE: Check out this new recipe for Homemade Almond Milk Yogurt!

Cost Comparison

After several batches of tasty soy yogurt, I started experimenting with cashew yogurt in an attempt to replicate Forager, my favorite brand. It's not that I don't want to support them, but I want to enjoy yogurt every day! So I really needed a more affordable option.

Most store-bought vegan yogurts are around $7 for a large, 24 ounce container (3 cups). But homemade vegan yogurt only costs about $2.50 per quart. That's 4 cups!

Why This Recipe Works

Last summer, before I bought an Instant Pot, I experimented with homemade cashew yogurt a few times. I left it on the kitchen counter overnight to culture. It was surprisingly successful, but something about the process didn't sit right with me. I wanted it to feel safer and more predictable. And since household temperatures fluctuate depending on the season, it was never going to be foolproof.

So I did some research on making dairy yogurt in the Instant Pot and combined that with what I've learned about making soy yogurt, and voila! A creamy, dreamy, 2-ingredient cashew yogurt recipe. Other than the fact that we're blending our own milk and briefly heating it on the stove, making cashew yogurt is every bit as easy as making soy yogurt from boxed milk.

Blend the Cashew Milk

A high-speed blender like Vitamix makes the creamiest cashew yogurt, but a standard blender will also work.

If using a regular blender, it helps to soak the cashews first. Place cashews in a bowl, cover with water, and let sit at room temperature overnight. Alternatively, you can quick-soak the cashews in hot water for about 2 hours. Then, drain and rinse. If using a high-speed blender, there's no need to soak.

Begin by blending ¾ cup raw cashews with 1 cup of water until completely smooth (for vegan Greek yogurt, you'll use different amounts).

I run my Vitamix on high for about 2 minutes to make extra sure I end up with the smoothest consistency. If you under-blend the cashews you'll end up with a slightly grainy looking yogurt, which is fine and certainly doesn't hurt anything.

For ultra smooth yogurt, be sure to run the blender longer than you might expect. In fact, the mixture will start to warm up, and that's okay.

Next, add the remaining 2.5 cups of water to the blender, and blend for a few seconds to combine.

Option: Add a Thickener

This step is completely optional, and honestly, I don't usually do it. I don't mind my yogurt a bit on the thinner side, but if you prefer a slightly thicker yogurt, add 2 tablespoons of arrowroot or tapioca starch to the freshly blended cashew milk, and blend to combine.

*See updated section below to learn how to make vegan Greek-style yogurt. No tapioca starch needed!

Heat the Cashew Milk

This step is quick and easy but very important. It helps the cashew yogurt in a few ways:

• It kills any unwanted bacteria that may have made it into our cashew milk via the blender or the nuts themselves.
• The naturally occurring starch in cashews thickens when heated.
• If including the optional tapioca starch, it has to be heated in order to thicken.

Pour the cashew milk into a non-reactive sauce pan, and bring it just to a simmer (stainless steel is fine). Whisk frequently as the milk is coming to temperature. Be sure to scrape the bottom and corners of the pan, where most of the thickening occurs. 

After simmering the cashew milk for about 30 seconds, immediately remove the pan from heat. Allow the mixture to cool until it reaches 100 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit. For me, this typically takes about 30 minutes.

Don't have a thermometer? No problem! Grab a clean spoon, and either taste the cashew milk or place a drop on the back of your wrist. If it feels warm, similar to body temperature, but not hot, it's time to add the probiotic. 

Add the Culture

Open one to two capsules of vegan-friendly probiotic (read more about selecting a probiotic in the Tips section below), and sprinkle the powder onto the cashew milk. The amount needed depends on the strength of the probiotic. Aim for at least 30 to 40 billion live bacteria.

Whisk to incorporate the powder, then immediately pour the mixture into clean jars. This recipe makes just under 4 cups of yogurt, so I usually use 1 quart jar (32 oz) or 2 pint jars (16 oz). 

This vegan yogurt starter from Cultures for Health is a great option but not as widely available as probiotic capsules. If you choose to use yogurt starter you'll want to experiment with saving yogurt from each batch to use as the starter for subsequent batches. Otherwise making yogurt will get pricey! The process of using yogurt as a starter works with soy, but I haven't tested it yet with cashew yogurt.

Set the Instant Pot

Place the jars inside the Instant Pot (no need to add water), put the lid on, and turn it to the locked/sealed position. Press the Yogurt button. My particular Instant Pot defaults to 10:00 hours on the yogurt function. Use the + and - buttons to adjust the time.

If you prefer a less tangy yogurt, start with 10 hours. For tangier yogurt you'll want to experiment with 12, 13, or even 14 hours of incubation. I typically do 13 hours.

See the Tips below for the best time of day to start this process!

Tips for the Best Cashew Yogurt

Use new capsule(s) of probiotic each time.
Typically you can use a small amount of yogurt from an existing batch as the culture for the next batch. But I've read that with certain non-dairy yogurts this doesn't always work. So for cashew yogurt and for the sake of consistency, I choose to use fresh capsules of probiotic each time.

Choose the right probiotic.
I always keep a bottle of Jarro-dophilus in the fridge, so it's easy to just grab a new capsule (or two, depending on the strength). I've been using their products for almost 20 years, so I'm comfortable with the brand, and it's easy to find.

I recommend one of the high potency, multi-strain Jarro-dophilus products like the one linked above. It contains L. acidophilus and B. lactis, two strains important for making yogurt.

Use clean jars.
Either run them through the dishwasher before making a batch of yogurt, or simply fill them with boiling water, let stand for a few minutes, then pour out the water.

Cover the jars, and leave a bit of space between the lid and the yogurt. 
I've successfully made yogurt in the Instant Pot leaving the jars uncovered, but if you've recently made spicy or very fragrant food in your Instant Pot, those odors can impact the flavor of your yogurt. Covering the jars keeps odors out.

Trust your nose and eyes.
I haven't experienced a batch of "bad" yogurt yet, but it can happen. Just remember, yogurt should smell tangy and appealing, not sour or "off." Dirty utensils or jars can introduce bad bacteria, which can grow during the culturing process. If in doubt, throw it out.

Don't skip the step of heating the cashew milk.
It is possible to skip this step and have everything turn out fine, but it might also lead to a ruined batch of yogurt. So don't be tempted to skip this step just for the sake of saving a few minutes. Heating it is also activates the starch in the cashews and improves the texture.

Begin the process around or after dinner time. 
You want to be available when the Instant Pot timer beeps, so you can transfer the jars of yogurt to the counter to cool and then to the refrigerator. If you plan to culture the yogurt for 13 hours, for example, and you add approximately 40 minutes to that for the time it takes to blend, heat, and cool the cashew milk, you can see why overnight works best.

If you only plan to culture the yogurt for 10 hours, starting the process early in the morning works fine. The downside is that your Instant Pot will be tied up all day and unavailable for other tasks.

How to Make Vegan Greek Yogurt

The easiest way to make a super thick, Greek-style cashew yogurt is to simply decrease the amount of water, increase the cashews, or do a little of both.

Remember, cashews contain starch that naturally thickens when heated. So when the ratio of cashews to water increases, so does the thickness of the yogurt.

For a thicker Greek-style yogurt, use 1 ¼ cups cashews, and decrease the total amount of water to 3 cups. This ratio is flexible. After you try it once, feel free to adjust the amounts until you get the consistency exactly how you like it.

You might also like:

Homemade Almond Milk Yogurt
Vegan Yogurt Cake
Mango-Mint Yogurt Smoothie
2-Minute Easy Vegan Yogurt Oats 
Oil-Free Vegan Aquafaba Mayo
Healthy Oil-Free Granola

If you try this Homemade Cashew Yogurt I would love to hear from you. Be sure to leave a comment and a star rating below!