How to Make OAT MILK YOGURT (Instant Pot or any yogurt maker) (2024)

Updated Jul 14, 2022 · 122 Comments

I may receive a commission if you purchase through links in this post. I am not a doctor; please consult your practitioner before changing your supplement or healthcare regimen.

How to Make Oat Milk Yogurt is an easy dairy-free recipe that’s gentle to digest and nutritious. Use your Instant Pot or any yogurt maker for this probiotic-rich, creamy yogurt recipe. This recipe is Gluten-free, Vegan, Ancestral, VAD and great for anyone who’s reintroducing grains or doing a part Paleo diet.

Jump to Recipe

Why to make homemade Oat Milk Yogurt

Like you (perhaps), I’m not interested in buying oat milk or oat milk yogurt from the store.

The reasons I don’t buy store bought:

It contains additives to thicken, preserve or sweeten that aren’t as natural as I choose to eat.
Store bought is expensive, whereas homemade is really cheap!
Commercially made oat milks and yogurts are not pre-digested, so they contain anti-nutrients which interfere with the absorption of minerals.
Disposable containers aren’t good for the environment. And many materials from disposables can slough off into our food.

In contrast, homemade Oat Milk Yogurt is:

easier to digest
often higher in probiotics
very inexpensive
fast and easy
healthier and safer!

Oat Milk Yogurt recipe ingredients

Just a few simple ingredients make Oat Milk Yogurt:

water
rolled oats
probiotic — I like this one, which is vegan. If you have another probiotic that you know contains live cultures, it may work fine too.

I also add one of two thickeners: either gelatin for Gluten-free OR agar-agar for Vegan and if preferred. You can also leave out the thickener if you prefer.

This recipe is refined sugar-free. That means no white sugar. Instead, you can sweeten your yogurt with natural sweeteners like dates, maple syrup, honey (for non-vegan) or agave.

I also love this recipe unsweetened.

How to Make Oat Milk Yogurt

Blend water and rolled oats. Strain. (Recipe and exact amounts below.)
Place Oat Milk into large saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin OR, for Vegan, agar-agar over the surface. Allow to dissolve for 2 minutes for gelatin OR 5 minutes for agar-agar. Whisk it in.
- You may also use the Instant Pot, instead of a saucepan, for this stage. See Recipe Notes below.
Heat until almost simmering for gelatin version, then remove from heat, cool to warm, and add probiotic. For agar-agar version, simmer 5 minutes, then cool to warm, and add probiotic.
Use Instant Pot on Yogurt Setting or any yogurt maker. Ferment 10 to 24 hours, depending on desired tartness and probiotic count. (The longer the yogurt inoculates, the tarter it becomes and the more probiotics it will have.)
Chill a minimum of 3 hours to set the thick texture.

Immersion blender for Vegan version

After chilling, I like to use an immersion blender with the agar-agar version (not needed with the gelatin version) to get a really creamy texture. You don’t need to, but the agar-agar thickener sets like loose Jell-O, so if you want the texture completely smooth and creamy, the hand blender is quick and works nicely.

How to serve Oat Milk Yogurt

I find Oat Yogurt to be very creamy, but also very light. It’s refreshing to eat it on its own, but also wonderful in these ways:

with Strawberry Topping
made into a Lassi
layered with granola and berries
served on waffles with pure maple syrup

We’ve eaten it all these ways in the last few weeks and simply loved it.

To make Oat Milk Yogurt richer, you may also add a dollop of heavy cream or coconut cream, and then a drizzle of sweetener.

Print Recipe

4.83 from 35 votes

How to Make OAT MILK YOGURT (Gluten-free, Vegan)

How to Make Oat Milk Yogurt is an easy dairy-free recipe that's gentle to digest and nutritious. This recipe is Gluten-free, Vegan, Ancestral, VAD and great for anyone who's reintroducing grains or doing a part Paleo diet. Use any yogurt maker or your Instant Pot for this probiotic-rich, creamy yogurt recipe.

Course: Breakfast, condiment, Dessert, lunch, Snack

Cuisine: American, Turkish

Keyword: ancestral, gluten-free, oat, oat milk, oat yogurt, VAD, vegan, yogurt

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 47kcal

Author: Megan

Cost: .50

Equipment

yogurt maker or Instant Pot with Yogurt setting
saucepan

Ingredients

3 cups water
½ cup rolled oats
2 teaspoons gelatin for Paleo OR 1-½ teaspoons agar-agar powder (or 4 teaspoons agar flakes) for Vegan
3 capsules probiotic or yogurt starter like this one

Optional Ingredients

2 teaspoons maple syrup or 2 dates, softened in hot water for 30 minutes
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

Make Oat Milk: In high powered blender, purée water and rolled oats for 30 seconds on medium speed. (If you wish, first add any of the Optional Ingredients listed above, and then purée.) Pour milk through 2 layers of cheesecloth or a nut milk bag to remove the solids. Do not squeeze out the extra liquid all the way, but you may briefly press out a little. (You'll get a creamy light outcome and no goopy texture by not squeezing solids. A little pressing/squeezing does create a creamier yogurt that's a little gooey in a nice way.)
Place Oat Milk into large saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin OR, for Vegan, agar-agar over the surface, and allow to dissolve for 2 minutes for gelatin OR 5 minutes for agar-agar. Whisk it in. (To use the Instant Pot for this stage, see recipe Notes below.)
Heat gently over medium heat, whisking. No lumps will form if you haven't squeezed out the extra liquid from the oats when making oat milk. (If you whisk constantly, no lumps will form either way.) But the mixture will gradually, subtly and nicely thicken a little.
For the gelatin version, heat until very steamy and almost simmering (and/or you can no longer hold a finger in the liquid for more than a second without it being too hot).
For the Vegan agar-agar version, simmer for 5 minutes to dissolve the thickener, whisking continually as it thickens slightly. Reduce heat as needed to low or medium-low. (Including cooling time, this important cooking time allows the agar to maintain a total of 10 minutes at the required 190° temperature it needs to gel). Allow to cool slightly, for 10 to 15 minutes.
Cool to 110° F with an instant-read thermometer. Sprinkle probiotic or vegan yogurt starter over the surface, and whisk in. (If you don’t have a thermometer,here’s a way to test with your fingerfor 110º.)
Pour into desired culturing container. Ferment 10 to 24 hours. The longer it ferments, the tarter it will get and the more probiotics it will have.
To culture in the Instant Pot: Press "Yogurt" button. Use the +/- button to adjust the incubation time. You can use the clear glass lid or the lock on lid; it doesn't matter.
Sweeten to taste, or chill and then sweeten, as desired. Refrigerate to fully thicken the yogurt.

Notes

How to heat your oat milk using the Instant Pot

If you want to heat your oat milk in your Instant Pot's insert, you can skip using the saucepan (one less dish).

You'll never need to seal the lid or actually boil the liquid, but you can use the insert as your pot, and then just keep going to make yogurt in it.

Here's how:

Pour your freshly made oat milk into Instant Pot insert.
Sprinkle gelatin OR, for Vegan, agar-agar over the surface, and allow to dissolve for 2 minutes for gelatin OR 5 minutes for agar-agar. Whisk it in.
Put IP on "Yogurt" setting. Press the "Adjust" button to "Boil" or "HIGH." (The readout will depend on your model. After this, on some Instant Pot models, you'll need to press the "Start" button.)
Proceed with Steps 3 and 4 in the main recipe above, pressing the "Cancel" button when the oat milk reaches the right temperature, as indicated in Step 4.

Nutrition

Similar dairy-free yogurt recipes you may love:

Tiger Nut Yogurt
Cashew Yogurt
Homemade Coconut Milk Yogurt