A Day (and Night) on the Homestead: Making Goat Milk Yogurt with Raw Milk

Yesterday on the farm, we turned a gallon of raw goat milk from our Nubian doe into a week’s worth of thick, creamy homemade yogurt — and honestly, it felt like the most satisfying kind of slow living.

There’s something so grounding about transforming what your animals give you into real, nourishing food. After evening chores and milking, we brought the fresh goat milk into the farmhouse kitchen. We gave it a gentle heat-up to prepare it for culturing, then let our Instant Pot do the rest. No fancy gadgets. No preservatives or additives. Just real raw milk and a few spoonfuls of probiotic-rich starter yogurt.

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⏳ Letting Time Do the Work

We let the yogurt ferment overnight — about 8 hours — while we let the farm and our bodies rest. With the roosters’ first crow the next morning, we padded into the kitchen to check on our batch. Thick, warm, and mildly tangy — just the way we like it.

We let it cool, strained a few jars for Greek-style yogurt, and flavored some with a swirl of fresh fruit, a drizzle of honey, and homemade granola. It made for a healthy, gut-friendly breakfast straight from the land — and from our goats.

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♻️ What We Do with the Leftover Whey

The beauty of homestead living is that nothing goes to waste. The leftover whey — that golden, nutrient-rich liquid — is never thrown out here.

• Some of it went straight to the chickens (they love it and it’s full of beneficial minerals).
• The rest I saved to use in our next loaf of sourdough.
• I also soak oats in it for extra nutrition, freeze cubes to toss into smoothies or bread dough, and pour a little into the garden as a natural soil booster.

Whether you’re baking, fermenting, or feeding animals, whey from goat milk yogurt is a powerful homestead tool.

How to Make Goat Milk Yogurt (Raw Milk + Instant Pot)

This recipe makes about 1 gallon of goat milk yogurt, perfect for large families, small farm kitchens, or those looking to prep once for the week.

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📋 Ingredients:

• 1 gallon raw goat milk
• 4–6 tablespoons plain yogurt with live cultures (like Stonyfield Organic)
• (Optional) 4 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder for thicker yogurt
• (Optional) Flavorings: vanilla extract, honey, fruit, maple syrup

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🥣 Instructions:

1. Heat the Milk

• Pour 1 gallon of raw goat milk into your Instant Pot.
• Press Yogurt > Adjust > Boil to heat the milk to 180°F (82°C) (optionally, use your stovetop).
• Stir occasionally to prevent scorching.
• Once it reaches temp, remove the inner pot.

2. Cool the Milk

• Let the milk cool to 110°F (43°C).
• You can speed this up by setting the pot in a sink of cold/ice water.

3. Add the Starter Yogurt

• In a small bowl, mix 4–6 level tablespoons of plain yogurt with a bit of the cooled milk to thin out.
• Stir that mixture back into the full pot of milk and whisk gently to distribute evenly.

4. Incubate the Yogurt

• Place the inner pot back in the Instant Pot.
• Press Yogurt again and set the timer for 8 to 12 hours:
  • 8 hours = mild yogurt
  • 12 hours = tangy and thick
• Leave it undisturbed with the lid on.

5. Chill

• When the incubation ends, transfer the pot to the fridge or spoon the yogurt into jars.
• Chill for at least 4 hours to set.

6. (Optional) Strain for Greek Yogurt

• Line a colander with cheesecloth or a nut milk bag.
• Set it over a bowl and pour in the yogurt.
• Let it drain in the fridge for 1–4 hours, depending on desired thickness.

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🍯 Flavor Ideas (Add After Fermentation):

• Vanilla-Honey: 1 tsp vanilla + 1–2 tbsp honey per cup of yogurt
• Fruit-On-The-Bottom: Spoon in homemade jam or macerated berries
• Savory: Add herbs + garlic for a yogurt dip or sauce

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✅ Tips for Best Results:

• Use fresh, high-quality starter with live cultures
• Don’t add sweeteners or fruit before fermentation — they can interfere with culturing
• Save a few tablespoons of yogurt from each batch to use as starter for the next batch

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🌿 Why We Love Homemade Yogurt

It’s easy to forget how nourishing and simple homemade food can be — especially when you make it with your own hands, from animals you care for.

Making goat milk yogurt from scratch connects us to the land, to our animals, and to each other. Whether you’re new to goats or have a full herd of Nubians, this is one of the most rewarding and practical uses for raw milk on the homestead.

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🫙 Your Turn:

Have you made goat milk yogurt before? Do you prefer plain, Greek-style, or fruit-flavored?👇 Tell us in the comments below — and let us know how you use your goat milk: cheese, kefir, soap?