This easy, homemade skyr recipe makes authentic, creamy skyr using an Instant Pot and organic milk.
This homemade skyr has a thick, creamy texture and is made from a real Icelandic skyr culture, so it’s not just strained yogurt.
The Instant Pot makes this easy and safe by having a special setting for scalding the milk and another setting for culturing it at exactly the right temperature for hours. It can simplify the process so even busy home cooks can succeed.
I’ve found that making your own skyr not only improves flavor and texture but also gives you control over ingredients and quality that commercial products can’t match.
Skyr is made by adding a specific starter culture to skim milk and then keeping the milk at a particular temperature for about 24 hours, adding rennet and then straining the culture to thicken it.
The milk in this recipe reflects our commitment to sustainability and thoughtful sourcing. It comes from organic dairies focused on long-term land stewardship and sustainable agricultural practices.
Updated:
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Table of contents
What it is
Skyr is a traditional Icelandic dairy product that has been part of the country’s culinary culture for centuries. It is a soft cheese-like product made from cultured skim milk, and its texture and taste are somewhere between Greek yogurt and cream cheese. Skyr is packed with a wide range of nutrients and contains a high amount of protein, making it a popular choice for people who are looking to increase their protein intake in a healthy and natural way. It is incredibly versatile, making it the perfect addition to smoothies, oatmeal, pancakes, or even just as a snack on its own.
Ingredients
We make homemade skyr so we can choose exactly what is in it.
Nonfat Milk
We use Horizon Organics nonfat milk, since Skyr is traditionally made with nonfat milk and not whole milk. Horizon milk is high quality, organic, and produced sustainably using regenerative agriculture methods. Plus, we think it tastes better. The more we buy products that are produced this way, the more farmers will produce them.
Culture
The culture is a real skyr starter culture from Cultures for Health, and the rennet that came with it. The starter culture comes in powdered form in tiny packets along with rennet tablets. It conveniently stores for months in the refrigerator. That’s it, no sugar or additives, no preservatives or other things we can’t pronounce.
No Affiliates Statement
We call this our “no affiliates” statement because we accept no advertising, have no affiliates and accept no payment. We are not paid to mention brands – we just love buying the best, sharing that information and saving the planet at the same time. The effort put into writing and photographing the blog is solely based on our dedication to the cause.
Sustainable
One of the most rewarding lessons from my work in agriculture is that sustainability and flavor go hand in hand. Ingredients produced with care—healthy dairy cows, responsible water use, thoughtful farming—simply taste better.
This recipe is built on that principle. The milk has been chosen not only for its taste, but for how it supports a more sustainable and resilient food system.
Method
This recipe uses an easy, foolproof method that requires only a few minutes of active time. Check out Cultured Dairy at Home for a more detailed explanation on how this works.
- Bring the milk or cream to a temperature that will kill bacteria and cause the protein to thicken the product
- Allow to cool to the correct temperature
- Mix in the starter culture
- Keep at the correct temperature required for the particular starter, and for the required amount of time
- Chill
This recipe uses our method for making Cultured Dairy at Home. An easy, foolproof method.
Mesophilic Culture
There are a variety of different cultures for culturing dairy products. They can be grouped into two categories – mesophilic and thermophilic. It is important to know what category your starter culture is in, because they thrive at different temperatures.
Skyr is a mesophilic culture, which translates to “medium-loving”. This indicates that it thrives at medium temperatures (around 68-100 degrees F) and is destroyed at a higher temperature (around 113 degrees F). We use an Instant Pot, which makes this really easy, because it holds the proper temperature for hours. The Instant Pot Ultra has a yogurt setting that can be adjusted to low, where it will maintain a constant temperature of 91 degrees F. This works perfectly for making skyr.
Making Skyr in an Instant Pot
Because this is a cultured product, it is important that everything is clean. Start with milk that is not near its expiration date. Remove the sealing ring on the Instant Pot lid and thoroughly wash the inner pot, the lid and the ring with very hot water.
Scald the milk, by bringing the temperature on the milk to 181 degrees F. This will kill any unwanted bacteria, and also help produce a thicker yogurt. The Instant Pot Ultra has a yogurt setting that can be adjusted to high. The high setting will scald the milk long enough to kill unwanted bacteria and produce a thicker yogurt.
Making skyr in an Instant Pot
The milk must then be cooled to below 91 degrees F before adding the skyr starter culture and rennet. Setting the pot in a bowl of ice will cool it much faster.
After adding the starter and rennet, the Instant Pot is then set to the yogurt setting on low and this will keep the mixture at 91 degrees. After 24 hours the milk will separate from the whey, indicating that the skyr is ready to be strained.
Straining the skyr through a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth will give you a product that is similar to cream cheese. The skyr is then whipped to make it light and airy, a cross between cream cheese and whipped cream.
It is possible to make successive batches of skyr from a few tablespoons of a previous batch, but we usually start with fresh starter culture to make sure the culture is strong and the milk is kept clean.
Helpful tip: Before starting to make a batch, figure out what time it will be ready, so it isn’t ready at an inconvenient time – and remember to add the time it will take to scald and cool the milk.
Also, making it in an Instant Pot is not just easier, it is a great way to use less energy. This helps us eat less meat, and also saves money.
Skyr in Iceland
The history of skyr dates back to Viking and Medieval times in Iceland. It has been mentioned in several medieval Icelandic manuscripts, including the 11th-century Icelandic Landnámabók and the 14th-century Icelandic Flateyjarbók. Skyr was traditionally produced by straining the whey from one day’s run of sour milk into the next; this process gave it its characteristic thick, creamy texture. Today, many Icelandic families still make their own skyr at home using traditional methods, although it can also be purchased commercially in supermarkets. Skyr has become an important part of Iceland’s cultural identity and is widely popular throughout the country, served in homes and restaurants alike.
RECIPE
Equipment
CHOOSING BRANDS:
For certain products, the choice of brand will make a big difference in the outcome of the recipe and in your carbon footprint. So, for those products, we have listed the brand. We are not paid to mention a brand and have no affiliates.
Ingredients
- 1 quart Horizon milk Nonfat (1-4 quarts)
- 1 package Skyr starter culture and rennet from Cultures for Health
Instructions
- Remove the sealing ring and thoroughly wash the sealing ring, inner pot and the lid with very hot water, and put the sealing ring back on. This is a cultured product so it is important that everything is clean.
- Add 1-4 quarts of milk to the inner pot of the Instant Pot.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and lock. Check that the valve is in the sealed position. Select the "yogurt" setting and adjust it to “high” where the display reads "Boil". When the program has finished press cancel until it reads off.
- Release the valve, open the pot and remove the inner pot.
- Cover the pot with plastic wrap and allow the temperature of the milk to drop. Allow the temperature to drop to 91 degrees F before adding the starter culture. This could take a while, but you could place the bowl on ice to speed it up.
- Remove the plastic wrap, add the starter culture and whisk it in for a few seconds. Crush a tablet of rennet and add it to the milk and starter culture, and whisk it in for a few seconds.
- Return the inner pot to the Instant Pot. Place the lid on the Instant Pot and lock. The valve can be in either the sealed or unsealed position. Select the "yogurt" setting. The skyr starter culture is mesophilic, so change the setting to “low” and the time to 24 hours and push start.
- Check the thickness of the skyr a few hours before the time when it’s supposed to be ready, since the time required can vary. When it has thickened and pulls away from the side of the bowl, transfer it to a fine mesh strainer over a bowl to remove the water (whey).
- Once it is the desired thickness, whip it until smooth.
- Traditionally served with berries or jam.
- It can be stored for 2-3 weeks.
Nutrition
WHY THIS RECIPE IS A GAME CHANGER:
This recipe is a total game-changer — crafted with the finest [brand name] ingredients, simplified using a master recipe with pro-tested techniques from top chefs and bakers, and designed for deliciously sustainable cooking made easy.”
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