Making ricotta cheese at home is easy to do anytime, but it’s especially frugal when you can salvage milk that’s nearing its ‘use by’ date. It will take about an hour, start to finish, to make a batch.
Use this freshly made ricotta cheese in this vegetarian zucchini lasagna recipe.
Normally we go through the milk we have on hand with no problem, but occasionally it starts to sour before we can use it. This week I found myself with three quarts of milk just starting to turn and I didn’t want it to go to waste.
I started thinking: What about ricotta cheese? Is that something I could do easily? I found two ricotta cheese recipes that looked doable. One at Eggs on Sunday and the other in my copy of Home Cheese Making: Recipes for 75 Delicious Cheeses by Ricki Carroll.
The recipe from Home Cheese Making called for citric acid, which I didn’t have, but the process seemed really simple. The recipe from Eggs on Sunday used lemon juice (but also cream, which I didn’t have). Because I was born with a gene that prevents me from following any recipe exactly, I kind of fiddled around with a combination of the two recipes for making ricotta cheese.
How to make ricotta cheese
This is another one of those recipes that’s incredibly simple once we get beyond the idea of buying it at the store. But making it at home allows us to cut out the plastic container that comes with store bought ricotta. It costs less than store bought ricotta. (I don’t know about where you live, but it’s crazy expensive here!) And making it at home can — as in this case — help you salvage milk that might be on its way out. That’s a lot of winning!
You’ll need to use whole milk for this ricotta cheese recipe — it’s the fat in the milk that will transform into the curds that will become cheese. If you can, use milk that has not been ultra-pasteurized. Better yet, use raw milk.
Basically, you’ll heat the milk with the salt until it simmers. Adding lemon juice to the heated milk will cause it to curdle. (It’s actually kind of fascinating!) Allow the curdled milk to sit untouched for ten minutes or so, then strain it through cheesecloth. The thickened curds will remain while the whey strains out.
It took me less than an hour to get to the straining point, but much of this was just spent waiting for the milk to warm. I think the biggest hurdle for most people would be that they don’t have cheesecloth on hand. I happened to have some, but I really think this could work in a fine sieve, too.
Honestly, I’m surprised that I’ve made it this far in life without knowing that making ricotta cheese at home is so easy. Of course, mine didn’t turn out exactly like the ricotta I’d get in a store. This batch was firm enough to slice. To make a looser, creamier batch, just adjust the drain time, allowing some of the moisture in the cheese to remain.
Related: Make Your Own Kefir at Home
And now, about that leftover whey
You can use the leftover whey — liquid that remains after straining — in place of the liquid in just about any recipe that calls for milk (think: muffins, pancakes, bread). I used mine to make several batches of foccacia bread, and still have a bit more in the refrigerator. I’ve also heard of it being used to replace water for cooking rice and in place of milk in an au gratin potato recipe. You can also use it to jump-start a batch of homemade sauerkraut.
Can you freeze ricotta cheese?
Yes, but. You absolutely can freeze ricotta cheese. This is a great way to keep it, whether you make your own or find a killer sale on your favorite brand. But. The texture of the ricotta cheese will be slightly altered by freezing.
If you’re using the ricotta in a lasagna recipe or as an ingredient, you likely won’t even notice. If you were to eat it plain, you might.
★ Did you make this ricotta cheese recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Making Ricotta Cheese
Making ricotta cheese at home is easy to do anytime, but it's especially frugal when you can salvage milk that's getting ready to go off!
Ingredients
- 3 quarts whole milk (I used raw milk but whole pasteurized milk will be fine)
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Mix milk and salt in a pot. Cook over medium high heat, stirring every few minutes, until the milk reaches 185 degrees. (If you don’t have a candy thermometer, bring the milk to a simmer but do not let it boil.)
- Stir in the lemon juice, turn the heat down to medium, and let sit for one minute. As soon as you stir in the lemon juice, you’ll see the milk start to curdle and separate into curds and whey.
- Gently stir again and turn off the heat. Let sit without stirring (it’s hard not to keep checking it!) for ten minutes.
- While the pot sits, line a colander with several layers of cheesecloth. Place the colander in a bowl to catch the whey. The whey is the liquid byproduct of making the cheese, and you know I’m not going to let that go down the drain!
- Pour the contents of the pot into the colander. Pull opposite corners of the cheesecloth together and tie a knot. Repeat with the other corners, then hang this little bag-o-cheese on the handle of a wooden spoon suspended over the dirty pot to catch any drips. Allow to drain for a couple of hours, then transfer your homemade ricotta cheese to a glass container and refrigerate.
Recipe Notes
I used raw milk but whole pasteurized milk will be fine. Just try to find milk that hasn't been *ultra-pasteurized.
This recipe results in roughly three cups of finished ricotta cheese.
Originally published in March 2011; this post has been updated.
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Hi…I’ve made homemade ricotta with yogurt, full fat milk, salt and vinegar. It came out really nice.
Interesting! It seems like there are a lot of different variations on how to do it.
I’m bookmarking this… but wish I’d seen it/you’d posted it a few days ago. lol. We also get 1 gal of raw milk every saturday and if there is any left on saturday it’s starting to turn sour. This morning I just dumped it in my smoothie but making cottage cheese/ricotta would have been fab – there was only 2 cups or so but… Thanks for the instructions for next time!
Robin, it sounds like you’re on the same schedule we are. I pick up fresh milk on Saturdays, and anything left from the previous week is starting to turn. I’ve used it to make pudding in the past, but wanted to try something different – and this was SO easy.
It’s beautiful; I love that you can slice it!
I know – it’s totally not what I expected, but that’s okay!
I wonder how much sour milk gets tossed out that could be easily turned into ricotta cheese. Excellent repurposing.
Don’t forget, you can also use flour sack towels in place of cheesecloth – they can be washed and reused until they’re ready for the rag pile!
A paper bag works in a pinch too.
Great idea!! I tend to buy smaller containers so that I don’t waste milk but larger containers are more economical and this would be a great way to use the excess.
I would have never considered making homemade ricotta cheese until reading this post. And I bet it tastes much better than the ricotta cheese you would buy in the store.
Ricotta cheese is one of my favorite things to eat. Thanks for this recipe! I love your blog, with such great, actionable ideas. Keep up the great work.
I have some frozen milk (pasturized, whole), do you think i’d be able to defrost it and use for this recipe?
Oh, wow. I have no idea. I can’t see why it wouldn’t, but I’ve not actually tried that.
Yes, using thawed frozen milk should work just fine. I use frozen excess goats milk to make cheese and it works great.
I didn’t realize this – thanks for the bonus tip!
I know! I didn’t realize it, either until I started poking around.
That’s fantastic! Now I won’t have any qualms about buying too much milk. I usually freeze half just inc ase, but defrosted milk isn’t really that good for drinking anymore.. thanks for sharing! i did make yogurt cheese before, and this sounds quite similar!
https://mummyicancook.blogspot.com/2011/01/homemade-cream-cheese.html
Have rediscovered ricotta. Love it on rustic, whole grain bread with jam. Must give this a go.
I love your site & feel the same about most things you write (& also am missing that recipe-following gene!)
btw I’ve come across a few fermenting recipes that use whey including a ‘lacto-fermented’ ketchup …
You can also just set the soured raw milk out in a clean jar for a day til it thickens (clabbers) then hang/strain and you`ll have cream cheese, also tasty.
When I was a kid on the ranch we didn’t have a way to refrigerate milk. After straining it was put in pans and kept in the cupboard. My mother would skim the cream off and do something to make the milk clabber. Wish I could remember what. What I do remember is cutting the clabbered milk into squares and then heating it. It separated into small curds like cottage cheese. We ate it like that with salt & pepper or added cream so it had the texture of store cottage cheese. Since I no longer have cows I don’t often have extra milk but your recipe sounds good so I’m going to make some.
I would have called the cheese you made in this recipe paneer. I think of ricotta as cheese made from whey. R-i is the Italian version of the prefix re- and cotta means cooked, as in terracotta, for example, so ricotta means recooked, specifically heating the whey again after making regular cheese. If you make any kind of basic, normal cheese and then re-heat (re-cook) the whey to near boiling the proteins in the whey will precipitate out and can be strained through a very fine cloth, which gives you a spreadable cheese with the right consistency for filling cannoli, making ricotta pie, stuffing pasta, etc.
I tried making mozzarella last week for the first time. It came out like ricotta. A little bit firm, but the taste and texture was definitely ricotta. I asked Richi Carroll’s group what happened and they said it was probably the milk being pasturized at too high a temperature. Anyhow, like you I throw nothing away. So when my next try at mozzarella came out ok, I now had the fixings for Baked Macaroni. or Lasagna…just add the noodles and sauce, right? Well, I decided on baked ziti…and I tore up the ricotta and just added it willy-nilly to the cooked ziti. Slathered some sauce on it. Topped it with the mozzarella and baked covered 1 hour at 425 degrees. Well, it came out better than any catered tray I’ve bought. The point I’m making is the ricotta just melted…when I stirred it upon serving it melded with the mozzarella for a great taste. So…don’t sweat putting the firm ricotta into a baked dish, it melts down just fine.
George
I got some bleu cheese culture from a site and use it when milk goes sour. i basically do the same thing but add the culture and let it age for about a month. Real natural cheese helps my digestion and tastes amazing.
Thanks for sharing! I made this today with raw milk that was about a month old. Plan on making lasagna tonight! YUM!!
You can also use white vinegar/apple cider instead of citrus and a fine strainer, after straining it well and lightly pressing on it you can put it in a paper bag and roll it tight and then weight it with something (i used left over Elk Stew from the night before 🙂 on a couple paper towels in the refrigerator. The liquid left over is the whey and it is super good for you, high in protein and other goodies, it truly is the other broth.
Can you use lactose free milk?
I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t, but I’ve never tried it.
I don’t have 3 quarts of milk and I am trying to make a reduced amount (4 cups). It doesn’t look to make very much churd. Going to leave it to separate longer.
I have 2% milk that needs to be used up. Do you think this would work? And how long does ricotta last once made? Does it have same shelf life as the milk?
It won’t be quite as creamy, but yes, it should work. Once it’s turned into cheese, it should last longer than milk would. Just wrap it well. (We always gobble ours up before it goes bad!)
An easy to make alternative to store bought ricotta. Great recipe!
I made a big boo-boo making my yogurt last night. I guess I let it cool off too much before I added the yogurt starter, let it run the 8 hours so it would become yogurt and needless to say it did not produce yogurt. It separated so I had clabbered milk and whey. I found this website and so I decided to try my hand at making cheese. It turned out great, it has a very slight yogurt taste which I like but it is definitely cheese. Smooth and creamy, don’t think it will harden up enough to slice. So if you goof up making your yogurt turn it into cheese. Yum yum.
Good save!