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Homemade Ricotta Cheese
This homemade ricotta cheese is so simple to make with only 2 ingredients you probably already have in your fridge. It's so much creamier, tastier and more cost-effective than any store-bought version.
Equipment
- 1 cheesecloth (or paper towels)
- 1 mesh strainer, optional
Ingredients
- 4 cups whole milk
- ¼ cup lemon juice or white vinegar (see Note 1)
- Salt to taste, optional (see Note 2)
Instructions
- Add the milk to a medium saucepan and place over LOW heat
- Bring the milk to a very low simmer, stirring occasionally; don't let it boil (see Note 3)
- Turn off the heat, but don't take the saucepan off the stove yet
- Slowly pour in the lemon juice or vinegar, stirring the milk as you pour (it's going to curdle and separate right away, that's exactly what you want)
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it stand for 10-15 minutes to cool down a little and finish curdling
- Line a strainer with cheesecloth or paper towel and pour in the contents of the saucepan to drain the whey (see Note 4)
- For a creamier ricotta, place it in a container as soon as it drains; if you prefer a drier ricotta, let it drain for an extra 10 minutes
- Optionally add salt to taste (see Note 2)
- Use the ricotta for lasagna, cookies or any other recipes, or even just as an appetizer
Notes
1. Lemon juice will give the ricotta its signature authentic flavor so I prefer to use lemon juice in this recipe. However, white vinegar works just fine as well because either acid will cause the milk to curdle.
2. Salt is totally optional in this recipe; because I use this ricotta in both sweet and savory recipes, I typically skip don’t add any salt to the plain ricotta and just add it later based on the recipe I’m using it for.
3. I stop when I see small bubbles all over the milk; if you prefer to check the temperature it should be around 200℉/92℃ and it will have the distinct sweet smell of warm milk.
4. If you don’t have a strainer or sieve, you can just place the cheesecloth or paper towels on a large plate then scoop the curds onto the plate, wrap it all up and squeeze the whey out with your hands.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 cupCalories: 633kcalCarbohydrates: 53gProtein: 34gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 19gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 124mgSodium: 393mgPotassium: 1613mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 51gVitamin A: 1675IUVitamin C: 25mgCalcium: 1272mgIron: 0.1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!