Low Fat, High Protein 4 Ingredient Homemade Cream Cheese

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Low Fat, High Protein 4 Ingredient Homemade Cream Cheese

This homemade low calorie cream cheese only has 4 ingredients and just over a third of the calories of store-bought cream cheese.

Prep Time5

Cook Time45

Total Time50

Course: Ingredients

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Easy recipe, High Protein, Homemade

Servings: servings

Calories: 60kcal

Author: Jenna

Equipment

Ingredients

1 cup fat free Greek yogurt
½ tsp salt, plus more to taste
6 cups 2% milk
6 tbsp white vinegar (lemon juice works too; see Note 1)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Start by making the labneh the night before: in a medium bowl, mix together the Greek yogurt and ½ tsp salt
Scoop the mixture onto a cheesecloth and tie it tightly around a wooden spoon, then place it over a bowl (make sure there is a lot of space between the cheesecloth and the bottom)
Place the bowl in the fridge and let sit overnight (the whey will separate from the yogurt)
Next, make the cream cheese; add the milk to a large saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat (about 190℉ or when you see small bubbles; don't let it boil)
Turn off the heat and slowly pour in the vinegar while stirring constantly; it will start to curdle right away
Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes
Place a cheesecloth over a strainer and a large bowl and pour out the contents of the saucepan to separate the curds from the whey (you can use the leftover whey to make caramel!)
Combine the curds and the labneh in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth (if it's too thick, you can add a tbsp or 2 of milk but if you use a strong blender you shouldn't need to)
Optionally season with more salt to taste then transfer to an airtight container and use for any recipes that require cream cheese

Notes

Note 1: In order for the milk to curdle and separate into curds and whey, you need an acid. I like to use vinegar in this recipe for its neutral flavor, but lemon juice works great too.

Nutrition Facts in the recipe card below are calculated automatically and may be inaccurate. Please note the Nutritional information for this recipe does not account for the whey lost during the curdling process. For more accurate nutrition information, refer to the macros below. Macros in the Recipe Notes section are calculated using a Macro Calculation App but will differ slightly based on ingredients used in individual variations. Nutritional information for this recipe is based on one 30g serving.

Macros per serving: 35 calories/4g protein/1g carbs/2g fat

Nutrition