How To Make Homemade Ricotta Cheese
Dearna Bond- Ready in 4h
- 1.8 g net carbs
- 104 kcal
- Serves 8
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I’ve been making homemade ricotta for a few years now – it’s a relatively easy process once you get the hang of it and tastes so much better than the store bought Italian ricotta. Once you try it yourself, you’ll be hooked!
This recipe will make roughly 500 g ricotta, depending on how much liquid you leave in (ie how long you strain it for). It doesn’t last as long as the commercial variety (as there are no added preservatives) but it should last in the fridge around five days. If you don’t think you’ll eat 500 g in this time, you can easily half the recipe.
You’ll be left with a bowl full of whey after draining – I use this to make chia puddings, add it to stocks, or use it as a starter for fermenting vegetables such as sauerkraut and gut-healing carrots, or to make Sriracha Sauce and even to make long-lasting mayonnaise. It also works well as a hair rinse for shiny locks – just make sure to rinse well as the smell is slightly off-putting ;)
Step-by-step
Add milk to a large saucepan over low to medium heat. Let it gradually heat to around 95 °C/ 200 °F. If you don’t have a thermometer, this will be after small bubbles start to appear on the surface and it gets a little foamy, but just before it starts to boil.
Remove from heat and add the lemon juice and stir through. Allow to sit for 10 minutes to allow the curds and whey to separate.
To strain the cheese, put a cloth over a fine sieve (I use a nut milk bag to do this, however you could use cheesecloth or a clean tea towel), with a bowl or container below to catch the whey.
Gently scoop out the bigger curds, and then pour the remaining liquid through the cloth/strainer.
Bundle up the curds within the cloth and allow to sit over a bowl for up to an hour depending on how solid you would it ...
... A shorter resting time will produce softer curds with more liquid, a longer resting time will produce more firm ricotta.
The ricotta can now be used, or stored in the fridge for 4 to 5 days.
Recipe
How To Make Homemade Ricotta Cheese
★★★★☆4.2How to make ricotta at home using a quick and easy technique. Make this tasty keto friendly cheese without any ...
- Hands on
- 20m
- Overall
- 4h
- Servings
- 8
- 1.8 g
- Net carbs
- 6.8 g
- Protein
- 7.8 g
- Fat
- 104
- kcal
Ingredients makes about 500 g/ 2 cups
Instructions
Add milk to a large saucepan over low to medium heat. Let it gradually heat to around 95 °C/ 200 °F. If you don’t have a thermometer, this will be after small bubbles start to appear on the surface and it gets a little foamy, but just before it starts to boil.
Remove from heat and add the lemon juice and stir through. Allow to sit for 10 minutes to allow the curds and whey to separate.
To strain the cheese, put a cloth over a fine sieve (I use a nut milk bag to do this, however you could use cheesecloth or a clean tea towel), with a bowl or container below to catch the whey.
Gently scoop out the bigger curds, and then pour the remaining liquid through the cloth/strainer.
Bundle up the curds within the cloth and allow to sit over a bowl for up to an hour depending on how solid you would it ...
... A shorter resting time will produce softer curds with more liquid, a longer resting time will produce more firm ricotta.
The ricotta can now be used, or stored in the fridge for 4 to 5 days.
Nutrition per ¼ cup/ 60 g/ 2.1 oz
Carbs 7%Protein 26%Fat 67% of calories
- Net carbs
- 1.8 g
- Total carbs
- 1.8 g
- Fiber
- 0 g
- Sugars
- 0.2 g
- Protein
- 6.8 g
- Fat
- 7.8 g
- Saturated fat
- 5 g
- Calories
- 104 kcal
- Sodium
- 50 mg · 2.19% RDA
- Magnesium
- 7 mg · 1.65% RDA
- Potassium
- 63 mg · 3.15% EMR
Nutrition by ingredient
| Per 1/4 cup/ 60 g/ 2.1 oz | Net carbs | Protein | Fat | kcal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ricotta cheese, full-fat | 1.8 g | 6.8 g | 7.8 g | 104 |
| Total | 1.8 g | 6.8 g | 7.8 g | 104 |
Serving size 1/4 cup/ 60 g/ 2.1 oz
- Gluten free
- Egg free
- Nut free
- Nightshade free
- Pork free
- Avocado free
- Coconut free
- Fish free
- Shellfish free
- Beef free
- Pescatarian
- Vegetarian
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Comments & ratings (11)
Just saw the recipe on the app. Thought you would like to Know that the non-extended version has only one ingredient listed to make the ricotta cheese and that ingredients is?…ricotta cheese. 🤣
Hi Kathryn, that is the only way to get the nutrition facts right as the ingredient you see is what the app uses to calculate the nutrition facts. It's not an easy issue to fix in cases like these (another example is bone broth where bones or the aromatics and vegetables you use are not really eaten). For now we just have the extended version which shows the full list of ingredients 😊
What's the right way to calculate the nutritional information out of this recipe? If the whey will be discarded, how do I calculate the macros?
Hi Viviane, the best way would be to compare this to similar products (ideally from the USDA which is the most reliable database). There isn't a way to calculate this from milk accurately as you essentially have to exclude some of the protein and carbs from it but leave all of the fat. This is usually an ingredient that will be used in relatively small amounts so you won't need 100% accuracy.
Thank you!!
We have been making this forever... we call it farmers cheese...if you add a bit of cream it is what we use for cottage cheese... 👍😊
Thank you Cindi!
Hi...this is exactly how we make the Indian cottage cheese PANEER at home. Are the two same?
Hi Sonia, I think that paneer is completely solid compared to ricotta that should still be creamy.
Martina....it’s solid only when pressed to drain all the whey out and then cut into cubes to be added to dishes ....both sweet and savoury. When eaten fresh it’s exactly like this in a moist and crumbled form.
You do have a point there - it is indeed made in the same way. I think the only difference is (can be) the moisture but other wise it's the same. The ricotta I buy in my grocery store is very creamy (high moisture), not crumbly at all.