Homemade Ricotta Cheese – Meatless Monday

This Homemade Ricotta Cheese is such a decadent tasting treat that only requires 3 simple ingredients and is surprisingly simple to make at home.

This post was originally published here in 2016, but the post and pictures have been updated and reposted.

Getting Back to Basics

In today’s world there is such an emphasis on things being “quick”, “easy”, and “fast”. This is especially true when it comes to food and meals. It’s easy to get lost in the pre-packaged or ready-to-eat foods that we lose sight of the joy of cooking things ourselves.

A few months ago, I decided to push myself to get “back to basics”. Meaning that I wanted to try making some foods that ordinarily I would just purchase at the store. My reasoning for trying to make more things from scratch included:

• Trying to save some money on making more foods/ingredients myself
• Getting back to eating less processed foods
• Teaching my kids the joy of cooking things for yourself
• Learning new cooking skills

Is Making Ricotta Cheese Hard?

When I was in college, I remember having to take a Food Science class where we had to memorize all the steps involved in making certain cheese. Trust me when I say it was a LOT of steps. However, I recently found out that homemade Ricotta Cheese doesn’t require all those crazy steps and actually is quite easy to make for yourself.

So, one afternoon I attempted to make Ricotta cheese and while the first attempt came out pretty good, I made it two more times to really get it right. And believe me when I say, it tastes so good! It’s creamy and just tastes so fresh.

It only requires a couple of ingredients, no fancy equipment other than cheese cloth, and the steps are pretty simple. Cheescloth is available at many stores but I just ordered mine online. God bless Amazon.

While this recipe for Homemade Ricotta Cheese doesn’t require many ingredients, it is time consuming because it has to sit for long periods of time. However, you don’t have to do much to it while it’s sitting, so you can go do other things while it’s “processing”.

How to enjoy Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Once the final step is complete, the cheese is completely ready to eat. I found my favorite way to eat it was on a toasted slice of sourdough bread, topped with fresh tomato and basil. However, I also just enjoyed it straight out of the bowl on a spoon as well.

You could easily add this to crackers, use it in lasagna,as a veggie dip, or add to scrambled eggs. It’s so versatile and has such a mild taste that I feel it would be great in so many dishes.

Some other ideas for ricotta include –

Ricotta Pea Mint Crostini by Live Best

Lemon Ricotta Waffles by RD 4 Health

Easy Vegetarian Skillet Lasagna by Fad Free Nutrition Blog

Healthy Caramel Apple Salad by Snacking in Sneakers

Baked Ricotta with Caramelized Tomatoes by Craving Something Healthy

Whole Wheat Meyer Lemon Ricotta Muffins by Kara Lydon Nutrition

Fig Ricotta and Almond Pizza by Nutrition Starring YOU

Homemade Ricotta Cheese Recipe

Grab the simple recipe for this delicious homemade cheese below…

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Homemade Ricotta Cheese

This Homemade Ricotta Cheese is such a decadent tasting treat that only requires 3 simple ingredients and is surprisingly simple to make at home.

Course Appetizer, cheese, dip, spread

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword ricotta, ricotta cheese

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Resting Time 2 hours hours

Servings 16 oz

Author Brynn McDowell, RD

Ingredients

• 1/2 gallon whole milk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream this is optional but gives a nice consistency to final product.
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup white vinegar

Instructions

• Line a mesh strainer with a signle layer of cheesecloth and place over a large glass bowl. Set aside
• Place milk and salt (and heavy cream if using) in a large, non-reactive pot over medium heat on the stove
• Heat for ~5 minutes, until milk temperature reaches 180 degrees
• Slowly stir in vinegar
• Remove from heat leave untoched for 1 hour
• Use a ladle to transfer the milk solids from the pot to the cheesecloth covered strainer
• Let the ricotta drain for about 1 hour, until most of hte liquid has drained into the bowl
• Lightly squeeze the cheesecloth to remove any excess liquid and then transfer the ricotta cheese (in your cheesecloth) to a bowl.
• Ricotta Cheese is now ready to eat and will last about 5-7 days in the fridge.

Notes

The heavy cream is optional but does give a nice creamy quality to the finished cheese. I have made it without it and the end ricotta cheese is still a delicious and creamy cheese. The choice is up to you.

Pin for Later

Have you ever tried to make Ricotta Cheese? You can check out my other Make It Yourself Monday recipes here –

• Homemade Spaghetti Sauce with No Added Sugar
• Homemade Basil Pesto
• Baked Fish Sticks with Zesty Ketchup