Have you ever wonder how you make ricotta cheese? This homemade ricotta cheese recipe is fairly easy to make but will take some time. It can be made full fat or low fat and I will specify how it is done for each way.
I created this recipe on a Sunday when I wanted to make lasagna but didn’t want to run to the store for ricotta cheese. It’s one of those things you don’t realize you can make yourself if you need to, so I always find those recipes intriguing.
What you need to make homemade ricotta cheese:
makes ~1/2 cup ricotta
- 2 1/2 cups milk – use whatever fat percentage you want, I like to use 2% for a part skim cheese but you can use full fat and added whipping cream for a super rich ricotta or skim milk for a low fat version.
- 1/2 salt
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- In a pot, add milk, cream if using it, salt and lemon juice and stir.
- Bring mixture to a boil and boil for about 4 minutes stirring constantly then reduce to a low simmer.
- Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring continuously so it doesn’t burn on the bottom.
- remove from heat and let it cool.
- Place a cheese cloth over a bowl or you can use thick paper towels and lay 4 sheets over a bowl if you don’t have cheese cloth but cheese cloth or a fine mesh fabric works best.
- Pour the cooled mixture over the cloth and let it sit for about 45 minutes or until the liquid is mostly run through the cloth and a pile of ricotta cheese remains. You can speed up this process by gently squeezing out the liquid from the ricotta while it’s in the cheese cloth if you don’t want to wait for it to drain and separate naturally.
- Store in the refrigerator and use within a few days.
Here’s a few recipe that use ricotta cheese that you might like:
- Pumpkin and Sausage Lasagna RECIPE HERE
- Roasted Chicken Ravioli Filling RECIPE HERE
- Eggplant Lasagna RECIPE HERE
Homemade Ricotta Cheese
Easy to make homemade ricotta cheese.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups milk – use whatever fat percentage you want I like to use 2% for a part skim cheese but you can use full fat and added whipping cream for a super rich ricotta or skim milk for a low fat version.
- 1/2 salt
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- In a pot, add milk, cream if using it, salt and lemon juice and stir.
- Bring mixture to a boil and boil for about 4 minutes stirring constantly then reduce to a low simmer.
- Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring continuously so it doesn’t burn on the bottom.
- remove from heat and let it cool.
- Place a cheese cloth over a bowl or you can use thick paper towels and lay 4 sheets over a bowl if you don’t have cheese cloth but cheese cloth or a fine mesh fabric works best.
- Pour the cooled mixture over the cloth and let it sit for about 45 minutes or until the liquid is mostly run through the cloth and a pile of ricotta cheese remains.
- Store in the refrigerator and use within a few days.