One of the best starter recipes for making cheese at home, ricotta is easy and cheap to make from scratch. The delicious and fresh taste of homemade ricotta is absolutely worth the extra effort.
You Only Need THREE Ingredients.
With just three ingredients and 30 minutes you can have the most wonderful fresh ricotta cheese at home!
Whole milk – Use unpasteurized or pasteurized milk. Do not use ultra-pasteurized. Ultra-pasteurized milk will not curdle into cheese.
Lemon Juice – The source of acid that will curdle the milk into cheese. Can substitute with an equal amount of distilled white vinegar
Salt – To make yummy. That is all.
Three Ingredient Ricotta Cheese
Servings
6
servingsPrep time
2
minutesCooking time
25
minutesIngredients
8 cups whole milk
¼ cup lemon juice (~1 lemon)
1 tsp kosher salt*
Directions
- Pour milk into a pot. Add salt and heat on medium-low, stirring occasionally to prevent the bottom from scorching. Continue to heat until the milk begins to steam and small bubbles form, about 190F.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Stir for about a minute until the cheese curds have formed. Cover and let rest off the heat for 20 minutes.
- Line a colander with a cheesecloth**. Add the cheese and let drain for 5-20 minutes. Less time for a creamier ricotta, more for a drier ricotta. Enjoy immediately or transfer to a sealed container and keep in the fridge.
Recipe Video
Notes
- *Use half a teaspoon if using fine table salt
- **A clean cotton pillowcase or t-shirt can function in place of a cheesecloth
