This homemade ricotta cheese recipe calls for nothing more than milk, buttermilk, salt, and 15 minutes. I promise it will be the best ricotta you’ve ever tasted…you might not ever buy supermarket ricotta again!
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why we love this recipe
Okay, the first thing I have to say is, hang in there with me for a few minutes. I know you are thinking, make your own homemade ricotta cheese? REALLY?
Here on this blog, where I have said about a million times, it’s all about getting in and out of the kitchen in 30 minutes or less? Has she finally eaten one too many piece of bacon and gone off her rocker?
Hang in there with me while I promise you these three things:
1. If you can boil water, you can make your own ricotta cheese.
2. It will take you less than 15 minutes from start to finish.
3. It will taste so good, you will wonder why on earth it took you so long to figure out that you should have been making your own homemade ricotta cheese for the past hundred years.
Let’s do this thing!
ingredients you need
ingredient notes and substitutions
- Buttermilk: You can find buttermilk near the cream in the dairy section of your supermarket…make sure you give the bottle a good shake before you pour it out.
- Milk: You have to use whole milk to make this heavenly ricotta…no low-fat or skim, please!
- Salt: We love using fine sea salt for this recipe, which you can find in the spice aisle.
how to make this recipe
STEP 1: Get out your handy strainer and put it in your sink. Line it with a little cheesecloth, which you can find in your supermarket, sometimes with the baking stuff and sometimes with the laundry stuff, for mysterious reasons. I usually fold it into a square that has about 3-4 layers until it looks like this. This will take you two minutes.
STEP 2: Now take a nice heavy saucepan and pour in 4 cups of whole milk and one cup of buttermilk.
PRO TIP: If you have any heavy cream hanging around, you can add this to the buttermilk and milk mixture – any amount up to 1/4 cup – and your ricotta will be extra super duper rich. Sometimes I do this and sometimes I don’t.
STEP 3: Set it on the stove and put the heat on to medium high and bring it to a boil.
In the early going, you may want to clip a candy thermometer on to the pot so you can watch the temperature, because when the temperature gets to about 185 degrees, the curds (the solid part) will have separated from the whey (the liquid part), and it’s time to strain it.
If you don’t have a thermometer don’t fret, because you can pretty much see it happening.
The milk mixture will boil, and it will gradually curdle and separate into the solids and the watery looking liquid. This will take about 10 minutes…sometimes less.
STEP 4: When the liquid starts to look like clearish milky yellow and you see lots of curds, take the pot off the burner and reach for your handy slotted spoon, and start scooping out the solids, letting the liquid drain off. Drop the spoonfuls of solids into your strainer.
STEP 5: I like to sprinkle a little sea salt onto the cheese every couple of spoonfuls or so. Once you are done, let it drain for about 2 minutes (if you like your ricotta moist) or 5 minutes (if you like it drier).
You can leave it right in the strainer, or you can be like I was when I first made it and hang it dramatically from your kitchen faucet.
STEP 6 (my favorite step): Taste it after a few minutes…if it’s gotten too dry just stir in a tablespoon or two of milk, and if it’s too moist for you, let it keep draining.
Fifteen minutes have now passed, and you have made your own homemade ricotta cheese. 🥳
recipe FAQ
Buttermilk is a low-fat dairy product that is high in protein. It has a slightly sour taste and a thick, creamy texture.
So many things! We love making steak marinated in buttermilk (super tender), buttermilk fried chicken tenders and of course, buttermilk pancakes!
Most supermarkets carry in either the laundry aisle, the baking aisle or both.
Pop your question the comments section below and I will answer pronto!
Recipes that are perfect for fresh ricotta
There are SO many, but I’m going to control myself and just tell you about my top three faves!
Number one on the list is scrambled eggs with ricotta. It’s comfort food on top of comfort food. And a close second is the recipe I make on repeat all summer…Summer Lasagna, full of fresh summer veggies and, yep, ricotta!
I’m also in love with this peach ricotta crostini, which is the perfect blend of a sweet and salty nibble.
And honey cheese pizza! Dolloped with this ricotta. THE BEST.
other homemade staple recipes we love
could you leave us some stars?
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section. Your thoughts and advice will help both us and your fellow readers. 🥰
Homemade Ricotta Cheese Recipe
This homemade ricotta cheese recipe calls for nothing more than milk, buttermilk, salt and 15 minutes!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
- Category: Staples
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 4 cups whole milk
- One cup buttermilk
- Sea salt
- 1/3 cup heavy cream (optional)
Instructions
- Line a fine mesh strainer with several folds of cheesecloth and set it in your sink.
- Combine milk, buttermilk and (if you are using it) cream in a medium heavy saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Bring to a boil until cooking thermometer registers 185 degrees (if you don’t have a thermometer, keep an eye on it to see when the curds (the solid white parts) are mostly separated from the whey (the cloudy liquid). This will take about 10 minutes – stir a couple of times during the boiling process.
- Remove from heat and using a slotted spot, scoop spoonfuls of the curd into the cheesecloth-lined strainer, sprinkling with a little salt every few spoonfuls or so.
- Let the ricotta drain for about 5 minutes and then taste to check the consistency. If you like it drier, then let it drain a little more. If you like it moister, stir in a tablespoon or two of milk. This ricotta is best used right away, but will keep for a day or two in the fridge.
Notes
- Buttermilk: You can find buttermilk near the cream in the dairy section of your supermarket…make sure you give the bottle a good shake before you pour it out.
- Milk: You have to use whole milk to make this heavenly ricotta…no low-fat or skim, please!
- Salt: We love using fine sea salt for this recipe, which you can find in the spice aisle.
Alice says
Agree with you 100% that there is just no question how much better homemade ricotta is. One of my favorite ways to use it is to put it on crostini with a bit of prosciutto and roasted grapes. I plan to try your peach crostini next!
Alice! Roasted grapes – what a fantastic idea! I’m definitely trying this the next time around. Hope you like the peach crostini! :)
Linda says
This is such an easy recipe and one that I put off making, reasons unknown. Fortunately my hesitation no longer exists and neither should yours. It’s the best!
Dear one! I love this!! And you.
Sally says
This is something I NEVER would have thought to try on my own, but oh my goodness! These is life changing and makes a huge difference in recipes that use ricotta. Highly recommend!
Isn’t it magical? Three cheers for homemade ricotta!
Mary Pat Leonard says
I have now made this 1/2 dozen times. We put together a “Ricotta” bar with fresh made croutons, and an assortment of toppings such as strawberries, tomatoes, olive salad, balsamic glaze, lemon oil, and go to town. On summer afternoon we ate so much of it we all voted to totally skip dinner!
Easy and DELICIOUS!!!!
Thank you!
A RICOTTA BAR! I absolutely love it!!
Yolanda says
Can the cheese be frozen?
Hi Yolanda! Technically you can, but it may change the consistency and texture since some of the liquid in the cheese may form ice crystals when it freezes, so it might be a bit crumbly when you defrost it. Hope this helps!
Yang says
I never knew ricotta cheese was as easy as that to make. That was totally unexpected, but also good because I can now make my own cheese. Thank you so much for this!
Glad you like it!
Kimberly Wylie says
I’ve made mozzarella before (MUCH more difficult!), so I have no idea why I hadn’t heard how simple ricotta is! Thank you so much for posting this!! One question – how much ricotta does this make, approximately? Thanks again!
Hi Kimberly (and sorry for the delayed reply – I was out of computer range for the long weekend) – I get anywhere from 1 to 1 1/2 cups from this recipe, depending on how much milk solid I get out of my milk. And I totally agree on mozz – I’ve tried it a few times, and it is quite a production!
Lisle says
I made the ricotta using a 2 qt glass measuring container, and microwaving on high for about 8 minutes, until the mixture reached 185F. It makes the clean up very easy. The results were fabulous! Thanks for the recipe!
Wow, I’ve never heard of trying it in the microwave – you are forging new ground! I’ll have to give it a try!