Homemade Ricotta Cheese
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 1x
- 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.
I was just wondering ..i make my riccota w/ lemons instead of butter milk.is it about the same ..i think i would like it better w/ the butter milk.might make it a little richer.yes??/
I’ve never made ricotta with lemons so I can’t say for sure — I do know that this version with the buttermilk and creamy is very rich and smooth. Hope you like it!
Alright…I must know. Where have you been all of my life? You’re so cute and fun and you make your own cheese! I just know that we were meant to be besties!
I’m totally making my own ricotta this week for some lasagna. Can’t wait!
I’ve been right here waiting for you to stop by! Happy weekend ricotta! :)
Thank you ever so much for this recipe, I am an Italian American second generation on my Dad’s side and third generation on my Mom’s. I love love love Ricotta and use it in so many recipes handed down to me from both of my Nona’s,and now thanks to you I can make my own, who knew it was so simple. Than you, Thank you Thank you!
You are so welcome! I’m sure you will love it. Aren’t recipes from grandmothers precious? My favorite is my grandma’s molasses cookies. :)
That looks like so much fun and so taaaasty >< Great post! I love the dramatic picture =)
Thanks! And while it looks dramatic, in real life it is SO easy! (Isn’t that the best??)
I can’t wait to try this!
It’s an amazing thing to step back and realize…I made my own ricotta!
Oh gorgeous!!! it’ s amazing.. i can’ y believe it…. now i MUST try to make ricotta at home!!
:O)
big hug,
Serena
Big hug back and yes! You must!!
My pleasure! I make it at least once or twice a month now…and now I'm working on making my own butter. (I know..crazy!!)
Making butter is about as easy as it gets. Just take heavy cream and a pinch of salt in a mixer and whip it. One it gets past whipped cream, the butterfat will separate out from the liquid. Strain it a little to push the extra liquid out and you have some lovely butter. You can also just put the heavy cream in a jar and shake it for a looong time.
Yogurt is similar to making the ricotta, in that you have to heat the milk to 185, but the rest of the process takes longer. Put milk in the top of a double boiler (or in my case, since I go through A LOT of yogurt, in a stockpot that nests inside of another stockpot filled with water. Heat it until the milk gets to 185-190 degrees. Let it cool to 105-115 degrees. Stir in a couple of tablespoons of plain yougurt. Place the milk mixture on a heating pad on low overnight, covered with a towel to keep away drafts. Let it sit for at least 6-8 hours (I leave mine overnight) and then you’ll have yogurt! I like to strain mine when its done, so I have a greek style yogurt. A gallon of milk will make 2 quarts or so of Greek style yogurt. Have fun!
Betty, thank you for all this fabulous info! I’m working on perfecting my butter…hopefully soon it will be good enough for me to post. :)
Saw this on Pinterest and had to give it a try. Turned out great. Thanks so much for sharing.
ohhhh I am off to the supermarket to buy some buttermilk. But I am going to try both ways.. using buttermilk and the alternative of milk and vinegar. As buttermilk is not a common ingredient in Australian cooking so it tends to be very expensive. I will let you know how they both turn out. Thank you for sharing.
Just to let you know another tip. My Mother always used lemon juice instead of vineager to make the butter milk. I add a tablespoon or two to the milk in my measuring cup and let it sit for about five minutes.
I’ve heard that a lot – one day I definitely need to try it. :)
Paula! You have solved one of life's great phraseology mysteries for me – thank you! :)
The word “fell” usually refers to a killing strike or blow.
Hmm. Maybe not the best word to associate with making ricotta then? :)
Amazing!
one fell swoop: It's an idiom used by Shakespeare in Macbeth. A predator comes falling from the sky and makes damage in a sudden swift motion.
I think it might have to do with felling trees with one swoop of the axe.
Koni,if you use a heavy enough pot you'll only have to stir it once or twice and it will be fine. If your pot is not heavy, I'd stir it once a minute or so, just in case.
As it's cooking, do you stir the milk so it won't burn?
Let me know if you find a low-fat one that works…and yes, just like frosting! :)