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’ve made this twice now and it is sooo delicious..I mixed it with some buttered penne and a little basil and had the most amazing mac and cheese ever!
OMG! I think you just started a whole new recipe idea in my head! What a lovely delicate mac and cheese that must have been….
This is so awesome! I am making lasagna for Thanksgiving and this comes right on time. Thanks! Will definitely make this.
Lasagna for Thanksgiving, I love it! Happy ricotta. :)
How much does this process cost? In comparision to buying from the store? (I haven’t boughten any before)
It’s a little more expensive than the mass-produced kind, but definitely cheaper than the fresh ricotta you buy at the cheese counter. And it tastes SO much better!!
Sounds like home-made yogurt. I’ve seen once but your method seems easier.
That makes it worth to give a try!
Thanks, Kate.
Your scramble egg is exactly what I did yesterday. Yummy!
You’re so welcome! Wait til you see how easy it is – enjoy!
Woooow!!Thank you soo much for this post! I stood by my sink in amazement when I tasted it. I couldn’t believe I’ve bought this stuff from a store! It doesn’t even taste the same! I also felt proud that I had made it myself. :-) I will be experimenting for a low fat version because I think I will eat this all by myslef if I’m not careful!
Isn’t it the absolute best feeling??? Happy ricotta. :)
Made the ricotta this afternoon it is so yummy!! I have a calzone in the oven right now can’t wait to dig into it!!
Thanks for the great info
Isn’t it the best? And calzone…YUM.
Hi:
Thank you so much for your wonderful recipe. I used some milk my friend gave me from her goats, it was AMAZING. My daughter and I could not stop eating it. I plan on making more and using it over lasagna. I never thought making cheese could be so easy! Thank you very much!
Betty
You know, I’ve been meaning and meaning to make this with goats milk as a variation – thanks for the reminder! :) And yes, isn’t it the best??
i made this but it didn’t turn out ok….i heated the milk until 185 and it did not curdle so i left it a bit longer then it boiled over rhe cheese was rubbery and tastless and dry :( :( i will try it again and this time i will not boil it….i hope it works
Hi sunshine – you definitely do need to bring it to a boil…if it boiled over, it sounds like it might work better in a bigger pot. Did you use whole milk? If not, that might have something to do with it too. I’m so glad you are going to give it another try!
For sure I am going to make ricotta at home following your method instead buying from supermarkets. Thanks.
I’m so glad – I’m sure you will LOVE it! :)
The directions as you have given make a perfect and perfectly delicious ricotta. I have made it today in preparation for making your summer lasagna tomorrow. It has lifted the anticipation for gorgeous summer tomatoes and basil to new heights. Thanks for sharing it with us.
My pleasure! And that summer lasagna is my favorite, favorite use for the fresh ricotta. Enjoy!
Thanks for this recipe! I was instantly inspired to try it and the ricotta is super delicious and amazingly easy. Never gonna buy ricotta again! I used mine in a recipe I came up with recently, my own vegetable lasagna. Post is here: http://herbanfarmer.blogspot.com/2012/05/glorious-feast-garden-harvest-lasagna.html — I have links in there that send people to this post.
Thanks Deb – so glad you liked it! I’m never buying ricotta again either. :)
Yummm! Ricotta! Perfect for all those Italian dishes we love! We can’t wait to test this out! We appreciate you linking up to our “Strut Your Stuff Saturday.” We love seeing all of the great recipes and fun ideas! Hope to see you again next week! -The Sisters
Thanks – love your Saturday links!!
I definitely want to try this! The Chicken Tikka Masala recipe sounds wonderful too :)
Hurray! Try it, and you’ll never go back to the store-made kind! (And the tikka masala is one of my faves,) :)
Oh! I remember this picture… I’ve already favorited it on Foodgawker! I’M SO DOING THIS ASAP! I’ll report back later! lol. Your photos are just so pretty!! :)
Thank you!! :) and definitely report back!
Just made it today ! Thank You for this recipe, it’s so good .. and easy ! I think I’ll never buy ricotta anymore !
I’m so glad you like it! And I said the exact same thing the first time I made it…no more store-bought ricotta for me!