Creamy homemade ricotta cheese

Making creamy homemade ricotta cheese is incredibly easy and only requires 3 ingredients. To achieve the most creamy ricotta cheese, all you need is whole milk, lemon juice and salt. Once you try this homemade ricotta cheese recipe, you will never turn to store bought ricotta again!

Jump to Recipe

Is it worth making your own ricotta?

The short answer is yes! Homemade ricotta is incredibly creamy, smooth and flavoursome and cannot be compared to the tubs you buy in the store. There is also something extremely comforting about eating fresh ricotta that is still warm! My nanna used to make homemade ricotta all the time so being able to eat it warm from the tub is very nostalgic for me.

What do I need to make ricotta?

You only need three ingredients! These include lemon juice, whole milk and salt. Yep, that’s all you need! It’s important that the milk is full fat and not ultra pasteurized. While you can still use pasteruized milk, be sure to not buy ultra pasteurized milk as the milk will not curdle. The lemon juice can also be replaced with white vinegar. I have made it with both and have found that it does not make a difference to the ricotta.

You are also going to need a fine mesh strainer and cheesecloth to seperate the curds from the whey. If you don’t have a cheesecloth, you can also use a chux or tea towel.

How much ricotta do I get from a gallon of milk?

Now this is the only downside when it comes to making homemade ricotta. Unfortunately, you are not going to get a huge amount of ricotta from a gallon of milk. It’s roughly 3 – 4 cups of ricotta per gallon of milk. But there is an upside to this as there are many ways to use the leftover whey. Whey is the liquid that naturally separates from the milk and is what will be leftover once you remove your curds, the ricotta. You can use it to brine a chicken, incorporate into your morning smoothies, make oatmeal with or use it in doughs for pizza and bread!

Home long does homemade ricotta last?

It will last 4 – 5 days if stored correctly. For any leftover ricotta, store in an airtight container or sterilised jar and pop straight into the fridge. This applies to any leftover whey as well!

What is ricotta cheese mainly used for?

The options are endless for how you can serve your ricotta cheese. My favourite way is to spread it only a piece of olive oil fried bread with a crack of black pepper and drizzle of honey or some juicy heirloom tomatoes. I also use it in so many of my recipes including my baked ziti, summer tomato tart, blueberry, lemon and ricotta olive oil cake and ravioli filling.

How do I make homemade ricotta cheese?

It’s surprisingly very simple to make and if you follow my easy steps you will not mess it up!

Firstly, you need to heat the milk. I do this on a low – medium heat to ensure the milk does not burn. You will also need a thermometer for this step as it’s important the milk is heated to the correct temperature of 175 – 180F or 80 – 85C. However, if you don’t have one on hand you can look for visual clues such as small bubbles forming at the top of the milk.

You can add the salt at the beginning of the ricotta making process or at the end. The salt is here to slightly flavour your ricotta.

Once the milk has heated to the correct temperature, add the lemon juice or vinegar and gently stir through the milk.

Leave to sit undisturbed for 20 – 30 minutes with the lid on to allow the curds to form. Take the lid off and then gently stir through with a wooden spoon.

Use a slotted spoon to seperate the curds from the whey and place into a fine mesh strainer lined with a cheesecloth. Allow to drain for 20 minutes.

If you make this ricotta recipe please tag me on Instagram, Tik Tok or Pinterest so I can see your wonderful creations! If you have any questions or would like to leave a review, please do so here! I always love answering your food and recipe related questions and hearing your feedback on my recipes.

Images by Alanna Penna Photography.