How to Make Homemade Ricotta Cheese: Tips and 3-Ingredient Recipe

True Italian ricotta is a fresh, soft, white cheese made from cow’s milk and leftover whey—the watery part of milk that’s separated from the curds during cheesemaking. Rather than throw away this nutritious milk-water, Italian cheesemakers developed ricotta by heating whey near a boil, which caused it to coagulate and form a soft cheese.

Like paneer, cottage cheese, halloumi, queso blanco, and other fresh cheeses, ricotta can be heated without melting, making it a great option for filled pastas like ravioli, as well as baked goods like cannoli and cheesecake.

Traditional cheesemakers in Italy and elsewhere make ricotta cheese using whey as their base. Here’s how they do it.

1. 1. Start with pasteurized milk. If you’re buying your milk from the grocery store, it will be pasteurized already. (If you’re using fresh milk, you’ll need to pasteurize it yourself by heating the milk to 150ºF for at least 30 minutes or 162ºF for at least 15 seconds. Allow the milk to cool before proceeding to the next step.)
2. 2. Curdle the milk. Add a starter bacteria to the milk, along with rennet enzymes (produced in the stomachs of ruminant mammals like cows). This will cause the milk to acidify and coagulate into watery whey and solid curds.
3. 3. Strain the curds. Separate the whey from the curds using a strainer or sieve.

To make traditional ricotta from whey, heat the whey until it’s almost boiling, then cover and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes. This will cause the whey to curdle a second time. The resulting curd is then drained, resulting in ricotta.

Unless you happen to have whey leftover from other cheesemaking projects, however, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to dive into the traditional-style ricotta making process above. Luckily, there’s another way to make your own ricotta (or ricotta-like) cheese at home.

Homemade fresh ricotta is only three ingredients away:

1. 1. Whole milk is the basis of this cheese. Avoid ultra-pasteurized milk, which does not curdle properly. (You can use low fat milk, but the resulting cheese won’t taste as rich as whole milk ricotta.)
2. 2. Citric acid makes the milk curdle, or separate into curds and whey. You can also use lemon juice or white vinegar, but citric acid has a more subtle flavor and will produce the best ricotta. You can buy citric acid online.
3. 3. Heavy cream is added at the end of the process to make the curds creamy. This yields a texture more like ricotta than farmer’s cheese (which is actually what we’re making in this process).

You’ll need the following tools to go along with the above ingredients:

• Non-reactive pot, such as stainless steel or enamel-coated pot
• Rubber spatula
• Digital instant-read thermometer or cheesemaking thermometer
• Large fine-mesh strainer, sieve, or colander lined with layers of cheesecloth

While making homemade ricotta-style cheese requires few ingredients, consider the following tips to perfect your technique:

• Drain your ricotta well. The longer and more thoroughly you drain your ricotta, the thicker the texture will be.
• Go easy on the cream. Too much heavy cream will weigh down your ricotta, making it less fluffy.
• Don’t overmake. Ricotta cheese goes bad quickly, even in the refrigerator, so stick to making a quantity you’ll actually use within the next couple days. If you need to scale up this recipe, one gallon of milk will yield about one pound of cheese.
• Don’t throw away your leftover whey. It’s full of good bacteria that can help jump-start fermentation projects. You can add a little to soaking liquid for whole grains, add it to smoothies, use it to marinate meats, or even try making ricotta the traditional way.

Once you’ve tried the ricotta recipe below, consider using your homemade ricotta to make the following dishes:

1. 1. Ricotta on toast: Ricotta and toasted bread go together like peanut butter and jelly. Top toast with ricotta cheese and smashed peas. Garnish with mint leaves, lemon juice, olive oil, and sea salt. You can also spread ricotta on toast and top with a drizzle of honey.
2. 2. Grilled ricotta bread: Brush brioche slices with melted butter and heat in a large skillet or griddle over medium-high heat until golden brown. Spoon ricotta cheese on each piece of grilled bread, spreading so that the edges are taller than the center. Pour your favorite jam into the center and sprinkle with flaky kosher salt.
3. 3. Lemon ricotta pancakes: Adding fresh ricotta cheese to pancake batter yields super-fluffy hotcakes, while lemon zest plays up the acidity of the cheese.
4. 4. Gnudi (ricotta gnocchi): Italian pasta that looks and tastes like extra-fluffy gnocchi, but it’s made with ricotta cheese instead of potatoes.
5. 5. Lasagna: Take your favorite lasagna recipe to the next level by subbing grocery-store ricotta with this homemade ricotta cheese recipe.
6. 6. Ricotta ice cream: Use fresh ricotta to make no-churn ricotta ice cream: Simply blend the cheese with milk and sugar, then freeze in an airtight container.

This homemade ricotta-style cheese is a fresh cheese, which means it hasn’t been aged to prolong its shelf life. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to two days.