How to Make Fresh Homemade Ricotta in Less Than 30 Minutes

Making your own fresh Ricotta Cheese at home could not be easier! This 4-ingredient homemade ricotta uses only milk, heavy cream, salt, and fresh lemon juice and the entire process takes less than 30 minutes to make start to finish. I promise, you will never go back to using the store-bought ricotta again when you see how easy this homemade cheese is to make.

This recipe make 1 pound of fresh ricotta (about 450 grams) that can be used to make Meatless Baked Ziti, Lemon Ricotta Cake, Lemon Ricotta Muffins with Raspberry Jam, or to top your Bolognese. The recipe is easily halved to make ½ pound of ricotta.

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Why Make Your Own Ricotta?

Anything homemade is better and ricotta is no exception to that.  Homemade creamy ricotta:

• tastes fresher
• has no added preservatives or chemicals
• is better for you
• tastes better than store-bought versions

Additionally, you can control the amount of salt in this fresh cheese unlike brands purchased from the grocery store.

Plus, there are so many uses for ricotta:

• Top off bolognese or tomato-based pasta sauces for a rich and creamy layer
• Use it in meatless baked ziti, lasagna or other baked pasta dishes
• Serve as dessert with a drizzle of honey and cinnamon or figs (when they're in season)
• Use it to make Lemon Ricotta Cake and Grapefruit Ricotta Cookies!

Equipment needed to make this homemade ricotta recipe

You will need the following:

• Deep large bowl: You will place the cheesecloth-lined sieve over the large bowl. Once the ricotta is done cooking, this will be used to strain the ricotta from the whey (the liquid that separates from the milk and cream). Because you want the ricotta to strain out a majority of the liquid, you need a bowl that is deep enough that the bottom of the sieve is not touching the liquid. I have found a good bowl to use for this is the bowl of my stand mixer. It is deep and narrow, allowing the sieve to be separated from the liquid underneath. If you do not have such a bowl, you can instead tie the cheesecloth or nut milk bag over your kitchen faucet (see photos below). This will allow the ricotta to drain into the sink (place a bowl underneath to catch the whey if you wish to use it for other recipes).
• Fine mesh strainer, sieve, or colander: Any of these will work for the ricotta-making process
• Cheesecloth or a nut milk bag: I like to cut long pieces of the cheesecloth so I can gather the sides up once the ricotta has finished draining without the cheese falling out of the sides. Having long strips of cheesecloth will also allow you to tie up the cheese cloth on your kitchen faucet if needed. A nut milk bag works really well here too. It's reusable and has a fine gauge to separate the liquid from the solids. Most nut milk bags also have drawstrings at the top for tying to the faucet for draining, if needed.

How to Make Homemade Ricotta

Step 1

Line a large sieve or strainer with a layer of heavy-duty (fine-mesh) cheese cloth and place it over a large deep bowl. Alternately, use a cheesecloth-lined colander. I find the bowl of my stand mixer works really well. You want the sieve to have enough room to drain the liquid from the ricotta so the bottom of the strainer is not sitting in the liquid. Set aside.

Step 2

In a separate bowl, juice the lemon, being sure to strain out any pits or pith. Set the juice aside.

Step 3

To a large pot, add the milk, heavy cream, and salt. Slowly bring the mixture or milk and cream to a rolling boil over medium heat, stirring continuously with a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon to prevent the milk from scorching or burning on the bottom.

Keep a close eye on the milk mixture. Once it boils, the milk will rise up in the pot very quickly and can easily boil over onto your stovetop

Step 4

Once the milk is just boiling, add the lemon juice. Immediately reduce the stovetop to low heat and simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture curdles, about 2 minutes. You will see small curds form rather quickly.

Step 5

Carefully pour the mixture into the lined sieve and let it drain for 10 minutes or more. Draining for a shorter amount of time will produce creamier ricotta, while draining for longer will produce drier ricotta. If the ricotta is drier than you would like, spoon a bit of the whey, the strained liquid that's now in the bowl, into the ricotta and stir well.

If you prefer, use the cheesecloth or strings of a nut milk bag to tie around the faucet of your kitchen sink. This will allow the ricotta to drain its liquid. Place a bowl underneath to catch the whey, if desired.

Use a slotted spoon to scoop the drained ricotta out of the sieve and place in an airtight container Chill the ricotta until ready to use. Pour the whey (the leftover liquid) into a covered jar for future use or discard.

Ricotta will keep in fridge for 2-3 days.

Uses for leftover Whey

You can choose to discard the whey, the liquid that drained from the ricotta, or you can store it in a large jar as well for other uses (in the photo below, the whey is the slightly yellowish liquid shown in the large mason jar in the top left corner). 

There are lots of recipes on the good ol' internet that use whey or for which you can substitute whey for water, broth or milk, such as smoothies, soups, mashed potatoes and pasta sauces. 

Search it up and see what you can find and you'll have virtually no waste from this recipe!

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Ricotta recipes

Once the ricotta is ready, use it in any number of savory dishes such as baked ziti and bolognese. It adds a perfect balance of flavor and richness to meat or tomato-based sauces. 

For ricotta dessert recipes, serve it in a bowl with a drizzle of honey and cinnamon. Simple and delicious!  You can also use it in my Lemon Ricotta Cake recipe and Grapefruit Ricotta Cookies recipe. 

Once the ricotta is ready, use it to top off your pasta or bolognese. It adds a perfect balance of flavor and richness to meat or tomato-based sauces.

Or, serve it for dessert with a little honey and cinnamon. Simple and delicious!

You can also use it in my Grapefruit Ricotta Cookies recipe. Get creative and let me know how you use your homemade ricotta!

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