Did you know you can make your own ricotta cheese at home without all the hassle of a thermometer and cheesecloth? You just need a microwave, some milk, lemon, and salt to make this 5 Minute Homemade Ricotta! Use your homemade ricotta in tonight’s dinner, baked ziti! It doesn’t get much easier than this.
5 Minute Homemade Ricotta
I love using ricotta in my cooking, but I find that I always need to buy way more than I need, and the remainder always ends up going bad before I can use it. I recently learned a way to not only save some money but get exactly as much ricotta as you need…by making it in the microwave! I was hesitant at first, but when I pulled my bowl of milk and lemon juice from the microwave after just 3 minutes, I was astounded to see curdled milk just waiting to be strained into ricotta cheese!
You can use this homemade ricotta virtually anywhere you would use store bought…in lasagna, as a base for pizza or galettes, or even on toast! It’s creamy, savory, slightly zingy, and so delicious. Let’s make store bought ricotta a thing of the past, starting right now!
Making Homemade Ricotta
- In a microwave safe bowl, stir to combine milk, lemon juice or vinegar, and salt.
- Microwave on high for 3 to 5 minutes. When milk is bubbling at the edges and you can see the milk has curdled, remove from the microwave. If milk doesn’t curdle, add another tablespoon of lemon or vinegar and microwave for another 30 seconds,
- Set two layers of paper towels in a wire mesh sieve, and set over a large bowl. Gently pour the milk mixture into the sieve to strain out the liquid.
- You can let your ricotta strain up to 1 hour. The longer it sits, the firmer your ricotta will be, though I like it fresh and warm.
To make 5 Minute Homemade Ricotta you’ll need:
- 2 cups whole milk
- ¼ cup lemon juice or white vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
Kitchen tools you may find useful:
- Microwave safe bowl
- Paper towels or cheesecloth
- Wire mesh sieve
- Measuring cups and spoons
You can use this easy homemade ricotta recipe in this ricotta cheese spinach dip for an appetizer everyone will love! And for dessert, serve up this fantastic ricotta cheesecake recipe. Don’t forget to save me some!
5 Minute Homemade Ricotta
IMPORTANT - There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- ¼ cup lemon juice or white vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- In a microwave safe bowl, stir to combine milk, lemon juice or vinegar, and salt.
- Microwave on high for 3 to 5 minutes. When milk is bubbling at the edges and you can see the milk has curdled, remove from the microwave. If milk doesn’t curdle, add another tablespoon of lemon or vinegar and microwave for another 30 seconds,
- Set two layers of paper towels in a wire mesh sieve, and set over a large bowl. Gently pour the milk mixture into the sieve to strain out the liquid.
- You can let your ricotta strain up to 1 hour. The longer it sits, the firmer your ricotta will be, though I like it fresh and warm.
Nutrition
Amanda Davis
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Kay P says
Must the milk be at room temp? I tried it and it didn’t work very well for me.
Sarah Bond says
Hi Kay, sorry to hear it didn’t work! The work does not need to be room temperature, but the whole milk (vs skim) is important. Perhaps try again with a little more lemon juice or vinegar?
sandra hasan says
Brilliant. But can you say approx how much ricotta comes from 2 cups milk. Thank you for sharing.p
Sarah Bond says
Hi Sandra! You’ll get about 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese with 2 cups of milk (less if you strain it for longer).
Cheryl Sibiski says
Can you make this with 2% milk?
Sarah Bond says
Hi Cheryl! Making ricotta is all about separating the fats in the form of curds (which make the ricotta), so a low fat milk may not work as well. 2% should probably be fine, but I definitely wouldn’t recomend using a lower fat milk than that. :)
Animeyt says
This look super delicious. Lovely pictures makes it something to give try on this weekend.
Grandma Loy says
Oh so sorry, I see that Sarah supplied this recipe. So thank you, Sarah. This truly will change my cooking life.
Sarah Bond says
You’re very welcome!! Happy to be able to help so much :D
Grandma Loy says
Amanda, thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing this recipe. I don’t keep ricotta on hand and never seem to have it when I want to make a recipe that includes ricotta. Since my nearest grocery store is 15 miles away, I usually just set those recipes aside and forget about them when I am doing my next grocery shopping. Now I don’t have to do that and will use this info the next time I want to make a recipe that uses ricotta. This is going to change my cooking life.