Thinking about making your own cheese? This is a great one to start with! It only takes a few ingredients and some little time to can make your very own homemade Cream Cheese From Scratch!
What's at the heart of from-scratch cooking? Cheese, of course! One of the easiest cheeses you can make yourself is homemade Cream Cheese From Scratch! It takes just a few ingredients and you can have the creamy dreamy perfect bagel pairing rich cheese.
Ingredients Needed:
- Whole Milk - For this, you really want "regular" milk from your favorite grocer. Farm fresh (straight from the cow) and ultra pasteurized milk don't quite work for this recipe.
- Half and Half and Heavy Whipping Cream - This is what adds the "cream" to the cream cheese.
- Lemon juice - Fresh is what we always use, but a bottled juice is totally fine, too!
- Salt - Kosher is always our preferred for cheese making because it is the purest form of salt.
Ok, so I know that ingredient list is expensive. You can totally just use a gallon of whole milk, too but that will make really more of a Ricotta Cheese. What separates Ricotta from Cream Cheese? Cream. By using the heavy cream and half and half, you will get a much richer tasting, creamier cheese.
You can also cut the recipe down a lot to make a smaller batch - see recipe notes.
Equipment Needed:
- Cheese Cloth
- Sieve or colander
- Large Pot
How to Make:
- Add milk, cream, and salt to pot and slowly heat
- Bring to simmer
- Add lemon juice and give a stir.
- Let simmer and then remove from heat
- Line a colander with a cheese cloth
Tip: Definitely make sure you have a big cheesecloth that you use covers the sieve or colander fully.
- Scoop / Pour curds into the the cheese cloth.
- Gather ends of the cheese cloth and let drain.
And done!
Tip: We've let this drain as little as 1-2 hrs and as much as 24. If leaving it out to drain more than 3-4 hrs, let it drain in your fridge or in a very cool place.
Once it's drained, you have a super creamy, delicious cream cheese from scratch! Who known homemade Cream Cheese From Scratch was so easy!
Tips for Making Cream Cheese:
- Keep the ratios of milk to cream and half and half. You can use just milk, but if you want to use cream and half and half, keep to these ratios.
- Rinse your pot with cold water, first. This will help with the clean up after!
- Don't heat too fast! You don't want to burn the milk.
- Make sure you have a good cheese cloth. Be sure that it's one that's wide so when you line your sieve or colander so that you have enough room to gather it all to hang to drain.
- You can do a mixture of a scooping the curds out and then pouring the contents in - but the most liquid poured directly into the cheese cloth will mean more draining time. Also your cloth will likely not fit all of the liquid at once and would need to be poured in batches. Patience is key. Take your time.
- Hang it for faster draining. You can just let it drain while in the sieve/colander, but gathering the edges of the cheese cloth and suspending it will help it all drain faster. Plus, doing this will allow you to gently squeeze the cloth a bit to release liquid faster.
Now that you have this Cream Cheese, you can make this amazing Cream Cheese Frosting From Scratch!
FAQs
If you overheat your milk, you'll end up with a kind of gritty cheese. It'll be smooth but it will have a grainy texture because the protein is denatured.
Totally. I think that it's a little less creamy and will make a cheese that's more like ricotta, but just using milk is still delicious!
We find the best results with 10 hrs. but if you want a looser, wetter cheese, then drainer for a shorter period.
It's best to use this cheese within a week of making it.
Yes, you can. However, it will change the texture. So it wont be great for spreading on bagels, but it'll be great for baked goods. Just be sure to wrap it in foil and store in freezer for up to 2 months.
As always, if you do please let me know!! I love to hear about it on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Cream Cheese From Scratch
Ingredients
- 1 quart whole milk
- 1 quart half and half*
- 2 quarts heavy cream*
- 1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Line a large sieve or colander a large cheesecloth and position over the sink or over a large bowl or pot if you plan to use the whey later. Be sure that your cheese cloth hangs quite a bit over the edges of the sieve - plenty for gathering when you drain.
- Rinse a large pot with cold water. Add milk / creams and salt to the pot and heat over medium heat. Bring it all to a gentle simmer. Give the pot an occasional stir to ensure it's not burning.
- Stir in the lemon juice and continue to simmer gently for a minute or two. Curds will begin to form and float to the top. They'll wont be as firm as curds from mozzarella, they'll be softer and cloud like. Once you start to see them form, turn off heat and let sit for another minute.
- After a minute or two, using a slotted spoon, gently pull at the soft curds. When it starts to separate from the liquid, you can start scooping into the cheese cloth. You can also give it another minute or two to let the liquid become less cloudy.
- Using a large slotted spoon, gently scoop the soft curds into the cheese cloth. If your curds are very soft, you can use a large spoon and scoop liquid too - it will just take longer to drain. See recipe notes.
- Gather edges of the cheese cloth and suspend over kitchen faucet or just let drain in the cheese cloth lined sieve/colander. You can give the wrapped cheese cloth a gentle squeeze or release some of the whey. See recipe notes.
- Let drain for at least an hour, but time to drain will depend on how well your curds formed and how much of the whey you added to your cheese cloth lined sieve/colander.
- Gently open cheese cloth and turn cheese into a large bowl. If it seems a little loose still, that's ok it will thicken a little more in the fridge.
- Store in fridge for about a week or in freezer for up to 2 months.
Hello, thank you for the recipe. I havent tried it yet but definetly want to give it a go. I am just wondering if the cream cheese is good for making cheesecake? Have you ever used it for making cheesecake?
Thank you for your help, Moritz
Yes! You can use it to make cheesecake 🙂
Ok. So after following these instructions to the letter. Nothing happened other than a basic “splatter” curdle. Frustrated I added more lemon, I allowed it to come to boil, took it off the heat, returned it to the heat. Basically anything and r cope didn’t call for. Disappointed I ended up pouring the very milky and not so curdled mixture into a large stainless steel bowl and left it outdoors to shock in the midnight cold air. Many many hours later, I ventured out into the cold north Canadian winter, to see, to my shock and delight, that the mixture had now evolved into a more sour-cream consistency. Encouraged (although frost bitten) I brought it back inside and strained it through cheesecloth and colander and collapsed into bed. Waking up with little to no expectations I was astonished and overjoyed to see this wonderfully thick, smooth and heavenly creamy cream cheese! I swear there were a host of angles in the background singing Hallelujah! But this was pre-coffee, so maybe not? Filled with a renewed joy I ventured on to make several different flavour batches, including a herb and garlic Boursin (OMG kill me now good). The plain cream cheese definitely had a lemon undertones, but see my previous note on adding extra lemon in the hopes to make it curdle. So, morale of the story is, it appears you can punish this recipe as much as you want, but you still end up with the most delicious cream cheese EVER! The process was not fun, but the outcome is sublime. I will definitely tell be making this again and again. Thank you. Sincerely, 10lbs-Heavier-In-Canada. Ps: I yielded 4+lbs of cheese. ❤️
Best comment review ever! Now I am going to try it!! Thank you!
Soon to 10 lbs heavier.
I followed this recipe exactly and used normal store-bought milks. It never curdled, nor did the whey ever clear, but it thickened. I'd spent over $20 for this recipe, so I didn't want to just give up. I let it sit 12 hours in 2 glass containers, then drained it for another six.
Fed the drippings to my cats and dogs. Then scooped the stuff into a plastic container and again refrigerator for overnight.
BEST CREAM CHEESE EVER. Four pounds of it! It is thin, but no thickening bat poop additives, so that's a good thing.
I've slathered it onto my homemade bagels.
Phew! Evelyn I was so worried at first but so glad to hear that it ended up working out - that's GREAT!! So glad you enjoy it!!
Does her recipe make 1lb or 4lbs of cream cheese? She says 1lb but you say 4lbs. I’m curious!
IS MAKING CREAM CHEESE THE SAME AS MAKING RICOTTA CHEESE. I HAVE NEVER TRIED MAKING CREAM CHEESE BUT THIS IS HOW I MAKE MY RICOTTA. ALSO DO YOU PUREE IT TO GET IT SMOOTH AND CREAMY AFTER DRAINING THE CURDS?
What is half & half?
It's half whole milk and half light cream. Here's an example.
I have not tried this recipe yet, but as I work on my girlfriends parents dairy farm I plan on trying it with farm fresh raw milk. I shall return to tell you how it turned out.
Hi! I actually wouldn't recommend making it with raw milk! This recipe is specifically for pasteurized milk. When using fresh raw milk, the recipe will adjust. I don't have any of those on my site, unfortunately, but here's one using raw milk! https://wholelifestylenutrition.com/recipes/condiments-sauces/how-to-make-organic-raw-cream-cheese/
It says it makes 1lb in your recipe. That’s a lot of milk, heavy cream and half / half it seems for such a small batch. Is that correct? I saw one of the others who made ur recipe said it makes 4lbs. What is the correct amount?
Followed recipe to the letter, but no curds ever formed.
I'm so sorry to hear this, Dom. This is usually a sign that the temps weren't right (or that you used an ultra high pasteurized milk). Did you use a good thermometer - sometimes if the thermometer isn't reading accurately that can throw things off. Again, so sorry this happened. I'd be happy to continue to troubleshoot it with you, though!
yes i used a thermometer, the temps were right. i did not use UHP milk, i had never heard of this product until troubleshooting cream cheese.... i used 100% organic dairy products which makes the abject failure of this attempt that much more upsetting
I'm so sorry to hear this, Dom. I wish I had more answers but it could have been something to do with your milk - if it was heated too high in the pasteurization process, something you'd have no way of knowing. Here's another article that might provide some insight, too https://www.cheesemaking.com.au/problems-with-setting-milk/
Apparently, you will more commonly find that organic milk is ultra pasteurized. Super frustrating! I was planning a recipe once and I actually contacted the dairy myself to ask if their products were ultra pasteurized, they told me that it was a good thing that I checked since so many organic dairies do. Maybe contact the dairy and ask them for guidance for next time you want to try making this, I'm sure they would help you! : )
Dom, all organic milk products are UHT (Ultra High Temperature) process so that organic milk will last longer from cow to your mouth. Here is an article that explains it very well.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-organic-milk-lasts-longer/
Am I missing something? The recipe mentions having a thermometer, but doesn't say what to do with it. I'm assuming the cream is meant to be heated to a specific temperature, but without knowing what that temperature is, it doesn't seem that having a thermometer would be of any help.
Hi Sam! Ah you're right. No thermometer is needed for this one - I had that in by mistake, thanks so much for pointing that out!
Great, thanks for the reply. I was a bit confused by this. But if I'm understanding correctly, the milk doesn't have to be heated to a specific temperature, just as long as it's at a low simmer and does not boil? Thanks for the recipe, I am going to try this very soon!
Yup! That's great - let me know how it turns out!
I followed the recipe exactly and the same thing happened to me that happened to everyone else. I actually doubled the recipe. It thickened and never curdled. Then I tried to add more lemon juice so not sure if I screwed it up all the way yet. i also added more salt. I was reading things from other blogs to try to troubleshoot.... I also noticed in the recipe it doesnt say to add the heavy cream and the half and half in with the milk at the same time..it just said " Bring milk and salt to a simmer" so that's what I did. Then I added the lemon juice then I was like when am I supposed to add the heavy cream and half/half???? So I dont know, but Im not sure if that is what screwed it up. This is not the best recipe and is super confusing.. Not happy at all. im now letting the pot sit on the stove for awhile to see if it will actually begin to curdle or not. If not, I wasted ALOT of money on this recipe.
Falen, so sorry this wasn't clear - I just updated the recipe to note the milk/creams and am sorry you're upset. It may still work though! Did you add the cream at any point? If not, then what will likely happen is as the milk sits it will start to curdle and then you can drain it. You'll have more of a ricotta like cheese, but it will still be tasty. If you added the cream after the lemon and brought it up to a simmer it might still work. If you want to share, I'd be curious to see if it still curdles for you.
Great instructions. Was worried after reading the reviews but it turned out very well.
Thank you for sharing the recipe 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing that, Priya!
Don't use Ultra Pasteurized (probably not UHT either) because it won't curdle right (denatured protein as mentioned above). It's pretty hard to find half and half or heavy cream that isn't ultra pasteurized, but some healthstores carry it, a few grocers also. Grocers prefer the ultra pasteurized because they don't have to throw it away as quickly. If it curdles right, when you stir it 5 minutes after adding the lemon, you should see the whey and curds separated(curds float and can give the illusion nothing is happening).
Thank you very much! This is really helpful! I shared it on my blog post about cheese making on TurtleDoveToughts