Cream Cheese From Scratch

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4.81 from 98 votes

Making your own Cream Cheese From Scratch is a lot easier than you’d think!

Course Cheese

Diet Gluten Free

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Drain and Chill time 4

Total Time 4 15

Servings oz

Calories 177kcal

Author Tracy

Equipment

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk
1 cup half and half
2 cups heavy cream
5 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon 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. Heat to approximately 165°-170° F, approximately 5-6 minutes.
Stir in the lemon juice and continue for a minute or two. Curds will begin to form and float to the top and the milk/cream will begin to simmer a bit and a gentle foam will start to form. Soft curds will start to form, but they won't be as firm as curds from mozzarella, they'll be much softer and cloud-ike. Once you start to see them form, turn off heat and let it sit for another minute and then remove from heat.
Let sit for 2 minutes and then use a large spoon to gently scoop curds into the cheesecloth, and then slowly and gently pour the rest of the curds/whey into the cheesecloth. Note: The curds will often seem very soft and cloud-like and it may seem like they're not scoopable. If that's the case, just gently pour into the cheesecloth and allow to drain.
Gather edges of the cheesecloth and suspend over kitchen faucet or just let drain in the cheesecloth lined sieve/colander. You can give the wrapped cheesecloth a gentle squeeze or release some of the whey. See recipe notes.
Let drain for at least an hour and up to four.
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 as it chills.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap or add to an air tight container and let cool for at least 2-4 hrs, this will help it thicken.
Store in fridge for about a week or in freezer for up to 2 months.

Notes

Nutritional Value: Approximately per oz.

Yield: Approximately 12-13 oz.

Curd Notes: The separation of the curds and whey for this recipe won't be as distinct as another cheese like mozzarella. Often, they're very soft and cloud-like with not a lot of distinct whey and curd separation. Even if it seems like distinct curds have not formed, continue with draining.

Substitutions:

Half and Half and Heavy Cream - You can just use all whole milk, although then you'll really get more of a ricotta cheese than cream cheese.

Heavy Cream - You can also just use half and half, or use any mixture of half and half and cream.

Total milk/cream should be about 4 cups. If you only have 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream, you can use more half and half, and vice versa, just be sure to use at least 4 cups and that at least a majority of it is half and half or heavy cream, this is what will make it more spreadable like cream cheese vs. ricotta.

Lemon Juice - Bottled concentrate will also work fine.

Use Leftover Whey

You can use the leftover whey to cook pasta, put in soups, or even bread!

Nutrition