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How to make delicious, soft homemade Cream Cheese using a super-simple method and 3 ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen
If I’d know how simple it was to make DIY cream cheese, I would have been making it months (if not years!) ago. Somehow I’ve managed to go through DIY’s for DIY Homemade Ricotta Cheese and DIY: Homemade Herb Butter ( Compound butter) without trying this simple cream cheese method, which is actually a bit of in-between method of both of them.
In fact, I’m still being surprised at just how many ingredients you can make/get from a single dairy product. Cream cheese, cheese, butter, buttermilk, whey and more.
Smooth and creamy soft cheese only requires three ingredients, that you probably already have; Whole Milk, Lemon Juice and Salt. It can also be customised in any way you’d like – with herbs, pepper, sweet chilli, etc or used for a variety of sweet or savoury purposes.
You are able to experiment with the milk used as well: Combining milk and cream in equal parts instead of just using milk, or even using heavy cream alone. Obviously the more cream you use, the richer and ‘creamier’ your final product. However, it would also up the fat levels.
I thought I’d keep things super simple for the first time trying homemade cream cheese and I loved it so much that I didn’t feel the need to complicate or change the recipe in any way.
I have seen recipes for cream cheese using liquid rennet, a cheese culture/starter and more potentially confusing and unobtainable ingredients and that is definitely not ‘my jam’. This is a recipe anyone can do and then can go crazy experimenting with, if desired.
Why make your own cream cheese?
I know that’s probably a question that some of you are asking, and I actually have the perfect answer. Because homemade cream cheese is SO much better – and I’m not just saying that.
I’m not just talking about taste and texture either. Now, obviously I haven’t tried EVERY cream cheese out there – but last time I was at the store I decided to have a look at the ingredients list of some of the biggest brands of cream cheese here in the UK.
What I found was ‘E’ ingredients, gums and thickeners including the controversial carrageenan! Homemade cream cheese simply uses lemon juice, milk and salt and is still wonderfully smooth and creamy.
How to Make Cream Cheese:
As I said above, the method for making cream cheese is actually very similar to making ricotta; Heat your milk, add a coagulant, leave to curdle, drain and blend!
Okay, there’s a little more to it than that, but you get the gist.
What’s needed:
- full-fat milk – it’s important to use full-fat milk because of its fat content.
- lemon
- salt
- optional add-ons – dried herbs, garlic powder, dried chillies
Note* You could alternatively use half whole milk and half heavy cream OR completely use whole cream for soft cheese that is richer/creamier (but with a higher fat content)
You will also need a cheesecloth or a fine-mesh sieve
The Steps:
Begin by pouring the milk in a saucepan. Heat the milk and bring it to boil over medium-high heat.
As soon as it boils, add the lemon juice and then turn off the heat.
Set aside for a few minutes while the milk curdles. You’ll notice curds forming and a yellow-ish liquid being left behind.
Within a few minutes, all of your curds should have formed. Pour the curdled milk through a cheesecloth and a sieve to strain all the liquid whey.
Alternatively, you can use a slotted spoon to scoop out all the curdles, while leaving the liquid whey in the pot.
Note* This leftover whey can then be used in a variety of ways. I’ve talked about this more in my DIY How To Make Paneer At Home post.
Rinse the curdled milk with cold water by pouring the water over the sieve. This will help to get rid of any extra whey, clinging to the curds.
Squeeze the curdled milk as much as possible to drain any last drop of the liquid whey.
Put the strained milk into a food processor/blender and add the salt.
Within 1-2 minutes (this may vary, depending on how powerful your machine is) you’ll have a light and fluffy cream cheese.
If you want to add any additional herbs/flavourings, then do that now too. Be warned though as certain additional ingredients will affect the shelf-life of the cheese. I like dried herbs and garlic powder as natural flavourings that don’t affect the shelf life too much.
Store the cream cheese in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 7 days. You can freeze cream cheese, but the texture upon thawing is more crumbly and is best used when you’re cooking it into something like a dip or sauce.
How to eat it?
Once your cheese is ready, then it can be used the same way you would with the store-bought version:
- Spread over a bagel, toast or sandwich
- Added to pasta and other sauces for a delicious creamy twist.
- Blended into a delicious cream cheese frosting (like for this gluten-free banana bread or a carrot cake) or for a cheesecake
- It’s delicious when added to soups and dips, too – like this Moutabal Aubergine Dip
- Spread in pastries, like this Ricotta & Spinach pieÂ
- As a filling or topping for french toast and pancakes (served along with a berry compote)
And a bazillion (the technical term, of course) other ways.
The Homemade Cream Cheese Recipe:
Simple Creamy Homemade Cream Cheese
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 cups full-fat milk (whole milk) - best raw or pasteurized, but not UHT
- 5 Tbsp lemon juice or 1 large lemon
- 1/2 tsp salt or more to taste
Optional Flavoring Add-ons
- pinch of dried herbs garlic powder, dried chillies, etc
Instructions
- Begin by pouring the milk in a saucepan. Heat the milk and bring it to boil over medium-high heat.
- As soon as it boils, add the lemon juice and then turn off the heat.
- Set aside for a few minutes while the milk curdles. You'll notice curds forming and a yellow-ish liquid being left behind.
- Within a few minutes, all of your curds should have formed. Pour the curdled milk through a cheesecloth and a sieve to strain all the liquid whey. Alternatively, you can use a slotted spoon to scoop out all the curdles, while leaving the liquid whey* in the pot.
- Rinse the curds with cold water. This will help to get rid of any extra whey, clinging to the curds.
- Squeeze the curdled milk as much as possible to drain any last drop of the liquid whey.
- Put the strained milk into a food processor/blender and add the salt. Within 1-2 minutes ( this may vary depending on how powerful your machine is) you'll have a light and fluffy cream cheese.
- If you want to add any additional herbs/flavourings then do that now too. Be warned though as certain additional ingredients will affect the shelf-life of the cheese. I like dried herbs and garlic powder as natural flavourings that don't affect the shelf life too much.Â
Store the cream cheese in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 7 days. You can freeze cream cheese, but the texture upon thawing is more crumbly and is best used where you're cooking it into something like a dip or sauce.Â
Video
Notes
- The leftover whey can then be used in a variety of ways. I've talked about this more in my DIY How To Make Paneer At Home post.
- Instead of just whole milk, you could use a 1:1 ration of whole milk and heavy cream or even JUST heavy cream for creamier cheese. However, this will also affect the fat content.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Other DIY recipes You May Be Interested In:
If it’s DIY’s you’re looking for, then it’s DIY’s you’ve found. I’ve practically got them coming out of my ears. Here is a list of other dairy-based DIYs you may like though.
- DIY Homemade Ricotta Cheese
- Simple Rainbow Goat Cheese Rolls
- DIY How To Make Paneer At Home
- DIY: Homemade Herb Butter ( Compound butter)
- HOW-TO: DIY HOMEMADE NATURAL YOGURT
Vegan Options:
If you’re dairy-free or vegan (or just curious), then you might like these DIYs instead.
Hello, afyer reading this amazing article i am as well happy to share my familiarity here
with mates!
Thank you for your comment, Elvis.
Best recipe ever! I love all the tips and details!
Thank you so much for your comment, Rowayyah.
Hello…how many cups of cream cheese we will get from 1 litre milk?
Hi Sadia,
1 litre of milk would yield about 1/2 cup cream cheese.
Hye,
I like your recipe and tried it. It is deliciously yummy and easy to made.
Thank you for your comment, Ramsha. Glad you liked the recipe.
hello! thanks very much for this recipe. unfortunately, my curds turned out like little grains, not bug chunks as pictured in the recipe. After using my little ninja, the cream cheese turned out dry, grainy and tasteless. I know I must have done something wrong. Could the whole milk I bought at the store not be good enough? What am I missing? Thanks!
Hi Sara,
If the milk was overheated, then the protein becomes denatured resulting in a more grainy texture. You can try adding a bit (1-2 tablespoons) of the whey liquid back to the cream cheese and keep blending till you achieve a smooth texture. I hope this helps.
Mine was great day one but the next day, even sitting in a sealed tupperwear, it became quite rubbery. Any tips?
Hi Renee,
Sorry to hear that. Blending again and possibly adding a splash of milk or cream when blending should help soften the texture. Add first a bit, 1-2 tablespoons, and increase if needed. I hope this helps.
Thank you so much
Hi dear, thanks a lot for your great effort in how you explain everything, I just want to know the amount of cream cheese I will obtain? It’s could be more than 500 grams or less?
Hi Alaa,
The recipe yields 1 cup cream cheese, which would be around 200 grams. I hope this helps.
Will this cream cheese be good for making a baked cheese cake? Thanks for sharing
Hi Sarah,
Yes, you can use this cream cheese for cheesecake.
May i know the best before for the cream cheese? and also is there anyway to extent best before for the cream cheese?
Hi Lucas,
The cream cheese can be store in the fridge for up to 7 days. It’s also possible to freeze it for longer but keep in mind that the texture upon thawing is more crumbly so it is best used where you’re cooking it into something like a dip or sauce. I hope this helps.
Hey,thank you for the tecipe. I wanted to use it as topping over cinnamon rolls,when shall i add the cinnamon powder and vanilla essence?
Hi Muskan,
You need to add them at the end of the blending stage, pretty much when the cream cheese is ready. When you obtain the texture you like, add the cinnamon powder and vanilla essence and just blitz for a few more seconds to incorporate them well. I hope this helps.
Good recipe. Can i use this for cheese cake?
Yes, you definitely can – I have done so myself and it was delicious!
Does using homemade cream cheese shorten the Shelf life of a cheesecake compared to using bought cream cheese?
Hi Anna,
No, it doesn’t shorten the shelf life.
Can I use normal white vinegar also? The 30% one. As a substitute to lemon.
Hi Anette,
Yes, you can use white vinegar instead of the lemon juice.
Does the 5T of lemon juice add a lemon flavor, or does the rinsing of curds take that away?
Not really – the acidity is needed to form the curds but I don’t find that much flavor is left behind at all as it tends to stay in the liquid portion rather than with the curds
Can I use the cream cheese to make cheese cake?
Hi Christine,
Yes, I think you can use the homemade cream cheese for a cheesecake.
Very simple and yummy. Thank you.
Thank you for your comment, Nyenyezi.
Hi. How do i fix grainy/granulated cream cheese?
Hi Rae,
You can add a bit (1-2 tablespoons) of the whey liquid back to the cream cheese and keep blending till you achieve a smooth texture.
If this doesn’t help, it could be because the milk was overheated – then the protein becomes denatured resulting in a more grainy texture.
I didn’t read the part about not using ultra pasturized milk and made mine with 3 cups of half and half and 1 cup of heavy cream, and 3 tbsp of lemon juice (my attempt at halving the recipe). Well it barely curdled after waiting quite a while, so I brought it back to a light boil and stirred very slowly and got it to curdle a tiny bit more. I tasted my slightly curdled “mistake” and decided “eh, what the heck – its yummy” and put it in the cheese cloth to see if I could make it work anyway. Well it came out creamy and delicious. I plant to divide it in tiny batches and add powdered rosemary to one, garlic powder to another, and sweetener and cinnamon to the 3rd to use as a fruit dip. Yum! Thank you for this recipe – it really is pretty fool proof.
Thank you for your comment and for trying the recipe, Adelle. Glad that it worked out with the adjusted ingredients! 🙂
Hi! In my country (Perú) there’s only cans of evaporated milk and the one that is in a carton. Is full fat milk the same as evaporated milk? Can I use that? Thank you 🙂
Hi Diana,
Evaporated milk is milk with about 60% of the water content removed. I haven’t tried this yet but you might be able to use evaporated milk by adding water (equal parts) for this recipe. I hope this helps.
Hi!
How long should i put the cream cheese in the fridge if i want to use it for a cheesecake?
Hi Maria,
The cream cheese can be kept in the fridge for up to 7 days. You can use it for a cheesecake at any point.
Is the amount of salt you use mainly for taste, or does it serve another purpose as well? We need to watch the sodium level and I am hoping I can cut it down so the sodium is closer to 80-90 grams a serving
Hi Jennifer,
The salt is mainly for the taste, you can add less or no salt if you want.
I asked on your video, too. Do you think goat milk would work? Thanks!
Hi Nancy,
Yes, you can use goat milk and the same process. I hope this helps.
I do not have a blender or a food processor. Can I use a mixer instead? Thank you!
Hi Lily,
Yes, you should be able to cream the curds with a hand mixer, a whisk, or even a fork. Maybe best to start with a whisk or a fork so you have more control over the curds. I hope this helps.
You have no idea how much I wanted to try homemade cream cheese but in my country is not that easy to find the starters that everyone talks about. Thank you thank you for the recipe I’m gonna make it tomorrow
Thanks, Sofia. I hope you gave the recipe a try and liked it 🙂