Homemade milk kefir cheese is a great option for being creative with your homemade milk kefir. It is a soft, tangy, spreadable cheese perfect for bagels, toast, crackers, and more! Learn how to make this easy, probiotic-rich cheese at home.

Kefir cheese with chives mixed in spread on two pieces of toast. Sitting on top of a white plate with a gray floral border. Blueberries in pile next to toast. Bowl of kefir cheese and a knife behind the plate.

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RELATED DISCUSSION BOARD: The Scoop | All Things Dairy

What is Milk Kefir?

Aerial view of a wide mouth mason jar full of white bubbly kefir. No lid on top. Green checkered cloth on table next to jar.

If you are new to fermenting, I always say milk kefir is the easiest place to start. It requires only two ingredients, minimal kitchenware, and it is nearly impossible to mess up.

Milk kefir is a cultured dairy product. It is made by placing milk kefir grains in milk (I use raw milk). This causes the milk to undergo a lacto-fermentation process, allowing the naturally occurring friendly bacteria present in the milk to break down the lactose and casein. Once enough lactic acid has been produced, the milk is now preserved for several weeks.

See this post for more information on raw milk:

Is Raw Milk Safe? What are the Benefits? (+ My Personal Experience)

You really can’t go wrong with the probiotics that are abundantly available. As more information becomes available about the importance of gut health, I think it is wise to incorporate a wide variety of foods that benefit the gut microbiome.

The good bacteria and lactic acid in the digestive tract can help keep pathogens at bay, guard against infectious illness, and aid in fuller digestion of all food consumed. The numerous enzymes can also help absorb calcium and other minerals.

For more information on the benefits of consuming milk kefir and how to make your own, please see this post:

How to Make Raw Milk Kefir (And Why You Should!)

If you are regularly making milk kefir at home, it is easy to make more than you can drink in a short amount of time, especially if your grains are constantly growing!

To purchase your own activated milk kefir grains, please see here:

The Savvy Saige Etsy Shop

If you have a lot of milk kefir in your refrigerator at one time, you may want a little variety with how to use it. I personally drink milk kefir almost every single day, but versatility is good! There are several ways to use your milk kefir, which include smoothies, homemade creamy salad dressing, yogurt or buttermilk substitute in recipes, cheese, and more.

For simple recipes for kefir smoothies, please see these posts:

Mixed Berry Kefir Smoothie

Strawberry Banana Kefir Smoothie

What is Milk Kefir Cheese?

Soft milk kefir cheese in a glass bowl. Yellow and white dish towel sitting on table next to bowl.

Milk kefir cheese is the result of separating the curds and whey in milk kefir that is allowed to ferment longer than usual. The separation occurs naturally from the casein in the milk being acidified, as it sits at room temperature. After the whey is strained out, you are left with a soft, creamy, spreadable cheese. Like I say with making milk kefir, it is nearly impossible to mess up in making milk kefir cheese.

Benefits of Fermented Dairy Products

Fermentation, in general, has been utilized for thousands of years as a means of food preservation. It allows food to last longer, be transported, and be available for greater stretches of time throughout the year.

Fermentation also has many health benefits for people, especially fermented dairy. When dairy is fermented it provides calcium, phosphorus, fat, carbohydrates, and protein. These nutrients effect bone health, the cardiovascular system, metabolism, the central nervous system, inflammation, and cancer.

Fermented dairy also provides both prebiotics and probiotics, which have an effect on the microbiome.

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

Benefits of Kefir Cheese

Homemade milk kefir cheese is just one of the many fermented cheese products you can make at home. Between the nutritional value and the simplicity, it is a great place for beginner cheese makers to start.

Here are just a few of the benefits:

Great source of protein and essential amino acids
Lactic acid acts as a natural preservative
Mostly lactose free- more tolerable for people with a lactose sensitivity
Higher concentration of nutrients
Good bacteria- supports gut health, aids digestion, and boosts the immune system
Good source of calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus

How to Make Milk Kefir Cheese

If you are nervous to start making cheese at home, kefir cheese is a simple place to begin, especially if you already have the homemade milk kefir process mastered.

How to Make Raw Milk Kefir

Ingredients

3 cups raw milk
1 tbsp activated milk kefir grains

Equipment

2 quart size mason jars (32oz)
2 coffee filters or breathable cloths
2 rubber bands
twine
1 mesh strainer
1 bowl (medium-sized)
1 spoon
1 funnel
1 flour sack towel or 2-3 sheets of cheesecloth

Instructions

The first step is to make homemade milk kefir.

Place kefir grains and raw milk in a quart size mason jar.

Pale yellow milk kefir grains sitting on top of a light colored wooden spoon. The spoon is resting on top of a wide mouth mason jar. There is a green and white checkered cloth sitting on the table next to the mason jar.

Cover the top of the mason jar with a coffee filter or cloth, and secure with a rubber band or twine.
Place on countertop and allow to culture for 12-48hrs, until the desired thickness is reached.

Wide mouth mason jar filled with white milk kefir. The top of the mason jar is covered with a green and white checkered cloth and secured with twine tied in a bowtie.

Using a fine mesh strainer and spoon, strain the milk kefir into a bowl, separating the grains from the milk kefir. Place your grains in a new jar with milk. You can either start the process again or place in the refrigerator to take a break.

Milk kefir straining through a fine mesh strainer into an off white ceramic bowl with two blue lines as the outside bowl design.

The second step is the cheese making process.

Using your funnel, pour the milk kefir into a new mason jar and cover with a coffee filter or breathable cloth, and secure with a rubber band or twine. Allow to sit at room temperature until the curds and whey separate, up to 12hrs. I usually let it sit overnight.

Separation of milk kefir into curds and whey. Curds are floating at the top in the mason jar and are white. The yellow white is at the bottom underneath the curds. Green and white checkered cloth used as a cover. Cloth secured with twine.

After you see a significant separation of the curds and whey, place a flour sack towel, or several layers of cheesecloth, over a strainer sitting on top of a bowl. Pour the curds and whey onto the strainer and allow to strain for about 30min.

Milk kefir curds and whey straining through a flour sack towel and mesh strainer into a ceramic bowl. Wooden spoon and mason jar next to bowl.

Lift up the towel or cheesecloth from the strainer and tie the edges together with twine. You’ll also want to tie the towel or cheesecloth to a spoon in order to now hang the cheese. Hanging will allow more whey to be released.

A white flour sack towel tied together with twine containing milk kefir curds. Whey dripping down onto fine mesh strainer and into an off white ceramic bowl.

You can place the spoon with the hanging cheese on top of a tall bowl, a tall jar, a rack, or stick the spoon in between your kitchen cabinet door pulls. Any way that allows you to hang the cheese and let the whey drip into a bowl or jar will work fine.

Milk kefir curds and whey hanging in a flour sack towel. Towel attached to a wooden spoon. Wooden spoon resting through kitchen door pull slots. Dripping whey into a ceramic bowl.

Allow to strain according to your desired texture for the cheese. The longer you strain, the more firm your cheese will be. I usually start the cheese making process in the morning and let it strain all day.
After you are satisfied with the amount of whey that has been released, remove the curds (now cheese) from the towel or cheesecloth. Can be served as is or you can mix in any add-ins that you may like. With this cheese recipe, my favorite add-in is chives. I keep freeze-dried chives in my cabinet. I think the chives compliment the tangy flavor of the kefir cheese very well.

Glass bowl filled with white milk kefir cheese with green chives mixed in and sitting on top.

Keep the kefir cheese refrigerated in an air-tight container and use within a week or two. Don’t forget to save the whey!

Pint size mason jar filled with yellow way. Gold mason jar lid. Sitting on cream colored table.

Uses for Whey Include:

Baking
Fermenting vegetables
Soaking grains
Smoothies
Homemade ricotta cheese
Animal feed
Freeze for later!

Tips

There are no hard and fast rules with timing for the different steps involved in making kefir cheese (within reason). You can play around and vary the timing of how long to let the milk kefir culture, how long to let the curds and whey separate from the milk kefir, and how long to let the whey strain from the curds.
The longer you allow the milk kefir to culture and the longer you allow the curds and whey to separate, the more intense and sour the flavor will be.
The longer you allow the whey to strain from the curds, the more firm the cheese will be. I personally have never strained the whey for more than a day. I like an easy spreadable cheese.
There any many add-ins that you can use with this recipe. Some tasty add-ins include: chives, olive oil, salt, garlic, fresh basil, fresh dill, honey, and more! Feel free to experiment.

Ways to Enjoy

Milk kefir cheese is both simple and versatile. It can be enjoyed in its most plain state, it can be spruced up with various add-ins, and it can be used in many different recipes. Here are some ways to enjoy it:

On bagels, toast, or crackers as a plain cheese spread
On bagels, toast, or crackers with add-ins mixed in or on top such as olive oil, salt, garlic, herbs, and honey
Sour cream, cream cheese, or ricotta replacement in recipes
Cheese dip for a veggie platter
Serve with pita bread, meat, and veggies

How to Make Raw Milk Kefir

Is Raw Milk Safe? What are the Benefits?

How to Make Homemade Cream Cheese

Any way you try it, you can’t go wrong, I love being creative in working in healthy real food into our diet.

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