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A white plate with a gray floral border with two crackers topped with cream cheese and chives. Sitting on top of a brown trunk.

Homemade Cream Cheese

Homemade cream cheese, made from raw milk, is a super simple cheese anyone can make. It is quick and easy to make, it requires only three ingredients, and there is no special cheesemaking equipment.
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Prep Time:5 minutes
Cook Time:15 minutes
Total Time:20 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8
Cost: $5.52

Equipment

  • 1 large pot
  • 1 wooden spoon
  • 1 fine mesh strainer
  • 1 bowl
  • Cheesecloth (optional)
  • immersion blender (Alternatively: regular blender, food processor, stand mixer, or hand mixer.)
  • 1 wide mouth quart size mason jar

Ingredients

  • 8 cups raw milk (half-gallon)
  • 6 tbsp lemon juice (approx. 1 whole lemon squeezed)
  • ½ tsp salt

Instructions

  • Pour the raw milk in a large pot on the stovetop. Heat on med-high, stirring constantly until it reaches a simmer/slow boil.
  • Reduce the heat and slowly add in the lemon juice.
  • Continue stirring until the raw milk fully separates into curds and whey. The curds will form white clumps and the whey will be a bright yellow color. It should only take a few minutes.
  • Remove the pot from the stovetop and pour over a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth and resting on a large bowl. This will allow the whey to strain from the curds. You can lift the cheesecloth up and squeeze out more whey if desired.
  • Transfer the curds to a wide mouth mason jar and use an immersion blender to blend until smooth. Alternatively, you can also use a regular blender, food processor, a stand mixer, or a hand mixer
  • Add in salt and any other seasonings or flavors you may like.
  • Transfer to a sealed container and keep refrigerated. Best if used within a week.

Notes

  • If you don’t like the texture as you are blending the curds, you can add back more whey.
  • Don’t throw the whey away! There are plenty of uses for it (see here).
  • This will not be the same texture as store-bought cream cheese. There are no emulsifiers or gums in this homemade cream cheese, so it will automatically be slightly different. However, it will still be creamy and spreadable.
  • Don’t overheat the raw milk. Milk can easily scorch and overflow. Make sure your heat isn’t too high, you are constantly stirring, and you are monitoring the process.
  • Lime juice and vinegar are suitable substitutes for lemon juice.
  • The cheesecloth is optional. You can simply use the fine mesh strainer by itself if that’s all you have.
  • Cream cheese can be kept plain or spruced up with various seasonings, herbs, and fruits.
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