The simplest and most delicious lactose free Ricotta cheese you will ever eat. It only takes 2 ingredients and it makes 2 cups. You can use it for baked Ziti, stuffed Manicotti, pizza, and desserts such as cheesecake or cannoli's, It was to die for and I will be making it again soon!
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 4 cups | 5 minutes |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 35 minutes | 2 hours |
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The simplest and most delicious lactose free Ricotta cheese you will ever eat. It only takes 2 ingredients and it makes 2 cups. You can use it for baked Ziti, stuffed Manicotti, pizza, and desserts such as cheesecake or cannoli's, It was to die for and I will be making it again soon!
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Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 1/2 Gallon (1.89 L) Lactose Free Whole Milk
- 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
Tools Needed:
- 1 Large stock pot
- 1 cooking thermometer
- 1 Large spoon
- 1 cheesecloth
- kitchen twine
- 1 Large bowl
- 1 tall pitcher (tea pitcher)
Servings: cups
Instructions
- Get all your ingredients and tools out on the counter.
- Fresh squeeze your lemons. You will use about 3-4 lemons.
- Pour 1/2 gallon of Whole Milk into Large Stock Pot.
- Heat milk over medium heat to 175 degrees Fahrenheit (79 degrees Celsius). This will take approx. 20 minutes. Watch it carefully. Do not overheat the milk.
- Remove from heat once it hits the proper 175 degree temperature. Add 1/2 cup of lemon juice and give it one big stir. Let this rest off and away from the heat for 15 minutes.
- Prep your work station while the milk/lemon juice mixture is resting. Line the large bowl with a double layer of cheese cloth.
- After 15 minutes, pour the milk/lemon juice mixture into the big bowl.
- Carefully gather the ends of the cheesecloth and lift the cheese curd (milk solids) away from the whey (liquid) and tie with the kitchen twine.
- Carefully gather the ends of the cheesecloth and lift the cheese curd (milk solids) away from the whey (liquid) and tie with the kitchen twine making sure the twine is secured.
- Make sure that all milk solids are in the cheesecloth and only the whey liquid is left in the bowl. The whey liquid is a by-product and no longer needed. Discard what's in the bowl.
- Hang the cheesecloth in a large pitcher, supported by a spoon for two hours in a refrigerator.
- Check regularly to pour off the whey that will collect in the bottom of the pitcher.
- After 2 hours of the curds separating from the whey, your Ricotta cheese is finished. You are ready to remove the cheesecloth.
- Add Kosher salt and your favorite herbs to taste and enjoy. I used about 1/2 tsp. of Kosher salt with a 1/2 tsp. of Italian seasoning. It came out perfect!
- Crumble it up to mix in the salt and herbs. Then add it to your favorite dish. We used ours for baked ziti.
- We all enjoyed this cheese and will make it again. It didn't upset any of our stomachs. To be lactose intolerant and to be able to enjoy cheese that tastes like real cheese...is a dream come true!
- I will post the baked ziti recipe very soon!
Recipe Notes
Huge thank you to this You Tube video that helped me make the best lactose free Ricotta cheese!
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Hi Madie, I will be making this for the first time for Christmas Day for baked ziti. I have a couple of questions. When you add the lemon juice what is one big stir – spoon touching the bottom of the pot and stirring once around the edges of the pot – is that enough? Also how much ricotta does this recipe make? Lastly how long will it last in the fridge? Thanks for any guidance you can provide
Hello Jenn,
I hope you were able to make this and it came out wonderful.
I’ve had a long crazy year so far and just now checking messages.
One big stir just to get the juice stirred in.
It makes about two cups and lasts about 2 weeks or so in the fridge.
Thank you for reaching out.
All the best.
Madie’s Mom-
I microwave the milk until it reaches 175. Clean up is easier
That’s a great idea! Thank you.
Thank you for sharing this. I followed the steps exactly and it worked on my first try! I can’t wait to be able to eat lasagna and baked ziti!!
That makes me happy to hear. Thank you for sharing.
Hi! I just found this recipe and am so anxious to try so my son can eat one of his favorite meals again, my lasagna. The question I have is: you mention adding salt/seasoning at the end. Is that in addition to the salt/seasonings I will be adding to my dish or is that if you are not adding it to a recipe with other seasonings? Thanks for any help!
Great. I hope he likes it. You can lightly season at the end if you think it needs it.
We love salt. ?
Hi I just made this and was thrilled with how easy it was. I didnt add salt and its still yummy.
Hi Maddie, can the lactose free ricotta be frozen after I make it?
Hi! It sure can. I wouldn’t freeze it longer than 6 months. Enjoy.
This recipe is absolutely amazing your instructions are perfect I use The handheld immersion blender and it’s so amazingly creamy you nailed it!!! I’m always looking for great recipes that are dairy free however a lot of them are no sugar or sweeten it naturally and or fat-free I want full fat And full sugar the day just no dairy I want the taste to be amazing!!! Do you have a recipe for soft serve dairy free creamy chocolate ice cream using Lactose free whole milk or lactose free cream?
I am so glad this worked for you. I don’t have a dairy free ice cream recipe yet but I am up for the challenge. 🙂 Thank you!
Hello, I am so happy I found this recipe and can’t wait to try it. One question, when I used to make the ricotta for lasagna I always added eggs. Can I add eggs to this one?
Thank you,
Tanya
I wouldn’t add the eggs but worth a try. Maybe one egg?
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Have you had any problems using ultra-pasteurized milk in this recipe?
Hi Fred. I have not. I think it will work though.
I can’t wait to try this for lasagna! My wife hasn’t been able to enjoy it for years! Thank you so much!
I cannot thank you enough for this recipe. It’s a total gamechanger. My daughter is extremely lactose intolerant and no supplements help her with this issue – avoidance is the only option. As an Italian woman who loves to cook and bake with ricotta, many of my favorite recipes have been off the table (literally and figuratively). I have tried other workarounds like lactose free cottage cheese but it’s so grainy and not a proper sustitute for ricotto IMO. I’ve also tried just leaving it out but then my receipes are so meh. Once again, thank you!!!