How to Make Cream Cheese (The Easiest Cream Cheese Recipe)
My Homemade Cream Cheese recipe could not be easier to make, because everything you need to make rich, creamy, and tangy cream cheese is most likely already in your fridge.
4 cups (32 oz /1000 ml) whole milk (full fat, not low fat)
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice ((lime juice or white vinegar))
¼-½ teaspoon salt ((read notes))
Categories
Ingredient
Cuisine
American
Steps
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the milk on med-high. Stirring constantly until it starts to a rolling simmer.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the lemon juice 1 tablespoon at a time, in 1-minute intervals. Continue stirring constantly.
Continue cooking until the mixture curdles. Stir constantly until the mixture has separated completely, this should take just a few minutes. There will be a yellowish liquid on the bottom and thick curdles on top. Remove from the heat. This should happen within a few minutes.
Lay a cheesecloth in a large sieve and place it over a large bowl. Pour the curds into the sieve. Let it strain and cool for about 15 minutes.
Once cooled, use the cheesecloth to squeeze the excess whey out of the curds. (Note: You can reserve the whey for marinades, bread, pancakes etc)
Transfer curds to a food processor and process until very smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. If the mixture seems grainy and stiff then add in a splash of the whey or cream to loosen it.
Add salt and taste. Add more if you want more flavor. Now is also a good time to add herbs, garlic or any other flavors you like.
This cream cheese must be stored in the fridge. I always use it within 7 days.
Reviews
Ejang on 2026-07-09 (5 stars): Mine came out really well. I followed the instructions on simmering the milk and not overheating it. Thank you Gemma🇺🇬
Sami on 2026-06-08 (5 stars): I umm....used the wrong Ninja processor...my mom's poor cookware 😭
Hoping the cheese came out good, at least 🥲
Val on 2026-06-03 (4 stars): Second recipe I tried and I’m glad it worked, but I’m disappointed of the amount of cheese I got. Only a handful, that’ll be gone on maybe 2 bagels.. I wonder why is that!?
Jenn Smith on 2026-06-02 (5 stars): PLEASE HELP! I really want to make this recipe however I can only use ULTRA PASTEURIZED organic Whole Milk. Will this work? Do I to make any modifications like add in more vinegar (or lemon juice) or heat milk to a certain temperature? What temperature do you heat the milk? Thanks in advance !!
Roy on 2026-05-21 (5 stars): lol, too funny
Roy on 2026-05-21 (5 stars): WARNING. this is a great recipe... don't use vinegar, if you use too much, you get this dirty sock taste. Too much lime, it's still nice.
