Homemade Ricotta Cheese - only 3 basic ingredients!

My sister-in-law’s wedding is coming up and I wanted to prepare for the family flying in and staying with us by cooking lots of delicious food ahead of time, freezing it, and popping it in the oven each night. This was my mom’s brilliant idea earlier today and I started planning my week’s worth of recipes straight away.
 
Now, the obvious one - I’ve gotta make my favorite lasagna!

I've got all the ingredients but Ricotta! And I’m feeling lazy tonight- I'm already in my PJs, the kids are settled in watching a movie, and I really don’t want to run to the store. So I call my mom back again because she’d mentioned before how she’d made her own ricotta from scratch using whole milk and her Instant pot. Below is the recipe she shared with me, but she doesn’t remember where she got it from originally so the source is unfortunately unknown. My mom and I both however can vouch for its greatness (and easiness)!!
 
Follow these instructions and you’re in the ricotta:

1. Pour ½ gallon of whole organic milk into the pot.
2. Make sure the lid is in the “Venting” position Important!
3. Hit two buttons: 1) The yogurt setting and then 2) “Adjust” button until it says “Boil”.
4. Now walk away and let the boil cycle run until it’s done (~20-40 min)
5. Pull the pot out of the Instant Pot and set on the counter
6. Stir in the salt and juice from 1 large lemon (or ¼ cup apple cider vinegar)
7. Let  the milk mixture cool on the counter for 15-20 min until it separates.
8. Once it’s separated out, you just strain the whole mixture in a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth over a bowl and let gravity drain for 20 min.
9. Store the liquid part (called whey) for future recipes. (see 36 ways to use whey HERE) 

​You’re done! The cheese curd left over is the beautiful fresh homemade organic ricotta! Keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.


Ingredients:

• ½ gal whole milk. Yogurt setting, boil
• ¼ tsp salt
• Juice from 1 large organic lemon or ¼ cup apple cider vinegar

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1) Pour ½ gallon of whole organic milk into the pot. 2) Make sure the lid is in the “Venting” position Important!

3) Hit two buttons: First the yogurt setting and then second the “Adjust” button until it says “Boil”.
​4 ) Now walk away and let the boil cycle run until it’s done (~20-40 min)

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5) Pull the pot out of the Instant Pot and set on the counter.
6) Stir in the salt and juice from 1 large lemon (or ¼ cup apple cider vinegar)

7) Let  the milk mixture cool on the counter for 15-20 min until it separates.

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8) Once it’s separated out, you just strain the whole mixture in a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth over a bowl and let gravity drain for 20 min

9) Store the liquid part (called whey) for future recipes. (see 36 ways to use whey HERE)

​You’re done! The cheese curd left over is the beautiful fresh homemade organic ricotta! Keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Products used in this project: 
*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning that I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

• Instant Pot​
• Organic whole milk (read relevant pasteurized vs. raw milk blog) 
• Organic Apple cider vinegar
• Pink Himalayan salt
• Cheese cloth