Cottage Cheese Recipe

Cottage cheese recipe with step by step pictures. Homemade cottage cheese made without rennet and uses just 3 ingredients is perfect to serve for breakfast or dessert.

Cottage Cheese Recipe

You all must have came across the viral Tik Tok trending recipe that uses cottage cheese. It has got millions of views all over social media. I wanted to try this recipe ever since I came across it. Some of the other trending recipes which I tried are cookie cereal, pink sauce, dalgona coffee, pancake cereal.

Cottage cheese ice cream is said to be high in protein. The recipe its very simple and calls for just few ingredients. One of the ingredients is cottage cheese which is not readily available in my place. So I decided to make my own homemade cottage cheese. 

About Cottage Cheese Recipe

Cottage cheese is made with milk, cream and some kind of acidic ingredients. After doing lots of research online I found out that cottage cheese is made with milk and rennet. Rennet is a special ingredient and it is not readily available in every home. So I came up this with recipe which uses vinegar instead of rennet. 

Homemade cottage cheese takes just three ordinary kitchen ingredients: milk, vinegar, and salt. 

Video for Cottage Cheese Recipe

Similar Recipes,

Mascarpone Cheese

Cream Cheese

Ricotta Cheese

Homemade Cream

Homemade Paneer

Ingredients for Cottage Cheese

Milk

Use Full Fat Milk for making cottage. Lactose-free milk and low carb milk have both been through treatments which affect the structure of their proteins. Dont use ultra pasteurized milk.

Vinegar

Acidic ingredients like vinegar or lemon juice is used to curdle the milk. In some recipes rennet or citric acid is used to make cottage cheese.

Cream

Cream is sometimes mixed with milk to increase the fat content in the milk. I used cream as an finishing ingredients to add creaminess to the cottage cheese.

Salt

Salt enhances the taste of the cottage cheese. I strongly recommend you to not skip the addition of salt.

How to Make Sour Cream at Home

How to Make Cottage Cheese at Home

Boiling milk

Pour milk in a sauce pan. Bring it to simmering stage (190 degree F). Keep mixing it regularly so the milk heats evenly. The milk shouldn’t boil, it should start to simmer around the edges of the pan, and you will be seeing lots of steam over the top. This is the correct temperature for adding vinegar.

Curdling Milk

Once the milk reaches this stage. Add in vinegar and mix well. Cover the pan with a lid and set aside for 30 mins. Now the milk must have curdled and you might be seeing lots of curds and whey separating. 

Straining

At this point place a strainer over the top of a bowl . Spread cheese cloth on top of the sieve. Pour the milk mix over the cheese cloth. Strain the whey water from the mixture. Pour water over the curd and mix well so the excess sourness from the vinegar washes away in the cottage cheese. Now gather the cheese cloth and strain as much water as possible. 

Creamy Cottage Cheese

Transfer the cottage cheese to a bowl. Add in cream and salt and mix well. Taste and adjust the salt. You can refrigerate until use or make cottage cheese ice cream with it. 

If you have any questions not covered in this post and if you need help, leave me a comment or mail me @[email protected] and I’ll help as soon as I can.

Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest ,Youtube and Twitter for more Yummy Tummy inspiration.

IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR ANYTHING FROM YUMMY TUMMY, MAKE SURE TO POST IT AND TAG ME SO I CAN SEE ALL OF YOUR CREATIONS!! #YUMMYTUMMYAARTHI AND @YUMMYTUMMYAARTHI ON INSTAGRAM!

📖 Recipe Card

Cottage cheese recipe with step by step pictures

1)Pour milk in a sauce pan. Bring it to simmering stage (190 degree F).

2)Keep mixing it regularly so the milk heats evenly. The milk shouldn’t boil, it should start to simmer around the edges of the pan.

3)You will be seeing lots of steam over the top. This is the correct temperature for adding vinegar.

4)Once the milk reaches this stage. Add in vinegar and mix well.

5)Cover the pan with a lid and set aside for 30 mins. 

6)Now the milk must have curdled and you might be seeing lots of curds and whey separating. 

7)At this point place a strainer over the top of a bowl . Spread cheese cloth on top of the sieve.

8)Pour the milk mix over the cheese cloth.

9)Strain the whey water from the mixture.

10)Pour water over the curd and mix well so the excess sourness from the vinegar washes away in the cottage cheese.

11)Now gather the cheese cloth and strain as much water as possible. 

12)cottage cheese done.

13)Transfer the cottage cheese to a bowl.

14)Add in cream

15)season with salt.

16)cottage cheese done.

17)enjoy

Tips & Tricks

• Use full fat milk for making cottage cheese. It is best to use cows milk with high fat content.
• Lemon juice can be substituted for vinegar.
• Wash the cottage cheese really well with water to remove the excess acidity from it.
• Adding cream makes the cottage cheese creamier.

Serving Suggestions

Cottage cheese can be served in numerous ways.  It can be made into savoury dishes or sweet desserts. Here are some ideas for using cottage cheese in your everyday dishes. 

Pasta Sauce

Add cottage cheese when grinding pasta sauce to add instant creaminess and richness. Also added protein!

Dessert

Cottage cheese can be mixed with fruits, granola, nuts and dried fruits and served as parfait or trifle. 

Pancakes

Cottage cheese can be used in my ricotta pancakes instead of ricotta.

Oatmeal

Cottage cheese can be mixed with oatmeal for an extra protein added porridge.

Toppings

Using cottage cheese as topping for bruschetta, Avocado toast.

Dips

Cottage cheese can be made into dips which uses cream cheese.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use powdered milk for making cottage cheeese?

Powdered milk or milk powder cannot be used in the making of cottage cheese. It won’t form curds when allowed to set. 

Why are my Curds small?

Boiling milk too much, stirring the milk vigorously once curd are formed can break the curd into grainy like texture.

Can I use lemon juice instead of vinegar?

Yes lemon juice or citric acid can be used instead of vinegar.

Can I skip the cream in cottage cheese?

Cream adds the creaminess to cottage cheese which makes it less crumbly. It adds a silkiness to the cottage cheese and makes it taste similar to store bought. 

Is cottage cheese & paneer same?

Even though the process of making paneer and cottage cheese are similar. Paneer is pressed cheese, it is much firmer and can be cut into cubes. Cottage cheese has more crumbly and soft milky taste and texture to it. 

What is cottage cheese made of?

Homemade cottage cheese takes just three ordinary kitchen ingredients: milk, vinegar, and salt. 

What is the normal way to eat cottage cheese?

Cottage cheese is usually served with some kind of fruits, berries and sweetener like honey or maple syrup.

What do you do with cottage cheese?

Cottage cheese can be used various ways. It can be made into savoury dishes or sweet desserts. Check my serving recommendations for ideas.