Homemade Cream Cheese

4.67

68

PrintJump to Recipe

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you click on the link and make a purchase.

If you’ve ever thought Homemade Cream Cheese was too difficult to make, this post is here to prove you wrong. Homemade Cream Cheese is fluffy, fresh and so utterly delicious.

Homemade Cream Cheese

Naturally, cream cheese is also very important to me. I’ve been wanting to make homemade cream cheese 4evrrrrr. I’m so glad I finally got brave and decided to do it. It definitely took me a few times to get exactly right.

Supplies You’ll Need to Make Homemade Cream Cheese

Most of the supplies you’ll need to make homemade cream cheese are easy to find, especially on Amazon. Here is what you’ll need:

Homemade Cream Cheese

Homemade Cream Cheese

What’s the Difference Between Homemade and Store Bought Cream Cheese?

There are plenty of things that I think are silly to make homemade. Cream cheese IS NOT ONE OF THEM. The texture is a million times better than the cream cheese you buy at the grocery store. It’s so much smoother, lighter, creamier. The main difference is that store-bought cream cheese usually has a gum listed in the ingredients (guar gum, xanthm gum, etc.) which mean it’s a lot thicker and denser. Well, not this one.

It’s so good, that I probably won’t ever go back to store-bought cream cheese ever again.

Homemade Cream Cheese

How to Make Homemade Cream Cheese

  • Combine the milks. In a big pot, add the heavy cream, whole milk, buttermilk and salt.
  • Warm to 75 degrees F. Heat the milk mixture to this temperature.
  • Mix in the rennet. Add the rennet and mix throughout. This is going to make it so the solids separate from the whey.
  • Allow to stand at room temperature in a warm place. In order for this to actually work, the temperature has to be nice and warm.
  • After 14 Hours, strain it. This takes about 14 hours for the whey and solids to separate. Line a sieve or strainer with a few layers of cheesecloth. Nestle it over a large bowl. Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth.
  • Allow it to drain. This should take about 4 hours for it strain.

One thing I’m SUPER excited about is what I’m doing with the leftover whey. Be sure to save it, use it in place of buttermilk in biscuits or pancakes!

If you make it, let me know on Instagram!

Homemade Cream Cheese

4.67 from 6 votes

Homemade Cream Cheese

Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 5 minutes
Total: 16 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 2 cups of cream cheese
This Homemade Cream Cheese recipe is super easy. It's creamy, fluffy and tastes so much better than the store-bought version we're all used to.

Equipment

  • 1 large bowl
  • Cheese cloth
  • 1 strainer

Ingredients 

  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 2 cups whole milk, ultra-pasteurized is ok!
  • 2 tablespoons buttermilk, shaken
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 drops liquid vegetable or animal rennet, dissolved into 2 tablespoons of water

Instructions 

  • In a large pot, combine heavy cream, whole milk, buttermilk and salt. Heat to 75 degrees F. (Warm to the touch.)
  • Mix in rennet being sure it’s evenly distributed. Cover with clean kitchen towel and allow to stand in place that’s 75 degrees for 14 hours. Just a heads up, I tried this once during the day and once at night. No surprise that the batch that sat for 14 hours during the day was MUCH better. It was just warmer and was overall a better environment for the cream cheese.
  • Line a fine-mesh strainer with a few layers of cheesecloth; and then nestle it over a large bowl. Pour the cream/milk mixture into the cheesecloth and allow it to strain, on its own (don’t work it through), for about 4 hours to 5 hours. When it's completely drained, the final product should be a creamier, smoother and lighter version of cream cheese that you're probably used to. It keeps in the fridge for 2 weeks.

Notes

What to Do With the Whey Leftovers: 
Put them in homemade biscuits (in place of the buttermilk) 
Put them in cinnamon roll dough (in place of the milk) 
Equipment: 
Vegetable Rennet | Cheesecloth | Stainless Steel Bowls + Glass Bowls 

Nutrition

Calories: 75kcal

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Breakfast, Condiment
Cuisine: American, Jewish
Like this Recipe? Please Rate & comment below!
Looking for more breakfast/brunch recipes? 

Cozy Latin-Inspired Comfort Food Recipes

Hi! I'm Adrianna and this is my cozy space on the internet that is super-charged by butter, flour and copious amounts of pasta. Stay awhile, will you!

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Leave a rating!




68 Comments

  1. Can I use powdered buttermilk instead of liquid as so little is needed? I never use buttermilk and the rest would go to waste.

  2. I’ve used your recipe a few times with great success, but my latest batch did not separate? Could heating the milk up to 95°f be the problem

    1. hmm that’s so strange. i’m not sure where you live but this could have something to do with it. it’s very cold right now so it could just not have been warm enough.

      1. There’s an electric heater in the room keeping the temp at 80 f. I re heated the mixture, put in more heavy cream 33% added more rennet and left it for 11 hours as I’m typing this. It seems more like its thickening but not really separating. I have 100 count cheese cloth and 50 count cheese cloth. The 100 count seemed to be too fine last time. Perhaps the 50 count is not fine enough. Ill wait till morning and pour it over the 100 count and see what happens. What do you think?

      2. I did what I said I’d do and it worked now I have it going thru the 50 count just to firm it up a little. It smeels and tastes fantastic , cant wait to try it with some garlic and herbs mixed in!!

  3. 3 stars
    I really appreciate the recipes! Unfortunately, as with so many recipe sites now, it is nearly impossible to read the content/recipe because of the incessant pop-up ads. I understand the need to make money, but really? Also, we, your readers, are adults, not tween texters…”4verrrrrr” – really? I’m trying to look past the tone and ads, but we’ll see…

  4. 5 stars
    I don’t know how to keep something at 75° for 14 hours. Once everything is mixed and heated to that temperature would it be possible to place everything in a gallon size bag and use a sous vide machine set for exactly 75° for those 14 hours?

  5. 5 stars
    I need to know exact nutritional values as I am on a strict renal diet limiting potassium, phosphorous, calcium, and sodium.
    Can anyone help? With nutritional values of homemade cream cheese?

  6. Hey there-

    What brand of rennet are you using? I’m mainly asking since the recipe says 3 drops. Any idea on what the actual measurement (either weight or volume) is of 3 drops?

    Also curious if you had any thoughts on the previous question in your comments regarding doubling the recipe.

    Thanks so much!