How to Make Cream Cheese

This is dairy week of my 31 day series on how to make it homemade without all the preservatives and additives you find in store bought products. Did you know you can make cream cheese at home too? Yes, you can even make cream cheese at home. You have seen how to make Greek yogurt and know the by product of yogurt is whey. There are several different recipes you can make to use whey from making yogurt. Now let’s suppose you wanted to make homemade cream cheese. This is another one of my favorite things to eat and I am going to share with you how to make cream cheese today all by yourself.

How to make Cream Cheese

1. After making a great batch of yummy homemade yogurt in a slow cooker, take about 2 cups of yogurt and place in a colander lined with cheese cloth.

2. Let this drain for about 30 min. At this point you have Greek yogurt. Scrape the bottom of the cheese cloth to get up the curd on the bottom and mix it until it is smooth.

3. Leave the cheese cloth lined colander with the yogurt inside preferably in the fridge for about 8 – 12 hours.

4. I like really thick cream cheese, so I let it sit for 12. I tried to show you how thick it comes out by holding the spoon upside down in the picture. Then tada you have cream cheese. If you start with 2 cups you will end up with a little over a cup of cream cheese, which is one block that you normally purchase at the store.

If you were like me, I never knew cream cheese came from yogurt. I never thought I could learn how to make cream cheese. This homemade version is a little more tangy than what you are used to eating. Let this rest for about a week or so in the fridge to let some of the tangy taste fade. Mine will last for several weeks in the fridge without any issues. I haven’t had any go bad yet. I use organic milk which has a longer shelf life than normal milk, so I am sure if this is why the cream cheese lasts longer. I try not to keep it past the organic milks expiration date.

This homemade cream cheese tastes great with anything you would like to make with cream cheese, but you have to wait and not eat it right away. I am going to try to make my ultimate cheese pie using this cream cheese to see if it will taste better than store bought cream cheese. Are you excited now that you know how to make cream cheese? I know I was. What do you plan on doing with your homemade cream cheese?