How to Make Homemade Cream Cheese from Scratch

This homemade cream cheese recipe is so easy to make! Here’s step by step directions on how to make fabulous, flavorful cream cheese from scratch.

Cream cheese is another one of those dairy products that we use a lot of at my house.

You can use it plain to spread on sourdough toast or English muffins.

You can flavor it sweet or savory to spread on crackers.

Or, you can use it for dips or frosting for things like my Pumpkin Poundcake or my Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls.

Or even for pin wheel roll ups or cheesecakes.

And especially for one of our favorite deserts, Cherry Cream Cheese Pie.

See, I told you. We use it a lot. 🙂

Homemade cream cheese from raw, grass-fed milk is nutrient dense, a good source of vitamins D and K2, calcium, and omega-3 fats.

And it’s just down-right tasty! 

As an added bonus, it freezes well. What more could you ask for?

OK, y’all, let’s step into the kitchen and make homemade cream cheese!

Homemade Cream Cheese

Ingredients & Equipment

• 1 half gallon whole milk (not ultra-high pasteurized)
• 2 quarts heavy cream
• 1 package of cream cheese starter culture (This starter culture is the one I use. It has both the culture and the rennet in it.)
• pinch of sea salt
• fresh herbs (optional)
• large non-reactive pot
• instant read thermometer
• colander
• butter muslin (Or a clean pillow case will work. You can find the butter muslin I use here.)

Instructions for Making Homemade Cream Cheese

Culturing the Milk

Put the milk and cream into the pot. Cover the pot and heat the milk to 86°.

Remove the pot from the heat.

Sprinkle the cream cheese starter culture over the top and allow to rehydrate for a minute or so.

Then stir the culture into the mixture with an up and down motion to make sure it is disbursed through out. Don’t stir longer than 30 seconds.

Cover the pot and let it sit in a warmish (70° – 75°) spot to culture for 12 to 18 hours.

During culturing, the milk “curdles”. Which just means that the curds begin to solidify.

After the culturing time, the cheese should look like yogurt. Thick with some whey separating out.

Whey is a mostly clear liquid that can be anywhere from a light yellow to a dark green.

Straining Your Cream Cheese

Now you need to put some butter muslin in a colander or strainer over a large bowl or over the sink. I usually double up my muslin.

Don’t try to use what they sell as cheesecloth now a days. That won’t do the job because the holes are too big. That stuff wouldn’t strain out a cat…

Ladle or pour the cheese and whey into the butter muslin lined colander.

Pick up the corners of the muslin and carefully tie them in knots.

Now use the tied ends to hang the cheese so it can drain.

Let the cream cheese drain for 6 to 9 hours. The longer it drains, the drier it gets. So if you like a drier texture, let it go the full 9 hours.

Once it’s to the consistency that you like in your cream cheese, put it into a bowl and add salt to taste. Start with just a pinch.

You can blend it in with a spoon or knead it in with your hands. 

It you are using fresh herbs like basil or chives, mix them in now. For a whole recipe, start with a teaspoon and add more from there.

I like to separate it into different bowls and flavor it in different ways.

Store, covered, in the fridge for a week. I like to store mine in canning jars.

I’m sure that takes you all by surprise…lol.

I also freeze it in the canning jars. Just make sure you have about 2 inches of headspace so the jar doesn’t crack in the freezer.

I like to mix some pureed fruit into it to spread on stuff. I also like to add minced roasted garlic and chives.

It’s a pretty amazingly versatile cheese. What’s your favorite way to use cream cheese?

Frequently Asked Questions About Making Cream Cheese

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