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Homemade ricotta is a total game changer in the kitchen. I did not used to like ricotta. I found it flavorless and didn’t understand why anyone would ever use it….that is, until I had way too much milk that was going to go bad and found that making ricotta was an easy, and great way to use it; now, I love ricotta, and even better, once the ricotta is strained, the whey can be used for all sorts of dishes including my families favorite pizza dough, and what has become one of our absolute favorite pasta dishes. I feel like once I mastered homemade ricotta, it was a total level-up to my cooking and I found so many additional positive outcomes that were totally unexpected. “Mastering” ricotta honestly wasn’t difficult, but I did do quite a bit of experimenting to find my favorite vinegar, milk fat content (which I found really doesn’t matter) and ratios. If this recipe isn’t exactly what you’re looking for, I suggest playing with the recipe to find exactly what you want. Ricotta is so multi-purposeful, from breakfast to dinner. I will note, that while I have tried using it in cookies, I haven’t found the cookies to be worthy of using such an expensive ingredient though if you have a good ricotta cookie recipe you’re willing to share, I’d love to hear it!

Breakfast is not usually the first use case people think of when talking about ricotta, but it’s become our absolute go-to. These ricotta english muffins are super simple, and easy, but they make any morning (no matter how rushed) feel luxurious.

Bonus Recipe – Ricotta English Muffins

1. Toast english muffin to desired toasty-ness.
2. Smear with generous amounts of your amazing homemade ricotta.
3. Drizzle with honey.
4. Sprinkle with large flake sea salt. (Maldon is my preferred large flake sea salt.)
5. Enjoy!

When making ricotta, while it’s ingredients are simple and few in number, I have found the quality of the vinegar used affects the final result even more than the fat content in the milk used. The higher quality the vinegar used, the creamier the ricotta will be. There’s no need to find a specialty vinegar shop, a high quality grocery store vinegar will be just fine. My favorite vinegar to use is by Colavita.

No Whey! Who knew that the whey run-off from your ricotta had so many amazing uses. Honestly, I have a hard time deciding how to use it because there are so many things I want to use the whey for, but the two I usually go to are either pizza dough, or creamy pasta. The whey can be substituted for water in your preferred pizza dough recipe in a 1:1 substitution, or it can be used to make the most simple, creamiest pasta dish. Imagine, using the whey to make a delicious pizza dough and topping it with dollops of homemade ricotta. Yum!

Homemade Ricotta

Ingredients

• 4 C Milk (Whatever fat level is on hand)
• 2 C Heavy Cream
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 Tbs White Wine Vinegar

Instructions

1. Combine Milk, Cream and Salt in pot.
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in Vinegar.
5. Allow to separate (~30 minutes).
6. Strain through cheesecloth over a bowl to retain the whey.