How to Make Cream Cheese (The Easiest Cream Cheese Recipe)

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WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS RECIPE: My Homemade Cream Cheese Recipe shows you the easiest way of how to make cream cheese whenever and wherever needed with the most common ingredients you likely always have in the fridge! The result is soft, creamy, tangy, and works just like store-bought cream cheese! Never cream cheese shortage!

IMPORTANT NOTE: This recipe was updated and improved on 3/29/2023, to include clear definition, additional step-by-step photography, FAQs (comparison with store-bought ones, why grainy, why milk not cream), and Pro Chef Tips( lactose-free option, how to use cream cheese).  

To say I have received tons of requests for this recipe is an understatement because How to Make Cream Cheese has been the most-requested recipe for my Bold Baking Basics series. Since starting Bigger Bolder Baking, you Bold Bakers have shown me what ingredients are and are not available in the countries you live in.  Cream cheese was one that was not available or is a completely different texture from country to country. I usually only like to use ingredients that are accessible to you no matter where you are. However, some ingredients are still aren’t as mainstream as you would think. So what do we do? We make our own!

When researching “How to Make Cream Cheese,” I tried a lot of recipes and wasted a lot of milk. However, I couldn’t find a recipe that worked without having to buy packets of active starter culture or hang a cream cheese for hours. I hate waste, and I don’t want you to waste your ingredients, so I have a foolproof recipe for you that yields delicious Homemade Cream Cheese.

Cream cheese is a soft and creamy fresh cheese with a tangy taste made from milk and cream. It usually comes in two forms – firmer one in blocks or softer and more spreadable one from tubs.

In commercial production, lactic acid bacteria are added to pasteurized milk to coagulate casein to form curds (most milk on the market available to most people is pasteurized to some point to kill harmful bacteria that can lead to diseases). Heavy cream is added to adjust the fat content and add creaminess to the final product cream cheese.

Comparatively, this diy Homemade Cream Cheese Recipe uses lemon juice, lime juice or plain white vinegar and cream is optional.

Since this contains fresh milk and has nothing added to preserve it, I suggest you store the cream cheese in an airtight container in the fridge for 7-10 days.

This Homemade Cream Cheese recipe yields REAL traditional fresh cream cheese which does not contain commercial stabilizers or preservatives. It’s delicious and works as well as store-bought cream cheese in cheesecakes or other baking and cooking.

The milk was overheated due to inaccurate timing, which tends to separate fat from the cheese. This can be avoided in commercial production by adding stabilizers such as carob bean gum, guar, or carrageenan to make it creamier and smoother.

This can also be avoided/reduced in homemade cream cheese by heating the milk to a simmer instead of a boil. If you find after blending the cream cheese is a bit gritty, just keep on going. The added salt will season the cream cheese and help the curdles to break down farther into the most lovely smooth cream cheese. Adding more whey gradually back into the food processor during blending will also help.

When the acidity increases from adding lemon juice, calcium causes precipitation of the casein and thus dairy curdles.

Cream contains virtually no casein or lactose. While in cow’s milk, approximately 82% of milk protein is casein and the remaining 18% is serum or whey protein.

So milk curdles more than cream in contact with acid and cream is added in some occasions for its creaminess and adjusting cream cheese’s fat content.

Chiefly, they differ in their nature and the last step of production.

CREAM CHEESE is fresh/non-aged strained curds that have to be processed until smooth; (https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/how-to-make-cream-cheese/);

COTTAGE is non-aged curds and whey;

RICOTTA is non-aged or aged semisoft curds with whey strained out ;  (https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/ricotta-cheese-recipe/)

PANNER is non-aged curds that have to be pressed.

MASCARPONE is made with cream (no milk) and acid. (https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/mascarpone-cheese-recipe/) .

Lacose-free milk still contains casein which curdles in contact with acid. Consequently, the denaturing process may make it not able to curdle as normal.

This cream cheese can perform just like any other. It’s not only for topping bagels in different flavors and eating plain, but also can it bake and cook with as well. I love to use this cream cheese in my Best Ever Cream Cheese Frosting for my Carrot Cake and of course, in the glaze I use to finish off my No-Knead No-Machine Cinnamon Rolls! This cream cheese also acts as a great substitute for yogurt in lots of recipes, the versatility really is endless.

This recipe yields 1 cup (8oz) of Homemade Cream Cheese, so check your cheesecake recipe and see how much Cream Cheese you need and then multiply. You can really easily double or triple this recipe accordingly.

If you enjoy making your own homemade ingredients at home you will love learning how to make Homemade Butter!]

IMPORTANT NOTE: This recipe was updated and improved on 3/29/2023, to include clear definition, additional step-by-step photography, FAQs (comparison with store-bought ones, why grainy, why milk not cream), and Pro Chef Tips( lactose-free option, how to use cream cheese).  

Use your Homemade Cream Cheese in making the perfect cheesecakes and more with your copy of the Bigger Bolder Baking Every Day cookbook available now.