This is the easiest recipe to make farmer’s cheese! It has a wonderfully crumbly texture with a lot of flavor! This delicious cheese is the perfect addition to many dishes. With just a couple of simple ingredients: fresh milk and vinegar, you will be making your own cheese in just a matter of minutes!

Homemade farmer cheese on a brown cutting board with a white towel next to it and blue and white plates set to the side.

Ever find yourself wanting to treat your family to a nutrient dense, high protein snack but realize you have limited yourself to a pre-packaged, plastic encased, mozzarella cheese stick with zero flavor? Well, this easy homemade farmer’s cheese recipe is your ticket to eliminating that mundane snack. This simple cheese will become your beautiful garnish on top of a salad or a sophisticated sprinkle on your steak. Its subtle flavor makes it so versatile that it will give you endless options that will keep your creative juices flowing and your familys’ bellies screaming for more! It’s one of the few fresh cheeses that can be frozen and since it will not melt when heated, it can be cut and cooked and still hold it’s shape. The best part is you’ll have this perfect cheese ready in no time!

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Ingredients for easy farmers cheese: raw dairy milk, white vinegar, sea salt, a read colander, and a stainless steal stock pot on a brown wood countertop next to a white tea towel.

What Is Farmer’s Cheese?

Farmer’s cheese is an unripened cheese, meaning it hasn’t been aged, which is what makes this cheese so quick and easy! It has a mild flavor that is firmer than cottage cheese, and depending on the amount of whey that is pressed out, it can be crumbly in texture like feta. In most cases it is a great substitute for a variety of cheeses, even cream cheese! American-style farmer’s cheese is also known as Paneer in Indian Cuisine, and it is widely used in Mexico and across South America as Queso Fresco, meaning fresh cheese. If you’ve had Indian or Mexican cuisine then chances are you have had Farmer’s cheese but didn’t even know it!

Ingredients for The-Easiest Recipe To Make Homemade Farmers Cheese - A red colander placed in a steel pot on a brown wood countertop with a white tea towel next to it.

How We Like It

We really love to eat it at room temperature seasoned with salt, or on top of some of our favorite dishes. In a pinch, I’ve had great success making it fresh and blending it in a high speed blender for a few minutes, maybe adding back a bit of whey or some heavy cream, to ensure it’s creaminess. I use this to make fondue, my New York style cheesecake, or in place of anything that calls for cream cheese, feta, ricotta, or maybe even sour cream! Homemade farmer’s cheese has definitely saved me a last minute trip to the grocery store! When I find that we have an overabundance of milk in the fridge, or a gallon that may be nearing that expiration date, then I’ll make this farmer’s cheese recipe, throw in some seasoning such as fresh chopped basil, or an Italian dry blend seasoning and serve it as an hors d’oeuvre. I’ve even heard of people making it a bit on the sweet side with a bit of sugar and a dusting of cinnamon, perfect for a cozy fall day! Feel free to make it your own cheese by experimenting with different herbs.

Ingredients:

1 gallon of regular full fat cow’s milk, raw milk, or organic milk

½ cup vinegar or 1 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon salt

Equipment Needed:

2 gallon stockpot or large pot

Wooden spoon

Colander

Large mixing bowl

Tea towel or a thin piece of clean linen (optional)

Homemade farmer cheese sitting in its whey in a steel stockpot with a wooden spoon in it.

Directions:

Pour cow’s milk into a stockpot and place on stove.

Turn on low heat and gradually work up to medium heat. You don’t want it at a high temperature as it will scorch the bottom of the pot causing the flavor of the cheese to be off.

Using your wooden spoon, gently stir your milk. Keeping a close eye on it because once it starts to boil it will start to rise and will boil over!

Bring your milk to a rapid boil and remove from heat.

Next step, let sit for 2 minutes. This will help with curd formation.

Pour in white vinegar, gently stir, and watch your curds separate from the whey!

Continue slowly stirring for 1 minute to firm up curds.

Pour into a collider that has been placed in a large bowl to strain out the whey and separate the cheese curds.

Stir the curds to remove the excess whey.

Add salt, fresh herbs, or seasoning to make this homemade farmers cheese your own.

Let cool a bit and serve!

Homemade farmers cheese being strained in a red colander on a white tea towel.

Optional:

If you have a cheese press, you can press this cheese at a low pressure for about 10 minutes. This will give you a more crumbly cheese, about the consistency of hard boiled egg yolks.

Or you can place the seasoned curds in the center of a tea towel, gather the sides together and twist in a ringing motion to squeeze out the extra whey. This can be pretty hot, you may want to wear gloves and don’t forget to have a bowl under as you ring it out to catch the whey!

Place this delicious mild white fresh cheese in an airtight container or a container with plastic wrap, covering for up to a week in the refrigerator or it can also be frozen.

For information on the benefits of raw milk check out this post 13 Health Benefits of Raw Dairy Milk Consumption.

Check out my post on Why We Love Raw Milk And Why It’s Good For Us and find out where in your area you can find raw milk!