Homemade Yogurt Cheese

Written by
Catherine McCord
Catherine McCord is an accomplished chef, author, businesswoman, and media personality. She focuses on healthy foods for families.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Catherine McCord
Updated 11/30/20
Homemade Yogurt Cheese

The Spruce / Stephanie Goldfinger
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Drain: 8 hrs
Total: 8 hrs 5 mins
Servings: 5 servings
Yield: 1/3 to 1/2 cup
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
149 Calories
8g Fat
11g Carbs
9g Protein
See Full Nutritional Guidelines Hide Full Nutritional Guidelines
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 5
Amount per serving
Calories 149
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g 10%
Saturated Fat 5g 26%
Cholesterol 32mg 11%
Sodium 113mg 5%
Total Carbohydrate 11g 4%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Protein 9g
Calcium 296mg 23%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Yogurt cheese is easy to make at home from plain or flavored yogurt and comes out with the consistency of spreadable cream cheese or thick, firm cottage cheese. In fact, you can turn most regular yogurt into a thicker Greek-style yogurt by the same method.

If you like the tart flavor of yogurt, this is a great, easy method to turn it into a thicker cheese to use in recipes or to spread on a bagel or other bread products instead of cream cheese. Adding sugar to plain yogurt makes it more spreadable and works well in dessert dishes.

Plain yogurt cheese is said to produce a superior frozen yogurt, so if you enjoy making your own frozen treats. Start with plain yogurt, make yogurt cheese, and then complete your frozen yogurt recipe.

You can use this recipe to make yogurt cheese whether you make your own yogurt or buy it at the store. The equipment you will need is a funnel or strainer, cheesecloth or coffee filter, and a cup or bowl over which you can position the funnel or strainer. Your funnel or strainer needs to be big enough to hold all of the yogurt you are going to convert into yogurt cheese.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup yogurt

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Homemade Yogurt Cheese ingredients

    The Spruce / Stephanie Goldfinger

  2. Line a strainer or funnel with a double thickness of cheesecloth or a single coffee filter and place it over a container to catch the liquid.

    Line a strainer or funnel with a double thickness of cheesecloth

    The Spruce / Stephanie Goldfinger

  3. Spoon the yogurt into the filter or cheesecloth.

    Spoon the yogurt into the cheesecloth

    The Spruce / Stephanie Goldfinger

  4. Cover the top of the funnel or strainer with plastic wrap and transfer everything to the refrigerator. Let drain at least overnight.

    cover the strainer with yogurt with plastic wrap

    The Spruce / Stephanie Goldfinger

  5. Remove the yogurt cheese from the filter or cheesecloth and discard or use the whey. Keep the yogurt cheese refrigerated. It is best when used within one week.

    Remove the yogurt cheese from the strainer

    The Spruce / Stephanie Goldfinger

Tips

  • The moisture will drain out overnight and firm up the yogurt. The longer you let it drain, the firmer it becomes.
  • The drained liquid is whey, the same as the liquid removed during any cheesemaking process. You can discard it or it may be used as part of the liquid or milk in baked goods or in place of milk or water in your smoothies. You can refrigerate it to use within a couple of days if you are going to be doing some baking.

Recipe Variations

  • If you start with flavored yogurt, you will have flavored yogurt cheese. For a fruit cheese, mix in more fruit, jam, or jelly.
  • You can also make savory spreads from plain yogurt cheese. Mix in some finely chopped onions, chives, herbs, or powdered seasonings. Your yogurt cheese can be a great base for dips and spreads for parties and on game day.
  • If you'd like to keep your yogurt cheese plain but plan to use it as a savory spread, you may want to season it lightly with salt.

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