Kefir Cottage Cheese Recipe | Two ingredients only!

Homemade Kefir Cottage Cheese is a brilliant thing to boost your dishes and top your bread with. With this simple and quick cheese recipe, you’ll learn to do it in no time and soon you’ll see it has become one of your kitchen staples to balance your form-scratch repertoire.

This recipe is one of my kefir recipe series. Check out my recipe of delicious soft cheese made from milk kefir if you want a spreadable homemade fresh cream cheese and hard kefir cheese recipe too to master the art of easy cheesemaking at home. Kefir is a great way to add some proteins, calcium, and gut-healing probiotics into your daily diet, so the widespread popularity based on the health benefits of kefir makes total sense.

| RELATED: Buttermilk vs Kefir | Benefits and why you should drink them

This method and recipe uses low heat to separate the kefir whey to form cheese, and not the “over fermenting” method, which lets the real kefir grains ferment the milk kefir until it becomes curdled or when the kefir milk is put in a bag formed from cheesecloth and attached to a wooden spoon to hang over a deep bowl to drip out the excess whey for a long time – normally at least 12-24 hours at room temperature. This is a quick method to make kefir cottage cheese over the stove using the saucepan and straining the whey with a strainer and cheesecloth after the separation of the whey kefir and curdled milk kefir that forms a bowl of your own cottage cheese – amazing!

FAQ

What is kefir?

Kefir is one of the oldest cultured milk products and creamy texture. It is generally made from low-fat milk from a cow but also other milk like sheep milk, goat milk, or even buffalo milk! (Source.)  Milk kefir is made with milk kefir grains (a complex symbiotic colony of healthy bacteria and yeast) or with a powdered starter. Just remember not to mix up with the water kefir grains, if you want to do the milk kefir at home!

Kefir has a tangy flavor that comes due to the fermentation process. It has been used nowadays quite similarly to buttermilk in cooking. Kefir milk is quite high in protein content and is rich in gut-healing probiotics. Using kefir in cooking adds a nice twist to salads and for example to a waffle batter.

In this recipe, we will use the milk kefir to turn it into a grainy textured cottage cheese.

Can I make kefir cottage cheese with store-bought milk kefir?

You can definitely make this kefir cottage cheese recipe using a store-bought milk kefir. That is how I myself am doing at the moment! If you have milk kefir made with traditional methods with kefir grains at home, you can also use that one.

| RELATED: How to make Soft Kefir Cheese and Whey from Milk Kefir

Ingredients you need for kefir cottage cheese

• Milk kefir, you can use homemade milk kefir or store-bought one
• Sea salt, can be substituted with another salt

Tools you may need

• Large pot (at least 1 litre)
• Strainer
• Large bowl, preferably also deep
• Cheesecloth or other tight-weave muslin cloth for straining
• Large spoon
• Airtight container for storing

| RELATED: Checklist for kitchen essentials | Thrift, repurpose & save

How to make kefir cottage cheese

Pour one liter of kefir milk into a pot and place It on the stove for low heat to medium heat.

Step one: Heating the milk kefir

Within about 10 minutes you start to see the milk separate. There comes a clear bright liquid that is whey and the milk curdles as cheese. Stir occasionally to balance the heat and do not let it boil.

When you see that the milk is clearly separated into the grain-like cheese curds and whey take the pot off the heat. Place a strainer on a heatproof bowl and cover it with a cheesecloth. If yours is thin you might want to double the layers of cheesecloth to get the best result.

Step two: Straining the whey out

The next step is to spoon or pour the curdled kefir cheese into the strainer lined with the cheesecloth and pour the whole pot empty. The liquid kefir whey runs to the bowl and the grainy cheese stays in the cheesecloth. Let it sit for a moment to see that all whey has run out. Add a pinch of salt and any seasonings you wish. When you add the seasonings stir lightly and fluff the kefir curds a bit. It should be now kind of grainy and crumbly like cottage cheese. Don’t press the cheese only fluff it to keep the airy consistency. If you want a pressed cheese block follow the instructions of my hard kefir cheese recipe. Pour the kefir whey into a glass jar and close it airtightly.

I RELATED: Making Hard Kefir Cheese and Whey | Fast Method Recipe

Step three: Eat right away or store it properly

If you do not serve the cottage cheese right away, spoon the cottage cheese into a clean glass jar and close it airtightly.

Storage

Store the cottage cheese in an airtight container for up to 1-2 weeks. To increase the shelf life use always clean utensils to spoon it on your bread or portion. The kefir whey stays good for at least one week.

How to enjoy and use kefir cottage cheese 

Add your lovely tangy homemade kefir cottage cheese Finnish style on a slice of rye bread (delish!), mix it with your salad, or add to your soup with some pumpkin seeds.

How to tweak this kefir cottage cheese recipe

• Add some fresh herbs like basil, parsley or chives
• Season with dried herbs or spices like oregano and pepper

How would you enjoy your homemade cottage cheese?

On which portion you would add some of your homemade tangy cottage cheese? Let me know in the comments!

Something else to top your bread and portions with