This 5 Minute Microwave Ricotta Cheese recipe shows you how easy it is to make creamy, delicious homemade ricotta cheese, without special equipment or lots of time! You just need a microwave, some milk, salt, and a lemon.

The school year has arrived! While I was slightly dreading the thought of having to spend another year commuting into the middle of the country, the Dutch Silicone Valley of food (aka farmland that happens to house my university and a few multinational food corporations), I managed to spend the entire second day playing with chocolate custard, so I guess it’s not half bad.

This year will mainly be spent working on my master’s thesis, which will more or less be all about said chocolate custard (but obviously a bit more science-y than that). So in the name of science, today I’m sharing a chemistry-fueled kitchen hack for making microwave ricotta cheese!

This microwave ricotta is perfect if you have a recipe that calls for a little ricotta and you don’t want to buy (and end up wasting) a whole package. But seeing as how ricotta is our spotlight ingredient, we’ll be rolling out a few more tasty ricotta recipes in the coming two weeks (meaning you’ll have plenty of reasons to use that spare ricotta you have in your fridge!)

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5 Minute Microwave Ricotta

This 5 Minute Microwave Ricotta Cheese recipe shows you how easy it is to make cheesy, delicious homemade ricotta cheese, without much equipment or time!

Course Appetizers, Snacks

Diet Gluten-Free, Low Carb, Vegetarian

Occasion Game Day

Time 15 minutes or less

Prep Time 2 minutes

Cook Time 3 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Calories 307 kcal

Author Live Eat Learn

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole milk 473 mL
• ¼ cup lemon juice or white vinegar 60 mL
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Cook: In a microwave safe bowl, stir to combine milk, lemon juice or vinegar, and salt. Microwave on high for 3 to 5 minutes. When milk is bubbling at the edges and you can see the milk has curdled, remove from the microwave. If milk doesn’t curdle, add another tablespoon of lemon or vinegar and microwave for another 30 seconds.

2. Strain: Set two layers of paper towels in a wire mesh sieve, and set over a large bowl. Gently pour the milk mixture into the sieve to strain out the liquid. You can let your ricotta strain up to 1 hour. The longer it sits, the firmer your ricotta will be, though I like it fresh and warm.

Nutrition Facts

5 Minute Microwave Ricotta

Amount Per Serving (0.5 cups (note, this includes the whey, which you will likely not consume))

Calories 307 Calories from Fat 144

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 16g 25%

Saturated Fat 9.5g 48%

Cholesterol 49mg 16%

Sodium 2530mg 105%

Potassium 774mg 22%

Total Carbohydrates 23g 8%

Sugars 27g

Protein 16g 32%

Vitamin A 17%

Vitamin C 47%

Calcium 43%

Iron 1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Helpful products for this Microwave Ricotta Cheese

This post contains affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, I may earn a commission (at no extra cost to you). I first published this recipe on Amanda’s Cookin’, where I’m a contributor. Thanks so much for stopping by Live Eat Learn and for making easy recipes like this Microwave Ricotta Cheese possible!