Instant Pot Ricotta
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Homemade ricotta is one of the easiest recipes you’ll ever make. This Instant Pot ricotta recipe costs much less than store-bought ricotta, and it tastes delicious!
Homemade ricotta cheese couldn’t be easier to make. It’s as simple as heating up some milk, adding vinegar, and waiting a few minutes for the magic to begin.
An Instant Pot makes it even easier than my stove top homemade ricotta. There’s no worrying about a pot of milk boiling over on the stove. The yogurt setting on the Instant Pot heats the milk to the required 180 degrees, so all you have to do is add the vinegar and strain the mixture.
This Instant Pot ricotta is a great spread for crackers or a base for pancakes and muffins. I can never bring myself to buy ricotta anymore now that I know how easy and affordable it is to make my own.
Step by Step Instructions for Instant Pot Ricotta
Step One: Heat the milk in the pressure cooker
Heat the milk to 180 degrees using the Instant Pot. To do this, pour the milk into the Instant Pot, close the lid, and set the valve to Sealing. Press the Yogurt button and press Adjust until you see the word “Boil.” Let the pot run the boil cycle.
Step Two: Confirm the temperature of the milk
When the Instant Pot beeps, it means the milk has come to the perfect temperature of 180 degrees. Remove the top and confirm that the temperature is correct with a thermometer. (If it’s a bit high, let it sit for a minute until it comes down to 180 degrees. If the temperature is less than 180 degrees, press the Saute button and watch the thermometer until the temperature comes to 180 degrees.)
Step Three: Add vinegar to the hot milk
Remove the inner pot to a trivet and pour the vinegar into the milk. Stir briefly. You’ll see the ricotta separating from the liquid. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes.
Step Four: Strain the Instant Pot ricotta
Transfer the ricotta mixture to a fine mesh strainer or colander lined with butter muslin or cotton cheesecloth. Let the liquid drain into a large bowl for a couple minutes until it reaches the desired texture, and add a sprinkle of salt if desired. Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and refrigerate.
Tips and Frequently Asked Questions
If you have lemons on hand, you can use lemon juice instead of vinegar in this Instant Pot ricotta recipe. And if you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can follow my recipe for stovetop homemade ricotta using a pot and a thermometer.
The liquid that gets strained out is whey. It can be added to baking recipes or pancake batter in place of water or milk. It can also be used to soak grains or added to smoothies.
Ricotta is delicious on its own as a spread on crackers, and it adds a wonderful texture to pancakes and baked goods. It can also be used as a topping for pizza or pasta. It’s a central ingredient in lasagna, stuffed shells, and other baked pasta recipes.
Be sure to confirm that the milk has reached the correct temperature of 180 degrees. If it doesn’t begin to separate into curds within a couple minutes, add an additional tablespoon of vinegar. This should move the process along.
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups whole milk
- 2 tbs white vinegar
Instructions
- Pour the milk into the Instant Pot, close the lid, and set the valve to Sealing.
- Press the Yogurt button and press Adjust until you see Boil.
- Let the pot run the boil cycle. When it beeps, it means the milk has reached 180 degrees. Remove the top.
- Remove the inner pot to a trivet and pour the vinegar into the milk. Stir briefly. You’ll see the ricotta separating from the liquid. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the ricotta mixture to a fine mesh strainer lined with butter muslin. Let the liquid drain for a couple minutes, and add a sprinkle of salt if desired. (Let it drain for a bit longer if you want firmer ricotta).Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and refrigerate.
Approximate Nutrition Info
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Instant Pot Ricotta Price Breakdown
This recipe costs a total of $.82 to make, and it yields about 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces). This comes out to $.07 per ounce ($.55 per cup). This is less than half the cost of store-bought ricotta, and the homemade version is so fresh and delicious! Try this recipe the next time you’re making something that calls for ricotta. You’ll never go back to the packaged version.
Note: This recipe was originally published in 2017, and it was updated in 2023.
I do not have a yogurt setting. (I have the Lux6.0) What other setting could I use and for how long?
I’m not sure. Before I had my Instant Pot, I made it on the stovetop. You just need to heat the milk to 180 degrees.
Any idea whether or not it would work with fat free or 1% milk?
Yes, that milk should work, too.
I will try this. I am Italian and the ricotta we had in our recipes was made from goat milk and it was light and mildly sweet. We could eat it by spoon as children. I would be so excited if this came close. I might even try using goat milk some time.
Can I use goat milk instead of cow milk to make this recipe?
I haven’t made this with goat’s milk, but I think you probably could. Please let me know if you try it!
I use goat milk all the time – works great! ?
would I be able to use lactaid milk that is lactose free?
I haven’t made this with lactose-free milk. Please let me know if you try it!
Fermenting milk changes the lactose—-you should be able to tolerate it just fine.
Very cool, I’m excited to try this, thank you so much for this recipe. I was wondering if you could use reconstituted evaporated milk? I don’t usually buy or use regular milk or have it on hand.
Teresa, I’ve never used evaporated milk for this, so I’m not sure. Please let me know if you try it!
can I use the porridge button
I don’t have a yogurt button so how should I processed?
You can use the Saute button to heat the milk to 180 degrees, or heat it on the stovetop. Either way, you’ll need a thermometer to confirm the temperature.
ok thank you so much for the quick reply back!! def going to try this today
I ran it a 2nd time (same milk) and this time it came to pressure, but was only 150 degrees. I decided to go ahead anyway and it seemed to curdle up just fine. it is in the fridge chilling right now. Tasted pretty good, so I think it was ok! Thanks for the recipe!
This sounds wonderful. Could I use the same strainer I purchased for Greek yogurt to strain the ricotta?
Yes, Rose, that should work fine. Enjoy!
I’m wondering if this can be made from 2% or non-fat milk? Thanks! 🙂
Yes, it can, Deana. The yield might be a bit smaller and the product will be less rich, but it’s definitely doable.
Can you double recipe and how long can it stay in the refrigerator? Thanks in advance.
This keeps for about a week in the fridge. I haven’t doubled it, but it should work just fine. It will take a little longer for the milk to reach 180 degrees.
This recipe looks great! What do you do with the leftover whey from the ricotta? (We’re “swimming” in whey at our house from making lots of Greek yogurt).
Thanks!
The leftover whey is great for soaking grains before baking. You can also add it to baked goods as a substitute for other liquids, or put it in smoothies.
Wonderful! I am always looking for more ways to use up whey and not waste it. Thank you for your reply.
Whey is also good for dogs (if you have a dog). You can drizzle it over their food.
It’s also a great starter for fermentation.
Soups, gravy, liquid when making bread, put in smoothies, water the plants…..
I keep seeing posts using instapots and every time think to myself I should get one but then forget. But this ricotta looks so delicious. . .I may just have to cave and finally buy one!
Never realized how very easy it was to make ricotta … and we love ricotta in our house! Don’t have an instantpot, but checked out your stovetop version and will be trying that.
This is genius!! Need to try this asap! 🙂