Kefir cream cheese is the easiest no-cook cheese to make and is full of good probiotics. It’s a soft, creamy cheese with a deliciously tangy flavor, perfect over bagels.

soft and creamy kefir cream cheese

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We love it over our Whole Wheat Sourdough Bagels, although I’m sure it would be delicious as a chive and minced onion dip to crackers. It is a very fine-curd cheese, making it the perfect replacement for ricotta (think lasagna).

I make milk kefir almost daily by covering my kefir grains with milk and letting the milk coagulate overnight into a thick yogurt-like consistency. As you can imagine, kefir smoothies get old, and you can only make enough Kefir Ranch, so you’re left wondering what else you can make with milk kefir.

This is when I discovered Kefir cream cheese. Traditional cream cheese is made by heating the milk and then acidifying it with a liquid rennet or culture so that it can coagulate. However, milk kefir already coagulates naturally at room temperature from the live and active cultures present in the kefir grains. So, fermentation is simple.

So, it only made sense to strain the junket-type milk (thick curds) into a colander lined with butter muslin and see what it does.

Surprisingly, after 12 hours, I had a delicious compact cheese straight from my fridge. It was the easiest cheese I ever made! Anyone can make this cheese with minimal effort and easy-to-access equipment (everybody owns some type of colander or sieve and a T-shirt)! You don’t even heat the milk; how easy is that!

The Benefits Of Probiotic Cream Cheese:

Not only is this a no-cook cream cheese recipe, but kefir cheese has many beneficial properties. Cultured dairy is a great way to increase the shelf life of milk while enhancing its flavor. It’s easier to digest and can create different flavors and characteristics depending on your liking.

Organic Cream cheese can be expensive! However, if you are someone like me who ferments or cultures milk on a regular basis from the abundance of fresh milk, it only makes sense to use your dairy to its fullest potential. I make homemade sour cream, yogurt, and kefir cream cheese, knowing it has clean ingredients and no thickeners or additives.

There are also many good health benefits to consuming live probiotics, like improving the gut flora. Milk kefir is made with no added enzymes for the curdling process, which occurs naturally from solely the kefir grains.

Ingredients and Equipment Needed:

To make cream cheese using milk kefir, you will need a fine sieve, a large bowl to hold the sieve and allow the whey to drip down, and butter muslin or thick cheesecloth. Choose a thicker and tight woven cheesecloth that is small enough to retain the solids from the milk kefir curds, typically one for making soft cheeses. This will make a smooth and creamy cheese. A yogurt maker is ideal for making cream cheese at home. It has a tight-fighting lid with a built-in mesh sieve that is easier to wash and will make a wider cheese shape.

How To Make Kefir Cream Cheese:

To begin making the cream cheese, you must first culture milk to make kefir. Technically, you can leave raw milk to ferment for a couple of days to coagulate (this method is centuries old), but that can be too sour. Live and active milk kefir grains will coagulate milk and make thick curds within 12 hours. I use about two tablespoons of live kefir grains to one quart of milk and leave it overnight to make a solid curd or junket.

Coagulate Milk: Once your milk kefir is set to a thick curd, prepare your equipment. Place a fine mesh sieve over an 8-cup glass measuring bowl and line it with a cheesecloth or a T-shirt. You can use a yogurt maker.
Drain the curds. Transfer the thick curdled milk kefir (it should be a firm curd mass) into the sieve lined with cheesecloth. Remove the kefir grains with your hands and reuse them for your next batch of milk kefir. Wrap the kefir curds with the cheesecloth gently. Don’t wring out or squeeze the curds; allow gravity to push out the whey naturally.
Refrigerate: The fridge is a cool, consistent environment in which to firm and store cheese. Always cover the curds with a cloth or use a yogurt maker with a tight-fitting lid to keep the moisture in.
Ready: your kefir cheese is ready after 12 hours of draining. Most of the whey should have dripped out and you should have a compact creamy cheese. Transfer it into a small glass bowl with a tight-fitting lid and mold it into your desired shape. I sometimes use an oblong glass dish and shape the cheese into a rectangle, then smooth out the top and sides. This is also the time to add salt to taste. Add 1/8-1/4 tsp of salt if desired.

Tips for Making Kefir Cheese:

Strain the whey for at least 12 hours so that the curds form into a compact cheese.
Our fridge is set to 43° F. An ideal temperature for forming the cheese is 45°F. 10-15 degrees more has a tendency to suck the moisture out and make a drier cheese.
For a wider cheese shape strain the the curds in a square yogurt maker. Using a sieve or colander will make a rounder shape but cream cheese is very smooth and creamy. So, it can easily be spread and shaped to any shape.
For every quart of kefir cheese made, add 1/8-1/4 teaspoon of salt to taste. I often don’t add salt, as homemade kefir cream cheese is tangy and very flavorful.
For a creamier cream cheese, drain curds for 12 hours, and for drier cream cheese, drain curds for 24 hours.
To shape it into a block, place the soft cream cheese in plastic wrap and push in the sides using a small spatula to form a rectangle. Tightly wrap it up and put it into an oval dish. Smooth out the top after unwrapping.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How Long Does Kefir Cream Cheese Last?

Cultured dairy is a great way to increase the shelf life of milk. Homemade kefir cream cheese will last two to three weeks if refrigerated consistently. When you take it out, be sure to put it back into the fridge after each use to keep its quality.

My Milk Kefir Is Not Thick, What Should I Do?

To make Kefir cheese your curds must be thick and look like junket. Thick curds is what will turn this into cheese after the whey strains off. To make a thick kefir you need to use at least one tablespoon of live and active kefir grains per quart of milk. If after 12 hours your kefir is still runny let it sit for another 12 hours until it coagulates. If kefir doesn’t set after 24 hours your grains are most likely deactive.

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