I love cottage cheese, but store bought cottage cheese is very high in sodium. Making cottage cheese couldn’t be easier using the Yogurt feature on your Instant Pot.

I used Kroger brand unflavored Carbmaster 2% Milk in my cottage cheese. Many people also like to add cream or buttermilk to their cottage cheese to add creaminess. While I included low fat buttermilk in my recipe write up, I ultimately did not need it or choose to use it.

This delightful cottage cheese is also a fine stand in for ricotta in any of your recipes.

If you want to take things further, gather your cottage cheese into a ball and place in a tofu press, refrigerate, and create your own homemade paneer or farmer’s cheese (sometimes referred to as potted cheese).

Low Carb Low Sodium Cottage Cheese in the Instant Pot

Creating your own delicious cottage cheese couldn't be easier using your Instant Pot. Control the calories, carbs, and sodium by making your own fresh cheese at home!

Print Recipe

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings

Calories 103 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

1 half gallon Carb controlled milk I used Kroger brand unflavored Carbmaster 2% milk
5 tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar
5 tbsp low fat buttermilk optional

Instructions

Pour milk into Instant Pot cooking pot and cover with glass lid or black instant pot lid.
Push the Yogurt button and then step through the displays on the screen until it reads "Boil."
During the Boil cycle, remove the lid and whisk the milk a couple of times during the cycle.
When the beep sounds, remove the lid and measure the milk's temperature. Anywhere from 170 to 180 degrees Farenheit is fine.
Slowly pour in the lemon juice or vinegar and very gently stir the milk. You should start seeing signs of the milk curdling almost immediately. If you don't, add a tiny bit more lemon juice or white vinegar.
Turn off the Instant Pot. Cover the milk in the pot with the glass lid and let sit for at least 30 minutes.
If you are adding buttermilk or cream, measure it and set it in the fridge.
Pour the cottage cheese into a strainer lined with cheesecloth that you have placed inside a larger bowl or pot OR place it in the greek yogurt strainer.
Allow the whey to drain from the cheese. (This could take an hour or so)
If the cottage cheese still seems to have a lot of liquid after the whey has drained, place it in a colander lined with cheesecloth, gently gathering the cheesecloth around the cottage cheese in a bowl and gently squeeze to remove additional whey.
Once you are happy with the dryness of your cottage cheese, stir in the buttermilk or cream if you are using. I did not do this when I made my cottage cheese, but create your mixture according to your desired tastes.
Refrigerate and enjoy within 5 days.

Notes

I found that I did not need or want the added buttermilk or cream when I made my cottage cheese, but create your mixture according to your desired tastes. The recipe nutrition is calculated using Kroger unflavored Carbmaster 2% milk and 5 tablespoons of low fat buttermilk.

Straining the curds and whey — A greek yogurt strainer makes draining the whey from the curds much easier.

Ultimately, I chose to put some cheesecloth in a colander and gently squeeze some additional whey out of the cheese.

The final mixture made just a bit less than 3 cups. You can still see some whey around the edges, but after refrigerating for a few hours, it has set up very nicely and I did not find the cheese runny at all.

Nutrition

Calories: 103kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 10gFat: 5gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 88mgSugar: 3g

Keyword vegetarian

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