Easy Homemade Soft Cheese
This delicious and versatile cheese known as "labneh" is super easy to make and requires little effort. It can be made fat free, it's protein packed, and can be dressed up however you like! The secret is Greek yogurt! I've mentioned many times how useful Greek yogurt is in cooking as a healthy substitute for cheese, butter, or mayo (among other things). Here we will use non fat plain Greek yogurt to make a healthy cheese!
You Will Need:
- 8oz tub of non-fat plain Greek yogurt (you can also use full fat Greek yogurt for a much richer cheese if you prefer)
- Cheese cloth- about 10"X10" is plenty, I made mine 2-ply since it was really thin
- Small deep bowl
- A strainer that will fit across the top of the bowl
- Salt
- Fresh herbs, honey, strawberries, nuts, cracked pepper.. whatever you want to dress it up with!
Step One:
Place the strainer over the bowl and lay the cheese cloth over the strainer. Carefully spoon the yogurt onto the cheese cloth to make a large mound in the center.
Place the strainer over the bowl and lay the cheese cloth over the strainer. Carefully spoon the yogurt onto the cheese cloth to make a large mound in the center.
Step Two:
Gather up the sides of the cheese cloth and gently squeeze to get any air gaps out. You can get some of the excess liquid out by squeezing the yogurt but it will leak through the cloth if you squeeze too hard, and it is not necessary. Use a piece of twine or thread to securely tie the top closed. Your ball of yogurt should be tightly bound.
Gather up the sides of the cheese cloth and gently squeeze to get any air gaps out. You can get some of the excess liquid out by squeezing the yogurt but it will leak through the cloth if you squeeze too hard, and it is not necessary. Use a piece of twine or thread to securely tie the top closed. Your ball of yogurt should be tightly bound.
Step Three:
Leaving the cloth bound yogurt inside the strainer (over the bowl) cover the whole thing tightly with plastic wrap or foil, and place in the refrigerator. Make sure the strainer doesn't fall into the bowl or the liquid will touch the cheese cloth and prevent it from straining properly.
Let it sit in the fridge for 2-3 days. You can periodically dump the liquid in the bottom of the bowl if needed.
Step Four- Dressing Up Your Cheese
After a couple days of straining in the fridge, take your bundle of yogurt cheese out of the cheese cloth. Now for the fun part! You can dress up the cheese however you want, here are some ideas:
Leaving the cloth bound yogurt inside the strainer (over the bowl) cover the whole thing tightly with plastic wrap or foil, and place in the refrigerator. Make sure the strainer doesn't fall into the bowl or the liquid will touch the cheese cloth and prevent it from straining properly.
Let it sit in the fridge for 2-3 days. You can periodically dump the liquid in the bottom of the bowl if needed.
Step Four- Dressing Up Your Cheese
After a couple days of straining in the fridge, take your bundle of yogurt cheese out of the cheese cloth. Now for the fun part! You can dress up the cheese however you want, here are some ideas:
- Strawberry compote
- Herbs, olive oil drizzle, and cracked pepper
- Date cream, cinnamon, and honey
- Rolled in chopped candied pecans or walnuts with a honey drizzle
- Blended with roasted marinated peppers and sea salt
I chose to blend mine with fresh herbs from my garden, some sea salt, and top with cracked pepper and honey. MMMM!
I love this cheese as a healthy snack between meals. I put it on some healthy whole grain crackers, and have myself a fiber and protein packed low-cal snack!
I love this cheese as a healthy snack between meals. I put it on some healthy whole grain crackers, and have myself a fiber and protein packed low-cal snack!
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