Easy Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese Recipe

This Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese is my ideal condiment – versatile, no cooking on stovetop, and only two ingredients! Rich in probiotics, this homemade Greek cream cheese is also healthy, delicious and fresh. Enjoy!

Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese

Tangy and smooth, this greek yogurt cream cheese is delicious, creamy and healthy. Once you master this greek yogurt cream cheese recipe, you’ll never go back to shop bought!

This homemade greek cream cheese is so easy to make – just two ingredients! You heard it right – only two ingredient! All you really need is time to leave the curd in the fridge untouched for a day.

If, like me, you love to make everything from scratch, you’ll love this greek yogurt cream cheese recipe! It’s additive free, probiotic rich, and has no artificial thickening. Shop bought cream cheese just doesn’t compare.

I show you how to make cream cheese from Greek yogurt. Bring joy in your life and share it with loved ones. Read on!

Probiotic rich cream cheese

Cream cheese is made with whole milk and cream. I used to add lemon juice to create curd when it’s heated on stovetop.

But I wanted to make homemade cream cheese with no heating up on stovetop, and also ensure that helpful bacteria was maintained.

So I did some research and found an American chef, John Armand Mitzewich, widely know as “Chef John”. His cream cheese doesn’t set on milk or cream, but regular yogurt. I had no idea to make cream cheese from yogurt, but his approach made perfect sense.

With this method, there’s no need to add lemon juice or heat up the mix. And, as he says, ‘the taste is more flavorful and tangier than regular cream cheese’.

So I tried his cream cheese, and it worked as he promised, and was delicious! I made a few tweaks to go for more protein, and less fat. The resulting pro-biotic rich homemade cream cheese with Greek yogurt is my new favourite condiment!

Why you’ll love this recipe?

Versatile

How can you use this Greek cream cheese? This yogurt cream cheese is super versatile – perfect for bagels, toast, crackers, sandwiches, pasta or salad. You can also use it for baking, or in any number of savoy dishes. And you can use it as a replacement for mayo, including in our sour cream potato salad or Japanese potato salad.

Easy

Cream cheese doesn’t need aging like other cheese does. It can be made fairly quickly. There’s also no need to keep at a certain degree or temperature like homemade sour cream I made.

Ingredients for greek cream cheese

Greek yogurt

I use natural Greek yogurt. It shouldn’t have any additives or sugar. Avoid any gelatin or guar gum which are used to thicken the yogurt. Check the label.

Of course, you can use any yogurt but I’ve selected Greek yogurt because it’s rich in protein, has less water, and produces more cream cheese.

What to do with leftover whey

No need to throw out whey. It’s protein rich and is full of nutrition. I use it for drinks like smoothies and juice. You can also add it to pancakes, soup, breads or biscuits.

How to Make Greek Cream Cheese

Prepare a bowl, a cheese cloth, a strainer, and a plate. Make sure they are clean and dry. First, remove whey from greek yogurt by putting it in the cheese cloth and allowing it to drip into a bowl underneath.

Place the colander over a bowl, and put the cheese cloth on it. Then scoop the Greek yogurt out of the container and put on top of the cheese cloth. Place a cloth over the top of the colander then cover with a plate and leave them untouched in the fridge over night.

Next day, you’ll find a cup and a half of whey in the bowl. The Greek yogurt should be curdled after removing the whey. Scoop it up with a clean spoon or spatula, and transfer it to a bowl. Then add salt, and mix.

Adding the salt is optional. If you prefer unsalted cream cheese, there’s no need to add it.

Place another clean cheese cloth onto a small bowl, and place the curd and wrap up with the cloth. You can remove the excess water by replacing to a new cheese cloth. Then cover the top with a clean plate. If you prefer the yogurt cheese cream hard, put a weight on it. I use a pickling glass jar.

This will remove excess water, and the curd become more solid after 24 hours in the fridge. If you prefer harder cream cheese, leave the curd for another 24 hours.

That’s it! Serve immediately. Enjoy!

FAQs

How long can you save Greek cream cheese

Leave it in the air-tight glass container for two weeks in the fridge.

Is Greek cream cheese gluten free?

Yes! Our homemade Greek cream cheese is gluten free.

What is the difference between Greek cream cheese and regular cream cheese?

Greek cream cheese is little tangier than regular cream cheese. Also you can have more nutritional goodness. This homemade cream cheese contains more protein and less fat, and it also contains live cultures. So use low temperature pasteurized yogurt. It’s just much healthier to make cream cheese from Greek yogurt.

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