This delicious Instant Pot ricotta cheese can be made in any electric pressure cooker with a yogurt function. Super easy and hands off method, with tasty results.
Combine milk, cream, and salt in Instant Pot. Select yogurt function and make sure it says "Boil". The Instant pot will heat the milk mixture to180 degrees. Once it beeps and the screen display says "Yogt", hit cancel to turn off the pot.
Now stir in the vinegar. Immediately, the milk will start to separate into curds and whey. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
Scoop out large curds with a fine mesh strainer into a nut milk bag (see note) set in a bowl. Or alternately you can use several layers of cheesecloth laid over a colander in a bowl.
Pour in remaining milk mixture and, if using a nut milk bag, carefully lift it up out of the strainer and hang so the whey can continue to drip from the bag into the bowl. Let the whey drip for 20-60 minutes, depending the texture of the ricotta you are going for. Less time straining will yield a creamier ricotta while more time straining will produce a drier, fluffier ricotta.
This ricotta is best used fresh, but will keep refrigerated for about a week.
1. I've only made this recipe with whole cow's milk, and I highly recommend it. It's super creamy and delicious that way. Feel free to try it with other types of milk as you wish.
2. Here's a stovetop version of this recipe.
3. This is the nut milk bag I have and LOVE. It has a wide opening so it's easy to pour in the milk mixture and it's easy to wash and reuse. I highly recommend it!
4. No need to discard the whey. It contains a lot of good nutrients. Do a google search to find out all the ways you can use it.