Use It Up! 11 Recipes for Leftover Ricotta (2024)

FAQs

What can I do with too much ricotta? ›

Add ricotta to fluffy lemon ricotta pancakes or stuff it into French toast for breakfast. Make classic Italian American bakery-style ricotta cookies or cannoli dip with waffle crisps for dessert. Or go the savory route!

If you have an unopened container of ricotta, you can stick the whole thing right in the freezer, but if the package has been opened, you have to transfer the cheese to a new container. Use a clean, airtight container or freezer bag to prevent freezer burn and bacterial contamination.

Air exposure is the enemy of fresh ricotta, so keeping it sealed becomes even more important after opening. Opened ricotta generally lasts for about one week in proper storage conditions. To be on the safe side, give it the sniff test. If there is any off odor, toss it.

For extra creamy ricotta, add in an extra egg, a handful of grated parmesan, and a quarter cup of shredded mozzarella. Eggs help prevent the ricotta from drying out and serve to bind the ricotta so it doesn't become runny. One or more eggs are recommended whether you add the other ingredients mentioned here or not.

It can be enjoyed every day as part of a balanced diet. Ricotta is an Italian word that means 'recooked'. It's made from the whey portion leftover from other cheese making, which is reheated to bring the whey proteins together.

Ricotta is about 74% water, and when that water transforms into ice, it disrupts the cheese's texture and makes it dry, crumbly, and slightly grainy.

Yes, you can freeze ricotta cheese. But keep in mind that its texture will change as ricotta has a high level of moisture, so it will become grainy or slightly watery upon thawing. You can use it in cooked dishes, like lasagna or cannelloni, where the texture will be less noticeable.

While it's available prepackaged, fresh is generally best and the only choice when it comes to baking. Ricotta is available fresh all year round from the supermarket deli section. Store in the fridge in an airtight container and use within two to five days.

You can smear ricotta on toast and then top it with almost anything for an easy meal. Try it with corn and scallions, or pesto and tomatoes, or a fried egg. You can also eat it for dessert: top with strawberries and honey or banana and nutella.

The liquid whey left over from making ricotta is really healthy. Cover and refrigerate it to use in breads, soups, and smoothies instead of milk or water. You can also use it instead of water when cooking pasta or rice. Or, if you're really adventurous, try drinking it plain (you'll make your great-grandma proud).

Is ricotta cheese just whipped cottage cheese? ›

The key distinction between the two really comes down to moisture content and texture: ricotta is smooth and spreadable with extremely fine (almost imperceptible) curds, whereas the preparation of cottage cheese results in a soupy and lumpy finished product with a higher moisture content.

Mold on ricotta can be green, blue, or soft pink. If the ricotta has also turned a yellowish color (instead of its regular creamy white), it's another sign of spoilage. You can also apply the sniff test to ricotta.

Ricotta cheese, like cottage cheese and cream cheese, is high in moisture and spoils more quickly than hard cheeses.

Ricotta is smooth and slightly sweet from the heavy cream and you can even eat it when it's still warm. I love to mix olive oil, salt and pepper into it, then smear it across toast. It's also great mixed into hot pasta, layered onto lasagna, or turned into a dip for raw vegetables like radishes and carrots.

As with most cheeses, ricotta is high in fat. The majority of the fat in whole milk ricotta cheese is saturated. According to a study published in 2018 by PLoS One, eating a diet high in saturated fat increases risk of cardiovascular disease by raising blood cholesterol levels.

In other words, the cheese doesn't melt. So ricotta falls in the same category as paneer, halloumi, queso blanco and other cheeses that can be heated without melting. This is why ricotta is such a fine choice for lasagna, stuffed shells, ravioli and cheesecake. It heats wonderfully, but doesn't reduce to a pool of goo.

When that ice defrosts, the consistency of ricotta becomes more watery and less creamy. Fat separation is why it's essential to whip or stir defrosted ricotta to bring back a creamy consistency, although it's sometimes impossible to avoid the grainy texture.

If the cheese doesn't look or smell like it did when you first opened it, your best course of action is to throw it out.