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

FAQs

What can I do with too much ricotta? ›

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.

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).

Fresh ricotta is fluffy, creamy, spreadable. It can be spooned into a dish and baked in the oven to become baked ricotta. The top browns and is slightly crusty and toasted and the middle is warm and creamy. Fresh ricotta can also be baked into dishes or used as an ingredient in baked goods.

The egg is a binder to make the ricotta firmer and adds protein. It makes the cheese more spreadable, and yet solidifies the layers together, when it is heated (& the cheeses melt together), when you make a lasagna. Egg is sort of the “edible glue” that holds most foods together!

Yes, the type of cheese and how much you eat can affect your digestion. Softer, fresh cheeses, such as ricotta, cottage and American cheeses, contain more lactose than harder cheeses, and eating them, even in smaller quantities, is more likely to cause diarrhea.

One key detail to keep in mind is whether the package of ricotta cheese has been opened or not. Unopened ricotta will last about two weeks in the fridge, while opened ricotta will last just a week. As for the freezer, you can store ricotta for up to three months.

Expired Ricotta Cheese. It's generally not recommended to consume any food product that is past its expiration date, even if it's sealed. The expiration date is there for a reason, and it indicates the last date the manufacturer recommends consuming the product for optimal quality and safety.

The sign your ricotta is bad

Yes, ricotta doesn't have a terribly distinct smell, especially compared to other cheeses, but once it begins to smell sour, that's a sign it's gone bad. Additionally, while mold is a sign to throw out your ricotta, there are other changes in appearance that can indicate something's wrong.

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.

Can you eat ricotta straight from tub? ›

Ricotta is a fresh cheese, so it doesn't need to be cooked. You could serve it with some fresh fruit or on top of a salad.

No. Unlike other cheeses that melt into string pools of melty cheese, ricotta does not melt when cooked in the oven. Instead, it becomes ultra-soft and creamy while still retaining its overall shape.

and too much cheese on lasagne will just ruin the taste of the other ingredients, like the sauce, vegetables in it, meat in it, seasonings, and even the noodles. It gets a weird texture and is too heavy. A good lasagna has a balance so it works together.

So, ricotta actually translates to recooked in Italian, and ricotta is what's called a "whey cheese." When you make cheese, you separate milk into two distinct things. You have the solids, called curds, which will be separated out and pressed to form cheese. And you have the liquid that is left behind, called whey.

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 that's fine to eat will either have no odor at all, or it might have a regular milky smell.

You can freeze ricotta cheese, but it's not always advisable. Why? Frozen ricotta cheese has a grainier texture once it's defrosted, though its flavor is preserved. This is because the water separates from the cheese curds and forms ice crystals when frozen.

You can freeze ricotta cheese without altering the flavor, although the texture will likely be affected.

One key detail to keep in mind is whether the package of ricotta cheese has been opened or not. Unopened ricotta will last about two weeks in the fridge, while opened ricotta will last just a week. As for the freezer, you can store ricotta for up to three months.

Does ricotta go bad in the fridge? Even with this careful handling, an opened package of ricotta will only last one to two weeks, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. To be on the safe side, discard ricotta cheese that's been in your fridge for longer than two weeks after opening it.