Learn to make this homemade feta cheese recipe if you’re just getting started with home cheesemaking. With only a few ingredients, feta is an simple cheese to make that doesn’t require any special equipment (like a cheese press)! Here’s a step by step tutorial that any newbie cheese maker can succeed with – enjoy homemade feta cheese tonight. 
Homemade Feta Cheese
The idea of home cheese production seemed completely foreign to me a few years ago. These days I look back and wonder why I was so nervous – it’s just cheese, apparently.
Here are some things to know about feta before you begin:
- Soft cheeses like feta are usually the easiest to make simply because they don’t require any “special” equipment like a cheese press.
- If you’re looking for an easy raw cheese to make, feta is a good choice since it is traditionally a raw milk cheese. You may also use pasteurized milk. Do not use ultra-pasteurized or high temperatu
- The flavor of feta is best with goat milk, in my opinion, but cow milk will also work.
The following recipe was inspired by Ricki Carroll’s Home Cheese Making, which is a very good book for the beginning or seasoned cheese maker.
Another fabulous book for cheese makers is Natural Cheesemaking, by David Asher. This is actually the book I use the most now.
>>>—For a review of this book, click here. —<<<<
How to Make Feta Cheese
Since I can’t be there in your kitchen with you while you make your homemade feta, here’s a short video to show you the basic steps. See, not intimidating at all! Afterwards, there’s the recipe and a photo tutorial with a little more detail. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions.
How to Make Feta Cheese
Feta is an easy cheese to make at home! Here’s a step by step tutorial that any newbie cheese maker can succeed with – enjoy homemade feta cheese tonight.
Ingredients
- 1 Gallon Whole Raw Milk; may use pasteurized goat milk
- 1/4 tsp. Lipase Powder diluted in 1/4 cup water and allowed to sit for 20 minutes (This step is optional, but it's suggested you use lipase if making this recipe with milk other than goat’s milk.)
- 2 oz. Mesophilic Starter (I recommend Cultures for Health)
- 1/2 tsp. Liquid Rennet (or 1/4 rennet tablet diluted in 1/4 cup cool, unchlorinated water)
- 3 tsp. Sea Salt
- 1/4-1/3 Cup Cheese or Sea Salt for brine (optional) - brining gives it a stronger flavor, which is what makes feta distinct.
- 1/2 Gallon Water for brine (optional)
Instructions
- Combine the milk and the diluted lipase, if using. Heat the milk to 86°F/30°C.
- Add the starter, stirring to combine. Cover and allow the milk to ripen for 1 hour.
- Add the diluted rennet and gently stir with an up-and-down motion for several minutes. Cover and allow to set at 86°F/30°C for 1 hour.*
- Cut the curd into 1/2-1-inch cubes and allow to set undisturbed for 10 minutes.
- Gently stir the curds for 20 minutes.
- Pour the curds into a colander lined with cheesecloth.
- Tie the corners of the cheesecloth into a knot and hang the bag over the sink to drain for 4 hours or more.
- Untie the bag and cut the curd into 1-inch slices, then cut the slices into 1-inch cubes.
- Sprinkle the cubes with the 3 teaspoons of sea salt to taste and then place in a covered bowl to age for 4-5 days in the refrigerator. Omit this step if you will brine the feta.
- For that strong feta flavor, make a brine solution by combining 1/3 cup of salt and the water. Place the cheese in the brine solution and store in refrigerator for up to 30 days.**
- If the curds are not setting firmly enough for you to cut easily, next time add 1/8 tsp. calcium chloride diluted in 1/4 cup water to the milk before adding the starter.
Notes
*You can set your pot into a hot water bath in your sink and monitor the temperature a couple of times in the hour to make sure it stays close to 86°F/30°C. Don't worry if it falls below; just add some warm water to the bath. I use my hot box insulated bags to keep an even temperature.
Do not use ultra-pasteurized or high temperature pasteurized milk to make cheese.
If using vegetable rennet, you may need to double or even triple the amount used as veggie rennets aren't quite as strong as animal rennets. You may need to experiment if your curds don't set as well as you'd like. Be sure to always use fresh rennet.
You may hang the feta for more or less time, depending on the temperature in your house and how sharp you like your feta.
Remember to put a bowl underneath to catch the whey that strains out. Gently massage and/or knead the feta every now and then to encourage more whey to drain out.
**Brine your feta only if your goat’s milk comes from a farm; store-bought goat’s milk tends to disintegrate in brine.
Instructions for Making Feta – First Steps
- Combine the milk and the diluted lipase, if desired for stronger flavor. Heat the milk to 86°F/30°C.
2. Add the starter, stirring to combine. Cover and allow to the milk to ripen for 1 hour.
3. Add the diluted rennet and gently stir with an up-and-down motion for several minutes. Cover and allow to set at 86°F/30°C for 1 hour. You can set your pot into a hot water bath in your sink and monitor the temperature a couple of times in the hour to make sure it stays close to 86°F/30°C. Don’t worry too much if it falls below; just add some warm water to the bath. I use my hot box insulated bags to keep an even temperature.
4. Cut the curd into 1/2-1 inch cubes.
5. Allow to set undisturbed for 10 minutes.
6. Gently stir the curds for 20 minutes.
7. Pour the curds into a colander lined with cheesecloth.
Homemade Feta Cheese – Last Steps
1 Tie the corners of the cheesecloth into a knot, and hang the bag over the sink to drain for 4 hours or more. You may hang it for more or less time, depending on the temperature in your house, and how sharp you like your feta. Remember to put a bowl underneath to catch the whey that strains out. Gently massage and/or knead the feta every now and then to encourage more whey to drain out.
2. Untie the bag and cut the curd into 1-inch slices, then cut the slices into 1-inch cubes.
3. Sprinkle the cubes with the 3 teaspoons of sea salt to taste and then place in a covered bowl to age for 4-5 days in the refrigerator. If you’re going to brine the feta, omit this step.
4. If the curds are not setting firmly enough for you to cut easily: next time add 1/8 tsp. calcium chloride diluted in 1/4 cup water diluted calcium chloride to the milk before adding the starter.
To Make Feta Cheese Brine
For a traditionally strong feta flavor, make a brine solution if you are using raw milk:
- Combine 1/3 cup of sea salt and the water.
- Place the cheese in the brine solution and store in refrigerator for 30 days.
- Use this method only if your goat’s milk comes from a farm or your backyard; store-bought goat’s milk tend to disintegrate in brine.
- An ideal container is one that keeps the cheese submerged in brine and has its own lid. Glass is better than plastic.
Store bought goat milk can loose texture when brined, so I only advise you brine with raw milk. However, you can test a bit of a store bought batch and see what happens for you.
Common Questions About Making Feta Cheese
Why Didn’t My Curds Set?
Cheese making is a process that takes time to master, so don’t worry if you end up with less than perfect cheese the first few times. Here are a few things to change up the next time you make feta cheese, if you’ve had spotty results:
Was your cheese vat (the pot the milk is in) kept at an even temperature during the fermentation stage? This is where I used to mess up a lot!
A change in milk temperature up or down can cause a cheese batch to fail at this stage. Using an insulating container will help you fix this problem. Here are some ideas you can try:
- Ice chest filled with a blanket or towels
- Grocery insulated (cold) bag
- Hot box cooker
- Blankets and towels wrapped around the vat in a warm corner of the kitchen
- Hot water bath in the kitchen sink
Learn more about troubleshooting homemade cheese from Cultures for Health. I also recommend them for purchasing cultures and rennet. Their products and their educational material are excellent!
More Troubleshooting on Curd Set?
If your curds don’t set, you can try using a little more rennet and letting the batch sit just a little bit longer. You can increase rennet amounts by about 1/8 of a tsp. in as much water.
You’ll know that your curds are setting up well and will break properly when they start to pull away from the sides of the pan a bit. You’ll also start seeing whey pooling around the surface and at the sides.
You can let your vat culture overnight, if you need to in order to get proper gel and set of the curds.
It’s also possible there isn’t enough calcium in the milk, which can sometimes happen with goat milk. To fix that, you can add some calcium chloride diluted in an equal amount of water to your milk vat before you start heating it.
About 1/4 tsp should be good to start. Make sure you’re using unchlorinated water with both the rennet and the calcium because the chlorine the add to city water can affect results.
What Kind of Milk is Used to Make Feta Cheese?
Feta is traditionally a goat milk cheese. However, it is also well suited to cow and sheep milk.
I like the flavor best with goat milk but cheese is cheese and it’s delicious either way!
How Long Does Feta Last in the Fridge?
Blocks of feta in an air tight container will last from one to two weeks in the fridge. If you submerge feta into brine, it will last upwards of a month. After a month, the flavor continues to sharpen past where you might want to eat it even if the cheese is still technically un-spoiled.
You may also store feta in olive oil in the fridge for one to two weeks. Keto-eaters may especially appreciate the extra flavor and healthy fat dimension this adds to homemade feta cheese.
Can Feta Cheese Be Made Without Rennet?
No, feta is a cheese which requires rennet to set up in the familiar crumbly blocks associated with this cheese. You may use vegetable rennet to make the cheese, if you object to using animal rennet.
Be aware that vegetable rennet aren’t usually as strong as animal rennet, so you may need to use double or even triple the amount per batch. You’ll need to experiment.
The good news is that vegetable rennet is particularly suited to non-aged cheeses like feta. Cultures for Health can teach you how to make your own vegetable rennet from nettles.
Can I Use Vinegar Instead of Rennet to Make Feta Cheese?
No, but you can use vinegar to make a different kind of cheese called paneer! Paneer is traditionally coagulated with lemon juice but vinegar is a common substitute.
Paneer comes to use from the delicious realms of Indian cuisine and it is a delightful cheese to make at home! Learn to make paneer, plus several other dairy products in our
1 Gallon of Milk= 5 Homemade Dairy Products article.
What is in the Brine for Feta Cheese?
Water and sea salt. You may also use kosher salt.
What is Feta Cheese Good With?
Anything! It makes a lovely addition to salads, breakfast eggs, breads, and even savory desserts.
A family favorite is to eat homemade feta with sourdough pitas and homemade sun-dried tomatoes.
How will you eat your homemade feta?!
Homemade Feta Cheese Resources
Here are a few ideas for using your homemade feta cheese, either as an ingredient or an add-on to a great recipe.
Feta Cheese Resources
Here are some lovely ways to use your feta cheese.
Simple Watermelon Feta Salad with Cucumber, Basil, and Mint
Savory Feta Cheese French Toast
Healthy Beetroot and Feta Salad
Easy Homemade Cheese: Maple Yogurt Cheese
If you'd like another easy cheese recipe - this is even easier than feta and has about three steps!
Hi I love the look of this just would like to clarify step 6 that I stir the curds for 20mins as I have never done this with any feta before or maybe this is a secret I should try. thanks so much
According to Rikki the Cheese Queen, that’s what you do. In the interest of full disclosure, I don’t know that I’ve ever made it a full twenty minutes; cheese is slow food but my life is not! 🙂
Wow, I’ve never kept a goat in milk that long – way to go. I love making cheeses, especially feta. Isn’t it the best on salads and sliced on crackers. Great instructions. Have a great week!
You have to milk through the winter, which can be hard! It also depends on the lactation cycles of the goat. Thanks for the praise, Toni!
I dont have access to raw milk of any kind, Im not sure they can even legally sell it here in New York.. any suggestions?
You can make the same recipe using pasteurized milk, its just not as healthy. It will still taste yummy, though!
In NY, it looks like you can small, raw milk buying clubs where you purchase at the farm. Are either of these close to you https://www.realmilk.com/real-milk-finder/new-york/#ny. Here’s for more information for your state: https://www.realrawmilkfacts.com/raw-milk-regulations/state/new-york. Its not the most raw milk friendly state in the Union but we make do with what we have and get involved to change the laws where we can.
Hi, I make feta using our cows milk and start with about 8 litres. I also make cheddar as well and we haven’t bought cheese for ages. It is great fun and quite easy to do. Thank you for the insight into how you do it, we can always learn something. Blessings Terri
That’s wonderful, Terri! I did my first cheddar last year but it was too dry – I need to retry. I agree that you can always learn a better way to do something, especially with cheese making.
I followed the recipe as written, using raw cow’s milk, but it came out terribly salty after the initial 5 days. Is it truly supposed to have 3 tablespoons of salt sprinkled on before aging? Or did I misread something? Thanks in advance!
Emily thank you so much for pointing that out!! I’m so sorry – I feel like I need to ship you some homemade feta to make up for the typo.
It’s supposed to be 3 teaspoons of salt and it’s completely adjustable for taste. The salt is a preservative but you can adjust the sprinkled amount without issue. I also neglected to add that you should omit that step if you’re going to brine the cheese.
If the brine ends up being too salty, you can lightly rinse the feta before you serve it. I often do that with commercial feta to just remove the accumulated surface salts from sitting in the package.
Sometimes typos happen when I copy from one source to another – this recipe is from our book, The Do It Yourself Homestead. I try to check so carefully but this one slipped through. Thank you for taking the time to comment and save others from salty feta!!
I tried making this and failed miserably. I only got about a cup of very ricotta-esque curds. I think the problem may have been in my starter culture. What do you mean in the recipe by “PREPARED mesophilic starter culture?” Is it a different thing than the packets of powder? Because the recipe says 2 oz or 1 packet, and at least the packets I had were only .15 oz. So I used one packet assuming “prepared” must be something different. Where do you get your packets?
Ugh, I’m sorry you’re having trouble, Rebekah but don’t give up! Cheese is part art, part science and it takes a lot of practice.
When I mess up my cheese, the first thing I look at is the temperature of my cheese vat while it ferments. If that was ok, was your milk ultra-pasteurized? Ultra-pasteurized milk is difficult to work with when making cheese.
Also, is your rennet old? You mentioned not getting solid curds. If your milk was fresh or not ultra-pasteurized, it’s possible the rennet isn’t strong enough due to age. Or if you’re using vegetable rennet, you may need to double or even triple the amount you use.
Prepared starter just refers to packaged starter – as in, not homemade. Homemade starters are measured differently. I’m glad you mentioned that because I can make it more clear in the recipe for others.
My favorite resource for buying both starter and rennet is Cultures For Health. Besides great products, they have A LOT of educational material for the home cheese maker. Here’s a great article on Troubleshooting Homemade Cheese. Read through their ideas and see if any of them match your experience. It really is just a matter of going down the list and checking off each point.
You’ll find the answer, though, I promise! And you’ll be enjoying your homemade cheese soon! Until then, failed cheese batches can be added to smoothies, soups, stews, casseroles, and even cakes and other desserts. They can be safely fed to chickens, pigs, and goats, too!
If you are still struggling after trying several different tests, feel free to email me directly at Tessa@homesteadlady.com and we’ll see if we can get it worked out together.
Thanks Tessa! I used raw goat milk from a local farm. It was almost a week old, could that have made a difference?
I got both my starter and rennet from Cultures of Health, ordered jus this week so I don’t think they were old. Should I have used enough packets to make 2 whole oz of starter, or was I right to use just the one?
So sorry, I neglected to answer that question in my first response! It is recommended that you use 2oz of starter for that amount of milk, so when you make it again, be sure to do that.
You can also try using a little more rennet and letting the batch sit just a little bit longer. You can increase rennet amounts by about 1/8 of a tsp. in as much water. You’ll know that your curds are setting up well and will break properly when they start to pull away from the sides of the pan a bit. You’ll also start seeing whey pooling around the surface and at the sides. You can let your vat culture overnight, if you need to in order to get proper gel and set of the curds.
It’s also possible there isn’t enough calcium in the milk, which can sometimes happen with goat milk. To fix that, you can add some calcium chloride diluted in an equal amount of water to your milk vat before you start heating it. About 1/4 tsp should be good to start. Make sure you’re using unchlorinated water with both the rennet and the calcium because the chlorine the add to city water can affect results.
No, week old milk wouldn’t have adversely effected the cheese results unless the animals was ill or it was contaminated somehow.
Did that help? Yes, no?