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How to Make Perfect Queso Fresco

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Making perfect queso fresco is easier than you think. You don’t need special equipment or hard to obtain ingredients. You need milk, vinegar, and salt. That’s it?  Yup, that’s it! Well  you will need cheesecloth, but that’s not really an ingredient.  You will also need a good digital thermometer for accurate reading. So, let’s make some queso fresco!

a black slate with farmers cheese sliced and some cilantro with bowls of slaw and more cilantro

Before I go on I need to clarify something: queso fresco is curdled with acid, like lemon juice or vinegar, and queso blanco, a similar cheese is curdled with rennet, an animal enzyme that you can usually find it in the baking aisle of the grocery store. There are also some vegetarian rennet products, but I don’t have any experience with them.

a round of homemade cheese on a slate with a plate of cilantro on the left

Cheesemaking is another hobby

I’ve tried making ricotta, and goat cheese. The process for making queso fresco is similar, and again, most of the times you will not need special ingredients.   Mozzarella and burrata are next on my list. Being Latin American, I really had to try my hand at making queso fresco because you can use it in so many different ways. I like to spread it on baguette and top it with a bit of fig jam. Do you like nachos? Queso fresco is perfect over nachos.

Here are the visual steps to make queso fresco at home:

A collage of photos showing steps to make queso fresco in a red pot and then draining cheese curds in a cheese cloth.

  1. Place the half gallon of milk in a large pot on medium heat. While the milk is heating place a colander over a large bowl and line colander with cheese cloth.
  2. Heat the milk to 170° F, remove from the heat and then add the vinegars to the milk and stir it a couple times. Let it sit for 30-45 minutes.
  3. Cut the curds with a knife.
  4. Using a slotted spoon remove the curds and add to the cheese cloth in the colander. Stir the salt into the curds once all the curds are in the cloth.
  5. After all the curds are in the colander gather the edges of the cheese cloth and form a ball and tie it off with butchers twine or some twist ties.
  6. Hang the cheese cloth over your sink faucet and allow to drip for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes you can form a ball from the curds, remove from the cloth. Press the curds into a flat disc and set it in the colander and allow to drip for another 30 minutes. Once it stops dripping you can place in a sealed container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

The origins of cheese-making go back to approximately the 5th millennium BC, and is attributed to pastoral societies. Terracotta vats with what appear to be draining holes have been found at excavation sites. There is also evidence of cheese-making from drawings found in Egyptians tombs. By the time of the Roman Empire cheese-making was already an established art.

Finally, please give this a try. Without a doubt you will find that how to make perfect queso fresco is super easy and very rewarding. And, don’t forget to share with your friends.

4.8 from 20 votes
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How to Make Perfect Queso Fresco

Want to make queso fresco at home? Here is an easy recipe to make this homemade cheese that is a popular topping for tacos, nachos, enchiladas and tostadas.  Many Latin foods use this ingredient and it is so easy.  

Course Cheese
Cuisine Latin American
Keyword cheese making, fresco, homemade, Mexican, Mexican cheese, queso
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings: Change to adjust-> 8 servings
Calories 148 kcal
Author Analida Braeger

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Place a cheese cloth lined colander over a large bowl of pasta pot.
  2. On medium heat bring milk to 170'F, stirring constantly to avoid uneven heating.
  3. When the milk reaches the desired temperature, remove from heat and add vinegar types. Stir a couple of times, then allow it to sit untouched on the stove top for about 30-45 minutes.
  4. Using a knife start breaking up the curds gently then start transferring to a colander using a slotted spoon.
  5. Allow the curds to sit untouched for about 30 minutes so they can drain properly. Add salt and stir lightly.
  6. Next, gather the edges of the cheesecloth and tie with kitchen twine or a twist tie. Hang from your sink faucet, and allow it to drip for about 30 minutes.
  7. Remove from the cloth and using your hands gently mold the cheese into a flat disc, about 1" tall.
  8. Return to the colander and let it sit this way for about 30 minutes.
  9. Transfer cheese to a bowl, and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Nutrition Facts
How to Make Perfect Queso Fresco
Amount Per Serving
Calories 148 Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Fat 7g11%
Saturated Fat 4g25%
Cholesterol 23mg8%
Sodium 538mg23%
Potassium 312mg9%
Carbohydrates 11g4%
Sugar 11g12%
Protein 7g14%
Vitamin A 385IU8%
Calcium 269mg27%
Iron 0.1mg1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Mamalia

    Quesco Fresco is great for usage in different areas. I guess a combination with nachos should be a consideration for me.

    Reply

  3. Jacque Hastert

    This has been the best thing I have read all day. I would like the bowl clean at restaurants if it wasn’t frowned upon.

    Reply

  5. Aleta

    Oh Analida, this recipe is the answer to my dreams come true! I cannot believe how easy it is to make Queso fresco. I LOVE the stuff but in my small home town it is surprisingly (any annoyingly) hard to come by! There are so many delicious dishes I want to make with it and now when I need to, I can make my own with your recipe! Thank you so much for sharing!

    Reply

  7. Eva

    It’s been such a long time sine I made this! I remember making a cheese like this in primary school, using lemon juice to curd the milk. It was one of the first foods I cooked, now that I think about it. Made me want to try again, I was so proud with it!

    Reply

  11. Anne Murphy

    Oh, cool! I’ve made similar types of cheese, but didn’t know queso fresco was in that category! It really is easy, and the flavor is so good.

    Reply

  14. Loreto Nardelli

    Hi Analida, we have just started making ricotta and my parents would make a salt cheese. I always like to watch the process but now have an appreciation for cheese making. This is very similar to making ricotta. I love the simplicity of it and also the use of herbs and other flavors intrigues me immensely. Thanks for the inspiration and good luck with the mozzarella and burrata. Definitely want to see those recipes, yum!
    Happy Holidays!
    [email protected]

    Reply

  17. Chtis

    I LOVE to cook and I’m quite good at it but the thought to make my own cheeses has never crossed my mind. Thank you very much , after reading your recipe I completely inspired and cant wait to make some cheese !!! M

    Reply

  18. Jamie

    Analida, I was wondering what two types of vinegar you reference above. Obviously the one is cider but what is the other? I will make this recipe for my son’s bachelor party this weekend. He wants a taco bar and I want to make queso fresco. So that’s a great excuse to make it.

    Reply

  21. Nina

    Good morning Analida:
    Thank you so much for this super recipe!!!!!
    👩🏼‍🍳😋 The Queso Fresco 🧀🧀came out perfectly. The flavor is outstanding. 😘So much better than packaged/store bought. This is our new go to cheese, no more store bought stuff. Like knowing exact ingredients.
    For anyone first making Queso Fresco or considering you must give this a try. Super simple. Nothing beats homemade and this is a keeper.

    Reply

      • Nina

        Oh My!!! 😘beans, grilled chicken tostadas with your perfect Queso Cheese for dinner last night. Today… beans, homemade jalapeños and Queso Fresco tostadas for breakfast. What a wonderful way to start the day. 😋
        Also am truly enjoying your website. The recipe variety is limitless and all look wonderful. Thank you.

        Reply

        • Analida

          Hi Nina, Those sound like great meals! I will have to try the chicken tostadas! If you like Latin food then you must try my family’s all time favorite: Puerto Rican Pernil. You can make a shoulder or two and freeze in containers for a quick meal. Check it out here: https://ethnicspoon.com/pernil/ Thanks!

          Reply

          • Nina

            We love Latin Food in our home. I was raised on it.
            We have a very diverse group on my side. Great, another new recipe to make. Got a question regarding Queso Fresco… can 2% milk be substituted for whole? Hubby asked. 🙂 Personally, love the richness as is.

  22. Sean

    Thanks for the recipe. This is my first cheese attempt and I think it was successful. I timed my cooking to to the details above. I think that your stated time and the time in the recipe are off. In the instructions you called for around 2 hours of waiting. In the description it is closer to 30 minutes. Other than that, all is good.

    Reply

  23. teariana

    I haven’t made this yet so I can’t give a rating of 4 or 5. I have a question, after reading this recipe I went on to compare with other recipes as I usually do. Every other recipe had rennet as one of the ingredients and those that mentioned both queso fresco and queso blanco stated that the difference between the two was that queso fresco is made with an acid ingredient whereas queso fresco has rennet as the coagulating agent. As this is exactly the reverse of what is stated here I’m confused. Is it a cultural difference or is there an error. I live in Mexico and as I’ve only eaten queso fresco I want to know what to expect when I make this up as well as be accurate in what I tell my friends when I have them over for dinner, am I serving them queso blanco or queso fresco.

    Reply

    • Analida

      Hi Teriana, Both queso fresco and queso blanco are fresh cheese that are not aged and eaten fresh within a few days. The terms for each type are almost interchangeable. This is the cheese we make or made at my house in Panama to have with breakfast and we always called it queso fresco. I think if you try rennet or the acid method, as I have, both turn out almost identical. I think the acid method is easier and most people have the ingredients readily available. Let me know how you like it.

      Reply

  24. Karen Kelleher

    I have been resding all the other queso fresco recipes, and the temperatures listed for the milk, go from 99 to 199 degrees farenheit. I DO KNOW that this is an IMPORTANT step in the making of the cheese.
    Has anyone who actually posted MADE this cheese yet?
    I’d like to ask YOU, personally, if you consistently do the 170 and it always turns out?

    Reply

    • Analida

      Hi Karen,
      I make this cheese often and it turns out just fine. Here are some tips to consider: You should use a full fat type milk and avoid ultra-pasteurized as the high heat affects the proteins and curds will not form as well. Use the freshest milk possible. Heat the milk slowly. As an example, heating from a refrigerated temperature of 38°F to 88°F should take about 12 minutes. Slow heating is key. You can gently rinse the curds and it will remove some of the tangy flavor of the acid used to coagulate the milk. I like mine slightly salty and tangy. For more flavors stir in the salt and herbs after rinsing. Enjoy!

      Reply

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