Feta cheese is one of the best beginner-friendly, firmer cheeses to make at home—simple, satisfying, and far more affordable than store-bought. With just a few ingredients and a little patience, you can create a creamy, tangy, salty feta that’s just as good as anything from the store—at a fraction of the cost. The money saved alone makes it well worth the effort!

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I love making feta cheese—it’s just complicated enough to feel like a fun challenge, but not so tricky that it feels out of reach. Once I got the hang of it, it tasted just as good (if not better!) than store-bought, and I ended up with way more cheese for a fraction of the cost.

I’ve been experimenting with feta cheese for a while now, and I’m finally comfortable with it. Of course, there’s always more to learn, but there’s nothing quite like that confidence boost when your homemade feta cheese turns out just right.

Many feta cheese recipes online call for specific cheesemaking cultures like mesophilic or thermophilic starters. While those are important for aged, hard cheeses, I’ve found they’re not essential for feta cheese.

I use plain yogurt as my starter culture. It contains live, active cultures that ferment the milk just as effectively, and it’s something most people already have in the fridge. No special orders, no extra cost.

Also, just because I don’t take great photos, doesn’t mean it’s not great feta cheese. Knowing how to make feta is life-changing and I hope to inspire you to make it as well! You won’t miss store-bought at all once you get the hang of it.

Why You’ll Love This Feta Cheese Recipe

you can use cheap, pasteurized milk from the store
fancy ingredients can be found on Amazon
challenging but accessible
makes a half gallon jar of feta for half the cost of store-bought

My Favourite Ways to Serve Homemade Feta Cheese

Classic Greek Salad: Toss with tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, olives, and a splash of olive oil and vinegar. Simple and perfect.
Sprinkled Over Roasted Veggies: Add crumbled feta to hot roasted vegetables like zucchini, carrots, or beets—melts just slightly and adds creamy saltiness.
On a Greek-Style Pizza: Use feta in place of mozzarella or alongside it, with olives, red onions, and spinach on tomato sauce.
To Elevate a Simple Green Salad: Add crumbled feta to mixed greens with lemon vinaigrette—instantly adds salty richness and tang.
Baked with Tomatoes & Olive Oil: Pop a block of feta into a dish with cherry tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and herbs. Bake until soft and melty—perfect for spreading on crusty bread.

Materials

Large Pot – For preparing your cheese.
Thermometer – To get the right temperature for culturing and heating up the curds.
Wooden Spoon – For mixing ingredients in the large pot.
Knife – For cutting the curds. A long cake decorating spatula works great too.
Slotted Spoon – For gently transferring curds from pot to colander.
Colander – Lined with cheesecloth to separate curds and whey.
Bowl – To place under the colander to catch whey.
Cheesecloth – To line the colander to catch curds and squeeze the whey out and transfer to a mold.
Cheese Mold – To hold and shape your curds.
Trivet – To place your cheese mold on to leave space for whey to drip out of the mold as your cheese firms up.
Glass Dish – To catch the whey dripping from your cheese mold.
Half Gallon Jar – To store your finished feta!

Ingredients

1 Gallon of Milk – This recipe uses cheap, store-bought milk as raw milk is illegal in my area, unfortunately. I usually use 2% milk but whole milk would be great if you can get that at an affordable price.
1/4 Cup Yogurt – For culturing your feta. I usually use a frozen yogurt cube that I freeze after making homemade yogurt. If you’re buying yogurt from the store for culturing feta, make sure its plain, no added sugars or flavours, with live, active bacterial cultures.
1/4 tsp Liquid Animal Rennet (in 1/4 cup water) – For coagulating your milk. You can also use a liquid vegetable rennet. I haven’t had much success with rennet tablets but it works for some people if that’s more available to you. If your rennet has a recommendation per gallon of milk that is different, follow that instead of my instruction. Different products may have different potency.
1/4 tsp Calcium Chloride (in 1/4 cup water) – For producing firmer curds. This is essential for pasteurized, store-bought milk which is what we’re using. Recipes with raw milk don’t need calcium chloride. If your calcium chloride has a recommendation per gallon of milk that is different, follow that instead of my instruction. Different products may have different potency.
2 tbsp Sea Salt – For coating your block of feta. This helps draw out more moisture, resulting in a more crumbly texture.

Brine Ingredients

The brine is the salty mixture that your feta will be stored in, similar to the one you buy feta in from the store.

1/2 lb (225g) Sea Salt – Preserves the cheese and continues to draw out moisture.

1 tsp White Vinegar – Helps preserve the cheese and keeps it firm and crumbly rather than turning soft.

1/2 tbsp Calcium Chloride – Similar to white vinegar, keeps the cheese firm and crumbly and prevents it from going soft and mushy.

Whey – Leftover whey from making the feta curds, this will make up most of your brine.

Homemade Feta Cheese FAQ

I usually use 2% but 3.25%, homogenized, pasteurized, store-bought milk will work. Whole, un-homogenized milk would be great but sometimes not available or budget-friendly. This recipe isn’t suited for raw milk.

I’ve tried and it didn’t work. My feta went mushy. Apparently it works for some people. Try at your own risk!

Plain with live active cultures. Uncontaminated with dirty utensils. No artificial sweeteners, flavours, thickeners, or preservatives. I use homemade yogurt which works great.

I’ve had mine stored in the jar in the fridge for a couple months before though lately it usually doesn’t last that long.

How To Make Feta Cheese

STEP 1: HEAT THE MILK
Pour your milk into a large pot and add the calcium chloride. Gently heat to 29–31°C (85–88°F).

STEP 2: CULTURE
Once at temperature, stir in your plain yogurt until fully dissolved. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 30–60 minutes to allow the milk to culture.

STEP 3: ADD THE RENNET
Stir in your diluted rennet with 5–10 gentle strokes — no more than necessary. Cover and let sit undisturbed for 45–90 minutes until you get a clean break. A clean break means the curd separates cleanly and firmly when you cut into it. If it’s not there yet, give it another 30 minutes.

STEP 4: CUT THE CURD
Cut the curd into 1-inch cubes, then slice through diagonally to create smaller pieces. Cover and let rest undisturbed for 5–10 minutes to firm up slightly.

STEP 5: COOK THE CURDS
Turn the heat to very low and gently stir the curds, bringing the temperature back up to 31°C (88°F) if needed. Once at temp, turn off the heat and stir gently for another 5–10 minutes. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes — the curds will sink to the bottom with clear whey on top.

STEP 6: TRANSFER THE CURDS
Line a colander with cheesecloth and set it over a large bowl. Using a slotted spoon, carefully transfer the curds into the cheesecloth lined colander. Once most of the curds are transferred, pour the remaining whey through a small sieve into a half gallon jar until it is about ⅔ full.

STEP 7: MAKE THE BRINE
To the whey jar add salt, white vinegar, and calcium chloride. Cover and shake gently to dissolve. Store in the fridge until needed.

STEP 8: MOLD THE CHEESE
Transfer the curds into your cheese mold using the cheesecloth to help guide them in. Place the mold on a trivet inside a baking dish to catch any drips. Press down lightly with the follower and fold the cheesecloth over the top. Press and rest for 1 hour.

STEP 9: FLIP AND SALT
After 1 hour unwrap, flip the cheese, and place it back in the mold. Press and rest for another hour. Unwrap and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of salt on one side, rubbing it in gently. Flip and salt the other side with another tablespoon. Fold the cheesecloth back over, cover, and let rest overnight — 16–24 hours.

STEP 10: SLICE AND BRINE
Remove the cheese from the mold and cheesecloth and slice into 8 equal triangles. Place the pieces into your prepared brine and let cure for at least 2 hours before eating — overnight is even better.

STEP 11: ENJOY
Crumble over everything and enjoy. You made feta cheese.

Video

The video instruction is slightly different than the instruction in the blog post. Both work, the blog post instruction is the most up-to-date and simplified. However, the video is helpful for visual reference.

Homemade Feta Cheese

Bronwyn Case

Feta cheese is one of the best beginner-friendly cheeses to make at home—simple, satisfying, and far more affordable than store-bought.

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