Instant Pot Homemade Mozzarella made fresh, warm, and flavorful in your very own home in about 30 minutes! Not only is it delicious, but it's an absolute blast to make as well!
Today is the beginning of a week long series I'm callin' Yogurt Button Lovin'! I know everyone is completely obsessed over the Instant Pot nowadays, and I wanted to make sure you are using it to it's full potential. One of the features I find priceless with the Instant Pot is that incredible Yogurt button. Of course it makes insanely good yogurt, but you just wait and see what else it can do!
Now let's get to it, today is Day 1 of Yogurt Button Lovin', and I'm insanely happy to finally introduce you to Instant Pot Homemade Mozzarella!
I've never been completely sold on mozzarella cheese. In fact, more often than not I substitute it with something more flavorful. So this is a pretty big day for me, because I am completely a mozzarella fan now that I've discovered Instant Pot Homemade Mozzarella. It's soft, FLAVORFUL, melty, and easy to make!
The thoughts of making mozzarella had never even entered my mind until a neighbor of mine causally mentioned that she'd been using her new Instant Pot to make mozzarella. Like there is anything causal about that! I shamelessly hounded her for the recipe and called, texted, and emailed her every time I failed to execute the recipe correctly. Thanks Dixie, for your patience with me!
Finally after making it roughly 25 times (no exaggeration, my freezer has a section dedicated to my mozzarella attempts), I have for you my favorite mozzarella of all time. No boring, flavorless cheese here. Nope this cheese is completely worth your belly space and is quite simple, and oh so fun to make. My kids have joined me on many cheese stretching competitions. Hot mozzarella will stretch for days!
Couple things before you jump in
MILK BRAND
Brand of milk matters here and it took me a lot of fails to realize that. Make sure the milk you use is not ultra-pasteurized. What I learned in this process was that some milk brands aren't labeled “ultra-pasteurized” but have still been heated too high for this recipe to work. If your curds are turning out delicate and more like cottage cheese after being heated, I would suspect it's your milk. See this list of optimal milk brands to find one near you that will work best.
RENNET
I've used both animal rennet and vegetable rennet and I seem to get the best results with animal.
LIPASE
Lipase is an optional ingredient. I feel like it gives it more flavor and helps keep it softer, especially after it has been refrigerated. But if you don't have it and want to try it without it, just skip past those steps in the recipe.
IT'S NOT STORE BOUGHT
When baked in an oven like on top of pizza or lasagna, the top of the mozzarella browns more so and quicker than store-bought mozzarella. Don't expect the exact texture that you get with store-bought. It behaves slightly different, but is magical in its uniqueness.
CUTTING THE CURD
In case the Directions below don't describe this step very well, here is a visual of how it should look after you cut it.
EURO CUISINE YOGURT STRAINER
I love having the Euro Cuisine Yogurt Strainer for scooping my curds into. It makes it a lot easier to get as much whey off as possible. But if you don't already have one (from yogurt making) just use a strainer.
USE GLOVES
Mozzarella needs to be nice and hot to knead and stretch. I personally can't do those steps without gloves which is why I'm sporting these periwinkle beauties.
DON'T OVER KNEAD YOUR MOZZARELLA
Over kneading will make your final product more dry. After the last heating cycle in the microwave, knead and stretch until it becomes shiny and smooth and doesn't break when you stretch it.
SHAPING YOUR MOZZ BALLS
Once your mozzarella is shiny and stretchy, move quickly to shape your balls before it starts to cool and isn't as formable. I like to have plastic wrap pieces torn and ready next to my bowl for firmly wrapping my mozzarella balls. This will help them keep a nice round shape. You don't have to wrap them, it's only for shaping purposes. You can also try dipping them in ice water to help them hold their shape, but I feel like the plastic wrap does a better job at this.
FRESH IS BEST
Fresh mozzarella is always better right after it's made and still warm or room temperature. This is the perfect time to slice it up and serve it fresh like on this tomato, basil, EVOO, and balsamic vinegar tray.
STORAGE
Store in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. I've read about storing mozzarella in some of the left over whey (with a pinch of salt). This worked well for me for about 24 hours, but after that it gave the outside of the cheese a strange slimy texture. I've also read of wrapping mozzarella with paper towels to draw out the moisture to make it a harder, more shreddable cheese. I haven't personally tried that one though.
LIVE ON THE WILD SIDE – FREEZE IT
It's possible I'm committing a major mozzarella sin here, but for whatever reason, after being frozen and thawed, my mozzarella seemed to create a more melty, creamy effect in paninis and on top of pizza. I discovered this as a result of having way to much mozzarella so I froze it and hoped for the best. I was pleasantly surprised! If you want to shred it, it also shreds much better partially frozen.
EASY RECIPE
Once you've made you mozzarella (and hopefully didn't eat it all minutes after it was made) make this incredible panini. Pan Roasted Tomatoes + Fresh Homemade Mozzarella + Pesto = lots and lots of happy tears.
That should cover it! Homemade Mozzarella is fun, different, and delicious. You're gonna love it!
Now for the Question of the Day: What is your favorite type of cheese? Leave your answer in the comments below to be entered into the Instant Pot giveaway.
This giveaway is now over
Check out the other recipes from this Yogurt Button Lovin' Series: Burrata, Yogurt, Skyr, Crusty Bread, Ricotta.
TOOLS NEEDED TO MAKE INSTANT POT MOZZARELLA
PrintInstant Pot Homemade Mozzarella
Warm, soft, flavorful mozzarella made in your favorite appliance, the Instant Pot!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 3 mozzarella balls 1x
- Category: cheese
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1 gallon whole or 2% milk (see notes about milk brands to use)
- 3/4 cup water (divided)
- 1/4 teaspoon lipase (optional, see note)
- 2 teaspoons citric acid
- 1/4 teaspoon single strength liquid animal rennet
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Instructions
- To 3 small cups, add 1/4 cup of coolish water to each. In 1 of the cups add the lipase and stir to combine (it won't dissolve completely). To another cup add citric acid and stir to combine. To the final cup, add the animal rennet and stir to combine.
- Pour milk into the pot of the Instant Pot and clip a thermometer on to the side (or have one close by so you can closely watch the milk temperatures). Press yogurt and adjust until it says “boil”.
- Warm milk to 55°F.
- When milk reaches 55° F, use a whisk and stir while pouring in lipase mixture. Continue to whisk briskly while pouring in citric acid mixture
- Continue to heat milk until it reaches 88°F; press cancel to turn off the Instant Pot.
- Gently stir in rennet mixture using a slow up and down motion with the whisk, about 30 seconds. Place a lid on the pot for 5-10 minutes, until there is a clear separation of the whey, otherwise known as a “clean break”. The whey should be clear and yellow. If it is still whitish or milky looking, put the lid on and wait another 5 minutes.
- Using a long knife, spatula, or off set icing spatula (basically something long enough to reach to the end of the pot) Cut the curds by making 4 or 5 vertical cuts from the top to the bottom of the pot. Then repeat this process on the other side to make a checkered pattern on the top.
- Press yogurt, adjust to “boil”, and lightly stir the curds until the temperature reaches 105°F. The temperature will vary slightly depending on where your thermometer is in the curds and whey, so just move your thermometer around and take the pot off the heat once it reaches an average of 105°F. Cover the pot and let sit 1 minute.
- Using a slotted spoon, scoop large curds into a strainer (the Euro Cuisine yogurt strainers work great for this) and press lightly to remove some whey. Tear 3 pieces of plastic wrap (large enough to wrap 3 balls of your final mozzarella) and set them to the side (don't stack them on to of each other!)
- Transfer curds to a microwave safe pyrex bowl and microwave curds for 1 minute.
- Tip: This next step will need some food safe gloves because the cheese is about to get quite hot!
- Gently fold the the cheese over and over then drain the released whey. Microwave for another 35 seconds, gently fold cheese over and over, drain released whey. One last time – microwave for another 35 seconds, drain excess whey, sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, and continue to fold and knead until cheese becomes smooth, shiny, and stretches like taffy (this is my favorite part!).
- Working quickly so the cheese doesn't cool and become unstretchable, break cheese into 3 pieces and create a tight, smooth ball shape with each.
- You can eat it hot at this point (so good!) or shape it and chill it for later. It will store in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.
- Tip: While the cheese is hot, it will not maintain the shape very well. I like to wrap it tightly in a piece of plastic wrap and twist the plastic wrap to create a tight ball. Once the mozzarella cools, it will maintain this round shape. You can also try dipping the hot mozzarella in ice water for a 10 seconds, but I feel like the plastic wrap works better.
Notes
- The mozzarella is the best when eaten warm right after it's made. Chilling the mozzarella will change its texture a bit, but it is still delicious! Cube it up for skewers, slice it up for topping pizza or grilled cheese sandwiches, or partially freeze it, then shred it. If you have extra, I have frozen the cheese successfully. In fact, I insist that it melts and oozes better after it has been frozen and thawed!
- As I mentioned above, lipase is optional. I feel like it makes a softer more flavorful cheese, but you can definitely make it without.
Keywords: Mozzarella, Italian cheese, soft cheese
The only “approved milk” I can get relatively close to me comes non-homogenized. Is this ok? Do I just shake it to mix prior to starting the recipe?
I found this article, and it seems like that’s a great option https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/10/how-to-make-fresh-mozzarella-from-scratch.html
Mine never got stretchy or shiny. Looks good and tastes alright but more clumpy and dry. Any ideas what I did wrong?
Thanks!
Aubrey, From my experience, the brand of milk made a difference here. I’ve also read this can happen if the milk gets too hot when microwaving so that could be a factor as well.
Hi! Is the remaining whey usable similar to yogurt whey?
Thanks!
Jenelle, Yep!
I used Tuscan whole milk (I’m in Westchester, NY) and an entire vegetable rennet tablet, dissolved for 20 min. before adding to milk. It came out fabulous!
★★★★★
Amanda, Fabulous! Thanks for letting me know!
Can I use a lux insta pot to make this? Mine doesn’t have a yogurt function
Anthony, Yes, you could use the saute function, just watch it closely
OK. I just finished my first attempt at Instant Pot Mozzarella and it was a flop – big time! No amount of kneading would bring it together. After being refrigerated it tastes awful! I even bought the milk from a local dairy farmer. Bought a new Thermowerks ChefAlarm (through your website) and LOVE it!
I plan on making another attempt; however, would appreciate your assistance troubleshooting on this attempt first.
Thanks!
P.S. ~ I appreciate your InstaPot posts. Making yogurt in my InstaPot is so simple and easy. The resulting yogurt is absolutely the best I’ve ever eaten. Thanks!
Charlotte
Charlotte, that’s so disappointing, I know, because I had several failed attempts in the beginning. Mine came down to getting Winder milk and vegetable rennet like the one I link to in the post. Did you do anything different from the recipe at all? And yes, I agree, Instant Pot Yogurt is one of my greatest joys!
I just got through making this. I have to be honest, I could only find “ultra pasturized” milk in my area, but thought eh – I’ll give it a shot. I have about a pound of fresh, creamy, stretchy, beautiful mozzarella waiting to go in my fridge! SO EXCITING! Thanks for sharing this. Love my yogurt button more than ever!
★★★★
Tonya, that’s awesome that it worked so well for you! I’m jealous, I have to be very picky about which milk I use. Yay, you’re gonna love it!
I tried this recipe with raw goats milk that we have in abundance right now and it turned out amazing! I took it to work to share and it was a big hit!
★★★★★
Ok I did everything the way you said and I ended up with Ricotta. What did I do wrong. I could only find rennet tablets (junket brand and used a half tablet)
I’m so disappointed!!
Vicki, I had 3 fails on the rennet tablets, I COULD NOT get them to work for me! I was going to give up at that point, but decided to try the liquid and that is the key!
I tried to make this and my curds never got to the point that i could make any shape….the curds were very loose. I used the correct milk as well as the other 3 ingredients…….I’m not sure what I did wrong…..any help would be apprecoated
Pat, when you are heating your curds do they seem like they are starting to stretch and come together, then suddenly they just start to crumble apart?
I didn’t notice that happening to my curds…..they never stuck together,they were loose and runny
Pat, Hmm..dang, I would think that was the milk then, but I beleive you said your milk was from the “okay to use” list. Maybe it is the rennet. I did have to throw out a failed batch of mozzarella and 2 batches of Skyr before. I figured it was the rennet.
I don’t have a microwave, how can I substitute this step? Thank you for your thorough recipe, I look forward to trying it if I can skip the microwave step.
Lana, I’ve never tried it without the microwave, but I have seen recipes where the whey is heated to a certain temperature then the cheese is warmed up that way. Search “mozzarella without a microwave” and you’ll get a few tutorials on it.
Lana, did you figure out a way around this? i’m hesitant to try on my own first and waste a $15 gallon of milk 😉
I have an Ultra. I can custom set the temperature. Would that work better?
Debbie, That’s a great idea actually, I wonder if that would be easier. If you try it let me know!
Hi Marci! I tried making this the other day and it only mostly worked out. My curds looked similar to the ones in your pictures until it came to the microwaving part. Then they seemed to break down until they looked like malt-o-meal. I couldn’t knead them at all, and the whey never separated from the curd with each microwaving. (I was so looking forward to the stretching part of this adventure). So here are my questions for you : 1- Have you used 2% Winder milk to successfully make this Mozz? 2- What is the wattage of your microwave? 3- Do you microwave on high or use a lower setting? (my personal motto is that only cowards cook on low, so maybe that’s an issue here) 4- Do you ever get little areas of the whey and curds that start to boil when microwaving? I did, so I’m wondering if it was just too hot for the cheese to work out?
I say my cheese mostly worked out because I still spooned it onto my 3 pieces of plastic wrap (after stirring it for a little bit until it started to cool down and set up), wrapped them into flat balls, and stuck them in the fridge while I pouted. Actually, I went to my mom’s house for dinner. When I came home, I tried the cheese and the texture was a bit off, but it tasted great and held its shape just fine. We all still loved the cheese, but I’m not going to let go of my dream of prefect homemade mozzarella cheese until it happens. .. In my kitchen. Any pointers you can give me? I feel like I’m really close to success, but I’m missing a piece or two of this puzzle. Any help you can give me would be appreciated. Thanks!
Stephanie, Ugh! I feel your pain. I had so many failed batches while I was trying to figure this out! I’ve used Winder whole and 2% to make the mozzarella – that’s my go to brand. The wattage of my microwave…I have no idea! I have never in my life changed the setting on my microwaves, which I know sounds odd, but I never saw it as necessary. It sounds like your cheese may have got too hot though. Use a thermometer next time, once the curd hits 135 degrees Farenheight, it should be ready to stretch. I honestly think that’s your ticket right there, because after I started using Winder milk, I didn’t have problems anymore. What kind of rennet are you using? Are you using lipase? Shall I just join you in your kitchen 🙂
So I just made another batch and it was worse than the first 😢. I used winder 2% milk again, mild calf lipase, and single strength rennet. I had TONS of whey this time too after adding the rennet and letting it sit for 15 mins before cutting the curds. There was probably about an inch of whey around the outside of the curds plus a donut hole of whey in the center. Weird. I thought maybe my problem last time was that I didn’t let the curds form long enough so I gave it more time this time around. It all went downhill rapidly after that. Still waiting to see if my “cheese” is going to set up enough for me to put it into plastic wrap (I’m doubting it will though). Maybe I’ll try another brand of milk? Or, yes, you should just join me in my kitchen next time you’re in West Jordan 😉. I’m also using a Fagor Lux pressure cooker. Should that really make that big of a difference?
Hello, I just made my first batch. I have to admit it took two tries, but that is because I did not read through all the directions first. I actually left off some of the ending steps the first time. Not a great idea. To work with the curds I used a pair of Kevlar gloves with food preparation gloves over them. Worked perfectly. If you follow the recommendations here I am positive you will make fabulous mozzarella. I could not have had a better experience—once I followed the directions! Many, many thanks.
Shauneen, Well I’m jealous of the 2 tries, it took me 5! Once you get it, you’ve got it though 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
What is the citric acid for?
I am not seeing what or when to use it in the directions after step 1?
Shawna, It’s added to the milk in step 4
What is the advantage of doing this in an instant pot vs stove top? It looks like you aren’t really using the yogurt button to do anything other than heat the liquid.
Jaymie, you can definitely do it on the stove top. The reason I use the yogurt setting is because it’s a perfectly gradual heating cycle that worked really well for me.
Is it possible to make this into string cheese sticks?
Cheri, yes, they aren’t as perfect looking as the storebought (at least when I make them, you may have better skills), but my kids love them that way.
Can I make half of this recipe in the 3 quart Insta Pot? It looks FABULOUS!
Shauneen, I’ve never tried it, but I don’t see why not! Let me know if you try it, please!
Marci, my curds never became stretchy. They were very dry and crumbly. Did I remove too much of the whey?
Kevin, this can happen if the cheese gets too hot, but for me, the brand of milk was causing this. Check the milk list I link to in the post, that will tell you the best brands to use.
This is amazing and tastes so good! It was easy and went so fast. Mine turned out perfect first time. Well, maybe not perfect because I forgot to add the salt when I was supposed to, smh, but everyone still thinks it tastes great.
★★★★★
Linda, I love hearing that! Yep, I forgot to add the salt a couple of times, made me so mad, haha! Live and learn 🙂