This ultra creamy Instant Pot Cream Cheese is going to set your world on fire and make you wonder why you haven’t always made this. It takes less than 30 minutes start to finish.
Don’t you just love exploring new ways to make recipes with your Instant Pot? There is so much more than making soups or pasta when you can make Orange Marmalade, Homemade Vanilla, Bone Broth or even Pumpkin Puree. Make up a batch of this for the weekend to serve on top of Air Fryer Everything Bagel.
🍽️ Why This Works
Quick and Easy – We love giving you guys options for quick and easy recipes that are not complicated. This is one that checks both of those boxes right away and who doesn’t love recipes that are finished in 30 minute or less? You will love making a batch of this to serve on a slice of toast with Air Fryer Egg Cups or a batch of Strawberry Mango Freezer Jam.
Versatile – Once you understand the main concept of this recipe, it’s time to explore all its versatility. The options are endless, so start thinking: herbed cream cheese, strawberry cream cheese or even a little bit of smoked salmon in it to make a dip. Add in a little bit of the Dried Lemon Zest and you’ve got a springtime cream cheese that is going to be so delicious on every bite of your Lemon Lavender Scones (which are equally easy, so don’t let the name fool you!)
No Preservatives – There are so many companies sneaking “extras” into our foods that this is really nice to make and know it’s only ingredients that you know and understand. Granted, the shelf life is less than the store bought version but it can be worth the trade off.
🥛 Ingredients
Milk – You are going to need whole milk to help make this even creamier since it has a higher fat content.
Heavy Cream – You have a choice between Heavy Whipping Cream, with a minimum of 30% milk fat or Heavy Cream, with a minimum of 36% milk fat. While the Heavy Cream will hold up a bit better, you can use either in this recipe.
Distilled White Vinegar – Distilled White Vinegar is used for making this recipe as it’s the best vinegar to use for cooking, food preservation and flavoring. This is different than White Vinegar which is stronger and is typically used in cleaning and disinfectant. Most of us have DISTILLED in our house but double check before using.
🥯 Instructions
This is so quick and easy, you are going to love making this one.
Step One: Set up your Instant Pot and pour in the vinegar, milk and heavy cream and stir to combine.
Step Two: After placing the lid on, turn the sealing valve closed. Set the Instant Pot to MANUAL LOW PRESSURE for five minutes. Allow it to NATURALLY RELEASE, which should take about 10 minutes.
Tip: To make sure you get to LOW PRESSURE, press MANUAL BUTTON, then press the PRESSURE BUTTON until it says LOW. Then you can set the timer for five minutes. (See in photo 2 above)
Step Three: While the Instant Pot is cooking, line a cheesecloth over the top of a fine mesh strainer. Once the cooking is complete and pressure has naturally released, turn the lid open and pour the mixture into the cheesecloth and allow it to strain for 5-7 minutes. You’ll have little cheese curds leftover in the cheesecloth.
Step Four: Pour the cheese curds into your blender or food processor and blend until creamy which could take 3-4 minutes. Check to see if you need to scrape down the sides to keep everything the same texture.
Store in the refrigerator or use in your favorite recipes Air Fryer Cheese Danish or No Bake Cherry Cheesecake.
Storage
This can be kept in the refrigerator for 7-10 days in an air tight container. Remember, there are no preservatives in this, so if it is not sealed well, it will go bad quickly.
❗ Expert Tips
We generally like to use our Vitamix when mixing but given our experience with mixing the Homemade Pistachio Butter, we really like the access of using the food processor for these recipes. The food processor allows you to open up the top, scape the sides down and start up again. It worked perfectly for this recipe.
If you have a normal blender where the bottom unscrews and you can access all of the jar, that is great! We love our Vitamix but it’s tough to get the thicker condiments out from underneath the blade which causes us to lose ⅛-¼ cup of whatever we are making.
If you don’t have cheesecloth, don’t let that stop you from making this. Pull out a muslin or 100% cotton kitchen towel. These are the kitchen towels that are white and if you held it up to the light, you could almost see right through it, yet it dries really well. Old fashioned coffee filters work great as well or the nut bags like we used in the Almond Milk.
Recipe FAQ
It’s ok. You can always substitute lemon juice for the vinegar in recipes. Substitute ¼ cup of vinegar with ⅓ cup of lemon juice. Take note that it is not a 1:1 ratio.
You don’t have to, but you will be left with the little cheese curds until you blend. Also notice that we blend it for 3+ minutes to get it smooth. This isn’t an area that I could recommend cutting corners.
If it is gritty at all, turn the food processor back on and keep going. You want a nice, smooth texture.
You can leave it out, but adding it will allow the cheese curds to break down faster and easier. Salt can also be used for flavoring so add just a tiny bit at a time and stir before you choose to dump a lot in.
Absolutely! We love it in the Puff Pastry Blueberry Tart or the Air Fryer Twix Cheesecake.
Related Recipes
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with me through social media by following me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!
Instant Pot Cream Cheese
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups Whole Milk
- 1½ cups Heavy Cream
- 3 tbsp Vinegar
- Salt to taste (optional, see recipe notes above)
Instructions
Instant Pot
- Set up your Instant Pot and pour in the vinegar, milk and heavy cream and stir to combine. (Add salt if you desire)
- After placing the lid on, turn the sealing valve closed. Set the Instant Pot to MANUAL LOW PRESSURE for 5 minutes. To make sure you get to LOW PRESSURE, press MANUAL BUTTON, then press the PRESSURE BUTTON until it says LOW. Allow to NATURALLY RELEASE which should take about 10 minutes.
- While the Instant Pot is cooking, line a cheesecloth over the top of a fine mesh strainer.
Straining
- Once the 10 minutes has elapsed, turn the lid open and pour the mixture into the cheesecloth and allow to strain for 5-7 minutes which will leave little cheese curds leftover.
Blending
- Pour the cheese curds into your blender or food processor and blend until creamy which could take 3-4 minutes. Check to see if you need to scrape down the sides to keep everything the same texture.
Notes
Nutrition
Hello! I just made your instant pot cream cheese recipe, and I am excited about how easy it was. That said, I was surprised that the cream cheese came out more of a beige than the typical white. I used Lactaid whole milk and regular heavy cream, the distilled white vinegar and a few grinds of pink himalayan salt- the picture on your post looks like it yields a white cream cheese also, so I’m wondering if I did something wrong or if it is supposed to look more beige when homemade. Any guidance would be much appreciated!
Hi there, I suspect it was the pink Himalayan salt that dyed the cream cheese. My recipe doesn’t called for pink Himalayan salt which contains so many rare minerals. I’m also containing an article that explains why when Lactaid is heated it will turn a slight brown color. Good news is everything is still tasting fabulous, the coloring will be off with the two changes you made. So happy you commented! 🙂 https://foodnationdenmark.com/news/new-and-cleaner-enzymes-to-improve-the-quality-of-long-life-lactose-free-milk/#:~:text=In%20addition%2C%20the%20glucose%20and,slight%20browning%20of%20the%20milk.