Learn to make fresh homemade herb-infused chevre cheese from goat’s milk (or cow’s milk) in about 30 minutes. Enjoy this soft, spreadable cheese on crackers or, our favorite, to dollop on top of homemade pizza!
If you’ve followed us for long, you know we love turning our raw cow’s milk into all kinds of delicious dairy products. We’ve also shared how you can make cheese from store-bought milk if owning dairy animals isn’t quite possible.
After visiting Anne of All Trades’ farm in Tennessee and learning about raising goats for dairy, our daughter Abigail fell in love with the idea. She studied and applied her knowledge for about a year before finding the right goats for our farm.
She is now the proud owner of two Nubian goats that have been providing ample amounts of milk. She’s been really enjoying turning that milk into all kinds of delicious dairy products.
Why We Love This Recipe
Abigail has been making chevre cheese about two to three times per week since getting her goats. She’s perfected this herb-infused recipe, and we’ve enjoyed having fresh homemade cheese on hand at all times.
You can mix up the flavors by choosing different herbs or leave the herbs out altogether for a delicious chevre. The herb-infused cheese is fantastic spread on crackers or as a topping on our pizzas on homemade pizza night.
If you skip the herbs, try using your chevre cheese on a charcuterie board or as a fancy dessert served with fruit and a drizzle of honey!
Supplies Needed
- Thermometer – You’ll need to know what temperature your milk is when heating it up. Temperature is critical for successful cheesemaking. Make sure you have a good thermometer that’s calibrated properly.
- Large Heavy-Bottom Pot – You’ll need a pot large enough to hold all your ingredients. We love to use our enameled cast iron Dutch oven. (Learn more about choosing enameled cast iron here.)
- Large Spoon – Necessary for stirring the milk while heating.
- Spider Strainer – If you have a spider strainer or skimmer, this works well for removing the herbs from the milk.
- Glass Bowl – To catch the whey when straining the cheese.
- Cheesecloth – For straining the cheese from the whey.
- Fine Mesh Colander – This is to suspend over the glass bowl and catch the cheese.
- Slotted Spoon – We have a slotted spoon that’s specifically for cheese making. It makes straining the curds from the whey much quicker and easier.
- Small Bowl – Once the cheese has strained, you’ll need a smaller bowl to transfer the cheese into for salting.
- Smaller Spoon – For mixing the salt in and testing the cheese.
- Parchment Paper or Cheese Mold – To store your chevre cheese, you can roll it into a log and store it in the refrigerator wrapped in parchment paper or use a cheese mold.
Ingredients Needed
- Goat Milk – Using it fresh from the goat is easiest because you’ll be heating it up for this recipe. No need to chill it first! Store-bought goat’s milk will also work.
- Cow Cream – If you don’t have access to fresh cow’s milk or cream, some heavy whipping cream from the store will work well.
- Fresh Whole Herbs – There are no specific measurements for this recipe as the goal is for the herb flavors to be extracted into the goat’s milk while it’s heating up. We used about one cup (give or take) of fresh herbs straight from the plants. Keep the herbs whole, and they’ll be easier to strain out of the milk once it’s heated through.
- White Wine Vinegar – This is necessary to get the curds to form and separate from the whey.
- Salt – Any cooking salt will do for this recipe. We always use Redmond Real Salt in our home. You can purchase Redmond Real Salt here and get 15% off your order with coupon code “HFSalt”.
Step-by-Step Directions
- Add your milk, heavy cream and herbs to a large heavy-bottomed pot.
- Over medium-high heat, slowly bring the milk up to temperature. Stir frequently to keep the milk from forming a skin. Once the milk reaches 180°F, remove the herbs from the milk.
- Continue heating until the milk is 185°F.
- Add white wine vinegar and stir to combine with seven quick strokes.
- Reduce the heat to low and stir gently about every five seconds for two minutes.
- Turn off the heat and allow to sit for ten minutes.
- Meanwhile, set up your glass bowl with a strainer over the top and line the strainer with cheesecloth.
- Scoop the cheese from the pot into the cheesecloth using a large spoon. Let strain for ten minutes.
- Transfer from the strainer to a bowl, sprinkle about 1/4 teaspoon salt over the top and stir to combine.
- Give it a taste test, adjust the seasonings, and enjoy!
- Homesteading Hack: We like to roll our cheese into a log and store it in the refrigerator wrapped in parchment paper until it firms up a bit.
Did you make this recipe? If so, please leave a star rating in the recipe card below. Then, snap a photo of your chevre cheese and tag us on social media @homesteadingfamily so we can see!
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Homemade Chevre Cheese Recipe (From Goat’s or Cow’s Milk)
Equipment
- thermometer
- large heavy-bottom pot
- large spoon
- spider strainer
- glass bowl
- cheesecloth
- fine mesh colander
- Slotted spoon
- small bowl
- small spoon
- parchment paper or cheese mold
Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon goat milk or cow milk
- 1 cup heavy cream fresh cow's cream or store-bought heavy cream
- 1 cup fresh herbs
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Add your milk, heavy cream and herbs to a large, heavy-bottomed pot.
- Over medium-high heat, slowly bring the milk up to temperature. Stir frequently to keep the milk from forming a skin. Once the milk reaches 180°F, remove the herbs from the milk.
- Continue heating until the milk is 185°F.
- Add white wine vinegar and stir to combine with seven quick strokes.
- Reduce the heat to low and stir gently about every five seconds for two minutes.
- Turn off heat and allow to sit for ten minutes.
- Meanwhile, set up your glass bowl with strainer over the top and line the strainer with cheesecloth.
- Using a large spoon, scoop the cheese from the pot into the cheesecloth. Let strain for ten minutes.
- Transfer from the strainer to a bowl, sprinkle about 1/4 teaspoon salt over the top and stir to combine.
- Give it a taste test, adjust seasonings, and enjoy!
Notes
- Homesteading Hack: We like to roll our cheese into a log and store it in the refrigerator wrapped in parchment paper until it firms up a bit.
- Try various flavor options. Leave the herbs out and roll in cinnamon and sugar, then drizzle with honey for a delicious dip for fruit.
- Roll your herb-infused chevre cheese in course ground black pepper for a bit of a kick. The options are endless!
