If you’ve never made cheese before, Labneh is an excellent place to start! No need for special cultures or equipment. And it can be made in less than a day.

Essentially labneh is just yoghurt that has been strained to remove some or most of the liquid whey. It’s a beautiful thick cream cheese that can be used anywhere you’d normally use a dollop of yoghurt.

It can also be rolled into balls and marinated in olive oil with other flavourings (herbs and or spices) if you want to use it more as a cheese.

Lots of options!

I don’t bother with the rolling and marinating and just enjoy my labneh dolloped on everything from salads to roast veg to fresh fruit or granola.

Another thing I love about labneh is that it’s lower carb than yoghurt. Because the carbohydrate in milk, lactose, is water soluble, most of it gets removed with the whey.

Win!

If you really want to make labneh from scratch you can start by making your own yoghurt which is easier and way more fun than you’d think.

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Labneh (Yoghurt Cheese)

Total Time 2

Ingredients

500 g Greek yoghurt or homemade yoghurt

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Line a fine sieve / strainer with cheesecloth, a clean tea towel or a few layers of kitchen paper towel. See photo below to see my setup.
Scoop yoghurt on top of your liner and place the sieve on top of a bowl or jug to catch the liquid as is drains out.
Refrigerate until the yoghurt is a thick and creamy as you want. Anywhere from 2 hours to about 24 hours.
Eat immediately or transfer your beautiful labneh to a clean glass container or jar. Store in the fridge. Discard the liquid whey at the bottom or keep it to use in smoothies. I don’t drink the whey because it has a high lactose content, but I have put it on my plants without any ill effects.

Notes

Makes about 200g (7oz)

Takes: 2-24 hours

Net Carbs: Approx 5g / 100g

Variations & Substitutions

keto / ultra low carb – drain for the full 24 hours to remove as much of the lactose as possible.

dairy-free – I haven’t tried it, but it should be possible to make labneh with coconut or other dairy-free yoghurt.

marinated labneh – drain for the full 24 hours. Roll the cheese into bite sized balls and pack into a clean jar(s). Cover with extra virgin olive oil. Will keep in the fridge for about a month or longer if you sterilize the jar first.

flavoued marinated labneh – add herbs and/or spices to the marinating jar. Options include thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, garlic (peeled), black pappercorns, fresh or dried chilli peppers, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, carraway seeds.

salted – some people add salt to the yoghurt before straining. I don’t because I prefer the sweeter flavour of plain labneh. Salt will help the labneh last longer. Try 2 pinches stirred in at the beginning.