If you are looking for a farmers cheese substitute, then you’re lucky because we have quite the list below. Farmers cheese is easy to make, but not everyone has the time and the patience to whip up homemade farmer’s cheese from their kitchens.
The great thing, though, is that many other kinds of cheese will work to replace farmer’s cheese. Some of them are readily available in your local grocery store, while some might already be already sitting in your fridge.
Farmers cheese, sometimes also called farmer cheese, is a soft and fresh cheese with curds that may remind you of ricotta cheese.
It is commonly made from the milk of cows or goats, but sometimes, sheep’s milk is also used in its production. The process of making it gets rid of most of the milk’s lactose content, so farmer’s cheese is almost entirely lactose-free, which makes it an excellent choice for anyone sensitive to lactose.
This lightly salted cheese has a slight tang and a mild flavor, so it goes well with just about anything, may it be savory or sweet recipes. It has a crumbly texture, but it surprisingly spreads well.
Farmer’s cheese is a versatile ingredient, thanks to its mild taste that blends well with the other flavors in your dish. For this reason, it is also commonly called for in soups and casseroles.
This spreadable cheese is also perfect for sandwiches and crackers. You can also use it to make dips, sauces, and even desserts like cheesecake and stuffed crepes.
Thanks to its crumbly texture, farmer’s cheese can also be used as a topping for salads and pasta dishes.
It can be upsetting when you want to make something that calls for farmer’s cheese when you are unable to find it. Thankfully, other types of cheeses can replace it as a fitting substitute, depending on what you’re making.
Here are 10 of the best farmers cheese substitutes:
Paneer is made by curdling milk with acid, like vinegar or lemon juice. It’s a soft and moist cheese that lacks a distinctive taste. It will blend right in without altering the taste of your dish too much, making it one of the best farmer’s cheese substitutes out there.
Remember, though, that paneer is unsalted while farmer’s cheese is often salted. For this reason, you should add just a bit more salt to your dish when using paneer instead of farmer’s cheese.
Queso Blanco is a Mexican cheese known for its white color, similar to farmer’s cheese.
It shares the same cheese-making process with paneer, so they almost have the same flavor and texture. For this reason, Queso Blanco can also be used as a farmer’s cheese substitute.
However, Queso Blanco is significantly saltier than farmer’s cheese, so you might want to put less salt than what is called for in your dish if you use it.
Ricotta is made from the leftover whey strained from curds used to make other cheeses. It has a creamier, more spreadable texture than farmer’s cheese, but it also has a mild flavor that won’t overpower other ingredients in a dish, making it a good farmer’s cheese substitute.
One thing to note about ricotta is its high lactose content, so if you are looking for a low-lactose substitute, you may want to skip this.
Goat cheese, as the name implies, is cheese made from goat’s milk. For this reason, it has an earthy, almost gamey flavor that is noticeably different from farmer’s cheese.
It is also healthier than farmer’s cheese because goat milk naturally contains less sodium and lactose than cow’s milk.
That said, goat cheese will not work well for you if you are after the mild taste of farmer’s cheese. However, this might be the best substitute if you are after a healthier alternative and wouldn’t mind a change in flavor.
Neufchatel is a grainy, low-fat cheese that hails from Normandy. If you don’t mind the slightly tangier taste, it can still be a farmer’s cheese substitute in most recipes.
Keep in mind that Neufchatel is not as salty as farmer’s cheese, so it is best if you tweak your dish a bit and add more salt than what is asked for in the recipe if you are going to use it.
Like farmer cheese, quark is an unaged cheese with a mild flavor, so you can substitute them for each other if you are only after the taste.
However, it has a consistency comparable to that of sour cream and cream cheese, so if you need a crumbly substitute, quark will not be the best option for you.
Havarti is a semi-hard, pale yellow cheese that might look very different from farmer’s cheese, but it can be a perfect substitute because its flavor is just as mild.
One point to consider, though, is that it might change the overall texture of your dish, and its pale yellow color might also affect how your dish will look.
Creamed cottage cheese is just regular cottage cheese with added cream, making it less crumbly and more spreadable. It works as a substitute for farmer’s cheese, especially when you need a creamy rather than a crumbly replacement.
Just the same, if you need something that holds its shape, you are better off with other substitutes on this list.
Dry cottage cheese is the closest substitute to farmer’s cheese because they look and taste the same. For this reason, they are often labeled interchangeably.
The texture is slightly different because dry cottage cheese has less moisture than farmer’s cheese. The challenge is that dry cottage cheese is not easy to find, and most people resort to making it at home instead.
Because of this, if you are looking for something more accessible, choose another substitute on our list.
Feta cheese is aged, so it is a lot more salty and tasty than farmer’s cheese. However, it mimics the texture of farmer’s cheese perfectly, so feta is a perfect replacement if you need something to add texture to your dish.
Be mindful that feta is a brined curd cheese, so use it in moderation or you will end up with an overly salty dish.
Choosing the best substitute for an ingredient can be tricky, especially with so many choices available.
To help you decide, here is a quick guide:
Farmer’s cheese is soft and crumbly at the same time. However, some substitutes do not share the same texture, so that is one point to consider. For instance, if you want to crumble some cheese on top of your pasta, you should go with crumbly cheeses and avoid the creamy ones like creamed cottage cheese and quark. On the other hand, if you want a substitute for farmer’s cheese to make cheesecake, go with the creamy ones.
When choosing the best farmer’s cheese substitutes, it is also good to consider how salty the alternative is so you can adjust the amount of salt in your dish accordingly. For example, if you use a paneer, you must add more salt. Conversely, if you use Queso Blanco, reduce the amount of salt so you’ll not end up with an overly salty dish.
Many people opt for farmer’s cheese because it is almost lactose-free, and even people with lactose intolerance can enjoy it. That said, you should be mindful of the substitutes you are eyeing for, especially ricotta, which has a high lactose content.
Farmer’s cheese goes by different names, including pot cheese, farmer cheese, farm cheese, and curd cheese.
Farmer’s cheese is a fresh curd cheese. It is considered a curd cheese because it is made from the curd of the milk, rather than the whey. In addition, it is called fresh because it is not aged and it does not have any preservatives. Because of this, farmer’s cheese should be consumed immediately after it is made.
The main difference between farmer’s cheese and ricotta is that farmer’s cheese is made from the curd, while ricotta is created from the whey of the curdled milk. With that, farmer’s cheese has very low lactose while ricotta is high-lactose because lactose comes from whey.
Farmer’s cheese is a delicious ingredient you can use in various ways, but it is not always available in grocery stores, especially the small ones.
Thankfully, other types of cheese can easily replace it. Some farmer’s cheese substitutes even have the same color, texture, and taste, so you won’t have to sacrifice the overall flavor of your dish.
Just watch out for the saltiness and the lactose content of your chosen alternative because they can make or break your dish and compromise the health of people with sensitivity to lactose.
