A simple and delicious homemade labneh recipe for you in this article.
There is a certain satisfaction in getting your own creamy, homemade and versatile labneh cheese, a great spread or dip as part of your Turkish breakfast or as part of your meze table.
It’s also a great ingredient for cheesecake. But let’s not go off on a tangent!
In Türkiye it is known as labne. But in Middle Eastern cuisine, perhaps for many it is more famous, labneh.
And homemade labneh cheese is AS easy.
Homemade Labneh Cheese
If, like us, you’ve been buying plastic containers of labneh at the grocery store for years, now is the time to change that.
And if this is the first time you’re thinking about making delicious labneh, we’re talking about very simple ingredients, a little patience and minimal equipment!
Seriously, you can’t go wrong!
The hardest part of making this creamy yogurt cheese is waiting…
A couple of minutes of effort and then the wait lasts a night.
But next, whether you’re making spreadable labneh balls or just a tub of this soft cheese to keep in the fridge, you’ll have a delicious tangy yogurt cheese that’ll make you wonder why you’ve never made it. Before.
Well, that’s what we thought, anyway!
We love making labneh balls because they look great when stored in a jar, dipped in good olive oil – also infused with chili flakes, of course.
And you can dress them up too, as you’ll see below…
Quality whole yogurt
Essentially, this is the main part of the process for making your own labneh.
You just need one natural, thick and good quality yoghurt.
It can be goat’s milk or cow’s milk yogurt.
Our homemade labneh is made with cow’s milk yogurt precisely because that’s what we always have in the fridge at home.
The thicker and creamier your plain yogurt, the better. Whole yogurt; not low fat.
We use süzme Turkish yogurt (strained natural yogurt) but if you can’t find it where you are, good quality whole milk Greek yogurt it’s very similar.
We mix half a teaspoon of salt into the yogurt and then pour it into a fine mesh strainer placed over a large bowl.
And then, you simply put it in the refrigerator and let the filtering process begin; the liquid whey will drip through the strainer into the bowl overnight.
At this point, we should point out that many people pour yogurt into layers of cheesecloth or muslin before placing it in a colander or colander for the straining process.
As you can see in our photos, we use a flat mesh strainer and it works perfectly for us for the type of yogurt we use.
Yogurt becomes Labneh cheese
Since we use a pre-strained, thick and creamy yogurt – süzme yogurt – the straining process for our labneh recipe only takes a maximum of 24 hours.
If after 24 hours the yogurt still loses liquid whey, you need to be patient and wait for the process to complete.
And that’s your completed labneh recipe, if you’d like.
We’ve included the photo above to show you the difference now that the liquid has drained.
Now you have a labneh with the consistency of cream cheese and a delicious light flavor.
If you just want plain labneh to use as a spread, place it in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator.
It should last about two weeks.
But – Labneh Balls
While our basic labneh recipe may be complete, we’re not done yet…
It’s really easy to make your homemade labneh even more impressive.
And this makes a great addition to the party table: a Turkish and Middle Eastern twist to your Christmas party food offerings, for example.
We like to roll labneh cheese balls which can be stored submerged in olive oil in a jar.
Tip: Before you start rolling the labneh balls, rub a drop of olive oil into your palms to prevent the cheese from sticking to your hands as you roll.
We use a teaspoon to scoop out each bit of labneh and this gives us balls with a cross section of about an inch in diameter.
Different Labneh coatings
Of course, if you prefer, you can leave your homemade labneh balls as is.
But you can also have fun experimenting with these balls, adding your favorite ingredients.
On our spice shelf we have a mixed jar of sesame seeds and nigella seeds (two common ingredients in Turkish recipes) that we use as a seasoning for dishes like tepsi böreği.
Your labneh balls taste delicious rolled in these seeds. A delight for the taste buds.
Other ideas for coatings for your labneh balls are:
- Lemon zest
- Zaatar
- Sumac
- Chilli Flakes (Hot Chilli Flakes)
- Dried herbs: Mint is great
Experiment!
Jar them up
And when you’re done, you can shake the labneh balls.
Carefully place the labneh balls in a jar and add a generous amount of olive oil until completely submerged.
Put the lid on and now you have a choice. You can:
- Store in a cool, dark place and the olive oil will preserve the cheese for about two weeks.
- Store in the refrigerator (again, this should last two weeks).
The second option is the one that suits us precisely because of the temperatures in our house.
If this is the route for you, don’t worry if the oil solidifies or becomes cloudy in the refrigerator.
The oil will return to its normal state when it reaches room temperature when you serve your labneh.
It’s time to eat your Labneh
And with so little effort, your labneh recipe will give you so many delicious treats because you can serve it however you like, whenever you want.
For this portion we used a thick slice of toasted Turkish bread; a ball of labneh spread on top, tossed with a little chilli oil, a sprinkling of fresh herbs (basil in this case) and a little sun-dried tomato.
Paradise!
Use this type of crusty bread, fresh simit or pita bread (make your own quick and easy Turkish bread) and serve your labneh as part of a meze platter with other dips such as hummus, aubergine salad and spicy ezme.
Homemade Labneh Recipe
Let’s do labneh!
Homemade Labneh Recipe
Labneh is a versatile and creamy yoghurt cheese that is perfect for spreading or dipping for your meze table, breakfast table or for a quick and healthy snack. Store as a spread or make labneh balls for individual servings.
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- 400 grams thick natural yogurt (full of fat)
- ½ teaspoon salt
For Labneh balls
- olive oil (enough to dip the labneh balls)
- 2 teaspoons chilli flakes (to infuse into the oil)
- 2 spoons mixed sesame and nigella seeds (to coat the labneh balls)
For the Labneh
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Mix the yogurt and salt thoroughly.
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Place it on the colander and suspend the colander over the bowl.
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Now place it in the refrigerator for 24 hours or until all the liquid has stopped dripping into the bowl below.
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Pour the labneh cheese into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
For Labneh balloons
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Rub a drop of olive oil into your palms to prevent the labneh from sticking.
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Take a heaping teaspoon of labneh at a time and form into balls.
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If using, roll each labne ball in sesame and nigella seeds.
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Carefully place each ball into the jar.
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Now (if using) sprinkle the red pepper flakes into the jar.
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Pour olive oil into the jar until your labneh balls are submerged.
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Place the lid on the jar and store in a cool, dark place or refrigerator for about 2 weeks.
- The key to this labneh recipe is high-quality, full-fat natural yogurt. We use locally produced natural süzme yogurt (strained yogurt), but good quality Greek yogurt is also fine.
- Even though our yogurt is thick and creamy, it still releases liquid whey overnight.
- The amount of liquid released by your yogurt will depend on the brand.
- We reserve our fine mesh strainer for preparing the labneh. If you don’t want to put the yogurt directly on the strainer, you can wrap it in cheesecloth, muslin or line the strainer with paper towels.
- For us, 400 grams of yogurt yields 12 scoops of labneh.
- If your yogurt contains a lot of liquid, you will get less labneh once it is strained.
- If you want to make labneh balls, you can store them in olive oil as is or experiment by rolling them with different herbs and spices.
- We haven’t provided any nutritional information for our homemade labneh recipe because it depends on the yogurt you use and whether or not you’re making labneh balls.
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