How To Make Panela Cheese At Home

Homemade cheese is utterly delicious and fun to make. Fresh cheese, like Mexican Panela, is a great place to start. With just a few simple ingredients you can make a batch of this creamy, tangy, soft cheese to snack on, grill, make tacos with or fill enchiladas.

Recipe first posted on October 6, 2021. Last updated July 8, 2022.

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Several years ago—okay 20 years ago— I had the opportunity to visit Paula Lambert and tour her Mozzarella Company headquarters in Dallas.

I’ve always loved to see how things are made. The inner-workings from raw materials to finished product. Mr. Rogers factory tours were always my favorite part of the show.

Anyway, watching all the milk turn to cheese at the Mozzarella Company was an experience I’ll never forget and spawned my love for cheesemaking. Since that first visit, I have made it a habit of seeking out cheesemakers and seeing how they make their cheeses and I always walk away learning something new.

It also gave me the confidence to try it at home. After all, you only need milk, acid, and heat to make cheese. Let’s get to work!

what is Panela cheese?

First of all, I want to clear up any confusion. There is also a type of raw sugar called Panela and that is a totally different thing than what we are talking about here. That Panela is cane sugar.

The Panela we are talking about is queso panela, a Mexican cheese that is a farmer cheese, or fresh cheese. In Mexico there are several types of fresh cheeses. You may be familiar with queso fresco or queso blanco. These are both very similar to Panela.

The difference with Panela is that it is typically made with low-fat or non-fat milk which gives it a firmer texture and cleaner, milky flavor. It is high in calcium and low in fat, making it an excellent source of protein.

Panela cheese won’t melt when you heat it which makes it excellent for grilling, like Halloumi. I also like to sauté it with salsa and use that as a filling for tacos or enchiladas.

equipment

Before we jump into the technique, let’s go over the equipment you’ll need to make your cheese.

• Unscented bleach. This is for making a sanitizing solution. Very important not to introduce any rogue bacteria into the cheese.
• 2 large stainless steel stock pots with lids. One will be used for the sanitizing solution, the other large pot will be used to heat the milk.
• Stainless steel ladle. All the utensils used to make the cheese should be stainless steel or glass so they can be properly sanitized.
• Stainless steel whisk 
• Stainless steel slotted spoon
• Instant read thermometer
• Colander
• Several layers of cheesecloth. You could also use muslin or even an old bedsheet.
• Ring-shaped molds, palm leaf cheese mold, palm leaf basket (like what is used to hold tortillas), sour cream containers with the bottoms cut off, or any other plastic ½-pint containers for molding the cheese.
• Large glass or metal bowl

Ingredients

The lovely thing about cheese is it only requires a few ingredients. That being said, what you choose to use can make a big difference in the finished product. Let’s take a closer look:

• Milk. To make traditional Panela, use a low-fat or skim milk. This will give it the firm, chewy texture you will get from a store bought Panela cheese. This recipe will work with raw milk, organic milk, or pasteurized milk. You can even try it with goat milk, but that’s not traditional. The only milk that won’t work is ultrapasturized.
• Nonfat Greek Yogurt. We add the yogurt to create cultures or good bacteria that was killed during pasteurization.
• Some kind of acid. I have had the most success with white distilled vinegar. It has the mildest flavor and let’s the soft milk flavor shine through. You can also try this recipe with lemon juice.
• Kosher salt. The salt is here for flavor. You can also add other flavorings with the salt like black pepper, fresh herbs, dried herbs, or spices.

how to make Panela cheese

The first step is to prepare a sanitizing solution of very diluted bleach water that you will use to sanitize all the utensils and equipment to avoid bacterial cross-contamination.

Then create the cultures or good bacteria which adds flavor by combining the milk and yogurt and letting it sit at room temperature for 4 hours. 

Next warm the mixture to 185°F, stirring gently along the bottom of the pot so the milk doesn’t scald.

Now add the vinegar and stir until the cheese curds start to form. Now you have curds and whey, aka cottage cheese. Stirring the curds will help them come together quicker.

Pour the curds into the colander, letting the whey drip through. Some recipes call for cutting the curd with a knife, but I don’t think that’s necessary.  

Transfer the cheese to a large bowl, sprinkle with salt and mix well with your hands. You could also add other flavorings at this point.

Press the curds into the mold and pack tightly. Cover with plastic wrap and top with a heavy plate or a plate and a weight of some sort like a food can to weigh down the cheese and compact it tightly. Refrigerate at least several hours, best overnight. 

Remove cheese from the mold, slice and enjoy!

How to use your homemade Panela

• Panela is wonderful on a Mexican-Inspired cheese board.
• Cover the bottom of a baking dish with your favorite salsa and lay the Panela cheese on top. Cook under the broiler until the cheese is golden and bubbly then serve with chips as an appetizer or spoon into warm tortillas for tacos.
• Crumble over salads.
• Use as a filling for enchiladas.
• Top your plate of chilaquiles with slices of Panela.

More cheesy Mexican recipes to try!

• Authentic Chile Relleno Recipe
• Deep Dish Black Bean Enchilada Casserole
• Calabacitas {Cheesy Mexican Zucchini}
• Mexican Potato Soup with Melty Cheese
• Instant Pot Pork Chili Verde with Cheese
• Sweet Potato Nachos with Smoked Cheddar Cheese
• Pickled Jalapeños Stuffed with Goat Cheese

How Will You Use Panela In Your Next Meal?

Make a batch and use it in your favorite dishes, there’s nothing like homemade cheese. Let me know when you make them by snapping a pic and tagging me on Instagram @holajalapeno and #holajalapeno so I can see or leave me a comment below (don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating)! Also, sign up for my weekly newsletter, lots of good stuff there too!

Resources

If you loved this post, check out these resources I drew inspiration from to help me write it and develop this Panela cheese recipe:

• The Cheese Lover’s Cookbook and Guide by Paula Lambert
• The New England Cheesemaking Supply Company
• How To Make Fresh Mexican Cheese by Mexico In My Kitchen
• Sign up for our Cheesemaking Workshop on October 17th!

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