Labneh is a delicious, creamy yogurt cheese dip made from strained cow's yogurt. This homemade Lebanese labneh dip recipe is the traditional way to make labneh using milk and a starter yogurt culture.
I grew up on homemade labneh, baba ganoush, and tabbouleh; almost every Lebanese kid does. After so many years of eating labneh (and labneh sandwiches), I finally asked my father how to make our family's homemade labneh recipe. It's simple and doesn't need any fancy equipment. This is how my Tayta Lily used to make it.
For more authentic Lebanese recipes, check out the best Lebanese recipes.
Store-Bought Yogurt vs. Homemade Yogurt
If you are short on time and want to simplify things, make labneh using store-bought yogurt. So what's the difference?
For sour and tangy labneh, I recommend using this recipe. If you have less time and want "not sour" labneh, make labneh using store-bought yogurt.
What I Love About This Dip
You can buy labneh from the grocery store, but it doesn't taste the same as the homemade version. I love that this recipe uses a few ingredients (milk and yogurt). I know exactly what I put into my labneh and use higher quality ingredients, like organic milk and organic yogurt.
Labneh dip is a great appetizer for dinner parties. It can be dressed up as za'atar labneh or garlic labneh. My favorite way to eat creamy labneh dip is in a labneh pita sandwich.
Ingredient Notes
Labneh is made with two simple ingredients: milk and yogurt. The best-tasting labneh from scratch uses full-fat milk and full-fat yogurt.
The "starter yogurt" is just plain unsweetened yogurt you can buy from the grocery store. I have not tried using Greek yogurt as a starter yogurt, but if you do, please drop a comment at the bottom of the post and let us know how it went.
How to Make Labneh
Labneh is a two-step process: make yogurt and strain yogurt. Homemade yogurt is easy but takes a day (or more) to make.
Step 1: Make Homemade Yogurt
Put the milk in a large pot. Set the heat to high until the milk starts to boil. Immediately remove from heat. If there's a film on top of the milk as it cools, you can skim it off.
This is important! Keep watch of the milk to avoid the milk boiling over and making a mess. Boil the milk to kill competing bacteria so that the yogurt cultures can grow.
Let the milk cool down to a temperature at which you can stick your finger for 10 seconds. If the milk is too hot, come back until you can keep your finger in the milk for 10 full seconds. Back then, they didn't have fancy kitchen gadgets to read temperatures.
Mix the starter yogurt with two cups of warm milk (from the pot) in a separate bowl. Mix until smooth. Add the milk and starter yogurt back to the pot full of milk. The ratio is two cups of yogurt to a gallon of milk.
Cover the pot and wrap it with a towel. Let the yogurt sit at room temperature for a full 24 hours. If you want more sour labneh, let the yogurt sit at room temperature for up to 48 hours.
Step 2: Strain the Yogurt
The next day, check that plain yogurt has formed.
Place a thick paper towel (add two layers of the paper towel) in a strainer. Place the strainer on top of a bowl. Add the yogurt on top of the paper towel or cotton cloth fabric. Strain the yogurt for around 6 to 8 hours. The yogurt can be strained at room temperature or in the fridge.
Liquid whey will accumulate in the bowl below. It has a yellowish color, which is perfectly normal.
The labneh is ready once it sort of sticks together like soft goat cheese. Labneh has more moisture than cream cheese yet less moisture than sour cream.
Serve labneh with a pinch of salt, a drizzle of olive oil, and some pita chips.
What Is the Amount of Labneh?
My family makes a large quantity of labneh every two weeks (about 2 gallons of milk worth). After the yogurt is strained, it reduces by about half of its size. Here is a table that helps determine how much to make.
| Starter Yogurt | Milk | Labneh Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | half-gallon | 4 cups |
| 2 cups | 1 gallon | 8 cups |
| 4 cups | 2 gallons | 16 cups |
Tips and Tricks
- Use a thick paper towel or cotton cloth. If you have access to a thick paper towel, which is the most common paper towel in the US, you can use paper towels to strain the yogurt. If you have thin paper towels where you live, use a thin cotton fabric like a large cotton napkin greater than 20" (51 cm) in diameter or several layers of cheesecloth.
- Use full-fat milk and yogurt. Labneh will not taste the same with reduced-fat milk and yogurt! If you want to make labneh lower in fat, don't make the yogurt from scratch. Just buy a tub of fat-free yogurt and strain it at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours.
- Add the starter yogurt at the right temperature. This is the key to making homemade yogurt successfully. The milk cannot be too hot or too cold.
- Mix the starter yogurt with some milk first. For ultra-smooth and creamy labneh, mix the starter yogurt with equal parts warm milk before adding it back to the pot of milk.
- Boil the milk attended. Do not boil the milk unattended. It will boil over and burn.
Variations and Substitutions
In Lebanon, some homes use a cloth sack and hang the labneh cheese above the kitchen sink to drain. This removes the need for a bowl to collect the whey as the labneh strains.
- Add crushed fresh garlic cloves to make garlic labneh.
- Sprinkle some za'atar and olive oil on top to make za'atar labneh.
- Add some dried mint, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt.
- Serve labneh dip with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and fresh herbs like fresh mint or parsley.
- Labneh is perfect for cruditรฉ platters. Just serve with various fresh veggies, hot peppers, and toasted bread (or pita chips).
Storage
Store the labneh dip in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Labneh cannot be frozen.
FAQs
Labneh dip and Greek yogurt are similar in texture but differ in taste. Both are strained yogurts, however, Greek yogurt was traditionally made with goat's milk whereas labneh was traditionally made with cow's milk. Another difference is the process for straining the different yogurt. Labneh yogurt has a tangy flavor because it is made and strained at room temperature.
Labneh is made from cow's milk yogurt.
Labneh is strained yogurt. If making homemade yogurt from scratch, use full-fat milk and full-fat yogurt. Strain the yogurt at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours.
Labneh is similar to cream cheese. It's easier to spread and lighter in calories and fat. It doesn't contain any additives like store-bought cream cheese-like carrageenan.
Labneh can be purchased in Middle Eastern grocery stores or in some WholeFoods and Central Market supermarkets. If you can't find labneh, it's easy to make at home.
If making labneh from scratch using milk, the homemade yogurt will be sourer than store-bought yogurt. Some people add lemon juice to labneh made from store-bought yogurt, so the labneh is sour.
Labneh Recipes
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๐ Recipe
Homemade Labneh Dip From Milk
Ingredients
- ยฝ gallon whole milk
- 1 cup full-fat yogurt
Instructions
Make Homemade Yogurt
- Put the milk in a large pot. Set the heat to high until the milk just starts to boil. Immediately remove the milk from the heat. This is important!ย You have to watch the milk, otherwise, you will run the risk of the milk boiling over and making a mess. The reason why we boil the milk is to kill competing bacteria so that the yogurt cultures can grow.
- Let the milk cool down to a temperature that you can stick your finger in for 10 seconds. If the milk is too hot, then come back until you can keep your finger in the milk for 10 full seconds.
- Mix the starter yogurt with 2 cups of warm milk (from the pot) in a separate bowl. Mix until smooth. Add the milk and starter yogurt back to the pot full of milk.
- Cover the pot and wrap it with a towel. Let the yogurt sit at room temperature for a full 24 hours. For more sour yogurt, let the yogurt sit at room temperature for 48 hours. Don't exceed 48 hours.
Strain the Yogurt
- Place a thick paper towel (add 2 layers of the paper towel) in a strainer. Place the strainer on top of a large bowl. Add the yogurt on top of the paper towel or cotton cloth fabric. The bowl will capture the whey as it drains from the yogurt. The whey is a yellowish color which is perfectly normal.
- Strain the yogurt for around 6 to 8 hours. You can strain the yogurt at room temperature or in the fridge, whichever, you prefer.ย
Notes
- The ratio is 2 cups of yogurt to 1 gallon of milk when making the homemade yogurt.
- The yogurt reduces by half once it's strained. So expect to have about 4 cups of labneh for a half-gallon of milk.
Randa
Can you add salt? And at what point?
Lily
Great question Randa, I just realized I didnโt add those instructions! I normally salt at the very end once the labneh is made. For another great way to add something special, add some mashed fresh garlic too. I normally do about 3 fresh garlic cloves mashed into a paste with salt for every 5 to 6 cups of labneh. You can adjust based on preference too!
Michael
Any chance you would know approximately what temp you
allow the heated milk cool to before
you add the starter yougurt . The 10sec finger technique is fine but for beginners the trial and error hurtsโฆ..
Lily
Hi Michael, great question. A lot of people have different pain thresholds too. It's around 115F (46C) when you need to add the yogurt.
David B
Thanks for your reply re my earlier comment
Whatโs the problem leaving it longer than 48 hrs please - before straining off the whey?
Lily
Good question! The yogurt should form after 24 hours, and the extra 24 hours just helps the yogurt sour. Anything longer than 48 hours is unnecessary in forming the yogurt. You can continue straining at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours (or overnight) to form labneh.
Basem Khuri
Howdy lily,
Any ideas on how to make a good starter yogurt that would make labneh taste as it should?
Lily
Hi Basem! Great question. If you want to make homemade yogurt, hereโs a great yogurt recipe. The secret to sour tasting yogurt is to let it sit out at room temperature for about 48 hours. Hope that helps!
Hossein
Is there a use for whey ?
Lily
Good question, although Iโm not sure! I know some people refrigerate it and drink it.
Micha
My labneh has been failing lately, could it be because after I put the starter I am stirring it for at least a minute or could it be that itโs too Hot when I put the starter in. It ends up being watery and doesnโt thicken up... this has happened 3x in a row ๐
Lily
If you are making your yogurt from milk and a starter yogurt, make sure the milk has cooled to where you can stick your finger in it for 10 seconds before adding the starter yogurt. The second step is to leave the yogurt covered with a lid and towel wrapped around it for 24 hours so that the yogurt cultures can grow. I've just updated the recipe from 1 cup of starter yogurt to 2 cups of starter yogurt after talking to my dad. He said 2 cups of starter yogurt will produce the yogurt faster. Hope that helps!
David B
The recipe doesnโt state
2 quarts of whole milk (heated to finger in temperature ) and 2 or 2 cups of live natural yoghurt
It says 2 quarts of whole milk yoghurt
This is confusing
It should state this to make it clear
David B
The recipe doesnโt state
2 quarts of whole milk (heated to finger in temperature ) and 2 or 2 cups of live natural yoghurt
It says 2 quarts of whole milk yoghurt
This is confusing
It should state this to make it clear
Lily
Wow thanks for that catch! Going to update the recipe card- it got mixed up with the recipe card for store-bought yogurt
Lily
Hi David! I just updated the recipe card, so it should reflect the correct steps! Let us know how it turns out. Also, the ratio of yogurt to milk should be 2 cups of yogurt to 1 gallon of milk or 1 cup of yogurt to a half-gallon of milk. The homemade yogurt will reduce in size by about a half once it's strained to make labneh.
Lara
Whatโs the difference between this yogurt and Greek yogurt?
Lilian B.
Labneh is very similar to Greek yogurt, but it's slightly thicker. You could make it the same consistency as Greek yogurt by stopping the straining process once it reaches the consistency you like for Greek yogurt.