This homemade labneh (yogurt cheese) in herb oil is super easy to make and makes a great snack and appetiser. Swap about the herbs to suit yourself.
Labneh is the soft cheese of the Middle East. It can be served both as a sweet or savoury cheese, making it a very versatile addition to your larder (fridge).
I have made the sweet version in my Sweet Cream Cheese recipe and in this post I’ll share my favourite savoury Labneh in herb oil.
Let’s make cheese!
So many poeple think that cheese in any form is difficult to make and wouldn’t dream of tackling such a venture themselves, rest assured this is a super easy labneh recipe.
It will soon have you straining yogurt and making all sorts of cream cheeses yourself and forgetting those little boxes of ready made stuff that lurk in the supermarket fridges.
Like anything else, going the D.I.Y. route and making your own cream cheese cuts out the middle man and all his additives, you are completely in charge of what you put in there so you can make it as healthy or sinful as you like.
Ingredients for labneh
There are only 2 ingredients for making your own labneh (yogurt cheese) and that’s yogurt and a pinch of sea salt.
That’s all it takes!
How to make labneh
This is so easy. Really all you have to do is strain the liquid (whey) from the yogurt and you end up with labneh, aka yogurt cheese.
You do this by spooning the yogurt (I’ve used Greek yogurt) into a sieve lined with muslin/cheesecloth and securing it into a bag.
Then you want to put a weight on top and have the sieve over a bowl.
Pop it into the fridge for 4 hours or better still overnight.
The bowl will contain the whey (keep this for making scones and fermenting – it freezes really well) and now you have labneh or yogurt cheese.
Labneh in herb oil
Once you have made your basic labneh you can add some flavour to it.
I have rolled mine into little balls and preserved it in olive oil. The addition of herbs and spices flavours the yogurt cheese beautifully.
here I have used the herbs and spices and just popped them into the jar along with the labneh.
But on Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas TV show where I was a finalist in the Christmas Hampers section I rolled each ball of labneh in a mixture of dried herbs. Check out my adventure on Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas.
Then popped them into the oil
How to serve labneh in herb oil
You can serve this just as it is. Put some of the cheese and oil in small bowls and let your guests pick up the yogurt cheese on cocktail sticks.
Labneh is great spread on bruschetta or just plain old French bread, toast or crackers.
Use your labneh in herb oil to really jazz up a simple plate of pasta by stirring some through.
This is of course the perfect addition to any self-respecting cheeseboard or antipasti platter.
Labneh with it’s accompanying oil is great in a simple baked potato too.
And finally, use labneh in herb oil on pizza.
Pro tip
Don’t forget this oil. It is packed with flavour so use it on your salads and for roasting veggies etc too.
How long does labneh in herb oil keep
This labneh will keep for up to a month in the fridge.
Check out my video here on how to make basic labneh (yogurt cheese) then go wild adding your own flavours to this amazingly simple dish.
This is a great recipe to make just before Christmas and add to your Christmas hampers and baskets for gifts. In fact it is part of my e-book Gourmet Gifts For Christmas which is available from Amazon Kindle. You can see lots of information and photos on my Gourmet Gifts For Christmas page.
Looking for more gorgeous goodies preserved in oil? Then check out these recipes before you go;
Mediterranean veggies in olive oil
French style preserved garlic in oil
Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.
Labneh In Herb Oil
Ingredients
- 500 g Greek yogurt plain yogurt
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp mint fresh mint chopped
- 1 tbsp chives chopped
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 peppercorns
- 1 dried chilli
- Good quality extra virgin oilive oil
Instructions
- Mix the salt and garlic powder well into the Greek yogurt.
- Spoon the mixture into the middle of a large double layered piece of muslin or cheesecloth making sure there is enough fabric to draw together and knot securely on top of the mixture inside. Place it in a sieve and put something heavy on top to press out the liquid
- Place this in a sieve over a bowl and put something heavy on top to press out the liquid. Leave in fridge for 4 hours at least, better still overnight
- All the whey from the yogurt will drip out into the bowl and leave you with whey-less yogurt, which is also known as cream cheese (labneh). You can save the whey (freeze it) for making your own Kimchee and other fermented goodies and scones too.
- Untie the bundle and take teaspoonfulls of the cheese and roll in dampened hands into small balls.
- Mix together the chopped mint and dill and put them in a saucer.
- roll the labneh balls in the herbs and set aside.
- Take a sterilised wide mouthed jar and carefully pack in your labneh balls (this mixture sould give you about 15).
- Add the thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, peppercorns and dried chilli to the jar.
- Pour over enough good quality extra virgin olive oil to completely cover the contents (make sure everything is submerged).
- Pop on the lid and allow to age for 2 days in the fridge to let the flavours really develop.
- This will keep for up to a month in the fridge.
Is it chives or dill? The recipe calls for chives, but the directions say dill.
I love your site. I love to prepare totally new and unusual ( to me) recipes.
You can use either, I just use whatever I have to hand and both of these are just perfect.
K x
Hi Karen
Made your recipe, absolutely beautiful except the olive oil started to solidify after placing it in the fridge, can you tell me why????
Olive oil always solidifies in the fridge. Just take it out to room temperature and it liquifies again.
K x
Thanks Karon
Worried that the change of temperature will effect the taste of the Labneh i am storing it in vegetable oil, hopes this works !!!!
Cheers Rosie
should be fine.
K x
Is there any danger of the labneh or herbs being submerged in oil? Botulism, which grows in an anaerobic environment? Your recipe looks fabulous.
Use it within the time frame and you are perfectly okay
K x
So glad I looked at the comments as I was going to throw my labneh way. I will now enjoy it with the smoked salmon and beigel I bought.
Trying this recipe today. Thinking ahead and wondering if basil, garlic and pine nuts in the oil will the cheese would create a pesto flavor for pastas and spreads.
Hi Jennie
Yes you can do that, I already use those ingredients in my mozzarella in oil recipe here https://larderlove.com/pesto-mozzarella-marinated-in-olive-oil-with-pine-nuts-and-basil/
K
Could you make Makdous stuffed with this cheese instead of the traditional way?
Hi Shelly
I’m sorry I have no idea on this one. I usually stuff them with walnuts, red pepper etc.
K