Savoury recipes that use a lot of milk?

March 22, 2024 12:13 PM

I have 2L of very good milk that won't last more than a couple days... what are your favourite savoury recipes that use lots of milk? I'm hoping for something that will highlight the milk rather than covering it up. Thanks and have a milky Friday!
posted by wheatlets to Food & Drink (19 answers total)

How about making your own ricotta cheese? You can salt that, and then use the ricotta in lasagna or make a cheese spread out of it.

All you would need is milk, cream, lemon juice or vinegar, salt, and the ability to heat things to a specific temperature. This site has a good tutorial - you heat the milk and cream until it just starts to boil, turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice, and then wait about 10-15 minutes. Then you strain it. Done.

2 liters would be just shy of 9 cups; that recipe calls for 3 cups of milk and 1 of cream, but only yields a cup of ricotta. You have enough milk to make 3 cups of ricotta, which seems somewhat more manageable for eating through.

Or you could just make the one cup of ricotta if you get other ideas in here. Your call!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:23 PM on March 22 [12 favorites]

I love the ricotta idea most of all. But I'll second it with using the milk in a bechamel, then in a mushroom or a traditional lasagne . Now that I'm googling, this lemon ricotta bechamel shells recipe looks pretty good!
posted by Dashy at 12:28 PM on March 22 [5 favorites]

I would make vichyssoise (and I would serve the soup either hot or cold depending on the weather), using the good milk instead of cream. Yum.
posted by rainy day girl at 12:30 PM on March 22 [2 favorites]

Similar to ricotta, if you have an instant pot and a bit of yogurt you can make more yogurt pretty easily. You can do it without an instant pot too, it's just a bit more work.
posted by true at 12:30 PM on March 22 [2 favorites]

Similar to the other ideas, you can also make paneer.

Good milk would also be great for a chowder.
posted by inevitability at 12:49 PM on March 22 [1 favorite]

A Milky batter is perfect for buckwheat palettes, and you can make and freeze a big batch for later reheating and stuffing - I love mine with pesto, emmental, baby spinach and a poached egg but there are infinite possibilities.
posted by MarianHalcombe at 12:50 PM on March 22 [1 favorite]

Martha Stewart's mac and cheese recipe is great and it uses 5 1/2 cups of milk. The first time we made it we tried the breadcrumb topping described in the recipe but it's a lot of work and we didn't think the crumb topping was that great. Since then we've always just put panko crumbs on top - much easier and better.
posted by Redstart at 1:13 PM on March 22 [2 favorites]

Pudding, esp. a mild flavor like vanilla that won't overpower the milk, or custard. Quiche uses a fair bit of milk.
Milk freezes well, if you love it as milk, freeze some for morning coffees. The quality of milk in my coffee mattered quite a bit back when I used it.
posted by theora55 at 1:37 PM on March 22

You can make a savoury bread and butter pudding using cheese.
posted by quacks like a duck at 1:53 PM on March 22

Panna cotta. Top with a little fresh fruit like blueberries so it doesn't overpower the taste.
posted by briank at 2:33 PM on March 22

Pork braised in milk. Absolutely delicious. https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/maiale-al-latte-milk-braised-pork
posted by xaire at 3:17 PM on March 22

Slovak Easter cheese was/is a staple on our holiday table.
posted by kathrynm at 4:19 PM on March 22

Classic sausage gravy and homemade biscuits will use up a good bit.
posted by Teadog at 4:43 PM on March 22 [1 favorite]

Make a quiche. You can successfully use whole milk for your custard. Put in whatever savory bits - bacon, leeks, peppers, cheese, spinach, etc. float your boat.

You can make your life easier by purchasing a pre-made crust. No one will judge you!
posted by brookeb at 4:46 PM on March 22

seconding ricotta—i recently made some using the recipe linked above and it was unbelievable. so fresh and delicious.
posted by guybrush_threepwood at 4:57 PM on March 22

Homemade mac and cheese is built on Mornay Sauce which is roux thickened milk with cheese melted into it.
posted by mmascolino at 4:59 PM on March 22

Some moussaka recipes are topped with bechamel and they are delicious. Also, IMO moussaka freezes better than pasta dishes like lasagne or Mac and cheese, so you can make a big moussaka, and portion it up into whatever fits your situation and have delicious comfort food in the freezer.
posted by mumimor at 11:30 PM on March 22

You could make homemade paneer!
posted by little mouth at 5:41 AM on March 23 [2 favorites]

Homemade yogurt, maybe?
posted by bunderful at 11:32 AM on March 24