Dairy & Eggs
Ricotta Cheese: Storage & Shelf Life
Fridge
1-2 weeks unopened, about 5 days after opening
Freezer
2 months
Signs it's gone bad
- sour smell
- mold
- excess liquid discoloration
Storage times and safe temperatures are general guidance from USDA FoodKeeper, USDA FSIS, and FDA sources — they are not a guarantee of safety. When in doubt, throw it out. This is not a substitute for professional food-safety advice.
Source: USDA FoodKeeper data and USDA FSIS food-safety fact sheets, checked 2026-07-12.
Ricotta cheese's shelf life is notably shorter than most cheeses on this site — 1-2 weeks unopened, about 5 days after opening — reflecting its high moisture content and the fact that it's never aged, two properties that put it in a spoilage category closer to a fresh dairy product like cottage cheese than to an aged cheese like Parmesan.
The spoilage signs to watch for are a sour smell, mold, and excess liquid discoloration — ricotta's naturally loose, slightly wet curds mean some liquid is expected in the container, so it's specifically discolored or off-smelling liquid, not liquid presence alone, that signals genuine spoilage.
Freezing ricotta (about 2 months) comes with a real, notable texture trade-off — this site's guidance recommends it specifically for dishes like lasagna, where ricotta gets baked into a larger dish and its post-thaw wateriness and graininess are far less noticeable than they would be if it were served on its own, cold, as a fresh topping.
Ricotta's open, curd-like structure holds more surface area exposed to air than a dense cheese like cheddar, which is part of why it needs a tighter seal both to slow spoilage and to keep it from tasting like whatever else is in the fridge.
A sour smell or noticeable liquid separation with an off color are the signs ricotta has turned — some liquid pooling on top of a freshly opened container is normal and can be drained or stirred in.
Because of its short fridge life once opened, buying only the amount a specific recipe calls for helps avoid throwing out a partially used container.
Can you freeze Ricotta Cheese?
Quick yes/no answer →
How long does Ricotta Cheese last?
Quick shelf-life answer →
Frequently asked questions
Why does ricotta spoil so much faster than a hard cheese like Parmesan?
It's never aged and has a high moisture content, both of which create ideal conditions for bacterial growth — aging and low moisture are exactly what give a hard cheese like Parmesan its much longer shelf life, and ricotta has neither of those protective factors.
Is liquid in the ricotta container normal?
Some liquid is expected, given ricotta's naturally loose, slightly wet curd structure — it's specifically discolored or off-smelling liquid, combined with mold or a sour smell, that signals real spoilage rather than routine liquid presence.
Can thawed ricotta be used in a cold dish, like a fresh ricotta toast?
Not ideally — this site's guidance specifically recommends thawed ricotta for baked dishes like lasagna, where its post-thaw wateriness and grainy texture blend into the finished dish far less noticeably than they would in a cold, unbaked application.
Does part-skim ricotta spoil at a different rate than whole-milk ricotta?
Not meaningfully — the fat content difference between the two doesn't significantly change ricotta's underlying spoilage timeline, which is driven primarily by its high moisture content and lack of aging regardless of fat level.
Why does ricotta's short shelf life matter for meal planning?
Given its roughly 5-day opened window, ricotta is one of the cheeses on this site worth buying closer to when you actually plan to use it, rather than stocking up in advance the way you reasonably could with a longer-lasting cheese like Parmesan.