You bought a full tub of ricotta for lasagna, used half of it, and now the rest is sitting in the fridge with the lid pressed back on. It has been almost a week. The date on the container has passed. You peel back the lid and it looks fine, smells fine. Does ricotta go bad, or are you overthinking it?
Does ricotta go bad?
The short answer: Yes, ricotta cheese goes bad, and faster than most people expect. Opened ricotta lasts 1 week in the refrigerator per the USDA FoodKeeper. Unopened ricotta lasts up to 2 weeks in the fridge. Its high moisture content makes it one of the most perishable cheeses you can buy, and unlike hard cheeses, you cannot safely cut away a moldy section and use the rest.
For more on storing dairy and perishable foods, see the Food Storage Guide.
Key Takeaways
Opened ricotta: 1 week refrigerated (USDA FoodKeeper)
Unopened ricotta: up to 2 weeks in the fridge
Ricotta has almost no natural smell. Any sour or off odor means discard.
Mold anywhere in the container means discard the entire tub, not just the affected spot
Freezing extends life to 2 to 3 months but changes texture significantly
Frozen and thawed ricotta works in baked dishes; not suitable for fresh applications
How Long Does Ricotta Last?
Ricotta is a fresh cheese made by heating whey (or whole milk in American-style versions) with an acid until curds form, then straining off the liquid. That high moisture content is what makes ricotta so creamy and light, and it is also what makes it so perishable. Moisture creates an ideal environment for bacterial growth, which is why ricotta has a much shorter shelf life than aged cheeses like cheddar or parmesan.
The USDA FoodKeeper groups ricotta with cottage cheese and gives both a refrigerated shelf life of 1 week opened and up to 2 weeks unopened. This is consistent with guidance from StillTasty, Tasting Table, Food Republic, and Chowhound, all of which cite 1 week as the opened window. Some sources cite as little as 3 to 5 days. Use 1 week as the outer limit and track from the day you opened the container, not the date on the label.
Type
Refrigerator (Unopened)
Refrigerator (Opened)
Freezer
Ricotta (store-bought)
Up to 2 weeks
1 week (USDA FoodKeeper)
2 to 3 months (texture changes significantly)
Homemade ricotta
N/A (use immediately)
3 to 5 days
2 months (texture changes)
Ricotta salata (aged, salted)
Several months unopened
3 to 4 weeks tightly wrapped
Not recommended
How to Tell If Ricotta Has Gone Bad
Ricotta is one of the easier dairy products to evaluate for spoilage, because fresh ricotta has almost no smell. Unlike buttermilk or sour cream, which have a natural tang that can mask early spoilage, fresh ricotta smells almost neutral, with only the faintest hint of fresh milk. That makes any off odor an immediate red flag.
Signs of Spoilage
Any sour, fermented, or musty smell: Standard commercial ricotta has almost no aroma. Any sour, fermented, or musty smell is not normal and means the cheese sho
