Nut Milk Bag, Towel or Strainer? The Cheesecloth Alternative to Use

Cheesecloth is one of those things you buy for one recipe and then cannot find when the next one calls for it. It is also not very good at its job: the loose gauze sold in grocery stores usually has to be folded into several layers, it snags, and most people throw it away after one use.

The good news is that nearly every job cheesecloth does can be done as well, and often better, by something else. This guide covers the cheesecloth alternative that fits each job, from a nut milk bag you can wring hard to a fine-mesh strainer for stock and a stand that drips jelly clear, and says where each one falls short.

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Why people give up on cheesecloth

Cheesecloth has three jobs in a home kitchen: straining liquids from solids, draining dairy such as yogurt and fresh cheese, and holding things together while they cook, such as a bundle of herbs in a pot of beans. The complaints tend to be the same:

• It is too loose. Grocery-store cheesecloth is open gauze. Recipes and canning guides tell you to use at least a double layer.
• It does not survive squeezing. Wring a bundle of nut pulp hard and the threads part or the corners slip.
• It is disposable. Washing loose gauze is fiddly, so most people use it once.
• It is never there when you need it. A towel, a strainer or a box of coffee filters usually is.

Which alternative is right depends on the job, so the picks below are sorted by what you are straining.

Quick verdict: the best cheesecloth alternative

Five straining swaps side by side

Our five standout picks, one per kind of job, with what each maker or listing states. All six alternatives are reviewed in full below.

Match the swap to the job

Before you buy anything, it helps to know what you already own will do. Here is how the common household swaps compare, using the sources we name.

Straining and squeezing: nut milk, juice, cold brew

This is where cheesecloth is weakest and a nut milk bag is strongest. A bag made for the job has sewn seams and a drawstring, so you can twist and squeeze until the pulp is nearly dry. A flour sack towel also works, but it absorbs some of the liquid and drains more slowly.

Draining yogurt and fresh cheese

University of Illinois Extension’s guide to making yogurt at home drains yogurt through a double layer of cheesecloth set over a bowl, covered and refrigerated: 2 to 4 hours for Greek-style yogurt, 8 to 24 hours for yogurt cheese. Any of a clean flour sack towel, a nut milk bag, a coffee filter in a strainer or a purpose-made mesh yogurt strainer can stand in for the cheesecloth; the timing and the refrigerator stay the same. A tighter cloth or paper will simply take longer to reach the same thickness, so check it early and stir the whey back in if it goes too far.

Clear stock, broth and sauces

For hot liquids, start with a fine-mesh strainer. America’s Test Kitchen’s review of fine-mesh strainers (Miye Bromberg) lists straining sauces and purees “so they are silky-smooth” among their main jobs. If you want a stock that is clearer still, line the strainer with a damp flour sack towel or a coffee filter; the steel takes the weight and the cloth or paper catches the fine particles.

Jelly and clear fruit juice

Jelly has a rule cheesecloth users learn the hard way. The National Center for Home Food Preservation says to strain the cooked fruit “through a double layer of cheesecloth or a jelly bag” and warns that pressing or squeezing the bag or cloth will make the jelly cloudy. That makes a jelly bag on a stand the best substitute: it holds the fruit while gravity does the work.

Bundles, sachets and basting

For a spice bundle in a pot, a basting cloth over a turkey or a bag of herbs in a soup, you need something that can sit in hot liquid. A plain cotton flour sack towel, cut or folded and tied with butcher’s twine, is the practical swap. Tasting Table’s guide to cheesecloth substitutes cautions that some reusable mesh bags are plastic and may melt over high heat, so check a bag’s stated heat limit before you cook in it; none of the nylon bags we looked at states one.

What not to use

Tasting Table also warns against dyed fabric, because color can run into food, and calls paper towels a solid substitute for gravity draining but not as durable as cotton, with some liquid lost to the towel. Terry-cloth bath towels shed lint, and a colander’s holes are too big to catch fine solids on their own. Those are fallbacks, not tools.

Our picks for the best cheesecloth alternative

How to choose what to strain with

Think about the jobs you actually use cheesecloth for, then pick for those.

• Do you squeeze? Nut milk, juice and wet curds need a bag with sewn seams. Nylon drains fastest; cotton holds more liquid.
• Is it hot? Stock and sauces go through steel, lined with cotton if you want them clearer. Avoid cooking in a bag that states no heat limit.
• Does it need to drip on its own? Jelly and yogurt cheese take hours. A stand or a strainer that sits in a container saves you tying a cloth to a cabinet handle.
• How fine? Paper is finest and slowest, then tight cotton, then fine nylon, then steel mesh.
• Will you wash it? A cloth that touches food should be white, undyed and kept for kitchen straining only. Cotton and nylon both rinse best right after use, before pulp dries on.

How we chose these six alternatives

We started from the jobs cheesecloth does in a home kitchen and the guidance that names it: University of Illinois Extension for draining yogurt and the National Center for Home Food Preservation for jelly. We then looked for one alternative per job from a maker we could identify, checked each listing for materials, size and care, and confirmed every pick was in stock with a new offer. Strainer uses come from America’s Test Kitchen’s fine-mesh strainer review, and the strengths and limits of household swaps from Tasting Table’s cheesecloth substitutes guide by Emilee Unterkoefler. Food-contact descriptions such as “food grade” and “BPA-free” are the makers’ own words; we did not verify them independently, and we did not handle these products ourselves.

We left out cheesecloth itself and butter muslin, since this page is about what to use instead, and we left out any pick already recommended on another of our guides. There is no single all-purpose winner: if you strain often, a nut milk bag plus a fine-mesh strainer covers most jobs between them.

Cheesecloth alternative questions, answered

What can I use instead of cheesecloth?

A nut milk bag, a clean white flour sack towel, a fine-mesh strainer, a paper coffee filter or a jelly bag, depending on the job. Squeezing calls for a bag, hot stock for a strainer, and small, very fine jobs for a coffee filter.

Can I use a paper towel instead of cheesecloth?

For a small amount of liquid that drains by gravity, yes, in a strainer. Tasting Table notes that paper towels are less durable than cotton and soak up some of the liquid, so do not squeeze them and do not use them for large batches.

Is a coffee filter a good cheesecloth substitute?

It strains more finely than cheesecloth but much more slowly, and it cannot be squeezed. It is a good choice for a cup of yogurt, clarified butter or infused oil, set inside a fine-mesh strainer. Our best coffee filters guide covers the options.

Can I strain yogurt without cheesecloth?

Yes. Line a strainer with a flour sack towel or coffee filter, or use a mesh yogurt strainer, set it over a bowl, cover it and refrigerate. University of Illinois Extension gives 2 to 4 hours for Greek-style yogurt. For machines that make the yogurt itself, see our best Greek yogurt maker guide.

Is a nut milk bag the same as cheesecloth?

They do the same straining job, but a nut milk bag is sewn into a bag and made to be squeezed, so it holds up better. Cheesecloth is a flat, loose gauze that you fold and tie yourself, which makes it more flexible for wrapping and less sturdy for wringing.

Our final word on straining without cheesecloth

You can retire the box of gauze. A couple of plain flour sack towels and a nut milk bag handle most of what cheesecloth was bought for, a fine-mesh strainer takes care of hot stock, and the specialist tools on this page earn their place only if you make jelly or Greek yogurt often. If you are straining to make plant milk, our guide to the best nut milk maker compares machines that do the straining for you. For stocks and sauces, see the best fine-mesh strainer and best chinois guides, and for towels to set aside for the job, the best dish towels guide.

And if you would rather leave the straining to someone else tonight, see the menu or call to order.