The cottage cheese page

“We didn’t get our forty acres and a mule, but we did get you, C.C.”
-–George Clinton

Cottage cheese nutrient analysis per 120 g serving (1% fat version):
Energy: 99 cal
Protein: 16 g
Fat: 1.2 g
Carbohydrate: 6.0 g

Many weightlifters badmouth cottage cheese, whining that it tastes bad and can’t be used in any recipes. I henceforth declare them crybabies. To overlook cottage cheese is to do without a great source of lean protein and a versatile food.

Thus, I have made it my mission to convert the heathen.

High in protein, low in fat, easily available even in the crummiest dive of a convenience store, and great as a substitute for higher-fat cheeses or in its own right, cottage cheese is truly the food of the gods. Try a few of these (and send me any that you might have) and see if you can’t bring CC into your life too.

A disclaimer: I’m a seat-of-the-pants cook and my quantities are often instinctive. The amounts I have given are just suggestions, since I rarely measure things when I cook. Since I’m assuming we lifters all have our own weird diets, most of these are for one person. Adjust amounts accordingly for more.

cottage cheese potato topper

1/2 cup cottage cheese
Fresh herbs, chopped (suggestion: oregano, basil, chives)
Salt to taste
Splash of lemon juice (optional)
Combine above ingredients in blender. Serve over hot baked potatoes.

bean and avocado salad

1 part chopped cooked green beans
1 part cooked kidney beans
1 part chopped avocado
1 part cottage cheese
Splash of lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Mix all ingredients together and serve cold.

tuna pasta

1/2 cup tuna and cottage cheese mix
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
Mix and heat for a few minutes over medium heat, stirring often, till flavours combine. Toss with pasta and top with grated Parmigiana. For a variation, try adding salsa.

cottage cheese pasta

1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 cup chopped tomatoes
Plenty of chopped fresh basil
1/2 clove chopped garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
Mix and heat for a few minutes over medium heat till flavours combine, cheese melts a bit, and garlic becomes fragrant. Toss with pasta and top with grated Parmigiana.

super easy breakfast

I have this for breakfast almost every morning. Mix 1 part cottage cheese with 1 part flavoured yogurt of your choice. Looks kind of gross but tastes great. Top with fruit if desired. This is a good starter dish for anyone who doesn’t really like cottage cheese.

protein blintz

2 eggs

1/3 cup dry curd cottage cheese

frozen blueberries, defrosted to room temperature (you can use whatever fruit you like here, but I use frozen blueberries since they keep well for long periods when fresh berries aren’t in season, and they’re not packed in syrup)

Beat eggs and pour into small nonstick frying pan heated over medium heat, as if for an omelet. When the edges begin to firm up, push them towards the centre so that the runny stuff in the middle puddles out and cooks. After doing this once or twice, spoon cottage cheese and blueberries on top. Allow the eggs to set fully. The bottom of the omelet should be golden brown (turn it up with a spatula to check). You can either roll up the omelet into a cylinder like a blintz, or simply slide it off the pan and fold it in half like an omelet. If this isn’t sweet enough, try beating a little bit of sugar or sweetener into the eggs beforehand. I don’t like it too sweet.

cottage cheese fruit dip

1 cup cottage cheese
2 tablespoons sugar (more or less depending on taste)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Combine above ingredients in blender. Serve with fruit. For the Ukrainians in the crowd, this is also nice drizzled over poppyseed cake. Or, you can simply mix cottage cheese with cut-up fruit for a nice fruit salad.

tuna and cottage cheese mix

1 part canned tuna
1 part cottage cheese
This mixture is incredibly versatile. Eat it on its own or use it in a sandwich.

tuna melts

Prepare tuna and cottage cheese mix. Spread over pieces of bread (nice multigrain buns cut in half work well for this). Top with sprinkling of grated cheddar cheese (old cheddar gives you the most flavour bang for your buck, and ensures you don’t need a lot). Microwave for a minute or so, or grill under broiler (watch it—these burn fast!), till cheese on top is melted.

lasagne

Use cottage cheese in place of ricotta in your favourite lasagne recipe to reduce the overall calories and saturated fat. Regular cottage cheese works better than lowfat cheese here.

tuna and cottage cheese salad

Prepare tuna and cottage cheese mix. Toss with vinaigrette, chopped tomatoes, mixed leafy greens, and whatever other fresh chopped veggies you feel like throwing in. You can even toss in some chopped cooked egg whites if you like. Tastes pretty good on its own or topped with grated Parmigiana (you guessed it, I put the stuff on everything!). As a variation, toss cottage cheese alone with some fresh chopped spinach and shredded red cabbage in a creamy dressing.
Vinaigrette:
(since vinaigrette recipes are as individual as chili recipes, this is merely a suggestion for those of you so culinarily impaired that the thought of prepping your own vinaigrette paralyzes you completely)
1/2 cup olive oil or 1/4 cup olive and 1/4 cup flax seed oil
1/4 cup red cooking wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 to 1 tsp Dijon mustard (depending on how zesty you like your vinaigrettes—I like them to burn my sinuses)
Pinch of salt and pepper
Pinch of dried basil, oregano, parsley, and/or garlic
Combine all ingredients in a sealed container and shake to blend. You can adjust proportions to taste and add natural yogurt (or even blenderized cottage cheese!) for a creamier texture.

cottage cheese pancakes

This one is really delicious, especially with the addition of the recommended ingredients.

2-3 beaten eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
Honey or a couple of teaspoons of sugar, to taste (a banana will make it naturally sweeter)
1 cup uncooked oatmeal

Optional, highly recommended ingredients:
banana
a sprinkle of cinnamon
a splash of vanilla

Grab your handy blender and dump the ingredients in, in the order they appear (otherwise the mixture will get all chunky). So, eggs in first, then start the blender. As it’s blending, pour in the cottage cheese, then the banana if you’re using it, then whatever sweeteners and spices you like, then the oatmeal. Once this is nicely blended, cook as you would pancakes, in a nonstick pan over medium-low heat. I love these plain or with fruit, but you can put syrup on them too, just like regular pancakes.

reader mail! reader mail!

cottage cheese nachos

fat free cottage cheese
lean or extra lean ground beef)
some tomaotes/green peppers or salsa
some tostito low fat baked sour cream and cheese tortilla chips
Combine all ingredients and you have some healthy nachos! They are awesome, high in protein, low in carb and fat…. try to get as much as possible from the cottage cheese (cottage cheese is the sour cream substitute) and as little as possible from the chips… also, try cottage cheese mixed with microwaved garbanzos and add 1 packet of Equal…..

cottage cheese and “tasteless tuna”

Also, try this discovery: if you boil tuna for 2 minutes in water, it loses about 80-90% of that nasty tuna taste! Just don’t eat it hot. Pour cool water over it and drain it so that it is cool and dry and it is almost tasteless! Mix it with cottage cheese and Equal and garbanzo beans and it is perfect!

—Jeff Ward

My favourite breakfast consists of cottage cheese and other stuff. It’s taken
from one of the Zone recipe books. Anyway here it is:

1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 cup of frozen blueberries (big plump ones, not pale little ones)
1/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg or more to your liking
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, again to your liking
4 teaspoons of slivered or sliced almonds

1) put the cottage cheese and yogurt in a bowl
2) blend the blueberries (can be misc frozen fruit if market doesn’t have
any) with the applesauce
3) put the blueberry mix into the above bowl
4) put the nutmeg and cinnamon in the bowl
5) mix it all up
6) dust top with almonds

Delicious!

—Lyndsey Ferguson

I’ve just got one Cottage cheese recipe. I love it and eat it every day. Just take Cottage chesse and add 3 tsp of
sugar and 2 tsp of cocoa for every cup. I think it’s better than chocolate
milk and doesn’t have much more sugar.

—Chris Gold

I love cottage cheese too, and have been enjoying a crazy recipe which I saw on your page for some time now (Chris Gold’s recipe, above). I can’t believe someone else likes this! I call it “chocolate cheese” and it grosses everybody out! She suggests sugar, but I think it tastes great with 2 packets of equal. You can also add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract if you wanna make it extra yummy. It tastes like chocolate cheesecake!!
Another thing I love, love, love is equal parts store bought salsa and cottage cheese as a dip for fat free tortilla chips. This is awesome! I call it “Salsa Con Cottage Queso” and I made it up while living in Texas, feeling sorry for myself while missing out on all that yummy tex-mex. I can eat it just plain with a spoon!!
I take thin sliced turkey (you know, lunch meat style) lay it out flat, put in some cottage cheese, and pickle, of course, roll it up, and eat. Quick, and lots of protein!

—Laurie Jones

I use cottage cheese as a really healthy filling for baked potatoes. Cook the potatoes as usual and then scoop out the flesh. Mix this approximately equal amount of with cottage cheese and season with salt and pepper. Fill the potatoes back up with the mixture and dollop a bit more cottage cheese on top! Healthy, yummy and filling.

—Caroline Middlebrook

My favorite is mixing 1/2 cup of cottage cheese with 1/2 cup of sugar free
jello. It’s yummy!

—Mary Wasielewski

I offer you a cottage cheese topping for a bagel, or perhaps a filling for a pita or celery stalks:
Drop a portion of cottage cheese in some cheese cloth & squeeze, squeeze, squeeze out the liquid. Put it in a bowl with some garlicky Mrs. Dash or your favorite dry herbs/seasonings, and mush it with a fork. This spreads easily over a toasted bagel and won’t make it soggy!

—Juliana Williamson-Page

I have never been a cottage cheese fan, however, a great invention that
I discovered is mixing a bowl of cottage cheese with fresh fruit and a
spoonful of cool whip light. This is a great late night snack that
always satisfies my sweet tooth attacks.
Try it out, I’m sure you will love it!!

—Sherrill Guinn

cheesecake

2 cups dry curd pressed cottage cheese (fat percentage optional)
3 eggs
1/2 cup yogurt (any percentage of fat)
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1-2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Combine ingredients and process until satin smooth.
Pour into loaf pan and bake 30 minutes or until edges are slightly browned.
Cool and refrigerate for several hours. Top with fresh or cooked drained berries or fruit of choice. Serves 8. 148 calories per serving. 12.65 g of protein, 20.5 g of carbs, 2.5 g of fat. From “Breaking the Vicious Cycle” by Elaine Gottschall.

—Carol Frilegh

Scramble some eggs and just before you are ready to take them out of the pan, add some diced tomatoes and some cottage cheese just long enough to
make them warm. The cheese should just start to melt a little but still
look like pieces of cottage cheese. (Sounds gross but tastes good.)

—Nancy Hill

So glad to see more uses for my stand-by protein. Like many others I have a recipe that I too stumbled on. It is kind of like a Waldorf salad without the mayo (but you could add it if you wanted to).

1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup ultra low-fat Cool Whip or equivalent frozen edible oil type topping
1/2 apple cut up
1 tablespoon of Heath bar or Skor bar…caramel bits
slivered almonds or walnuts (optional)

Mix it all together and eat. Leave it overnight and the caramel will blend and it will taste even better. I can’t believe that this is good for me. I feel like I cheat every time I eat it.

—Glenda

Hey Krista,
I thought I’d let you in on my favorite cottage cheese snack. Take a piece of good, chewy, whole wheat/multigrain bread and toast it to your prefered shade. Layer on some cottage cheese, and then top with some well-drained crushed pineapple. Sprinkle a little ginger over the whole thing, and you’ve got a very satisfying treat. It’s so incredibly good. I hope you like it as much as I like your site, which is lots and lots!

—Tara.

cottage cheese smoothie

Hello Krista,
I absolutely love your website!
I wanted to pass along this delicious cottage cheese smoothie recipe for your cottage cheese page. It’s delicious and filling…..even my kids like it!

In a blender combine:

1/2 cup of cottage cheese (low or nonfat)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup of milk (low or nonfat)
1 scoop of protein powder (optional)
1 packet of Splenda or sweetener of choice

For those that use flax oil, you can add a tablespoon to this and it doesn’t really change the taste.
Blend for 1 to minutes, serve and enjoy!
Best Regards,

—Alexandra L

Krista,
Thanks for your great site.
My workout partner and I especially love the cottage cheese page… it is
our ultimate food, since we are teachers and need quick, packable lunches.
I like Indian food, so I made up a recipe that is sort of Indianish:

.5 cup cottage cheese (non or lowfat)
.5 cup frozen spinach (the kind that comes in a bag can be thrown in while it’s still frozen)
.5 cup organic canned lentils
1 t. curry powder
garlic powder and pepper to taste

I throw everything into a tupperware container the night before and just zap
it for a couple of minutes in the microwave at lunch and stir. The cheese
gets melty and I think it’s delicious. It’s a good way to get more veggies,
protein and fiber, too.

Thanks again,
Alicia Hamilton

christina’s two second miracle

1. toast a sourdough or whole wheat English Muffin
2. scoop on 1% or fat free cottage cheese
3. add some hot salsa sauce on top of the cottage cheese…that’s it!
Yum Yum Yum Yum

I hope you like it. You can use it on your page if you’d like.

Take care,
Christina

mexican c.c.

Since I am from Mexico I crave beans,
cheese and spicy stuff. I am used to have pinto beans with “queso fresco”
(fresh cheese in English, kind of cottage cheese I think) and a whole fresh
“Serrano” chile (somewhat spicy). Well the thing is that since I started
eating healthier and I could not give up on my beans and cheese I came up
with this recipe, which at first I thought was kind of gross but after
trying it I really enjoyed it. Here it is with approximated nutrition facts:

1/2 cup of black beans
1/4 cup of low fat cottage cheese
Crushed red pepper or crushed cayenne pepper to taste

Heat the beans and cottage cheese together in stove to the desired
temperature, pour in a bowl and season with salt, black pepper and the
crushed red pepper or cayenne if you like it spicy.

Aprox. Nutrition facts: calories 155, carbohydrates 21.5g (total carb. 14.5g), protein 13.5g, fiber 7g, fat 1.7g.

I hope you enjoy it.
Magda K

“cheesecake” mix

4oz low fat cream cheese
4oz low fat cottage cheese
1/2 sachet of sugar free jelly (any flavour you prefer)
3/4 pint of boiling water 60ml skimmed milk

Chill the milk in the freezer in the container you’ll be whipping it in- don’t
let it freeze, just get it icy cold. While milk is getting cold, sort out the two cheeses and stick them in a dish on the side so they’re ready for plonking in. Also make sure kettle is on to boil. Get milk out the freezer and using a milk frother, whip the cream till you get it as close to whipped cream consistency it will go. Put it back in the
freezer. Make up sugar free jelly using ur 3/4 pint of boiling water and stir for two
mins, till all the jelly crystals have completly dissolved. Leave jelly for 5 mins to cool down a little. Add cheeses to jelly and blend till smooth. Pour into dish u will be chilling it in and fold in whipped milk. Smooth down with a spatula and refigerate for 4 hours.

Makes 4 servings, and each serving has 70 kcals and 4grams of carbs.

N.B. you may want to add a calorie free sweetener tablet to the jelly crystals to sweeten it a little more, this doesn’t affect the carb or calorie count if u use the tablets that you can stick in tea/coffee.
Also, you could use semi-skimmed or whole milk for a better whipped consistency if you like.

Kindest regards,
Gemma, Norwich UK

cottage cheese waffles

2 Waffles (I usually go with 99% fat free )
Cottage cheese
Parkay zero calorie/fat free “butter” spray

Step 1. Warm up the 2 waffles
Step.2 Spray Parkay spray on both sides (leave off or add something else if you like)
Step 3. Spread cottage cheese onto waffles and then place onto each other
sandwich-style.
Step 4. Enjoy.

—Jerald

more cottage cheese waffles

2 whole grain frozen waffles (I get the kind with flax seeds)
1 C cottage cheese
1 C diced tomatoes- I use Roma tomatoes, so it’s usually 2 or 3. If you got big ones
take the seeds out or it gets too watery.

Toast waffles. Put 1/2 cup cottage on each waffle, and top with diced tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Thanks again!
Verna Mandel

c.c. and yogurt

I get 1 part cottage cheese, one part yoghurt and a teaspoon or half of dried cinnamon or sweetener, then mix this with a fork or spoon, whatever you prefer. Then spread it on some toasted fruit bread or scones. It also goes well with jam on them if you like.

—Michael

cottage cheese salad

My fave cottage cheese crave of the moment involves fresh spinach, shredded carrots,
garbanzo beans, cottage cheese OF COURSE and a wonderful (at least I think it is)
salad dressing called Red Bull Italian. It’s full of garlic and a scant 25 calories
per 2 Tbsp serving. It doesn’t get any better than this! (When I’m feeling naughty I
sprinkle in dry roasted sunflower seeds to the above gorp)

—Beth F

cottage cheese pizza

This is delicious and kids love it, too! Each pizza is 1 serving.

Spread approx. 1 Tbsp pizza sauce over whole wheat pita. I get mine at Trader Joes.
Over pizza sauce spread a heaping Tbsp fat free or low fat cottage cheese. Top that
with sliced, cooked chicken breast or homemade turkey sausage. Add veggies if
desired. Cook on top rack of oven at 475 degrees for 9 min. Who said pizza was bad
for you? 🙂 YUM YUM YUM!

—Rose

cottage cheese omelet

In keeping with your love of cottage cheese…I add it to my omelet in the morning! Mmmmmmmmm…love cottage cheese.

Egg beaters (or egg substitute) equivalent to 6 eggs
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup fat free shredded cheese
2 roma tomatoes
Green onions to taste
Salt
Pepper

**I add a few mushrooms, but these can be omitted for those who hate the little fungi.

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. I distribute evenly into small loaf pans (think banana nut bread) or you can make smaller ones and put in a muffin pan. Cook at 350 degrees for about 25 – 30 minutes. I make three at a time and store them in the refrigerator. Keeps me from having to cook every morning and leaves me time to workout instead.

Hope you enjoy,
Diane

quick cottage cheese “lasagne”

This is a super easy lunch idea for people in a time crunch.
Cook up some whole wheat pasta, then throw some cottage cheese and tomato sauce or natural pasta sauce on top. (Classico is great.) Nuke till heated through… and voila, tastes like lasagne! Mine has been watery, but if I used dry curd or drained it a bit I’m sure it would be better.

—Tammy, Yukon

mock alfredo

1 1/2 C. fat-free cottage cheese
1/2 C. skim milk
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried mustard
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
8 oz cooked & drained pasta of choice
1 – 2 tomatoes, peeled and diced

In blender or processor, combine cottage cheese, milk and garlic until smooth. Add flour, lemon juice, basil, mustard, salt and pepper until well blended.
Pour into saucepan and heat at medium-low until thickened. Do NOT boil. Serve over pasta – topping with diced tomatoes.

Variations: I leave out the dry mustard, and sometimes throw in 3 oz fat free cream cheese and a sprinkle of parmesan for a more authentic taste. I also
make a recipe-and-a-half because this isn’t saucy enough for us once mixed with the pasta

Enjoy!
Melissa K

dining hall cottage cheese

Here is a good, quick, easy, college dining hall cottage cheese recipe.

Cottage cheese
Broccoli
Tomato sauce (marinara sauce)

Take broccoli from the salad bar. Take two glass dishes. Fill one with broccoli, put the other dish on top of the broccoli-filled bowl,
upside down. (So you create a dome.) Microwave for about 30-60 seconds. This creates steamed broccoli. Mix the broccoli with cottage cheese and tomato sauce. It tastes
great, is contains lots of protein and vitamins, and grosses out your friends. (It doesn’t look great, but it tastes wonderful.)

—Melissa

cajun cottage cheese

1 cup of no-fat CC
half a can of black beans (washed of course..or you will regret it!)
1 13-oz can of chicken breast
Cajun spice to taste

Throw it all in a glass bowl, put it in the microwave for two minutes and presto!! Even my son loves this meal, and he is 11.

Shawn Pierce

live-culture cottage cheese

I’ve always had sort of
a problem with cottage cheese—its lack of flavor, snotlike consistency,
etc. Recently, however, I’ve fallen completely in love with live-culture
cottage cheese. The brand we can get in California is Nancy’s, and it
has a really terrific, tangy flavor and a much denser (and in my opinion, more
palatable) consistency than the usual grocery-store brands. Presumably
there are other local variations. I can scarf it down by the tubful without
hurling! Now there’s an endorsement. I may finally get my protein in the
1g./lb. bodyweight range.

Cheers,
Nathan

cottage cheese phyllo logs

Last year I discovered this cottage cheese recipe among my mother’s heap of Eastern European recipes, and I thought I’d share:

1 pkg phyllo pastry
6 tbsp sugar (or Splenda, etc)
? cup raisins
1 pkg dry pressed cottage cheese
3 eggs
2 tsp cinnamon
1 lb chopped tart apples (Granny Smith work the best)

Phyllo pastry is normally kept in the freezer. The night before, put it in
the fridge so it defrosts a bit. If you leave it on the counter, the phyllo
sheets will stick together.

Mix the cheese, eggs, sugar, apples, raisins and cinnamon. (You can add more raisins and cinnamon to taste, or you can omit them altogether.) Take the phyllo sheets, four at a time. Lightly brush a little bit of canola (or another kind) oil between the layers. Put a generous amount of filling on top of the phyllo pastry. Roll into a log (but not too tightly). Place on lightly oiled square shaped (12 x 15 inch-ish) pan. You should be able to fit
3 logs onto one pan. Lightly brush tops of logs with oil. Bake at 450 F until
nice and brown.

—Katarina

your cc is in my peanut butter! your peanut butter is in my cc!

I’m sending a
cottage cheese recipe that my Grandmother introduced me many years ago. I love this
for breakfast, lunch, or a snack. My husband says it’s utterly disgusting, but he
doesn’t like ANY type of cheese, so what does he know?? LOL!

toasted whole wheat toast, english muffin or bagel
cottage cheese
peanut butter

Spread the peanut butter on the bread as soon as it pops out of the toaster so the
warmth will melt it a bit making it easier to spread less on. Spoon cottage
cheese over peanut butter. Enjoy!

—Linda R.

cottage cheese muffins

I have another cottage cheese recipe to share – it’s a modification of the cottage cheese pancakes recipe. Handy for those of us
who have to eat breakfast in the car!

Add ingredients to blender in this order – blend after each ingredient. Bake at 375 for approx 25 minutes. Makes 6 muffins.

1 egg
1 c cottage cheese
2 T fat free half and half
1 t vanilla
1 t cinnamon
3 packets splenda
1 t baking powder
1 banana
1 c oatmeal

Thanks!
Belinda

cottage cheese danish

Place 1/4 cup cottage cheese on 1 piece whole wheat bread.
Sprinkle with Equal and cinnamon.
Place under broiler until bubbly.

—Amy

super yummy cottage cheese pasta

I dearly adore cottage cheese. Today I made sort of a deconstructed veggie lasagna
with lots of cottage cheese in it. Incredibly satisfying.

2 cups cooked whole wheat, spelt, or kamut pasta (I use rotini-style)
1 can of tomato sauce
about 10 sliced button mushrooms
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
pan spray
1 large ripe tomato, chopped
1/2 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 tbs capers
1/2 cup chopped black olives
2 sticks of string cheese or 2 oz shredded mozzarella (string cheese was all I had)
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

Saute the garlic in pan spray for a few moments, then add the mushrooms. When
they start to soften, add the spinach, capers, chopped tomato, and olives. Let
the flavors mix for a minute or two. Then add the pasta and tomato sauce. When
that all comes to a bubbly boil, add the basil and cottage cheese. Tear up the
string cheese, or just use shredded mozzarella sprinkled over the top of the hot
mixture so it melts. Mmm… just like lasagna. This recipe makes about three
large-ish servings. You’d be surprised how filling one serving is.

Love from Kona,
Liz

bulgarian potatoes

Serves 10 to 12

2 cups of 4% cottage cheese (1 lb)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp black pepper
3 lbs russet baking potatoes, about 6 medium
2 lg. eggs
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375 F. Butter a 2 1/2-qt.
baking dish (about 12 x 10 x 2 inches). Puree cottage cheese in a food processor
until it is as smooth as possible, about 1 minute, then add butter, 1 tsp of the
salt and 1/2 tsp of the pepper and blend until well combined well. Peel potatoes and
cut crosswise using an adjustable-blade slicer into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Spread
one third of the potatoes evenly in 1 layer in dish and top with one third (a scant
cup) cottage cheese mixture (mixture will not cover potatoes completely). Continue
layering potatoes and CC mixture, ending with mixture. Cover tightly with foil and
bake until potatoes are tender, 1 to 1 1/4 hrs.

Whisk together eggs, yogurt, remaining 1/4 tsp salt and pepper. Pour over potatoes
and bake, uncovered, until custard is set, about 20 minutes.

Note: Potatoes with custard can be baked 1 day ahead and cooled completely, then
chilled, covered with foil. Reheat, covered, in a 375 F oven until hot, about 3
minutes.

—Heidi

“men’s favourite salad”

Here’s a cottage cheese recipe that I found in Gourmet magazine. The theme was their favorite recipes from the last 65 years. This recipe is their top pick from 1969 and I especially like the name: Men’s Favorite Salad.

Barbara Edwards, the reader who sent us this recipe, wrote that every time she served this salad, the men in the group would “lick the platter clean.” We found the women in our test kitchens were crunching on it as happily as the men.

1 (2 1/2-lb) green cabbage, outer leaves discarded
1 med. onion, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced crosswise
2 Tbl. chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 cups 4% small-curd cottage cheese (16 oz)
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbl mayonnaise
1 tsp fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Cut cabbage into 2-inch wedges and core, then very thinly slice crosswise.
Transfer to a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and toss to coat. Let stand 15
minutes (or chill up to 2 hrs) to allow flavors to meld.

Hope it doesn’t have too much mayo; I guess you could always substitute some
yogurt to make it healthier.

—Heidi

Krista,

I am massively inspired by your cottage cheese site and read through all the recipes with enthusiasm – I can’t wait to try them out.

I was amazed to find that my personal favourite recipe for c.c. was not in there. A delicious party dip or spread for toast (I prefer to lather it on rye crisp breads for more dip, less dip delivery vehicle!) is to mix c.c. with smoked peppered mackerel – just mash the fish with a fork first. Hey presto ‘cant-get-enough’ protein and healthy fish oils – you can’t go wrong!

Kylie — UK

best freakin’ scrambled eggs ever

Growing up, my Grandma made the best freakin’ scrambled eggs ever… I found out later that her sweet & buttery secret was cottage cheese.

This is a quick and dirty breakfast that makes you feel like you’ve actually ate something. If you do it right, all you need is a pan, spatula, two bowls, two forks, and 5 minutes. It is easy on the dishes, easy on your time, and all that great protein!

5 minutes to the best scrambled eggs you’ve ever had.

Step 1) Put your non-stick pan on med-high heat
Step 2) Mix well 3 eggs (or 3 egg whites and an egg), a dash of salt, a dash of Molly McButter, two tablespoons of cottage cheese, and one tablespoon of water.
Step 3) Spray pan lightly with a non-stick oil
Step 4) Fry up those eggs! Your pan is hot at this point so keep stirring for about 3 minutes, don’t stop!
Step 5) Done! Enjoy the fluffiest sweet-cheesy eggs you’ve ever had.

–Brian Jones

I have had pretty bad TMJ since I was 9 or so, and in the past 15 years I developed a liking for mushy, barely-chew foods despite never being fed porridgey-type foods in my childhood due to my mother’s hatred of mush. I began eating cottage cheese in college b/c I nearly became an undeclared vegetarian at the end of my first year of eating meat from on-campus dining. The lack of protein sources made the muscles around my knees ache when going up stairs after going for 4 days w/out protein. The other “protein” I ate couple times a week were cubes of jello from the salad bar and all sorts of beans. Cottage cheese’s bouncy texture combined w/ canned mandarine sections from the salad bar was a taste/texture treat for me!

oatmeal-cottage cheese

I began eating oatmeal after college, and use about 1.5 times the water called for on the packages. I start with warm/hot water if possible, stir it with the oats to soak for a min, then microwave it 30 seconds at a time to make sure it’s almost pasty w/out boiling over, for about a total of 2 minutes, depending on the starting temperature of the water.

And, as soon as it’s out of the microwave when it’s way too steaming to consume, I drop in a couple tablespoonfuls of cold cottage cheese (or a gigantic spoonful) for every half cup of cooked oatmeal and stir it in. This cools the oatmeal to a still-hot but palatable temp. And, the cottage cheese melts a bit and stretches out fine strings, kind of like mozzarella.

To this, I often add chopped apples in the last 15-30 secs of cooking, and either a dash of nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice. A drizzle of honey also gives it a complicated flavor! The different textures are great b/c not all the cheese melts, and it’s not just pasty oatmeal, but has softened apples/fruit and plump cheese.

stuffed tomatoes

Using a mix of slightly drained cottage cheese and chopped pickles, olives, pickled garlic, artichokes or any flavorful veg. and to stuff halved tomatoes is a great summer lunch! Scoop the tomatoes out and grind some fresh pepper over them, make the filling w/ chopped tomato innards and the rest then stuff it all back into the tomatoes. Chopped almonds/pecans/walnuts add crunch to it all, and goes well on a bed of salad greens too, instead of a dressing.

I guess this e-mail got very long. I meant to thank you for all the recipes, some of which are simple enough for me to to implement.

–Grace

cottage cheese & tortilla stackup

1 lb container cottage cheese
4 oz can diced green chiles
1 egg, beaten (can use 2 if eggs are smallish)
1 dozen or so corn tortillas
grated jack/cheddar cheese

Mix together the cc, chiles and egg(s) in a bowl. Layer tortillas, then mix, then grated cheese in a baking dish and bake at 350F for 30-45 minutes. Serves 6 or so.

vegetarian enchiladas

corn tortillas (heated until pliable)
enchilada sauce (I use the canned variety, easy)
cottage cheese
rice (optional)
green onion
jack cheese

Mix together all ingredients except the tortillas and sauce, then spoon the filling into the tortillas, roll, put in a baking dish, then top with the sauce. Cook at about 350F about 20-30 minutes (until they’re heated through, and cheese is all melted)

—Lorianne Rosales

potatoes with cottage cheese sauce

16 or 24 oz lowfat cottage cheese
1 or 2 baked 9or boiled) potatoes
2 or 3 green onions chopped
1 to 2 oz lowfat milk
salt and pepper to taste

Bake potatoes or boil potatoes or heat a can of potatoes. Mix all other ingredients in bowl and keep refrigerated until potatoes are ready. Pour mixture over potatoes and enjoy!

—Frank Utecht

As a side dish or whatever. I take tomatoes from my garden and slice them open like a flower, then put some cottage cheese in the centre, with a little bit of pepper. And bingo! a great tasty little
snack/side/whatever. Enjoy!

—Rosie Wysong

make yer own c.c.!

This recipe is drier and not soupy (unless you put cream with it just before you
eat it.) If you put the cream on it when you make it then it will sour
and be too ‘tart’ to eat. I prefer it without the cream as
that is how my grandmother made it. My recipe is my grandmother’s, and makes a small curd cheese. To
about two gallons of skimmed milk I add a cup of buttermilk and allow the
milk to come to room temperature and sit, covered, for 24 hours. I then
gently cut the curd into about half inch cubes and let it rest for about
15 minutes. Then I start to very gently stir and warm the curds. I do
this by using a ‘double boiler’ method where I heat the water gently,
raising the temperature about a degree a minute until it gets about 110 F
and let it stay there for about thirty minutes. Then raise it to about
120 and keep stirring gently until the curds are ‘dry’…. in other words
they will shrink up and sink to the bottom of the pot. If you bite into
the curd and it is like yogurt it is not done yet.
When it is done, strain and rinse with ice cold water and put into cheese
cloth and squeeze out the moisture until it is dry enough to suit you.
Salt and put into container and refrigerate.

—Donna R Myers-Raybon (a lucky grrl who has her own cows and goats)

better than butter

(bread spread, but I use it on low-sodium rye crisp,
etc)

1 pint lowfat cottage cheese
1/4 cup water
4 Tablespoons nonfat dry milk
2 packages ButterBuds (butter flavor mix)
1-3 packages Splenda sweetener (the amount is to your
taste preference – can also use Sweet-N-Low or Equal, but I
think Splenda
tastes better.)

Put all ingredients in the blender. Blend on low and increase speed until smooth. Pour/scrape it all back into the cottage cheese tub and store in refrigerator. This is less than 7 calories per teaspoon. A huge difference from butter or margarine! 2 envelopes of Butter Buds Mix is equal to 1/4 cup of the Butter Buds Sprinkles. Also, Butter Buds has a refridgerator life of only 3 days once it’s been liquified, so I blend all the ingredients for this spread but wait to add the Butter Buds as I want to use it. 1/4 cup of the cottage cheese mixture with 1/2 Tablespoon of Butter Buds Sprinkles mixed in at the last minute is the right
ratio.

—Gayle W

Time for some horn tootin’! Rave reviews for the cottage cheese page…

Reader Nick Haines writes:

I’m 23 and had never even tried cottage cheese before now. Always figured it was just one of those dieter’s foods. I ran across your page tonight while surfing for nutrition info, and came across “The Cottage Cheese Page”. Seeing as how the rest of your site seemed to be true (and you weren’t selling anything), I figured I’d give this stuff a try. BTW, I have to disagree with the weightlifters who say it tastes bad; I find it has almost no taste at all (That’s not necessarily a bad thing). I LOVE tuna, I can eat that stuff right out of the can! So I figured I try the tuna and cottage cheese mix. I was VERY surprised to find that it tasted even BETTER with the cottage cheese!! One $0.50 can of tuna in spring water, and half a cup of cottage cheese turned out to be a whole meal (if you eat 6 small meals, anyway). I looked at the packages and crunched a few numbers and this 1 bowl of tuna funk had just about the right amount of fat for 1 meal, a negligable amount of carbos, and almost 50 grams of protien!!! Who the hell needs expensive (and usually nasty tasting) protein shakes?!?!? I am indebted to you for this awesome tip, and wanted you to know that you work in this web page has not gone unappreciated!

“gross out your friends” breakfast

1/2 cup CC
3 oz tuna
5 or more egg whites (and one yolk if you want)
1/3 cup dry oatmeal
Seasonings (anny good Southerner will use Tony Chachere’s or “Tony’s”)

Mix well, scramble in a skillet. Chow down. Smells bad, tastes great—kinda like fried matzo.

Gracias,
Stephanie
Austin, TX

or, without the tuna if you prefer…

1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal (dry not cooked)
2 or 3 packets of Splenda
4 Egg Whites

Put all ingredients in blender. Spray frying pan with Pam Spray. Pour ingredients into frying pan. It makes one big pancake. I usually top it with a low sugar syrup or fruit spread. I sometimes add 1 tsp. of all natural peanut butter to it. It tastes great.

Regards,
Linda L

I love my cottage cheese either plain, but usually mixed with applesauce
(kind of like the yogurt style). I don’t really like the yogurt style,
because it sits heavier than the applesauce. With the applesauce/cc mix,
it is a little like a dessert, but very light and tasty! I will try the
other recipes as soon as I head to the store! Great webpage!

—Faith

Cottage cheese mixed with dried Cranberries is absolutely delicious! I came upon this one day when I was starving and these were the only two things in the fridge worth eating. I just tried it again and it is still good.

—Bruce Turnbull

Sounds totally gross – but tastes totally killer:

cottage cheesey steel cut blues

1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup blueberries
¼ cup steel cut oats
¼ cup sugar-free maple syrup
1 tsp Splenda

Mix cold cooked steel cut oats with Maple syrup. Place in bowl or container.
Top with cottage cheese sweetened with one packet Splenda, add thawed
blueberries. (Sometimes I leave out the blueberries and just to 1/2 cup
oats)

stace’s waffles

1 egg white
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup cup Bob’s Redmill 10-grain pancake mix
1 tsp Splenda
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup sugar-free maple syrup

Blend together cottage cheese, egg whites and vanilla (I use a handheld
‘stick’ blender) Add waffle mix and Splenda and mix til smooth. Mixture is
slightly thick. Pour batter in pre-heated waffle iron coated with cooking
spray. You MUST spray iron for every batch! Do not overfill! Cook until well
browned, these take longer to cook then regular waffles but every iron
varies. Serve with syrup.

—Lisa McPherron

cottage cheese pasta

I was looking at your site (it’s good!) because I and my partner are
getting into weight training. My mother in law is part of a study to see
if lifting weights helps lower blood sugar levels for type II diabetes
(looks like it does) and she’s encouraged us to do it too. As we are too
bogged down with the new baby to manage to get to our regular martial
arts training we got right into it at once – we just do it at home with
free weights.

Anyway, I found your cottage cheese page, and can’t believe people don’t
like it!!

Here’s my cottage cheese pasta that’s my absolute favorite lunch meal,
especially when it’s cold and wet as it is now – I’m in Australia by the
way.

I get four or five heaping tablespoons of cottage cheese, a couple of
heaping tablespoons of freshly grated parmesan cheese, and a garlic
clove or two, finely chopped. I also add some Italian (flat-leaved)
parsley, finely chopped if we have any. And then I mix in about 300g of
pasta – I don’t drain it too thoroughly, as that bit of extra liquid
helps melt and mush up the cottage cheese a bit. And that’s two good
large steaming bowlfuls to stave off winter chills.

—Judy

chocolate c.c.

Here is a recipe I use for a chocolate treat:

1 large box of sugar-free, fat-free chocolate pudding mix
2 cups of cottage cheese
4 eggs
6 or 8 packets of Splenda

Mix together with mixer or in blender. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350. Divide
into ½ cup portions. Delicious.

Thanks for all your inspiration
Angie G

cottage cheese pb&c

1/2 cup Cottage Cheese (look for the Friendship 1% Whipped Spreadable as it has
16 g of protein and only 3 g of carbs)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 teaspoons of peanut butter
1 packet of splenda
1 teaspoon of cocoa powder

Mix them together until evenly mixed and enjoy!
JoLynn C

cottage cheese salad dressing

This is great for grrls (and boyys) who want a tasty, healthy, protein-packed
alternative to their beloved Caesar, Ranch, Bleu Cheese, etc.
dressings.

Mix 1/2 c. lowfat cottage cheese with Hidden Valley Seasoning and
Ranch Dressing Mix to taste (I usually start out with 1/2 tsp and add
from there.) Add to favorite salad (I like either baby spring greens
or chopped up romaine, some grillled chicken, some black beans,
carrots, peppers, etc. etc.,) mix it up and silently gloat over the
amount of protein you are consuming in one delicious meal. Be kind to
others around you who are still eating regular creamy dressings or
worse, ‘fat-free’ versions of same. They just don’t know any better.

In fact, you can mix the cottage cheese with any savory sort of spice,
or just plain with a tiny bit of salt and pepper, as a salad dressing.
I’ve tried cajun spices, taco seasoning, lemon juice, a bit of flax
oil and Mrs. Dash’s. It’s just great to know you don’t have to give
up ‘creamy’ salad dressings to eat clean and get great nutrition.

Julie G
Colorado

cottage cheese and apple

It surprises me that you have missed the simplest, easiest and most
delicious way of eating it. On a plate with a fresh cut apple. It doesn’t
need another thing. I’m in Australia, and so the apples I would use are a
Pink Lady (sharp, sweet and crisp) or a Fuji (tastes like a great apple
smells). Just quarter (or more – I usually do 12ths) an unpeeled apple.
Spread cottage with cottage cheese and enjoy. It is the perfect snack for
eating at your desk post workout, but I love it just about any time.

Jean

cottage cheese “ice cream”

It sounds gross, but if you mix some vanilla and equal with cottage cheese, it seriously tastes like ice cream.

I also take the above, mix in some fresh strawberries or blueberries,
and occaisionally top it with some Kashi Go-Lean cereal. It is one of my
favorite breakfasts, although I can honestly say I have eaten it for
lunch or dinner sometimes as well.

Cheers,
Erica

grilled sweet cottage cheese

Take your choice of plain wholegrain breadstuff: Slice of bread, 1/2 english muffin, 1/2 bagel, whateva. Spread with fruit preserves — regular, low sugar, all-fruit, whatever floats your boat. (Strawberry would be the traditional flavor, but any will do.) Spread with a thick layer of cottage cheese. Sprinkle with a very light dusting of sugar or sugar substitute (optional). Broil until bread is toasty on the edges and cheese is melty. If you use a lot of cottage cheese you may have to eat with a fork, but with a thin layer you can eat out of hand. Yum!

—FunnieGrrl

cottage cheese pancakes

I’m also not really one for the measuring cups, so you have to experiment ’til you get it right, and there are lots of variations. The original idea came from the Moosewood Cookbook, also a Canadian standard, where there’s a delicious entry of Cottage Cheese and Apple Pancakes. You can add shredded apple to these, too.

Take a bit less than a half cup of rye flour (it’s easily available in Finland and I have an unresearched belief that it’s healthier, but you could use any flour) and a wee bit of baking powder. Add one egg and a cup or so of cottage cheese. Throw in some cinnamon, or nutmeg, or cardamom, etc, if you like. A couple generous dashes of milk (I usually use soy, doesn’t matter either way), and voila: batter.

Now, the pan. I always screw up my first pancake because I’m generally impatient, and when I’m making these I’m hungrier than usual. But the pan should be so hot that a droplet of water thrown on its surface will bounce before evaporating. Use butter/nonstick spray/whatever your frying medium of choice is, and lay on the batter. Flip them when the edges are dry and bubbles are coming through the middle. After flipping, cook them a little longer than you would your average Aunt Jemima numbers. Serve hot. I don’t bother with maple syrup because the butter and cinnamon give enough flavour – plus these are great as a more savoury treat.

—Johanna, Finland

crustless quiche

I make this crustless quiche all the time, and it’s a HUGE favourite with
people who don’t even know there’s cc in it! It’s really, really good, and
smells fantastic.

4 eggs
handful of mushrooms, sliced
100g (or more — it doesn’t matter much) non-fat cottage cheese, onion and
chive variety for preference
1 onion, finely chopped
25g shredded cheese (optional)
tomato, sliced
salt, pepper, and parsley

Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6 and spray a 20cm square pan or
Springform pan with olive oil spray. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs with the cottage cheese until well combined
and fold in the diced onion, mushrooms, and cheese (if using). Pour into
your pan and top with tomato slices. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or
until the eggs have set and the top has gone as golden as you like it.
Serves 4, or 2 if you’re very hungry, and keeps well in the fridge. You can
also dump a tin of macaroni and cheese into it, in lieu of the shredded
cheese, and a small tin of drained sweetcorn.

From my food site Gastroblog.com – Jackie

middle eastern cottage cheese sandwich

1/2 lavash or whole wheat pita
hummus
cucumber slices
tomato slices
salt, pepper, garlic powder, and olive oil
cottage cheese

Slather your favorite hummus on the lavash (or pita if you prefer) and
drizzle a little olive oil on top. Sprinkle kosher salt & fresh ground
pepper & garlic powder on top. Add sliced cucumber & tomato. Glob cc in
center and roll that bad boy up. Wow.

Adding a little dill and grilled vidalia onion slices might be good,
too. I just didn’t have them :(.

Hope you like!
Nicole

faux loaded baked potato

1 med. potato
2 strips turkey bacon
Butter buds or butter spray
1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese
chives or green onions
salt and pepper

Microwave the turkey bacon according to package directions. As it cools, microwave
the potato for 7-8 min. Slice open and mash butter buds, salt and pepper into the
flesh. Top with cottage cheese, crumbled turkey bacon and chives.

—Christine

baked sweet potato

1 medium-large sweet potato
1/2 tub onion and chive flavour cottage cheese
1 dessert spoon low cal ketchup
Pinch chilli flakes
Dash fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper

Bake potato in microwave til soft, remove skin and discard. Chop up potato
flesh. Mix cottage cheese, ketchup, chilli flakes and lemon juice together.
Dollop on top of potato, add pepper to taste. Looks like vomit but tastes divine! Protein, complex carbs and vitamin C all in one fast meal. Nice with steamed broccoli.

—Anni

mexican salad

1 cup chopped Romaine lettuce
4 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast
2 tsp taco seasoning

Dressing

1/2 cup cottage cheese
2 tsp taco seasoning
1 Tbls chopped red bell pepper
1 Tbls chopped green onion
1 Tbls chopped cilantro

Rub chicken breast with 2 tsp of taco seasoning then grill. Chop breast into
bite size pieces. Set aside.
Mix all ‘dressing’ ingredients together. For smoother consistency place
cottage cheese and taco seasoning in blender, mix until smooth, then stir in
remaining ingredients.
Place lettuce on plate. Place the chicken on top of the lettuce, then top
with dressing and serve.

—Deana F.

berry-tastic frozen cottage cheese joy

1/2 cup frozen strawberries or mixed berries
1/2 semi-frozen banana
1/2 cup NO SALT ADDED cottage cheese (friendship is great!)
2 packets artificial sweentener or 1 T honey

Puree all in heavy duty blender or food processor until smooth and top
with fresh berries, if desired.

—Jean J.

cc salad topper

I mix cottage cheese with pesto, or cottage cheese with mustard, and
top salads with it. It’s really excellent!

—Erin

I love to take lowfat cottage cheese
with chives and put a ton of garlic pepper in it to have with veggies. It’s the
ultimate alternative to a peppercorn ranch type dip. Just when you think you have
added too much garlic pepper, add more. It’s so good! I even put it on salads and
sandwiches.

—Katie

cottage cheese and spinach pie

1 10 oz. package frozen spinach (very well drained,
water squeezed out)
1 cup low or non-fat cottage cheese
3 egg whites
1 small onion, chopped any way you like
A handful of fresh basil, chopped
Fresh garlic cloves to taste (I used 5 medium)
4 tbsp. grated cheese (I use Romano)

Combine all ingredients.
Place into non-stick sprayed casserole, or 9-inch cast iron skillet. Bake at 350º
for about 45 minutes or until top is browned.

blenderizationy goodness

I don’t like the texture of cottage cheese,
so I buy the cottage cheese with pineapple in it and put it in the blender. It is a
little bit thick for my blender so I add just a touch of milk. It is really good!
It is a good idea for people like me who don’t like the bumps.

cottage cheese breakfast

1/2 cup cooked barley
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 tbsp jam or honey
2 tbsp pumpkin or sunflower seeds
2 tbsp raisins
a pinch of wheat bran or germ

Heat the barley and cottage cheese in the microwave until warm. Add other
ingredients and stir together.
I ate this for breakfast today and just about died. So tasty. I’m sure it’s good
with plain yogurt too.

Aloha from Kona,
Liz

cottage cheese and fruit preserves

Spoon a small amount of all-fruit preserves without added sugar into a small bowl of
cottage cheese. I personally prefer not to mix it all the way in, so some bites are
sweeter than others.

Optional addendum to the “super easy breakfast”: Mix in a small amount of your
favorite crunchy cereal. I use Kashi Go-lean Crunch! myself.

Thanks again,
Dan

college cheese nachos

I just came up with a new cottage cheese recipe that I thought you might enjoy.
It’s inspired by the cottage cheese nachos recipe, but using only the ingredients
that I (read: poor college kid) happened to have in the kitchen: one can of Ranch
Style pinto beans, pour in some Pace picante sauce, and about a cup or so of
cottage cheese (I didn’t measure). Mix it together – no need to blend unless you
just really want to – and scoop some of it over some frito-like corn chips. I’m
not gonna lie – it looks really, really gross, but tastes kind of like a mixture
between homemade chili and salsa.

—Kayla in Texas

on the go breakfast shake

I’m a bulking male, so scale recipe to fit your goals.

2 cups raw oatmeal

Throw it in a blender and blend it a bit.

Half pound frozen blueberries (or other fruit, frozen works well)

Throw it in and blend some more. Then take:

half cup cottage cheese
spinach, perhaps
40-50 gram worth of whey protein
tiny drizzle of honey
sprinkling of flax seeds unless you prefer to ingest carbs and fats seperately

Turn on the blender and pour in water slowly till it swirls around to the consistency you want it at. Chug it down. it’s actually sort of good… tasteless almost, except
for the vague blueberry/protein/flax thing.

Here’s one more. Throw fatfree/lowfat/whatever cottage cheese into a food processor
with some lightly cooked mixed vegetables. I like them defrosted in
the microwave then thrown in a hot pan with some coconut oil and
cumin/coriander/fennel seed/whatever spices you want for no more than
a few minutes. Add some raw spinach and process till it’s smooth.
Tastes spicy and rich like guacamole. Makes for an awesome dip, though
I can’t think of anything to dip besides raw veggies. Any suggestions?
Oh, cayanne pepper to up the heat works well too.

—Dev

cottage cheese and egg breakfast muffins

From the great food blog Kalyn’s Kitchen

When I was a kid, there was a tavern/restaurant 1 block from our home. When you entered, the owner always had a table with a LARGE bowl of peppered cottage cheese to which he had added chopped green onions – tops and all. He had packages of plain saltine/soda crackers and everyone just heaped on the c.c. and enjoyed…yum, yum. I still make it to this day…takes me back to my youth. I will also add alone or any combination of: chopped, drained tomato; pepperoncini; Vidalia onions; or salsa.

— Gigi, Pittsburgh, PA

Here’s one easy cottage cheese snack I really enjoy which is simply;

1 cup of cottage cheese
1/2 to 1 tsp mild indian curry paste

–Gary Brandel

My cottage cheese “recipe” is this:

1. Put 1/2 cup (113 grams) cottage cheese in a bowl.
2. Add a serving or two of fruit (fresh, frozen, dried, or canned pineapple, banana, berries, orange, apple, pear, or whatever you like). I like mine cut into small bite-size pieces. The idea is to get a bit of everything in every bite!
3. Add some chopped nuts or seeds (amount to equal about 10 grams of fat or whatever your plan calls for).
4. Optional: add a a little fresh vegetable (sliced celery and/or grated carrot, for example).
5. Optional: add a sprinkle of crunchy carb such as granola, Grape Nuts, or crushed sesame sticks.

My current favorite combinations are banana/almonds and apple/celery/walnuts.

Regards,
Michal

Here’s my ultimate childhood comfort food. My Mom made this for us every time we were sick:

egg noodles
cottage cheese
sugar (or you could use stevia or Splenda)
cinnamon

Heat & serve. It tastes like a hug.

Also, to add to your lasagna recipes: I like to use egg roll wrappers as lasagna noodles when I make a single-serving lasagna at home. Light & low-cal, very tasty.

–alwswrite

One from Jamie Oliver, with a twist. His basic recipe:

Make a whole load of dry mix from: (portioned to your liking)
mostly porridge oats
a decent amount of bran
brown sugar
dried fruit of your choice
nuts of your choice

The night before you want to eat it, put enough mix (you can do a few days worth) in a bowl, plus enough milk to cover the dry mix.

Cover and leave in the fridge.

In the morning get out your portion, add any fresh fruit you want, and more milk to loosen up the mix. And then I add about 2 table spoons of cottage cheese on top and stir.

–Jeff Chong

cottage cheese caprese salad

Cottage cheese (however much a serving is to you)
Tomato pieces (any kind of tomato you like cut into bite-size chunks)
Basil leaves (torn, or cut into small strips with a knife or scissors)
Extra virgin olive oil to taste
Pepper to taste

Mix it all together in a bowl and enjoy.

Thanks,
Diane

Here’s the receipe for my favourtie healthy + light snack:

Put a nice slick of honey on 2 slices of crackerbread and add plenty of CC on top: voila – a brilliant and yummy sweet n creamy treat!

–Kiara

Krista,

I love your cottage cheese page. I eat cottage cheese almost every day. I wanted to share with you some yummy and simple recipes. I mix about a half cup of cottage cheese with a couple of tablespoons of pomegranate seeds and a tablespoon of honey. It is so delicious. Another one if my favorites is to mix sliced green onions, sliced radishes, and toasted sesame seeds into a serving of cottage cheese.

Kathryn

mocha miracle

I live in Sweden and that sort of interferes with my high protein diet. Here, tofu is non existing. Tuna (except for the canned kind): non existing. And as I don’t eat meat, that leaves me to a looooot of daily cottage cheese. So thanks everyone for the inspiring recipes.
Now – take three tablespoons of cottage cheese, a tablespoon of (frozen) blueberries, 100 mL (sorry, European girl entering) of skim milk, 100 mL of low fat yogurt, a tablespoon of cocoa powder, a teaspoon of instant coffee and half a banana. Put it all in the blender and wait for about a minute. If you’re in a hurry you can take it out quicker, but it gets nice and airy if you give it some time. Top with some almonds and you have my mid morning snack-meal.
With a handful of oats, it can go as breakfast as well.Greetings from a Dutch cottage cheese fan!


Tack så mycket!

Med vänliga hälsningar/kind regards,
Ellen W