Cottage cheese is often a star ingredient in low calorie diets, and is popular among athletes and those trying to lose weight. High in protein, with a low calorie and low carb count, cottage cheese is working its way into delicious and filling recipes that are great for weight loss. If you’re wondering what healthy cottage cheese recipes look like, you’re in for a treat! Check out our favourite recipes, along with the health benefits and ways to cook cottage cheese.
4 Health Benefits of Cottage Cheese
1. Weight Loss
If you’re looking to lose weight, cottage cheese is a great food to add to your diet. High in protein and low in calories, it’s an ideal ingredient for your favourite meals. The protein helps increase feelings of fullness, which can lead to a reduced calorie intake and weight loss. Cottage cheese also contains a good amount of dietary calcium, which has been associated with metabolic processes that reduce fat accumulation and speed up fat loss.
2. High in Protein
Cottage cheese is rich in protein, with a low calorie count. Cottage cheese is made up mostly of casein protein, rather than whey protein, meaning it moves through your digestive system slowly, making you feel full for longer. This makes you less likely to overeat, and more likely to curb your cravings. It’s an excellent post-workout food as protein helps repair, recover and build more muscle, as well as prevent muscle breakdown.
3. Good for Your Digestive System
Cultured cottage cheese (either homemade or store-bought) is a good source of probiotics since it’s rich in good bacteria and chock full of active cultures like L.acidophilus and B.bifidum. These cultures are great for your gut health and digestive system. Cottage cheese also has a good amount of phosphorous, which helps with digestion, as well as magnesium, which can help prevent constipation.
4. Promotes Strong Bones
Cottage cheese contains phosphorus and calcium, which are both important for bone building. Calcium makes your bones dense and strong, and phosphorus helps the creation of hydroxyapatite, which is a structural component of bone tissue. Its high protein content also supports bone health by boosting bone mineral density.
5 Ways to Cook with Cottage Cheese
1. Add It Into Your Lasagna
Make a healthier lasagna by using cottage cheese in combination with ricotta cheese in your lasagna. While most lasagna recipes call for ricotta, using 50/50 split of cottage cheese and ricotta ensures less fat and calories. Note that it will add a bit more liquid, so slightly reduce the amount of sauce you use.
2. Add It To Dips
From guacamole to spinach dip, ranch dip, salsa, and more, there are plenty of ways to use cottage cheese in your favourite dips. It works great in rich, savoury dips, or any dips that typically use mayonnaise or sour cream. Cottage cheese is a low calorie way to enjoy dips without guilt!
3. Make Pancakes and Crepes
Cottage cheese is a great base for protein-packed pancakes. They’re ideal for both savoury and sweet palates, and you can easily add flavour with anything from fruits to herbs, spices, nut butters, or whatever you feel like! You can also use it to fill savoury or sweet crepes. It adds the perfect creaminess and will satisfy you throughout the morning.
4. Spread It On Toast
Cottage cheese is an amazing thing to spread on toast, in the place of avocados or peanut butter. High in protein and calcium, spread 1-2 tablespoons of cottage cheese on top of whole grain bread and top it with ingredients like fruit and honey.
5. Baked Goods
Cottage cheese is an excellent addition to baked goods, whether you’re making cheesecake, cookies, scones or rolls. Cottage cheese is ideal for baking as it creates more moisture and lightness, ensuring your baked goods are less dense than if you cooked with cream cheese. Many recipes will ask you to puree the cottage cheese and stir it into a dough or batter, replacing some or all of the dairy liquid content, such as milk, sour cream or yogurt.
50 Cottage Cheese Recipes Worth Trying
10 Cottage Cheese Breakfast Recipes
1. Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bowl | The Worktop
2. Egg and Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bowl | Eggs
3. Creamy Cottage Cheese Scrambled Eggs | All Recipes
4. Strawberry Cheesecake Overnight Oats | Skinny Fitalicious
5. High Protein Gluten Free Pancakes | A Mind Full Mom
6. Cottage Cheese and Tomato on Baguette | I Will Not Eat Oysters
7. Crustless Quiche with Cottage Cheese and Herbs | Simply Playful Fare
8. Avocado Toast with Cottage Cheese and Tomatoes | The Lemon Bowl
9. Cottage Cheese Oatmeal | Eating Bird Food
10. Cottage Cheese Omelet Muffins | Slender Kitchen
10 Cottage Cheese Lunch Recipes
1. Sweet Potato Fajita Cottage Cheese Bowls | One Sweet Mess
2. Green Power Protein Salad | Bound By Food
3. Guacamole Tostadas | The Weary Chef
4. California Cottage Cheese Bowl | The Skinny Fork
5. Waldorf Salad with Cottage Cheese | April Golightly
6. Cottage Cheese Egg Salad | This Unmillennial Life
7. Simple Cottage Cheese Sandwich | Foodie Crush
8. Cottage Cheese Salad | Eating Well
9. Herby Cottage Cheese and Smoked Salmon | Healthy Food Guide
10. Cottage Cheese Tuna Salad | Kim’s Cravings
10 Cottage Cheese Dinner Recipes
1. Cottage Cheese Spinach Pasta | KiipFit
2. Cottage Cheese Alfredo | 40 Aprons
3. Cottage Cheese Casserole | Wonderfully Made and Dearly Loved
4. Beef Cottage Cheese Pie | The Spruce Eats
5. Creamy Tomato Lasagna Florentine | Pinch of Yum
6. Cottage Cheese Gnocchi | Alberta Milk
7. Garden Vegetable Lasagna | Eating Well
8. Blackberry Cottage Cheese Salad | Daisy
9. Gyros Greek Style Sandwich | Paaka-Shale
10. Florentine Lasagna Roll-Ups | Eating Well
10 Cottage Cheese Snack Recipes
1. Cottage Cheese Deviled Eggs | Kath Eats
2. Raspberry Cheesecake Smoothie | Self
3. Cottage Cheese Salsa | Kraft Canada
4. Pear and Cottage Cheese | Eating Well
5. Creamy Cilantro Cheesy Guacamole | Imma Eat That
6. Sweet Cottage Cheese and Bananas | All Recipes
7. Cottage Cheese with Raspberry Honey | Eating Well
8. Avocado Cottage Cheese Snack | Farm Fresh to You
9. Creamy Spinach Dip | Eating Well
10. Fruit Medley with Cottage Cheese | Yummly
10 Cottage Cheese Dessert Recipes
1. Strawberry Cottage Cheese Cake | My Zucchini Recipes
2. Double Chocolate Cottage Cheese Cookies | Skinny Fitalicious
3. Healthy Cheesecake | The Pancake Princess
4. Strawberry Raspberry Cream Pops | A Cedar Spoon
5. Light Cheesecake Cupcakes | Maria Ushakova
6. Pecan Cheesecake Pudding | Self
7. Strawberry Cottage Cheese Mini Muffins | The Breakfast Drama Queen
8. Butter Crunch Lemon-Cheese Bars | My Recipes
9. Cottage Cheese Fluff | All Recipes
10. Chocolate Cottage Cheese | Food.com
Cottage cheese has plenty of health benefits from aiding weight loss to improving gut health. Add it to your diet and try these recipes today!
