Stop Ignoring This Ingredient For Creamy Protein Mashed Potatoes

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We all have our favorite mashed potato recipes. Some go cheesy, some go fluffy, or buttery, even spicy. For the best texture, you should probably be mashing your potatoes by hand. You can add bacon to mashed potatoes for extra salty, umami flavor or try sour cream for a nice tart finish. But what is the ingredient you may already have in the fridge that will give you super creamy mashed potatoes and an extra kick of protein? Try making your next batch of mashed potatoes with cottage cheese.

Cottage cheese is much more versatile than you may have imagined. It's a great high protein ingredient for your overnight oats. You can use it to make a simple, cheesy Alfredo sauce. You can even make it at home without the need for rennet. But cottage cheese truly shines in one dish that you may not have thought of — mashed potatoes. And once you consider it, it completely makes sense: creamy and cheesy with a mild flavor profile that blends well with potatoes. You just need to whip the cottage cheese so it can be properly mixed into the potatoes. And from there, you can add whatever ingredients you want to get to the perfect creamy and fluffy mashed potatoes.

You could just mix the cottage cheese directly into the mashed potatoes, but for perfect texture you should put it in the blender or food processor first. Cottage cheese is, essentially, cheese curds — the very basic form of cheese created when acid is introduced to milk or cream so that it curdles, forming the tiny pieces of cheese. Because of its low fat content, cottage cheese doesn't melt like many aged cheeses or higher fat cheeses, and that's why you need to blend it. Add cottage cheese to your blender or food processor with heavy cream, half and half, butter, and whatever else you want to flavor the potatoes with, then just mix it into the potatoes.

You'll probably want some salt and pepper. Dried or fresh Italian herbs are usually a good choice. And for an extra kick of savory spice, try some Old Bay seasoning. The celery salt, paprika, and red pepper blend incredibly with mashed potatoes. Depending on your ratios, you may want to cut back on the other dairy ingredients, but cottage cheese won't overpower the flavor much, bringing a simple undertone of sweetness and tang. It's really more about the amazing texture — rich and smooth with a little bit of stretch that's almost chewy on the palate. Plus, it will add about 6 grams of protein for every ¼ cup you use, a good excuse to put mashed on almost every home menu.