The 3-Ingredient Cottage Cheese Frosting Packed With Protein

Over the last handful of years, particularly in unconventional recipes, cottage cheese has seen a resurgence in popularity. That said, next to the gamut of delicious breakfast ideas featuring cottage cheese which includes favored meals like pancakes, parfaits, and egg scrambles, you may be looking for more ways to incorporate this protein-packed food into everyday eats. More specifically, if you're someone who has a constant sweet tooth and is always looking for more topping ideas for homemade desserts, look no further than cottage cheese frosting.

Not only is cottage cheese ultra creamy, but it has the added ability of giving sweet-tasting baked goods a hearty dose of protein. Sure enough, ½ cup of low-fat cottage cheese contains approximately 14 grams of protein. To avoid the usual sugar crash that happens when you consume most traditional desserts, incorporate protein-packed cottage cheese frosting to ease digestion.

Especially if you often wish your favorite three-ingredient cake frosting made with instant pudding mix, milk, and whipped topping had a nutritious edge, all you need to do is swap out these ingredients for cottage cheese, vanilla, and your preferred sweetener of choice. Use regular sugar, honey, or maple syrup. Or, to keep the sugar low, opt for a zero-sugar sweetener like stevia or monk fruit in either powder or extract form. To make this luscious topping, add your cottage cheese, vanilla extract, and sweetener to a high speed blender or food processor. In just a minute or less, you'll have a thick and delicious protein-rich frosting.

While cottage cheese frosting is easy to make, you may want to consider its resulting texture before swapping it with more traditional toppings. For example, standard buttercream frosting is primarily made with whipped butter and powdered sugar. Therefore, buttercream has a sturdier texture than frosting made with whipped cottage cheese.

Truth be told, cottage cheese has a lighter and looser consistency and won't harden or set in your refrigerator. Therefore, using cottage cheese frosting on desserts that traditionally rely on sturdier frostings made with butter or cream cheese is not recommended. Though, keep in mind, you can always mix cottage cheese with butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla or almond extract to make a somewhat healthier version of standard buttercream.

Conversely, instead of using butter, try amping up the texture and flavor of protein-rich cottage cheese frosting with more nutritious ingredients like Greek yogurt and coconut oil. While coconut oil adds richness, Greek yogurt gives this nutritious topping a mildly tangy flavor. You can also increase the amount of protein in your frosting by including a scoop or two of powdered peanut butter. Protein aside, since some of the best fruits to pair with cottage cheese include mixed berries, you can also flavor your frosting with powdered, freeze-dried raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries. As long as you keep the consistency of cottage cheese in mind, this nutritious food serves as a delicious alternative to conventional frosting.