14 Brilliant Ways To Use Cottage Cheese In Your Cooking

Whether you enjoy a healthy breakfast, a creamy add-in, or simply want to boost nutrition in your meals, cottage cheese is here for the win. The fun doesn't stop at breakfast, either. As it turns out, there are numerous ways to use cottage cheese in your cooking, and many of them will leave you craving more of the tasty ingredient. Plus, according to Healthline, 70% of cottage cheese's calories come from protein, so it's nutritionally dense enough to help you lose weight and gain muscle as well. Tell me more!

To help us cash in on cottage cheese's versatility, we rounded up a list of yummy, dare we say brilliant ways to incorporate it into your cooking. From freezing it to baking it to adding it to dough, it is far from being just a simple side dish. So, if you want to take advantage of all the nutritional powerhouse has to offer, in terms of both health and cooking, keep reading. After all, brushing up on cottage cheese's many tasty uses will serve you, your belly, and your body as a whole, and that's a win in any book.

One of the reasons people love eggs so much is that they are incredibly versatile. The same can be said for cottage cheese, and lucky us, their ability to adapt leads to tasty results when the two ingredients are combined. In fact, we'd even go so far as to say that they make a dynamic duo. Possibly best of all, they are both packed with protein, so combining them leads to a super nutrient-dense meal. Score.

For the easiest mash-up of cottage cheese and eggs, you can spoon our creamy friend into scrambles or an omelet and get delicious results. However, cottage cheese also makes a wonderful addition to egg bites. The only other ingredient needed to pull them off is salt, too, so making a batch couldn't be simpler. Of course, you can always opt to add more stuff, but it isn't needed. Cottage cheese quiche isn't off the table, either. Stir some into your favorite mix, and you'll be amazed at how much richer, creamier, and fluffier it is when it comes out of the oven. Like the egg bites, you can keep it simple or add other tasty fillings. Whatever strikes your fancy.

Most people spoon a dollop of sour cream on top of a bowl of chili when they want a creamy add-in. While it is a winning pick for sure, cottage cheese may have just what it takes to make you forget all about it. Not only does it add the same rich, creamy flavor and mouthfeel as sour cream, but it also gives your bowl of chili a protein boost, so the benefits are tri-fold.

When combining chili and cottage cheese, you have two options. The first is to simply garnish a bowl of it with a scoop on top. The second is to build the creaminess from the ground up by adding several spoonfuls to an entire pot of chili and stirring. While this will take you away from the realm of classic red chili, it adds a delicious tang and a brightness throughout that won't go unnoticed. However, we prefer to go this route only if we anticipate the entire batch being consumed in one night. When leftovers are expected, we would rather garnish each bowl individually so reheating is a breeze. After all, we all know dairy isn't the easiest ingredient to warm up a second time. Regardless, cottage cheese and chili, or any kind of Tex-Mex soup for that matter, are a fantastic match.

This next upgrade, frozen cottage cheese bark, brings you a healthy snack and a sweet treat all rolled into one, and that's something sugar-lovers everywhere can get behind. After all, making your dessert a protein powerhouse as well is nothing if not a bonus. The fact that it is incredibly simple to make only makes it that much sweeter.

To make a batch of homemade cottage cheese bark, simply blend cottage cheese with a flavor of your choosing — we like raspberries and honey. When smooth, spread your mixture onto a parchment-lined baking tray and add any additional toppings you may like. Things like jam, nuts, more berries, and peanut butter all make outstanding picks. Still, no matter what you go for, after that, all you have to do is stick the tray in the freezer for a couple of hours (maybe even overnight), and voila! You have a yummy protein snack that also doubles as a sweet treat. If you haven't guessed already, our favorite recipe is PB + J Frozen Cottage Cheese Bark, but really, the options are endless, so feel free to go wild with both the blended enhancements and the toppings. If you'd find the ingredients in a cake or some other type of dessert recipe, they'll taste phenomenal turned into cottage cheese bark as well.

Breakfast or lunch, cottage cheese makes a winning sandwich ingredient. This goes for hot and cold renditions as well. No surprises here, but cottage cheese adds a yummy layer of tangy, creamy goodness to whatever sammie you choose to put it on. It also gives it a healthy dose of protein. While many sandwiches already get some protein by way of meat, a little more never hurts. In addition, it could be just what your vegetarian sandwiches are craving in the nutrition department.

If you aren't sure where to start when concocting a sandwich with cottage cheese, we don't blame you. After all, the world of sandwich recipes is never-ending. Still, what that means is your options are basically limitless as well, so don't overthink it. Layering cottage cheese onto a breakfast sandwich is an outstanding place to begin your exploration. For example, doesn't a high-protein English muffin breakfast sandwich with bacon, egg, cheese, prosciutto, and, of course, cottage cheese sound like a drool-worthy dream?

In its most basic format, Alfredo sauce features cream, butter, cheese, and flour. However, it also takes ingredient additions like a pro, and you guessed it, cottage cheese just so happens to be one of them. Considering the classic recipe is so rich and heavy, adding some protein to the mix can help make you feel better about the nutritional value of your meal as well. Winning!

In addition to cutting through the inherent richness of Alfredo sauce, including cottage cheese in the ingredients also leads to a lighter sauce overall. The flavors are still there, too, so no love lost. Regardless, cottage cheese Alfredo sauce is easy to make from scratch. All you need is some cream or milk, Parmesan cheese, cottage cheese (duh), and a few seasonings, like salt, pepper, and garlic. Thanks to the thicker texture of cottage cheese, you can forget about the flour and butter a standard recipe calls for. Simple or not, if homemade sauce isn't in the cards, you can also stir cottage cheese into store-bought Alfredo sauce to get the same flavor and nutritional benefits.

It doesn't matter what type of sweet breakfast batter we are talking about, pancakes or waffles, cottage cheese is the key to achieving a creamier, protein-infused result that's sure to turn some heads. For starters, when you enhance pancakes with cottage cheese, you get fluffy rounds that soak up maple syrup and butter, and they do it like it's their job. The pillowy texture itself is enough to make most of us swoon, regardless of what we choose to garnish our stacks of flapjacks with. You don't have to get fancy, either. You can simply add cottage cheese to a store-bought pancake mix and call it a day.

Just like with pancakes, adding cottage cheese to waffle batter also leads to a better, creamier waffle in the end. In addition, you can create easy, three-ingredient waffles using just oats, cottage cheese, and eggs. Sign us up. Then there's the protein. It is a complete game-changer for waffles and pancakes alike. Instead of your average recipe, which is carb-heavy and far from nutritionally dense, cottage cheese pancakes and waffles give you some much-needed health benefits.

Toasts and crostinis of all kinds are also begging for a simple cottage cheese upgrade. Just like with sandwiches, it adds a creamy texture, a tangy, bright flavor, and tons of nutrition. The only real difference is that it is served open-faced, which gives people a peek at the tasty ingredients inside without having to take a bite. Talk about eye-catching appeal! And since our eyes eat first, toasts and crostinis have most sandwiches beat on first sight. Just saying.

One of the best things about adding cottage cheese to toasts and crostinis is that it is versatile enough to pair with everything from sweet to savory toppings. You can layer it with tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, and fresh basil for a play on bruschetta, or branch out with something like avocado slices and grilled peppers. Going sweet with ingredients like fresh fruit and brie cheese or berries with honey are also outstanding routes to take. Whatever you're feeling, sweet or savory, the combinations are endless, making toasts and crostinis a perfect choice for breakfast, lunch, snacks, appetizers, and dinner.

Macaroni and cheese are already a match made in heaven — we will fight anyone who disagrees — but adding cottage cheese to the pair is something any lover of the classic comfort food needs to try at least once in their life. Obviously, more types of cheese are one way to make the recipe tastier, but cottage cheese in particular has a bright, tangy flavor that stands out while still letting the other ingredients shine. There's no doubt it takes the creamy factor to the next level as well.

Taste and consistency aside, adding cottage cheese to your mac also ensures the dish features a nice serving of protein. Sure, you could just add meat, but it won't do the texture of the cheese sauce any real favors. Plus, if you are trying to sneak some nutrition into a picky kid's diet, it might just make you both happy. It doesn't matter if you are preparing it homemade, frozen, or boxed; cottage cheese can easily be stirred into any of them. So, if you love a gooey, extra cheesy mac — who doesn't? — make sure to include cottage cheese in your next batch.

If you are looking to bolster some of your favorite sweet treats with a bit of protein, look no further than cottage cheese frosting. Smooth, creamy, and laden with health benefits, it takes your average frosted dessert and turns it into one with a nutritious edge. You don't have to sacrifice the sweet flavor of classic frostings, either, so it's a victory on all accounts. Seriously, once you give it a try, you may wonder why you haven't been making your frosting with cottage cheese all along.

Whipping up your own batch of cottage cheese frosting only requires three ingredients: cottage cheese, vanilla extract, and a sweetener, like sugar, honey, or maple syrup. You could also opt to go low-sugar and use something like Stevia if you want. Either way, you'll wind up with creamy frosting that's not only tasty but protein-packed as well. Once you lock down your preferred sweetener, simply toss the collection of ingredients into a blender until smooth. Then, all that's left is to slather some on your favorite cake, sweet bread, cinnamon rolls, or cupcakes and enjoy.

One of the reasons people return to casseroles time and time again (aside from the fact that they are delicious) is that they are incredibly simple to make. You can put just about anything you have lying around in your fridge or pantry into them, bake, and they are done. Translation: Casseroles make mealtime a breeze. Even so, getting the creamy base that holds all of the ingredients together just right is the trickiest part ... unless you use cottage cheese. It's already thick and velvety smooth (especially if you blend it first), so it brings everything together in expert fashion and helps keep it intact when you eventually slice into it.

As for what types of casserole benefit from the addition of cottage cheese, the sky is the limit. If you want to channel the iconic former first lady, Jackie Kennedy, Casserole Marie Blanche was a favorite of hers. It contains egg noodles, sour cream, diced chives, butter, salt, black pepper, and the most essential ingredient, cottage cheese. You can also use the creamy protein powerhouse to round out enchilada-style casseroles, ones featuring meat and potatoes, and ones consisting entirely of veggies. Just combine your ingredients in a dish, stir so all of the dry ingredients are thoroughly coated with cottage cheese, and bake until bubbly and brown on top.

Bread lovers rejoice because cottage cheese also makes a wonderful addition to both bagel and pizza dough. You don't have to be a seasoned baker to pull one of the recipes off, either. In fact, you only need one or two ingredients other than cottage cheese to make pizza or bagel dough, and they bake up like champs. The texture of both also gets a serious upgrade in terms of fluffiness and crunch. The protein infusion also leads to more nutrition than you'd typically get from a simple crust or bread, so really, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

To make cottage cheese pizza crust, all you need is flour and cottage cheese. It sounds too good to be true, but it's not. Simply combine the ingredients, roll the dough out into a square or circle, load it up with toppings, and bake. Similarly, cottage cheese bagel dough is also incredibly quick and easy to make, and it only requires one more ingredient (in addition to cottage cheese and flour): eggs. You can certainly load up the dough with seeds and other flavors as well, but everything else is extra.

Just when you thought we were done with cottage cheese and its ability to upgrade sweet treats, we come back with another. This time, it's in the form of banana pudding. Arguably pretty close to perfect as-is, the tasty dessert gets a serious boost when cottage cheese is added to the mix. Not only does it lead to a creamy, fluffy texture, but yup. You guessed it; it also adds a nice dose of protein. The banana flavor complements the tang of cottage cheese like no other as well.

Many of us reach for a box of instant pudding when a craving for the humble dessert strikes, and you can absolutely stir it straight into cottage cheese, regardless of flavor. Still, if you want to make high-protein banana pudding from scratch, it's simpler than many of us might expect. All you have to do is blend bananas, cottage cheese, and some type of sweetener — anything from sugar to maple syrup to honey will do. Then, put your mix in the fridge and wait until it is thoroughly chilled before enjoying. Bonus points if you also make some whipped cream to top it with.

Cottage cheese chips may be a favorite of people who follow the Keto diet, but it doesn't matter if you buy into the hype surrounding the lifestyle or not; homemade cottage cheese chips are downright delicious. We are not saying they will curb your desire for classic potato chips, but they sure come in clutch when you want some of the same crunchy goodness with the benefit of added protein. You don't need a deep fryer, either, so you can say goodbye to all that added oil.

Creating your own cottage cheese chips is as simple as spooning dollops of the namesake ingredient onto a tray, smashing them into small rounds, and baking. When they start to develop a crispy texture and brown edges, they're done. After that, pull them out of the oven, wait for them to cool, and enjoy.

Cottage cheese chips taste tangy and bright without any added seasonings, but that doesn't mean you have to stick to the basics. Where's the fun in that? You can load them up with garlic, Parmesan cheese, chili flakes, or, our favorite, everything bagel seasoning. It lends a savory, umami flavor with lots of depth and texture.

Potatoes come in many formats, but the mashed variety is arguably one of the most decadent and delicious of all time. Smooth, buttery, and velvety on the tongue, mashed potatoes are divine. That doesn't mean the dish isn't prime for some improvements, and lucky us, this is another area where cottage cheese shines. Not only does it infuse your mashed potatoes with protein, but it also gives them an uber-creamy texture. The tanginess of cottage cheese also balances out the richness of the butter and milk in a delightful way.

Due to the curds in cottage cheese, you'll want to blend it first before stirring it into your spuds. Once smooth, watch out, because it has what it takes to transform the most boring mashed potatoes into a flavorful, creamy dish that everyone will want seconds of. Seriously, the payoff is huge, especially if you use a quality, full-fat cottage cheese. So, if you want some mashed potatoes that boast all the classic comfort-food flavor we've come to expect from the dish, plus an uptick in protein and an incredibly creamy texture, adding cottage cheese to the mix is a no-brainer.