15+ Favorite Ways to Eat Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese is one of those foods that people tend to love or hate. I have been a huge fan since first discovering its healthy diet food status back in the 1970s.

It is a great source of protein with about 14 grams in a 4 ounce serving and low in calories provided you choose a low fat or nonfat variety. And I have great news for those following the Weight Watchers program. Nonfat cottage cheese has now been included on their Zero Points Foods List.

Here are 15+ of my favorite ways to enjoy this classic diet food staple…

 

Easy + Healthy Ways To Enjoy Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese is much more than a boring diet food. It can be enjoyed in so many ways – on its own, with fruit or salad, on toast, as a vintage Weight Watchers “Danish” and in a wide variety of both sweet and savory dishes.

How Do You Make Homemade Cottage Cheese?

As a lazy cook, I’ve never considered making cottage cheese myself. You can find it at most any grocery story. I’m sure the fresh homemade version tastes amazing.

So if you’re curious here’s a Quick Cottage Cheese Recipe from Alton Brown at the Food Network.

Are you put off by the texture of cottage cheese?

To give your cottage cheese a smooth consistency, give it a whirl in a food processor or blender. Then it becomes a healthier alternative to sour cream in your favorite dip recipe or as a tasty topping for baked potatoes. This was a popular low fat alternative back in the “old days” before Greek yogurt came into vogue.

This smooth whipped cottage cheese is also delicious slathered on a bagel, or pancakes, with jam.

Wondering How Long Cottage Cheese Will Last? 

Here’s a helpful article outlining all kinds of facts about cottage cheese, including how long it will last in the fridge after opening. 

More Favorite Ways to Eat Cottage Cheese

#1 Serve it with fruit. One of my favorite ways to eat cottage cheese is with fruit. It’s a match made it heaven.

I love it for both breakfast and lunch during the summer. Just about any fruit will work – fresh, canned in fruit juice, or frozen. Delicious options include:

Sliced bananas
Crushed pineapple or pineapple chunks
Berries – blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries or a combination
Melon chunks or balls
Fresh or canned peach slices
Chunks of apple and a sprinkle of cinnamon
Applesauce or apple butter
Or get fancy and make this cottage cheese banana split.

Check out these delicious cottage cheese breakfast bowls from Beth at Budget Bytes. Five flavors are pictured in the following video:  Apple Cinnamon, Savory Bowl, Blueberry Almond, Peanut Butter and Jelly, and Tropical Bowl

Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bowls Video

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#2 Mix it with nut butter. Stir a tablespoon of your favorite nut butter into a half cup of cottage cheese. Use it to stuff celery or spread on whole grain toast or crackers.

#3 Add it to smoothies. Blend it into your favorite fruit smoothie or green smoothie recipe for an extra boost of protein. This strawberry smoothie looks so delicious:

Cottage Cheese Smoothie Video

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#4 Add it to pancake batter to make Cottage Cheese Pancakes, which are much higher in protein than regular ones, but taste just as delicious.

#5 Make muffins. Stir into muffin batter to make blueberry cheesecake muffins like Kristina did over at Love and Zest.

#6 Stir it into pasta. The cottage cheese gets warm and creamy and is especially good with lots of freshly ground pepper. 

Cottage Cheese Alfredo Pasta Video

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#7 Or use it instead of ricotta cheese in Lasagna, Baked Pasta with Zucchini and Cottage Cheese in Casserole Dish or Mom’s Easy Baked Ziti.

#8 Or try this tasty low calorie Orzo with Cottage Cheese and Peas recipe…

#9 Serve it on a baked potato with salsa. For an incredible quick, easy and healthy lunch or dinner, one of my favorite ways to eat cottage cheese I learned years ago from Weight Watchers.

#10 Spread it on toast. for a vintage Weigh Watchers “danish.” I love cottage cheese spread on toasted raisin bread, then sprinkled with cinnamon and chopped walnuts. Or make this vintage “WW Danish”.

#11 Spread it on thin slices of apple and sprinkle with cinnamon. Perfect for breakfast or a healthy after school snack.

#12 Add a spoonful while you’re making scrambled eggs. It’ll give you the cheesy flavor you crave with an extra dose of protein. Or try this light + healthy spinach and feta crustless quiche.

#13 Use cottage cheese as a substitute for sour cream. First buzz it in a blender or food processor, with the tiniest bit of boiling water to make it make it creamy and then you can use it to make all kinds of skinny dips.

#14 Season it with your favorite spice blend. Lemon pepper, Mrs. Dash, Old Bay and Herbamare all work well. Spread on vegetables or whole grain crackers of stuff into celery or hollowed out tomatoes.

#15 Stir in some pesto with it. Then enjoy as a dip or spread for vegetables or crackers or stuffed into hollowed out cherry tomatoes.

# 16 Mix it with chopped vegetables or tuna or shrimp to make a salad. Makes another great dip or spread perfect with toasted whole grain bread, crackers, or vegetables.

A Simple Spread: Cottage Cheese with Olive Oil and Black Pepper

Food doesn’t get much faster than this. This is best with large-curd cottage cheese, preferably organic. Put some on a plate, season with sea salt and coarse freshly ground black pepper, then drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the top. Enjoy with whole grain bread or crackers.

*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan’s ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.

More WW Friendly Ways to Eat Cottage Cheese

Cottage Cheese Pancakes (Simple-Nourished-Living)
Cottage Cheese Recipes (Simple-Nourished-Living)
Baked Pasta with Zucchini and Cottage Cheese (Simple-Nourished-Living)
Cottage Cheese Waffles (SnackGirl)
Healthy Sour Cream Substitute (TheYummyLife)
Tuna, Cottage Cheese & Avocado Salad (RecipeDiaries)
25 Uses of Cottage Cheese (Devour the Blog)
Cheesy Guacamole (The National Dairy Council)

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Originally posted  9/17; Updated with new content, photos & videos 1/23

The post 15+ Favorite Ways to Eat Cottage Cheese appeared first on Simple Nourished Living.