5 Recipes Proving Cottage Cheese Isn’t Just for Your Grandma

Cottage cheese may have a snack reputation that smacks of 1950s sensibilities, but it’s a brave new foodie world and everyone’s favorite curd is making a comeback. We whipped up five recipes that would make Betty Crocker jealous. Give them a go! The only thing you have to lose is your cottage cheese conceptions. Have more creative ways to incorporate this staple? Leave them in the comments below. 

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Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Prep time 10 minutes. Cook time about 20 minutes (about 5 minutes per pancake). Total time 30 minutes. Makes 6 thick pancakes, serves 3 very hungry breakfast eaters, or 6 people.

Ingredients

1 1/2 c. flour
2 medium ripe bananas, smashed
3 tsps baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp salt
1 c. (12 oz) Good Culture Strawberry Chia Organic Cottage Cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup milk of your choice (I used unsweetened rice milk)
Butter for pan

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk egg with the bananas, cottage cheese, honey, and milk.
2. Slowly add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt, stirring after each addition.
3. Heat a pad of butter in a griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Scoop approximately ½ cup of the batter onto the griddle. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Serve with fresh fruit, sprinkle of confectioners sugar, maple syrup or honey, and butter.

*Optional deliciousness: Use blueberry cottage cheese for a different flavor, or add fresh fruit to the batter.

Photo by Jaclyn Atkinson

Savory Cottage Cheese Breakfast Pie

Prep time 20 minutes. Cook time 40 minutes. Total time 1 hour. Makes one 9-inch pie.

Ingredients

For the crust:
(Optional use a pre-packaged version and skip forward in the directions to “To combine and create”)

1/2 c. Whole-wheat flour
3/4 c. All-purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
6 tbsps (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter cut into 1-inch pieces (or grated with a cheese grater)
2 tbsps ice-cold vodka
1/4 cup ice-cold water, plus extra if needed

For the filling:

3 medium eggs, beaten
2 tbsps all-purpose flour
2 c. (12 oz) Good Culture Kalamata Olive Organic Cottage Cheese
1/2 tsp lemon zest
2 tsps lemon juice
1/4 c. heavy cream or cream substitute
1 tsp pepper
1tsp garlic powder
1tsp oregano
1 medium red onion, chopped and pan-cooked until almost translucent.
1/2 c. spinach (or other hearty green would work as well)
1 c. grape-tomatoes, halved lengthwise

Directions

For the crust:

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and sugar until combined. Add the butter and shortening and cut together using a pastry cutter (or using your hands) until the mixture forms small pea-sized crumbs coated in flour mix.
2. Pour vodka and water over the ingredients, use a rubber spatula (or your hands) to gently press the dough together, continue until the dough forms a large somewhat-sticky ball, adding more ice-water as necessary. (Do not overwork the dough, it’s better to have the dough just come together than be overworked and tough.).
3. Press into a disk a wrap in plastic, refrigerate for at least half an hour, and up to 2 days before rolling out.

To combine and create:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll out crust on a cutting board or counter and drape into a pie tin, crimp the edges.
2. For the filling: In a large bowl or mixer, whisk the eggs, flour, cottage cheese, lemon zest and juice, heavy cream, pepper, and tahini until combined well.
3. Fold the spinach, red onion, and tomatoes into the mix with a spatula.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared crust.*
5. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out without batter, about 30 to 40 minutes depending on the oven.
6. Let cool slightly before serving, it will be easier to cut if you give it a solid 15-20 minutes to set.

Serve on a bed of arugula.

*Optional deliciousness: Add 1/2 c. crumbled feta to the top before baking.

Photo by Jaclyn Atkinson

Crustless Cottage Cheese Blueberry Pie

Prep time 10 minutes. Cook time 30 minutes. Total time 40 minutes. Makes one 9-inch pie.

Ingredients

2 eggs
1 c. (12 oz) Good Culture Blueberry Açaí Chia Organic Cottage Cheese
1/2 c. almond milk
1/2 c. almond flour
2 tbsps honey
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. blueberries
Pad of butter to grease the pan

Directions

1. Prep: Grease a pie tin with butter and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl or mixer, whisk the eggs with the sweetener until foamy, add almond flour, baking powder, milk, cottage cheese, and salt. Beat until combined and cottage cheese is smooth.
3. Pour batter into the pie tin.
4. About 20 minutes into baking, remove the pie from the oven and quickly place blueberries on the top of the cake, place back in the oven quickly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out without batter, about 30 to 40 minutes depending on the oven.
5. Let cool slightly before serving.

Serve with fresh homemade whipped cream or ice cream for a treat, garnish with fresh blueberries.

Photo by Jaclyn Atkinson

Cottage Cheese Chickpea Tahini Summer Picnic Salad

Pro-Tip: You know all those summer salads that include mayonnaise? Consider replacing the mayonnaise in ANY of them with cottage cheese. From egg salad, to pasta salad, to the below: Chickpea Tahini Summer Salad, these are all great for sharing and bringing to potlucks and are quick enough to throw together for impromptu summer gatherings.

Prep time 20 minutes. Serves 6.

Ingredients

2 c. (15 oz each) chickpeas, drained and rinsed thoroughly
1 c. grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1/2 red onion, chopped
4 small Persian (or mini) cucumbers, sliced into half moons
1/2 c. sliced kalamata olives, chopped roughly
1 c. (12 oz) Good Culture Whole Milk Classic Organic Cottage Cheese
2 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbsps tahini
3 tbsps water
1 tbsp garlic (fresh or powdered)
1 tbsp fresh oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp parsley (fresh or dried)
1 tsp thyme (fresh or dried)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsps toasted sesame seeds

(Don’t be intimidated by the long spice list! You are basically making Za’atar, and could substitute Za’atar for most of the other spices if you have it on hand in the pantry.)

Instructions

1. Combine the prepared chickpeas, tomatoes, onion, cucumbers, and olives in a salad bowl large enough to mix the ingredients together.
2. Combine the tahini and water in a medium size bowl, stir well until a little frothy. Add the cottage cheese and olive oil to the tahini mixture, mixing thoroughly. Mix in all of the remaining ingredients, including the toasted sesame seeds.
3. Using a spatula, add the spice mixture to the salad bowl, mixing thoroughly to coat the ingredients entirely.

Serve with spinach and greens or as a side dish for a potluck.

Photo by Jaclyn Atkinson

Chocolate Pineapple Cottage-Cheesecake

A simple treat that is maybe the easiest cheesecake or icebox pie that you’ll ever make. It will keep in the freezer, so feel free to make well in advance of a gathering. Prep time 10 minutes. Chill time at least 30 minutes. Total time 40 minutes. Makes one 9-inch pie.

Ingredients

For the crust:
(Optional use a pre-packaged version and skip forward in the directions to “To combine and create”)

1 1/2 c. chocolate graham cracker crumbs (from 8–9 chocolate graham cracker sheets)
2 tbsps granulated sugar
6 tbsps (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
1 1/2 c. Good Culture Pineapple Organic Cottage Cheese
1 can (13.5 fl. ounces) coconut milk
20 oz canned pineapple, drained (and reserved if you’d like to make a pineapple simple syrup topping)
1/4 cup honey
2 tsps all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla

For the topping:
1/2 c. homemade Whipped Heavy Cream or Whipped Topping of your choice (Cool Whip, CoCo Whip, etc.)
Pineapple (fresh or canned)
Pineapple Simple Syrup (To Make: In a medium size saucepan, add 1 c. of sugar to 1/2 c. reserved pineapple juice from can, stir until sugar is dissolved, let cool before use.)

Instructions

To make the crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. In the pie tin, mix together graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Pour melted butter over the crumbs and mix with a rubber spatula (or your hands, if the butter has cooled enough). The graham mixture will look slightly darker and clump together easier when pressed.
2. Using your fingers, press the mixture up along the side of the pie tin until you have a 1/4-inch thick shell around, then flatten out the bottom of the shell, making sure both the top and bottom of the shell are joined.
3. Bake until the shell is slightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. No longer than 10 minutes. Remove it from the oven and let it cool before filling.

To combine and create:

1. In a food processor or blender (I used an immersion blender), blend the cottage cheese, coconut milk, honey, maple syrup and vanilla together until it is super-smooth.
2. Pour everything into the crust. And pop into the freezer.
3. After a minimum of 30 minutes, or until the cheesecake base has begun to set, bring out and top with whipped topping of your choice and pineapple.* Return to freezer to set again, or return to fridge if planning on eating soon.

Serve with pineapple simple syrup drizzled on top, chopped dark chocolate, and extra fresh fruit or whipped topping. The cheesecake is best chilled, or at refrigerator temperature, for a particularly frosty treat on a hot day, serve frozen—it will be more like ice cream.

*Optional deliciousness: add a layer of chocolate syrup before returning to the freezer.

Photo by Jaclyn Atkinson

All recipes by Jaclyn Atkinson. For more information about Jaclyn, click here. 

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