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Creamy, high-protein, and surprisingly satisfying, this easy Cherry Chocolate Chip Cottage Cheese Ice Cream is a healthier homemade frozen dessert made with just a handful of simple ingredients.
Thanks to blended cottage cheese, it turns smooth and scoopable with plenty of protein and far less sugar and fat than most traditional ice creams. Sweet cherries and mini chocolate chips give it classic cherry-chocolate flavor reminiscent of Cherry Garcia-style ice cream—without all the extra calories and WW Points.
Best of all, no ice cream maker is required. Just blend, stir, freeze, and enjoy.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love This Cottage Cheese Ice Cream
- Ingredients & Substitutions
- How Many Calories and WW Points?
- How to Make Homemade Cherry Chocolate Chip Cottage Cheese Ice Cream, Step-by-Step
- Easy Flavor Variations
- Serving Suggestions
- How to Store Leftovers
- Cherry Chocolate Chip Cottage Cheese Ice Cream Recipe
- More Healthy Frozen Dessert Recipes
Why You’ll Love This Cottage Cheese Ice Cream
- High in protein and naturally creamy
- No ice cream machine needed
- Easy to customize with your favorite mix-ins
- Lower in sugar and calories than traditional ice cream
- WW-friendly and portion controlled
- Perfect for a healthy snack or light dessert
Ingredients & Substitutions
- 4% cottage cheese – Whole milk cottage cheese creates the creamiest texture. Lower-fat cottage cheese can work, though the finished ice cream may be slightly icier.
- Agave nectar – Adds sweetness while helping keep the texture softer after freezing. Honey or maple syrup also work well.
- Vanilla extract – Adds warmth and classic ice cream flavor. Almond extract is another delicious option with cherries.
- Frozen dark cherries, chopped – Sweet cherries pair perfectly with chocolate. You can substitute frozen strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or fresh cherries when in season.
- Mini chocolate chips – Mini chips distribute more evenly throughout the ice cream. Regular chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate also work.
How Many Calories and WW Points?
According to my calculations, each serving has about 137 calories and 8 WW Points.
To see your WW Points for this recipe, track it in the WW App!
(You must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)
How to Make Homemade Cherry Chocolate Chip Cottage Cheese Ice Cream, Step-by-Step
Step 1: Gather and prepare all ingredients.
Step 2: Add cottage cheese, agave nectar and vanilla to blender (affiliate link) or food processor (affiliate link) and process until smooth and creamy. (Alternatively, process cottage cheese, agave nectar and vanilla directly in container using an immersion blender (affiliate link).)
Step 3: Pour cottage cheese mixture back into rinsed out cottage cheese container (or other freezer-safe container).
Step 4: Stir in chopped cherries and mini chocolate chips until well mixed; smooth the top.
Step 5: Place cover on container and freeze for at least 4 hours or until firm.
Step 6: Before serving, you may need thaw frozen container at room temperature until it softens. Divide evenly among four small bowls.
Step 7: Store any leftover cottage cheese ice cream in a covered container in the freezer.
Easy Flavor Variations
- Blueberry Cheesecake: Swap cherries for blueberries and stir in crushed graham crackers.
- Strawberry Chocolate Chip: Use chopped strawberries instead of cherries.
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip: Blend in 2 tablespoons peanut butter and omit the cherries.
- Coffee Chocolate Chip: Add espresso powder or strong coffee to the blended base.
- Maple Walnut: Use maple syrup instead of agave and stir in chopped walnuts.
- Cookies & Cream: Fold in crushed chocolate sandwich cookies.
Remember to recalculate WW Points if you change ingredients.
Serving Suggestions
- Enjoy this frozen treat by scooping into small bowls or ice cream cones.
- If desired, top with chopped nuts, low-fat granola, a drizzle of chocolate-raspberry sauce, banana slices, light whipped cream, etc.
- This also makes a fun filling for homemade ice cream sandwiches. These salted peanut chocolate chip cookies, Halo Top peanut butter chocolate chip cookies or s’mores cookies would be yummy!
How to Store Leftovers
Store leftover cottage cheese ice cream in a tightly covered freezer-safe container for up to 2 weeks.
For the best texture, let it stand at room temperature for several minutes before scooping.
If you’ve made this easy Protein-Packed Cottage Cheese Ice Cream, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Cherry Chocolate Chip Cottage Cheese Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 16 ounces full fat 4% cottage cheese
- 2 tablespoons agave nectar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup frozen dark sweet cherries, chopped
- 2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Add cottage cheese, agave nectar and vanilla to blender (affiliate link) or food processor (affiliate link) and process until smooth and creamy. (Alternatively, process cottage cheese, agave nectar and vanilla directly in container using an immersion blender (affiliate link).)
- Pour cottage cheese mixture back into rinsed out cottage cheese container (or other freezer-safe container).
- Stir in chopped cherries and mini chocolate chips until well mixed; smooth the top.
- Place cover on container and freeze for at least 4 hours or until firm.
- Before serving, you may need thaw frozen container at room temperature until it softens. Divide evenly among four small bowls.
- Store any leftover cottage cheese ice cream in a covered container in the freezer.
Notes
(Must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.) 4 PointsPlus (Old plan) Use your favorite liquid sweetener when making this homemade ice cream—agave nectar, honey, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, etc. If you don’t like vanilla, you can leave it out. More Flavor Ideas:
- Blueberry or Strawberry Cheesecake: Replace the chopped cherries with blueberries or chopped strawberries and add 2-3 tablespoons crushed graham crackers. You can keep the mini chocolate chips or leave them out.
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip: Leave out the cherries and blend in 2 tablespoons peanut butter.
- Cookies ‘n Cream: Replace the cherries with 2 crumbled Oreo cookies.
- Coffee: Omit the cherries and blend in a shot of espresso, strong black coffee or instant coffee powder. You can keep the chocolate chips or leave them out.
- Maple Walnut: Substitute pure maple syrup (not pancake syrup) for the agave nectar and stir in chopped walnuts. You can keep the chocolate chips or leave them out.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe inspiration: TikTok
More Healthy Frozen Dessert Recipes
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This was amazing! Even traditional ice cream loving hubby loved it!! ????
Hi Diane!
Glad you liked it!! It makes my heart smile. ~Martha
so easy and fun! I did substitute greek yogurt for part of the cottage cheese because I had read the comment about cottage cheese’s high sodium content. Still a little salty, but good.
Happy to see that you enjoyed it Mary. Thanks for taking the time to let us know! ~Martha
Can you use fat free cottage cheese?
Hi Mary, We’ve not tried it with fat free cottage cheese. If you do we would love to know how it turns out for you. ~Martha
Why does this taste like straight SALT! No salt in recipe and DID not add salt to it! I don’t understand this.
Hi Heather. Cottage cheese is high in sodium. ~Martha
I made this but next time I will half the vanilla and I used powdered stevia in place of agave, used a tablespoon but could have done 1/2 a tablespoon.
And bigger container lol!
OOPS! I just reread the recipe and it says “whole milk cottage cheese”. It was written o on 2 lines. sorry.
When you describe the recipe, you mention whole milk. Where is it used in the recipe?