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 lowfat or nonfat variety. (You’ll want to use non-fat cottage cheese if you are following Weight Watchers Simply Filling /no count program.)
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 (affiliate link) or blender (affiliate link). 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.
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.
Easy Healthy Breakfast Banana Split
#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.
#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.
#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:
Orzo with Cottage Cheese and Peas Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups low fat cottage cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup minced scallions or chives
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- Black pepper to taste
- 1/2 pound orzo (rice shaped pasta)
- 1 cup frozen peas
- Grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook the orzo in plenty of boiling salted water until tender. While the orzo is cooking, place the peas in a colander in a the sink.
- While the water boils and orzo cooks, in a medium-sized bowl, combine the cottage cheese, salt, scallions, lemon zest, and black pepper. Mix until well combined.
- When the orzo is done, drain into the colander right onto the peas.
- Shake off the excess water and dump into the bowl with the cottage cheese mixture.
- Stir gently and sprinkle with grated parmesan.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
#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 (affiliate link) or food processor (affiliate link), 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 (affiliate link) over the top. Enjoy with whole grain bread or crackers.
*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.
WW 2019 Wellness that Works Program Changes
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)
WW has also updated their program to SmartPoints from PointsPlus – click here to learn more about SmartPoints.
Weight Watchers Makes Changes for 2018
Learn more about the WW Freestyle Plan in this short video…
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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Hi, I'm Martha. Simple Nourished Living chronicles the easy and delicious Weight Watchers friendly recipes, tips & hints that help me balance my love of food and desire to be happy, healthy and slim. 
sangeeta
Cottage cheese is so healthy n it is a staple in Indian households . I make it at home n use it in many ways . Though i never tried it with sea food .
Maher Abu Zer
When you fry eggs you can put some of it, i found this the best way to eat.
Martha McKinnon
Great idea, Maher Abu Zer! Cottage cheese added to fried scrambled eggs.
Ashley
I buy Red Delicious apples and red grapes and cut them up into cottage cheese. It’s so addicting
Martha McKinnon
Hi Ashley, I love this idea! Thanks for sharing 🙂
sasha
I did this at first I wasn’t sold…but now for a light night time snack I can’t get enouge…grape and cott age cheese is addicting 🙂
John
Try sprinkling couple tablespoons of cocoa powder and liquid honey on top of ~ 500 grams of cottage cheese and mix it up. I would have never believed something could taste so good without having much carbs and/or fats in it.
Martha McKinnon
Thanks, John. I’ll definitely give it a try.
Julian
Cottage cheese and strawberries are the best, it tastes good and a great alternative for casien protien.?
Sandra
As berries are better fresh, most of the time I cut up a juicy pear on my cottage cheese. It’s delicious.
Kennon Heard
Combine
5 table spoons of Cottage Cheese
3 table spoons of Heavy Whipping Cream
1 whole Banana, Cut into pieces
1 cup of your favorite cereal
Mix and enjoy
Use your imagination
Martha McKinnon
Thanks Kennon, I look forward to trying this!
Lisa Brenman
What are the freestyle smart points for the Orzo and Pea recipe? I cannot use the WW calculator because some of the nutritional information is missing. Thank you.
kathy
1 cubed apple
1 stalk celery cubed
4 TB raw almonds
1 c lofat cottage cheese
Combine for a tasty winter salad.
Martha McKinnon
Thanks for sharing this yummy winter salad with cottage cheese recipe Kathy!
Cheeznut
Mix with tomatoes or pickled beets
Cheeznut
Or chocolate protein powder and frozen raspberries
Deborah M.
Hello my name is Deborah
Try keeping a can of cold no sugar added fruit cocktail in the refrig. When you want a low fat cold dessert mix fruit cocktail with some cottage very addictive and yummy.
Cottage Cheeze
Yes! That’s my favorite
Inara
I make a Peach Parfait with Cottage cheese!
1/2 Cup Cottage Cheese
1TBSP of ground Flaxseed
1/2 Cup of chopped canned peaches in water.
Mix and then travel to heaven on the end of a spoon!
You can even make it the night before and leave it in the fridge. Just mix when ready to eat. Absolutely to die for.
Nettles
Thanks guys ! I’ve tried cottage cheese a few times, especially with eggs and it’s yummy but I was looking for other alternatives. This will keep me eating some healthy snacks for a while longer.
RB
I know it sounds weird to some folks (and to be honest it did me to start with) but a friend was eating cottage cheese with canned tuna mixed in with salt and pepper. I said I thought it was gross and they said if you haven’t tried it then don’t complain. I tried it and loved it! Although I’ve always loved tuna and melted cheese, I never thought of cottage cheese as really being a “cheese” but it taste really good and it a great high protein lunch.
Peggy
I eat it with olives…one half cup cottage cheese, top with six olives.
Christine
I made a traditional salad with mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, apple slices, and sliced turkey but substituted the cottage cheese for normal cheese, then drizzled olive oil and a sprinkle of balsamic vinegar. The dressings give it moisture while keeping the flavor (and calories!) light. You can add olives to give it a Mediterranean twist.
Paula H Gingrich
My 94 year old mother-in-law is on a “minced/moist” diet. I made this for her and she liked it!
Kate
May I simply say what a comfort to discover someone who actually understands what they
are discussing over the internet. You definitely
understand how to bring a problem to light and make it important.
More people must read this and understand this side of the story.
It’s surprising you are not more popular because you definitely have the gift.
Jan
I believe that the Orzo with Cottage Cheese and Peas Recipe is Mollie Katzen’s not Martha Stewart’s
Samual Yoder
drained chunk pineapple added to cottage cheese