These Cottage Cheese Recipes Are Taking Over TikTok

Getty Images | Tetiana Zavgorodnia / EyeEm
Getty Images | Tetiana Zavgorodnia / EyeEm

TikTok is in its cottage cheese era, and we're not sure why — but are 100 percent here for it. It's about time this dairy product rose from its depressing standing as a notorious almond-mom diet food and was appreciated for all it can do.

After all, cottage cheese is quite good for you. It's a nutrient-rich protein powerhouse (containing about 23 grams per cup, to be exact) and is a perfect blank slate for everything from ice cream to savory harvest bowls to creamy mac 'n' cheese — and the latest cottage cheese recipes circulating on TikTok are proof. You can cook it, bake it, freeze it, eat it plain, and you can make it sweet, savory, spicy, or somewhere in between.

All that's to say, if you're still eating cottage cheese plain out of the tub or with a dollop of canned fruit — or worse, not eating it at all because you don't know what to eat with cottage cheese — we're here to help. Keep reading to discover all the best answers for how to eat cottage cheese, including some of the most creative cottage cheese recipes on the internet. Then add cottage cheese to your shopping list, because you're going to want to try some of these, STAT.

01

Cottage Cheese Ice Cream

Don't knock cottage cheese ice cream until you've tried it. This cottage cheese recipe went viral on TikTok because people can't believe how easy it is to make a super-high-protein, simple dessert at home. You can customize it with whatever mix-ins you'd like, though we've heard great things about the "strawberry cheesecake" combo.

02

High-Protein Mac 'N' Cheese

This cottage cheese recipe idea comes courtesy of TikTok user Tom Walsh of @stealth_health_life. Using an immersion blender, you can blend cottage cheese into a smooth consistency (along the lines of Greek yogurt) and then use it to add protein and a creamy texture to dishes like mac 'n' cheese and fettuccine alfredo.

03

Cottage Cheese Bowl With Za'atar Veggies

You can thank TikTok foodie Justine Doiron of @justine_snacks for this creative cottage cheese bowl recipe, which includes seasoned roasted veggies and a homemade sweet and spicy sauce. Rest assured that you don't need to get quite this fancy to enjoy the concept of a cottage cheese bowl (and, FTR, Doiron has plenty of other variations on her page).

This general idea for how to eat cottage cheese is simple and super versatile: top cottage cheese with some cooked veggies, a sauce, and something crunchy for texture (whether that's toasted bread, nuts, or croutons), and you have a hearty, nutritious bowl perfect for lunch. (More easy cottage cheese topping ideas, right this way.)

04

Cottage Cheese Blender Pancakes

These cottage cheese pancakes from TikToker Rachel Mansfield are made with just four ingredients: cottage cheese (of course), eggs, oatmeal, and salt. You just blend, ladle onto a griddle as usual, and serve — but they're way higher in protein and fiber than your usual stack. Serve with maple syrup or melted frozen berries, and enjoy. (If you want to get really TikTok-y with it, might we suggest making them mini, and eating them as pancake cereal?)

05

Lemon Chili Cottage Cheese Toast

There are a vast number of iterations of cottage cheese toast out there, but a common flavor profile — as shown in this viral TikTok from Brittany of @toasted.table — is with lemon zest, chili flakes, and chili oil. She also puts avocado below the cottage cheese, but you could absolutely skip that step and let the dairy shine.

06

Cottage Cheese Protein Smoothie

If you've ever wondered what you can add to a smoothie to bump up the protein besides protein powder, one smart answer is cottage cheese. While adding protein, it also thickens up the texture and makes it creamy. You can add a dollop of cottage cheese to your favorite smoothie combo, like TikToker @FoodieFriendAmanda does here, or try a smoothie recipe specifically created with cottage cheese in mind, like this banana bread protein smoothie.

07

Cottage Cheese and Avocado Toast

TikToker and cupcake entrepreneur Melissa Ben-Ishay of @bakedbymelissa shared her absolute favorite meal to eat as a late breakfast: a hybrid cottage cheese and avocado toast with chopped cucumber. She says she typically picks one — cottage cheese or avocado — but her Franken-version looks delicious and has a winning mix of healthy fats from avocado plus the protein of cottage cheese. So, really, what's not to love? Here's one editor's raving review of the viral cottage cheese toast recipe and a step-by-step how-to.

08

Cottage Cheese and Pea Toast

Blending cottage cheese with defrosted frozen peas, as Jeremy Scheck of @ScheckEats demonstrates here, is the surprisingly genius hack behind this high-protein, fiber-filled toast recipe. Piping it to look this cute is optional, but we're here for the aesthetic.

09

Cottage Cheese Granola Bowl

If you enjoy yogurt parfaits for breakfast or a snack, try swapping your yogurt for cottage cheese. Top with granola, fruit, and nut butter like TikToker @brifindingbalance_ (or whatever you'd like, really), and you have a nutritious meal that takes all of two minutes to make.

10

Whipped Cottage Cheese Toast With Figs

Whipping your cottage cheese is the optional step dietitian Samar Kullab (@chicago.dietitian) does before smearing it on her toast, and it's the perfect solution for anyone wary of cottage cheese's original texture. For a sweet take, follow her lead and top it with figs and honey.

11

Bacon, Avocado, and Tomato Cottage Cheese Bowl

If a classic BLT and a cottage cheese bowl had a baby, this is what you'd get. The BAT bowl — another one by @toasted.table — consists of bacon, avocado, and tomato in a bowl of cottage cheese, drizzled with olive oil and hot honey, topped with salt and pepper, and then smeared onto crusty bread.

12

Whipped Cottage Cheese Sundae

If cottage cheese ice cream sounds like way too much work, simply blend your cottage cheese and dump it in a bowl like yogurt or ice cream, then top with peanut butter, banana, honey, chocolate chips, and cinnamon, or the sweet sundae-ish toppings of your choice like TikToker @katchaomeow does here.

13

High-Protein Cottage Cheese Dip

Blending cottage cheese with a few other ingredients is the perfect way to create a homemade dip that's super high in protein, as TikToker @JoeyWellness shows here. Follow his lead with an artichoke and tahini flavor combo, or use this cottage cheese recipe as inspiration to make a homemade ranch.

14

Cottage Cheese Eggs

Scrambling cottage cheese with eggs turns out to be the easiest way to make them incredibly creamy as well as super high in protein. (Eggs have about six grams of protein each, plus the protein from whatever cottage cheese you add.) Mix the cottage cheese in with the eggs right in the pan, as TikToker @alexandra_Redmond does here, or pre-scramble it all together in a separate dish for an even more seamless texture.

15

Cottage Cheese "Burrata" Pasta

This simple cottage cheese recipe is a riff on a burrata pasta, but instead of placing a burrata cheese ball on top of your finished pasta dish, you can simply add a hefty scoop of ricotta or cottage cheese, as shown by TikToker @legallyhealthyblonde.

16

3-Ingredient Cottage Cheese Chocolate Mousse

Looking for another sweet cottage cheese recipe? Blend cottage cheese with a few choice ingredients — cacao powder and honey or maple syrup — and you have a super-simple, high-protein chocolate mousse. Top with chocolate shavings and berries like TikToker @cookingwithcar did, or opt for something crunchy like crushed nuts or granola.

17

Cottage Cheese Cookie Dough

Remember that chickpea cookie dough everyone used to rave about? Well, there's a cottage cheese version, and it's even better tasting. Try this cottage cheese cookie dough, demonstrated by @anna.antonje, which is full of chocolate chunks, almond flour, and just the right amount of sweetness.

18

Spicy Everything-Bagel Cottage Cheese Dip

Can't get enough of everything-bagel seasoning? For a super-simple, high-protein snack, try dumping a bunch into cottage cheese with your choice of hot sauce to make a spicy everything-bagel dip, and then scoop up with cucumbers, à la @christinainbloom, or crunchy crackers.

19

Cottage Cheese Lasagna

Listen: there's nothing wrong with the ricotta in lasagna (in fact, ricotta and cottage cheese have a similar amount of protein). But if you want to, you can totally use cottage cheese instead. Try this recipe for cottage cheese lasagna from @fit.with.alena.