The 1 Ingredient Hack I'm Using To Make My Meals High Protein
This retro fave is SO back.
If you haven’t eaten cottage cheese since the '90s, let me tell you—the retro fave is SO back. And we’re not just talking about eating it out of a bowl either (unless it’s our Greek salad cottage cheese bowls). Instead, modern cottage cheese recipes like the ones below are blending it up into sauces that really celebrate all it has to offer. It adds the most creamy texture to everything from pastas to casseroles, while also packing a huge protein punch. Thanks to these recipes, you can eat all your favorite meals, and feel just a little bit healthier while doing it.
As these recipes prove, cottage cheese is actually extremely versatile. You can use it instead of milk or heavy cream, like we did in our cottage cheese Alfredo, our high-protein marry me chicken, or our spicy cottage cheese pasta. You can use it to bulk out a casserole, like we did in our Ritz cracker chicken casserole, our million dollar spaghetti, or our cottage cheese baked ziti. Looking to add protein without too much flavor? Our cottage cheese gnocchi or our copycat Starbucks egg bites really can’t be beat. You can even make it for dessert (or an extra decadent breakfast), and our high-protein mousse is proof. Take this list as inspiration, and get creative—let us know in the comments below what recipes you're subbing cottage cheese into, or if there's any you'd like us to try.
If you really haven’t bought cottage cheese in years (relatable!), check out Assistant Food Editor Taylor Ann’s deep dive on what's the best store-bought cottage cheese brand is. She highlights which one is best for blending, cooking, and yes, just eating with a spoon. 😉
Cottage Cheese Baked Ziti
Gone are the days when cottage cheese was just a bland diet food. As much as we love comforting baked ziti, we wanted to shake things up by swapping ricotta for cottage cheese and simplifying the process to create a one-pan wonder. This dish is full of protein, AND flavor.
Get the Cottage Cheese Baked Ziti recipe.
Cottage Cheese Gnocchi
These adorable little pasta pillows are the perfect base for your favorite sauces, from Alfredo to marinara to pesto. Making your own homemade gnocchi v isn’t the most weeknight-friendly meal, but it's a lot easier than you’d think!
Get the Cottage Cheese Gnocchi recipe.
High-Protein Marry Me Chicken
If the way to a person’s heart is really through their stomach, then our marry me Chicken is a must-cook for pretty much everyone. But what if you want just a little added protein in your romantic meal? Bone broth and cottage cheese to the rescue.
Get the High-Protein Marry Me Chicken recipe.
Cottage Cheese Bark
By blending cottage cheese until it’s smooth, drizzling it with peanut butter, jelly, granola, and freezing it, we’ve created a healthy snack that will fill you up and satisfy your sweet tooth at the same time. Packed with protein, this cottage cheese bark is like a bowl of yogurt that you can hold in your hand.
Get the Cottage Cheese Bark recipe.
Spicy Cottage Cheese Pasta
Blending cottage cheese with marinara (and a little chili oil!) until the sauce is creamy and smooth makes for an incredible pasta sauce. It’s a super-easy hack to get an extra boost of protein out of a favorite comfort meal.
Get the Spicy Cottage Cheese Pasta recipe.
High Protein Mousse
You don’t need any protein powder to help make this a high-protein dessert, only one staple, protein-packed ingredient (that we turn to again and again): cottage cheese. If you have protein goals you’re trying to hit or are just interested in a healthier dessert option, this chocolate mousse is for you.
Get the High Protein Mousse recipe.
Cottage Cheese Alfredo
Wouldn’t it be great to have a big bowl of your favorite creamy pasta with less fat and more protein but with all of the flavor and texture you’re looking for in a good Alfredo sauce? We thought so! Turn this into a chicken Alfredo for even more of a protein punch.
Get the Cottage Cheese Alfredo recipe.
Copycat Starbucks Egg Bites
Giving cold hard cash to Starbucks seems far-fetched in this economy, even if that cash is in exchange for their fluffy, cheesy, protein-packed egg bites. Lucky for you, we've figured out a perfect dupe for the iconic breakfast bites that will make you swear you shelled out $5 for a serving.
Get the Copycat Starbucks Egg Bites recipe.
Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole
When the weather gets cold, your dinner making-mojo is low, or when comfort food is just what’s on the menu, you need a casserole. And if that casserole is easy, creamy, chicken-y, and cheesy, like this one is? With a crunchy topping? Your oven should already be preheating. 😉
Greek Salad Cottage Cheese Bowl
Both cottage cheese and hard-boiled eggs provide the protein for these bowls that work for breakfast, lunch, or even as a satisfying anytime snack.. Simply spoon a serving of cottage cheese into a bowl and top with all of those quintessential Mediterranean vegetables—we went for a Greek salad, but anything goes.
Million Dollar Spaghetti
"My family went nuts over this!! It’s kinda a cross between lasagna and spaghetti but takes the best from both!! Winner winner million dollar pasta dinner!! 😂" - CyanStrawberry
If you love our million-dollar mac & cheese, you've gotta try this spaghetti next. It's got 4.5 stars for a reason.
Get the Million Dollar Spaghetti recipe.
Sweet Noodle Kugel
Kugel is basically the Yiddish/Jewish word for casserole. While there are many savory versions (such as this giant-latke-esque potato kugel), we have a soft spot in our hearts for this eggy, cinnamon-y sweet version too.
Get the Sweet Noodle Kugel recipe.
