5 Delicious Ways to Use Cottage Cheese, According to Social Media

Cottage cheese is a controversial ingredient.

Similar to mayonnaise, it’s the kind of food that people either love — or love to hate. And I get it: The signature texture of this fresh cheese is different from what we expect in dairy products. This is because cottage cheese is made up of curds — created by adding either bacterial cultures or acid to milk — which are later rinsed and then mixed with cream. But if you do like cottage cheese, it can be an incredibly easy tool for adding protein to your meals — and as the internet has realized in recent years, it’s also astonishingly versatile and delicious.

While cottage cheese may have held a reputation as a somewhat old-fashioned cheese, recipes and food videos on social media have witnessed an increased interest in the ingredient in recent years. It’s been at the center of a number of viral food trends, ranging from dipping vegetables into a mixture of cottage cheese and mustard to using cottage cheese as the foundation for ice cream. 

As a point of comparison, the hashtag #cottagecheese has been used on 626,716 posts on Instagram to date, whereas #cheddarcheese (which could be considered a much less polarizing cheese!) has been used just 350,710 times. As Food & Wine’s former social media editor and as a person who scrolls through endless food videos, I’ve seen so many clips making cottage cheese that it’s now on my regular grocery list.

It’s important to know that cottage cheese is often connected to diet culture online — this can be positive, like in the case of registered dietitians who are trying to give people information about nutritious ingredients, or negative, when used as part of fad diets that recommend extreme carb cutting. But regardless, it’s an excellent source of protein, especially if meat doesn’t make a regular appearance in your meals. A half cup of cottage cheese has approximately 14 grams of protein, whereas a half cup of milk has roughly 3.9, and heavy cream has only 3. (Also: Make sure you buy full-fat cottage cheese if you want the highest protein content.) 

Whether you think cottage cheese is delicious, or you’re looking to get some more protein in your life, Instagram and TikTok have invented a ton of new ways to utilize it. Here are some of the ones worth trying, including a few that might convert you — even if you think you don’t like cottage cheese.

Cottage cheese eggs

One of the easiest ways to incorporate cottage cheese into your cooking is by simply adding it to eggs. And this isn’t just for added protein — putting cottage cheese in your eggs will make them creamier and fluffier, thanks to the liquid evaporating as they cook, similar to a splash of milk. It’s also incredibly straightforward: Spoon some cottage cheese into a bowl, crack in however many eggs you want, whisk, and then scramble as you would normally. Some creators even take the egg and cottage cheese combo further by turning the ingredients into a dupe of the beloved Starbucks egg bites.

Cottage cheese flatbread

If you’re gluten-free, this might be the hack for you. Cottage cheese flatbreads are a more recent trend that have popped up this year, with quite a few creators trying the technique and putting their own spins on it. You only need three things to make these flexible flatbreads, perfect for a pizza or wrap at home: a blender, cottage cheese, and eggs; although you can sprinkle in seasonings like salt, garlic powder, or pepper in if you want. Blend the cheese and eggs together, pour onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, and bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, until the moisture has evaporated and it holds together.

Cottage cheese dip

Dips are really easy to make without a recipe, and they’re the kind of snack you can easily test out ingredient substitutions in. Test sour cream, greek yogurt, labneh, or a combination of a few as the base for your next dip — or, cottage cheese. To turn cottage cheese into a dip, the only extra step you need to take is blending it, which will make the texture smooth and silky. From there, stir in whatever seasonings, herbs, or additional ingredients you’d like. If you want something to dunk carrot and celery sticks into, a cottage cheese ranch might be a good option!

Cottage cheese pasta sauce

I love pasta. But one of the problems I encounter with many of my favorite pasta dishes (hello, pasta alla vodka) is that they don’t have a source of protein. Luckily, social media is now full of versions of creamy pasta sauces that either replace ingredients like heavy cream with cottage cheese, or incorporate cottage cheese into a more traditional dairy-based sauce. Because developing the right texture and consistency of a pasta sauce can be difficult, I recommend finding a respected creator who provides a recipe that builds in cottage cheese, so you’re not left figuring out the right ratios yourself.

Cottage cheese bread

If you really want to disguise cottage cheese, then transforming it into a loaf of fluffy, sandwich-ready bread might be the way to go. Content creator Carolina Gelen has posted her recipe for cottage cheese bread more than once on Instagram — with the video acquiring millions of views each time — and her method is simple. Cottage cheese gets blended together with egg whites as the base of the dough. You only need six ingredients total including salt and water to make it, and the entire process can be done in an afternoon. The result is a golden brown loaf with a thin, crackly crust that’s perfect for slicing.