Looking for a snack that’s perfect for all of life’s munching moments? Whether you’re road-tripping, throwing a party, settling in for movie night, hiking your favorite trail, or packing lunchboxes, this spicy-sweet snack mix has you covered. The star of this mix is a glaze made with hot honey and butter, which pulls together a delicious combo of oats, pretzels, cracker bits, and Spanish peanuts into a crispy, salty-sweet treat.
What’s great about this snack mix is how customizable it is. If you prefer different nuts, want to kick up (or down the spice), or need gluten-free crackers, go for it! You can tailor it to your dietary preferences with ease. Personally, I love making my own snack mixes because they taste so much better than store-bought options. Plus, it’s a more economical choice, and I get to control every ingredient, ensuring there are no unwanted additives or preservatives.
So, whether you’re looking for a satisfying snack for a long car ride or something to share at your next gathering, this snack mix delivers bold flavors and crunchy textures that will keep everyone reaching for more!
Like Chex Mix, but homemade and super addictive! Whip up a big batch of this salty, spicy-sweet snacking treat with your favorite pretzels, crackers and nuts. Use gluten-free or seeds, if needed! Perfect for parties, lunch boxes, movie night, road trip munching – plus, it’s as economical as it is delicious!
Course:
Appetizer, Snack
Keyword:
cereal, chex mix, peanuts, pretzels
Servings: 301/2 cup servings
Ingredients
8cupsrice squares cereal
1cupmini pretzel twists
1cupmini pretzel sticks
2cupssmall, or broken crackers of choice (I used oyster crackers)
3cupsraw Spanish peanutsor any nut, nut mixture, or seeds of your choice
Sauce
¾cupmelted butter
2tbspWorcestershire sauce
½cuphot honey*
1tsponion powder
1tspgarlic powder
*if you don’t have hot honey, use regular honey and add 1 tsp cayenne pepper and 1-2 tsp chili powder
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375F
In large bowl, add cereal, pretzels, crackers and nuts; toss together.
In microwave-save bowl, melt butter, then stir in Worcestershire, honey and spices.
Drizzle seasoning sauce over dry snack mix. Gently stir everything around until coated.
Transfer coated mix onto rimmed baking tray and spread out into an even layer. Bake for up to 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring up ever 15 minutes for even cooking.
Remove mix from oven. Let cool completely before transferring to storage bags or containers.
If you’re craving something a little different for breakfast (or really any meal of the day), these Savory Southwest Bean & Salsa Waffles are a must-try! They’re a tasty twist on traditional waffles, starting with simple pantry staples like fat-free refried beans and jarred salsa. For this batch, I used Cantina Medium Salsa from Desert Pepper Trading Co., which packs just the right amount of heat and flavor.
The waffles get their satisfying texture from a cornmeal-based batter that crisps up beautifully in the waffle iron. The ingredients are mostly pantry staples and I think you’ll love making this easy waffle recipe on repeat.
They’re perfect as is, but the fun really starts when you get creative with toppings. Whether you go with a sunny-side-up egg, avocado, shredded chicken, or even deli meat for a sandwich-style creation, these waffles are endlessly versatile. And for those of you with a sweet tooth, don’t knock it ’til you try it—we even love them drizzled with syrup!
If you’re hosting friends or family, cut the waffles into quarters and serve them as a fun appetizer alongside more salsa for dipping. However you serve them, these savory waffles are a deliciously unexpected way to add Southwest flair to your day!
Nutrition perks: These are vegetarian waffles and vegan waffles, containing no milk or eggs. If you would like to make gluten-free, swap out the all-purpose flour for a gluten-free baking blend alternative. Each waffle has 131 calories, with 3g protein and 3g dietary fiber. See nutrition facts in recipe below for more details.
What type of waffle iron to use? I used a personal-sized mini waffle for these salsa bean cornbread waffles. The recipe makes eight, and you cook them one at a time this way. If you have a larger 4-square iron, the recipe will make 2 large waffles (eg 8 squares). I have not tested it in any other type of waffle iron.
Bean choice: For convenience, use a fat-free refried bean from can – I’ve tried pinto bean (here) and also black bean.
Salsa choice: I loved using Cantina Salsa from Dessert Pepper Trading Co. The heat level was just right for me—medium heat. This El Paso, Texas company makes other authentic salsa varieties in a range of heat levels if you’d like to try something different, you can purchase at Sprouts, Publix, Hannaford, Harris Teeter, Shop Rite, Walmart, Giant Eagle, Market Basket, Jewel, and Meijer or pick up your favorites online at DessertPepper.com. Follow on Facebook or Instagram for more recipe inspo.
Thesesavory waffles make a fiesta of flavor for breakfast and brunch or evenappetizers or dinner. Easy and convenient thanks to jarred salsa and fat-freerefried beans. The cornmeal base batter crooks them up crispy and golden. Deliciousplain or topped with an egg, avocado or other creative toppings.
½cupsalsaCantina Medium Salsa from Desert Pepper Trading Co
7.5ozabout ½ can fat-free refried beans
1/3cupalmond milkor other milk of choice
2tablespoonsolive oil
2/3cupsall-purpose flouror gluten-free baking alternative
2/3cupcornmeal
1teaspoonsbaking powder
1/2teaspoonbaking soda
1/8teaspoonsalt
Instructions
In bowl, mix together wet ingredients (beans, salsa, milk and oil).
Add flour, corn meal, and baking powder, baking soda and salt to bean mixture; mix until a thick batter has been formed. It will be pretty thick!
Heat waffle iron and spray with cooking spray. Add about ¼ cup* of batter to a personal-sized waffle iron, spreading around with a spatula to reach the edges. * For a 4-square waffle iron, add about 1 cup (half the batch).
Cook in waffle iron for 3 to 5 minutes until browned and turning crispy on the exterior. Repeat for each waffle (will make 8 individual waffles or 2 4-square waffles).
Top as desired, egg or guacamole always a good choice – with extra salsa drizzled on top! Used for sandwiches is great too – or cut in quarters for an appetizer and serve with salsa.
Clean up your snacking game with my cottage cheese salsa hummus – it’s high in protein and lower in fat and carbs than traditional hummus.
I still keep the traditional ingredient of chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), but then I also add some reduced-fat cottage cheese which eliminates the need for olive oil or tahini. You get more protein and less fat, yet still lots of taste – thanks to the salsa of your choice.
Customize this hummus with your go-to salsa – it could be traditional salsa, salsa rojo, salsa verde, or whatever else tickles your tastebuds.
I used Gilly Loco Salsa (the Salsa Rojo) and their delicious tortilla chips that are non-GMO and cooked in coconut oil to be better for you.
Making this salsa hummus cottage cheese may be one of the easiest things you’ve ever done – there are only four ingredients and no cooking. You’ll want to put it in your “what to bring to the party or potluck” rotation this summer and all year long.
TIPS FOR MAKING COTTAGE CHEESE SALSA HUMMUS
I used reduced-fat cottage cheese, but you may substitute full-fat for an even richer outcome.
Again, use the salsa of your choice – mild, medium, hot, red, green, garlicky, you name it!
I find a smaller, personal-sized blender works best for this cottage cheese dip – I have used this inexpensive blender daily and it has held up! Adding the salsa as the first ingredient keeps everything mixing up well from the bottom of the blender. You may need to scrape down the sides a bit to ensure smoothness.
For the full salsa madness effect, add more on top. I made the circular pattern by dragging a spoon through the hummus to make a channel.
Cover leftovers and keep for up to 5 days in the fridge.
This cold cottage cheese dip is also delicious warm! Just pop in the microwave for a minute, stop to stir, and heat again as needed. Warmed up this salsa cottage cheese hummus also makes a protein-packed filling for quesadillas, burritos – or even tossed with pasta or stuffed into a baked potato.
Clean up your snacking game with Cottage Cheese Hummus– a creamy, protein-packed dip without added oil. Serve cold, drizzle with more salsa and enjoy with tortilla chips or veggie sticks. Also delicious heatedas a hot dip or hearty ingredient in a burrito bowl, pasta toss or stuffed in
1/2cupsalsaplus more for garnish, I used Gilly’s Loco Salsa Rosa
3/4cup2% cottage cheesecan substitute full fat, but 0-fat not recommended
1 15-ozcan cooked chickpeasdrained and rinsed
2tsplemon or lime juice
Instructions
To blender, add salsa, cottage cheese, chickpeas and lemon/lime juice in that order (for best blending).
Blend for a minute or so, scraping down the sides with a spatula ass needed, until creamy and smooth.
Transfer mixture to a serving dish and smooth the top, making circular grooves to hold the salsa garnish. Use a spoon to drizzle on a couple more tablespoons of salsa.
Add any additional toppings, as desired, such as fresh herbs, seeds/nuts, olive oil, etc. Serve with Gilly’s Loco tortilla chips. May also use as a heated filling or sauce by microwaving for a few minutes and adding to burritos, quesadillas, or tossing with pasta, etc.
Recipe Notes
Makes 6 servings: 85 calories per serving, 2g fat, 7g net carb (4g fiber), 7g protein
Dig into these 24 delicious recipes that highlight cottage cheese as the secret ingredient to add a protein-packed punch to every meal. From energizing breakfasts to satisfying lunches, hearty dinners, and tasty snacks, these recipes with cottage cheese are designed to make incorporating this surprisingly versatile ingredient into your diet both easy and enjoyable – even for those who maybe once though they didn’t care for this nutrient dense dairy product.
A favorite among health enthusiasts and foodies alike, cottage cheese has a mild flavor and creamy texture, it can easily be incorporated into a variety of dishes, from savory to sweet. Rich in essential nutrients like calcium, vitamin B12, and phosphorus, cottage cheese supports bone health, muscle function, and overall wellness.
Most of these recipes are gluten-free, sugar-free and lower carb where they can be, with a few exceptions – and can be modified to suit your dietary preferences. I hope you enjoy this mini recipes with cottage cheese cookbook!
Dinners and Lunches that Satisfy with Cottage Cheese
3-Ingredient Cottage Cheese Pizza Crust: The crust made low carb with cottage cheese, coconut flour and flax meal for extra texture and fiber. Gluten-free, lower carb and ready to be topped with your favorite ingredients.
Cheesy Mushroom Pizza Stuffed Zucchini Boats – Zucchini boats are smart way to use up the squash of summer. A vegetarian recipe pumped up with extra protein thanks to cottage cheese. I love mushroom pizza, but you can top however you like.
Appetizer Dips Made Over with Cottage Cheese
Cottage Cheese Queso with Green Chiles: Enjoy ooey-gooey queso with no guilt. This cottage cheese questo recipes is a makeover of everyone’s favorite hot cheese dip made from that mystery block of cheese — much more nutrient dense and the real deal!
Matcha Protein Waffles with Cottage Cheese make a yummy, protein-packed option for mornings when you need a little pick-me-up. Load up with your favorite toppings, or take unadorned on the go — they are lightly sweet, so no syrup needed!
Cheesy Hatch Green Chile Chicken Egg Bake: Eggs, cottage cheese, and browned ground chicken breast make a hearty, healthy breakfast to fill up the family. Also, great for meal prep — you can freeze in individual portions for busy mornings.
4-Ingredient Low Carb Crepes: These delicate crepes are supringly easy to make and gluten-free. Nearly 5g grams protein and only 61 cal per each plain crepe — fill them up how you like, sweet or savory.
Strawberry Cottage Cheese Waffles: Cottage Cheese, strawberry protein powder . . . and strawberries on top make this a delight for berry lovers.
Basic Recipes Cottage Cheese Protein Waffles Easy, amazing and fantastic macros, these little waffles are actually anything but basic in the taste and texture category — I just called them basic because they make a great foundation for all your toppings of choice!
Mindful Sweet Treats and Cottage Cheese Desserts
Banana “Pudding” with Cottage Cheese is a flavorful walk down memory land (at least, if you you’re like me and remember your grandmother’s signature dessert with nostalgic fondness. This version is kept low carb, high protein thanks to blended smooth cottage cheese.
Individual Boston Cream Protein “Pies”: There is just something so satisfying about breaking into that hard shell made from melted sugar-free chocolate chips. Pumped up with cottage cheese and a gluten-free crust, this little treat is worth sharing (that’s why the recipes makes 2 servings!)
No-bake Mango Protein Cheesecake– A tropical hug in a mug — or a little bowl or mason jar, if you prefer. This is an easy way to boost your calcium, protein and fiber. Macros on point to eat for breafast, too!
Treat yourself to pizza night done right with 3-Ingredient Cottage Cheese Pizza Crust, a gluten-free, low-carb and protein-packed alternative to traditional crusts.
I’ve been baking and cooking with cottage cheese for YEARS, so it’s funny to see all these viral cottage cheese recipes on TikTok, Instagram and such as if it’s something new! Using cottage cheese is a smart way to bump up protein, lower fat, and minimize carbohydrates in many recipes – pizza crusts included!
The macros on this pizza crust are impressively good. The recipe makes two personal sized crusts (about 6” diameter each) with a single crust (before toppings of your choice) coming in at 163 cal, 4g net carb, 10g dietary fiber, 5g fat and 18g protein.
The only ingredients used in this low carb pizza crust are cottage cheese, coconut flour and ground flax seed meal.
TIPS FOR MAKING COTTAGE CHEESE PIZZA CRUST:
COTTAGE CHEESE: When it comes to selecting cottage cheese for his keto pizza crust recipes, pick a small curd cottage cheese with 2% or 4% milk fat. Stay away from the Fat-free cottage cheese, it does not perform as well. Also, if you use small-curb cottage cheese, there is no need to blend the cottage cheese smooth (as some similar recipes call for). For reference, I used Good Culture 2% Classic Low-Fat Cottage Cheese. They also make a lactose-free cottage cheese, if that is needed.
COCONUT FLOUR: This recipe only calls for ¼ cup of coconut flour, but it is a very “thirsty” flour and much less is required than other types of flour. For this reason, please to not make flour substitutes.
GROUND FLAXSEED MEAL: I added ground flax seed to add more fiber to the recipes, along with omega fatty acids. If you can not source this, you can *likely* just substitute with 1 tablespoon more of coconut flour – but I have not tried this yet, so let me know if you do.
OPTIONAL SEASONINGS: You won’t need salt because cottage cheese has enough sodium. But you might like to add garlic powder, everything bagel seasoning, fresh chopped herbs, or whatever else you would prefer.
BAKING: You will need parchment paper or a silicon baking sheet to cover your baking pan and prevent sticking.
COOLING & STORING: After removing the crust from the initial baking, you will want to let it cool almost completely. Otherwise, it will be too fragile to handle. This recipe makes two homemade personal-sized pizza crusts. If you are not using both, cover the leftover one and keep in the fridge to use later for up to 5 days.
TOPPINGS: After your crust has mostly cooled, feel free to handle it to add sauce, more cheese, veggies, meats or whatever toppings you love. Pop back in the oven for about 10 minutes or until cooked to your preference.
I also have a 2-Ingredient, 2-Minut Pizza Crust recipe that the family loves too – it uses Greek Yogurt and self-rising flour (or an all-purpose gluten-free baking blend with a bit of baking soda).
Simple, scrumptious and a crust you will crave for pizza night!! Add the toppings you enjoy. Makes two personal-sized crusts, each with 163 cal, 14g carb (4 net carb), 5g fat and 18g protein.
Course:
Appetizer, dinner, lunch
Keyword:
cottage cheese, gluten free, high protein, low carb, pizza
Servings: 2servings
Calories: 163kcal
Ingredients
1cup2% or 4% cottage cheeseNot zero-fat
¼cupcoconut flour
1tbspground flax seed*
Optional: ½ tsp garlic salt or other seasoning of your choiceHowever, don't add seasonings with a lot of salt added. Cottage cheese already has enough sodium.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F.
Add ingredients to bowl, mix until combined. Form into two balls.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet. Use hands to smoosh down and form into two thin discs, approx. 6” diameter.
Bake for approx. 20 minutes, or until turned golden brown and edges just about to get too brown. Remove from oven and let cool on pan about 5-10 minutes.
Top with ingredients of choice and return to oven to bake for 10 more minutes, or until toppings done to your liking.
If you don’t use the 2nd crust, wrap up and store in fridge for use later, up to 5 days.
*If you can’t find this flax meal, try subbing in with 1 tbsp. more coconut flour. I can’t 100% vouch for outcome, but it should work. The flax is just a nice variety, offers fiber and omega fatty acids.
 Treat yourself to pizza night done right with 3-Ingredient Cottage Cheese Pizza Crust, a gluten-free, low-carb and protein-packed alternative to traditional crusts. This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Cottage-Cheese-Pizza-Crust-Gluten-Free-sq-1024x1024.jpeg I’ve been baking and cooking with cottage cheese for YEARS, so it’s funny to see all these viral cottage cheese recipes on TikTok, Instagram and such as if it’s something new! Using cottage cheese is a smart way to bump up protein, lower fat, and minimize carbohydrates in many recipes – pizza crusts included! The macros on this pizza crust are impressively good. The recipe makes two personal sized crusts (about 6” diameter each) with a single crust (before toppings of your choice) coming in at 163 cal, 4g net carb, 10g dietary fiber, 5g fat and 18g protein. The only ingredients used in this low carb pizza crust are cottage cheese, coconut flour and ground flax seed meal. This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Cottage-Cheese-Pizza-Crust-ingredients-797x1024.jpeg TIPS FOR MAKING COTTAGE CHEESE PIZZA CRUST: COTTAGE CHEESE: When it comes to selecting cottage cheese for his keto pizza crust recipes, pick a small curd cottage cheese with 2% or 4% milk fat. Stay away from the Fat-free cottage cheese, it does not perform as well. Also, if you use small-curb cottage cheese, there is no need to blend the cottage cheese smooth (as some similar recipes call for). For reference, I used Good Culture 2% Classic Low-Fat Cottage Cheese. They also make a lactose-free cottage cheese, if that is needed. COCONUT FLOUR: This recipe only calls for ¼ cup of coconut flour, but it is a very “thirsty” flour and much less is required than other types of flour. For this reason, please to not make flour substitutes. GROUND FLAXSEED MEAL: I added ground flax seed to add more fiber to the recipes, along with omega fatty acids. If you can not source this, you can *likely* just substitute with 1 tablespoon more of coconut flour – but I have not tried this yet, so let me know if you do. OPTIONAL SEASONINGS: You won’t need salt because cottage cheese has enough sodium. But you might like to add garlic powder, everything bagel seasoning, fresh chopped herbs, or whatever else you would prefer. BAKING: You will need parchment paper or a silicon baking sheet to cover your baking pan and prevent sticking. COOLING & STORING: After removing the crust from the initial baking, you will want to let it cool almost completely. Otherwise, it will be too fragile to handle. This recipe makes two homemade personal-sized pizza crusts. If you are not using both, cover the leftover one and keep in the fridge to use later for up to 5 days. TOPPINGS: After your crust has mostly cooled, feel free to handle it to add sauce, more cheese, veggies, meats or whatever toppings you love. Pop back in the oven for about 10 minutes or until cooked to your preference. This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Cottage-Cheese-Pizza-Crust-Gluten-Free-1024x647.jpeg I also have a 2-Ingredient, 2-Minut Pizza Crust recipe that the family loves too – it uses Greek Yogurt and self-rising flour (or an all-purpose gluten-free baking blend with a bit of baking soda). 2 Ingredient 2 Minute Pizza Dough https://thefitfork.com/2-ingredient-2-minute-homemade-pizza-crust/)
