Tag Archives: cottage cheese

Mango Protein Cheesecake Cup for One

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When life throws mangos at you, make a Mango Protein Cheesecake Cup for one. It’s no-bake, no stress and ready to impress your taste buds.

Mango Protein Cheesecake Cup for One is a no-bake, easy high protein snack that will be your new tropical-inspired favorite for a healthy dessert, post-workout snack or even an easy breakfast that also boasts lots of calcium and fiber.

This easy, single-serve high protein snack is sweet and tart and creamy, a delicious healthy dessert that is nutritionally on point for breakfast or a post-workout snack! It’s a great source of protein, calcium and fiber (full nutrition in recipe card).

It all starts with one of my favorite ingredients, blended cottage cheese. A cottage cheese cup is such a powerhouse food providing lots of protein and calcium for a relatively low calorie expenditure.  Vanilla protein powder pumps up the protein even more – use the variety you like best! In this cheesecake cup, I use Nuzest Clean Lean Protein, a plant-based protein powder that’s easy to digest and has a good texture. (Save 15% with code FITFORK)

Mango Protein Cheesecake Cup for One is a no-bake, easy high protein snack that will be your new tropical-inspired favorite for a healthy dessert, post-workout snack or even an easy breakfast that also boasts lots of calcium and fiber.
If you have fresh mango to add as garnish – GREAT! But, it’s still amazing with just the mango juice!

TIPS FOR MAKING MANGO PROTEIN CHEESECAKE CUP

Container: You’ll need a 10 to 12-oz bowl, mug or jar for this mango protein cheesecake!

Juice: You can use straight up mango juice, or a mango juice blend – I prefer to look for juice with no added sugar.

Chia Seeds: these help the juice gel up and add a great jam-like texture – you can use black chia seeds or white chia seeds, your choice!

Cottage Cheese Tip: Because I almost exclusively use BLENDED cottage cheese in my diet (a texture preference), I pre-blend my cottage cheese when I get home from the market and then put it back in the container, ready to go. However, if you are just blending the small ¾ cup called for in this recipe, you’ll want to use a personal sized blender.

Mango Protein Cheesecake Cup for One is a no-bake, easy high protein snack that will be your new tropical-inspired favorite for a healthy dessert, post-workout snack or even an easy breakfast that also boasts lots of calcium and fiber.

Note; This post contains affiliate links.

5 from 1 vote
Mango Protein Cheesecake Cup for One is a no-bake, easy high protein snack that will be your new tropical-inspired favorite for a healthy dessert, post-workout snack or even an easy breakfast that also boasts lots of calcium and fiber.
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Mango Protein Cheesecake Cup for one
Prep Time
10 mins
chill
30 mins
Total Time
40 mins
 
Mango Protein Cheesecake Cup for One is a no-bake, easy high protein snack that will be your new tropical-inspired favorite for a healthy dessert, post-workout snack or even an easy breakfast that also boasts lots of calcium and fiber.
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack, workout
Keyword: cheesecake, cottage cheese, mango, protein powder
Ingredients
  • ¾ cup 2% cottage cheese blended
  • 3 tbsp. vanilla protein powder
  • 3 oz. mango juice or a no-added sugar mango juice blend I used Naked’s Mighty Mango
  • 1 ½ tbsp. chia seeds black or white
  • optional garnish Fresh mango, chopped
Instructions

  1. Blend cottage cheese in personal-sized blender, scrape down sides as needed.

  2. Stir in protein powder. Add cottage cheese mixture to 10-12 ounce mug (or bowl)

  3. Add mango juice and chia seeds to small jar and shake. Pour over top, chill for 30 minutes to gel up chia seeds. Add chopped mango, if desired.

Recipe Notes

Caramel Protein Tiramisu with Rice Cake Layers

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You’ll love this guilt-free makeover on a classic dessert favorite – Caramel Protein Tiramisu! By swapping out traditional ingredients for healthier options — like blended cottage cheese for mascarpone cheese and rice cakes for lady fingers – you get a protein dessert that not only satisfies your sweet tooth but also fuels your body with nourishing goodness.

Whether you’re aiming to boost your protein intake (this protein tiramisu has 285 call and 31g protein!) or simply seeking a lighter, sugar-free snack option, this Tiramisu makeover recipe is sure to delight your taste buds without compromising on taste or a sense of treating yourself.

INGREDIENTS & TIPS

Rice cakes: Use your favorite plain rice cakes, salted or unsalted in the mini size. There are flavored rice cakes out there like caramel and chocolate . . . which would work – but would add sugar to the recipe (so I avoided them).

Cottage Cheese & Greek Yogurt: For a lower fat and low-calorie tiramisu that is packed with protein, this recipe relies on 2% cottage cheese blended no fat Greek yogurt to maintain a creamy texture. When whipping your cottage cheese in the blender in preparation for this cottage cheese dessert, do not drain it beforehand. The liquid, watery stuff you see is actually the whey protein – which is important for the nutrition and also to assist in blending!!

Coffee: Rice cakes are soaked in coffee, one by one, before layering into the tiramisu. You have lots of coffee choices and you only need about ¼ cup– regular brewed coffee, instant coffee, espresso (if you like a stronger taste), instant espresso (what I used), and even a canned coffee drink would work.

Protein Powder: Adding just a bit of protein powder (only 2 tbsp) boosts the protein count and helps sweeten without sugar. To make this a caramel tiramisu, I used a plant-based Caramel Protein from Nuzest (save 15% with code: FITFORK). You can also use a coffee or vanilla protein powder and the protein format of your preference – like whey or plant or whatever!

Cocoa powder: Unsweetened cocoa powder is dusted on top with a sifter in that famous old-world style. This little flourish adds deep chocolate notes and will make your cottage cheese dessert taste and look like a tiramisu! Because it was such a small amount of cocoa powder, I used a little mesh tea strainer as my sifter – genius, I thought!

Cup / Bowl Size:  Choosing the right cup or bowl is a little tricky if you want a “perfect” presentation and see the layers– the bowl opening at the widest part has to accommodate the width of a rice cake (usually and 3 ¾” to 4”) – if the bottom is a little narrower, that’s fine as the soaked rice cake can be flattened smooth with a spoon. I used a 10-oz glass bowl filled up to the very tippy top (a 10-ounce custard cup or 10-oz ramekin would work great) Most 10-12 oz bowls, mugs or cups will work if you are not particular about perfect layers.

Scaling Up: This is a recipe for one, specifically measured to create one delicious single-serve tiramisu. That being said, it’s an easy recipe to scale up this tiramisu for one – simply multiply the ingredient portions by the number of servings desired to be make. I think it could also be made larger in an 8×8 or 9×13 dish, but I haven’t tried that yet!

If you love Caramel Protein Tiramisu, you’ll also love some of my other protein desserts featuring cottage cheese:

High Protein Banana Pudding with Cottage Cheese

No-Bake Beet Protein Cheesecakes with Sugar-Free Hard Chocolate Topping

Boston Cream “Pie” Cup

No-Bake Maple Pecan Chia Cheesecakes

Note: This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission from any sales generated and that helps me offset operating expenses for The Fit Fork. Thank you!

5 from 4 votes
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Caramel Protein Tiramisu (with Rice Cakes)
Prep Time
10 mins
Total Time
10 mins
 
Sounds odd, but holy yum – this healthy dessert, post workout snack (or even breakfast in my book), is delicious. The rice cakes soak up espresso and whipped cottage cheese, Greek yogurt and salted caramel protein powder make a creamy filling. No added sugar, gluten-free.
Course: Dessert, Snack
Keyword: cottage cheese, gluten free, high protein, protein powder, rice cake, sugar-free, tiramasu
Servings: 1 serving
Calories: 281 kcal
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup brewed, instant or canned coffee or espresso
  • 2 unsalted or lightly salted rice cakes approx. 4” diameter size
  • ½ cup 2% cottage cheese blended
  • ¼ cup fat-free Greek yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons Caramel Protein Powder coffee or vanilla protein works too
  • 5-10 drops liquid stevia or monk fruit if desired
  • 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp sugar free mini chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. In bowl, place coffee. Add first rice cake into coffee for about 10 seconds, then flip for another 5-10 seconds.
  2. With spatula, gently move to a 10 oz bowl, if needed use spoon to pat down to be an even layer.
  3. In another bowl, stir together whipped (blended) cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, protein powder, and stevia (if desired). Spoon half this mixture over soaked rice cake in bowl
  4. Soak the second rice cake in remaining coffee, flipping, until all absorbed. Place in bowl over creamy later and then top with remaining creamy filling.
  5. Use small sifter to dust on cocoa powder, sprinkle with chocolate chips. Serves 1.
Recipe Notes

281 call, 31g protein per serving.

Green Chile Cottage Cheese Queso – High Protein

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Good news for cheese lovers! You can have your queso and eat it too! High Protein Green Chile Queso is easy, delicious AND nutritious and will become your new favorite not dip for snacking and meals. Heck, you’ll want to pour it on everything!

Most queso (as we know it in the Southern US) is based on processed American cheese, ewwww – kinda a mystery substance. But my recipe high protein queso shared below features cottage cheese as the hero ingredient.

Cottage cheese in queso might sound strange – but it is cheese, right?! It’s blended smooth for a creamy texture and is incorporated with a bit of grated Pepper Jack for a slightly spicy and richer cheese vibe. You stay away artificial ingredients, preservatives and who knows what – plus, there’s lots of protein and not much fat.

Shredded Pepper Jack melts into blended cottage cheese for the perfect medley! Or, try white cheddar!

And, cottage cheese queso is easy to make, with just four ingredients, an approximate 24-oz microwave-safe dish (or a little larger), and a microwave. So, 1) tastes great, 2) lots of protein, 3) less fat and no fake stuff – WIN-WIN-WIN!

Roast and chop your own green chile peppers, or for convenience, use pre-prepped like frozen, jar or canned.

This would be a great appetizer or snack for football game season – bowl games are coming up! Make it at score big compliments!

Lower in fat, but still ooey-gooey, this high protein green chili queso features blended cottage cheese as the hero. Simple to make in the microwave, only 4 ingredients – delicious and nutritious! 100 calories per serving with 11g protein. A healthy appetizer or topping for your Mexican-inspired meal.

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5 from 5 votes
Lower in fat, but still ooey-gooey, this high protein green chili queso features blended cottage cheese as the hero. Simple to make in the microwave, only 4 ingredients – delicious and nutritious! 100 calories per serving with 11g protein. A healthy appetizer or topping for your Mexican-inspired meal.
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Cottage Cheese Queso with Green Chiles

Lower in fat, but stillooey-gooey, this high protein green chili queso features blended cottage cheeseas the hero. Simple to make in the microwave, only 4 ingredients – delicious andnutritious! 100 calories per serving with 11g protein.  A healthy appetizer or topping for your Mexican-inspiredmeal.

Ingredients
  • 2 cups 2% milkfat cottage cheese not drained
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 4 oz chopped green chiles from can or fresh roasted
  • 4 oz fresh grated Pepper Jack cheese
  • Optional: Pico de Gallo for garnish
Instructions
  1. Add cottage cheese to blender and process until smooth, a minute or so.
  2. By hand, stir in the garlic powder and chopped green chilies. If using chiles from a can, pour off and discard and ½ the juices so dip doesn’t become too watery.
  3. Add mixture to a microwave-bowl.
  4. Heat in microwave for about 2 minutes. Remove and stir in the pepper jack cheese, ½ at a time.
  5. Return to microwave and heat an additional 1-2 minutes until heated through and bubbling. Stir again to make sure the pepper jack cheese is incorporated.
  6. If desired, garnish with Pico de Gallo.
  7. Serve warm with chips or baguette slices to dip in. Or, use a drizzle on fajitas, burrito bowls, nachos, etch.
  8. Store leftovers, covered, in fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat, microwave on half-power for 2-3 minutes until able to stir it up. Then, heat again on high for 1-2 minutes until hot and bubbling.
Recipe Notes

Better-For-You Artichoke and Green Chile Dip with Cottage Cheese

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Name your top three favorite hot party dips. Chances are a creamy artichoke dip is among the ranks. Creamy, cheesy, and comforting, it’s become a beloved classic in American cuisine, often served at parties, sporting events, and casual get-togethers.  I’ve made a better-for-you Artichoke and Green Chile Dip with Cottage Cheese that still offers that same indulgent vibe, but with a much more mindful nutritional profile.

Better-for-You Artichoke and Green Chile Dip with Cottage Cheese is a comforting snack and party appetizer, perfect for football season, the holiday season and upcoming get-togethers.

However, it’s often made with high-calorie, high-fat ingredients such as cream cheese, sour cream and/or mayonnaise. But, I’ve found that swapping in blended cottage cheese makes an ideal healthy substitution for many of these ingredients. You still get a cheesy, smooth result, but an artichoke dip with less fat and calories – plus with more protein!

 In fact, blending cottage cheese for recipe is one of my favorite healthy hacks to reduce fat and bump up protein. Also, it’s a simple solution that helps me avoid the curdy cottage cheese texture that I personally find a little off-putting.

Blending cottage cheese until creamy smooth is a healthy hack that can replace higher calorie and fat foods in recipes, plus it offers a protein boost!

To me, blended cottage cheese is very similar to ricotta cheese and is a smart swap in so many sweet or savory recipes for every meal of the day – I’ve made dozens!  If you like this Cottage Cheese Artichoke Green Chile Dip, I’ll let you in on these two easy pasta recipes that use cottage cheese:

Easy Alfredo No Boil Pasta Bake – One Pot!
Spinach & Cottage Cheese Gnudi (Naked Ravioli) – Fast & Easy Vegetarian Meal!

Wondering about the nutrition on this Green Chile Artichoke Dip? It’s still ooey-gooey and low-carb but has only 84 cal, 5g carbs, 3.4 fat for a generous-sized, approximate 1/3-cup serving! Plus, you get 7.5g protein with that!

Better-for-You Artichoke and Green Chile Dip with Cottage Cheese is a comforting snack and party appetizer, perfect for football season, the holiday season and upcoming get-togethers.

Serve this cottage-cheese based dip with veggies, pita chips, pile in wrap or potato! We used our leftovers on pasta tonight, delish!!!

Fun fact, I’m a Hatch Green Chile Champion  🏆


Note: You can sub canned green chiles, but I am kind of a Hatch green chile snob and either blister my own on the grill or buy them prepped and straight from the source via my favorite Hatch chile farms in New Mexico.

5 from 5 votes
Better-for-You Artichoke and Green Chile Dip with Cottage Cheese is a comforting snack and party appetizer, perfect for football season, the holiday season and upcoming get-togethers.
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Better-for-You Artichoke Green Chile Dip with Cottage Cheese
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
30 mins
 
Course: appetizers, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: artichokes, cottage cheese, dip, hatch green chile
Servings: 9 1/3 cup servings
Calories: 83 kcal
Ingredients
  • 1/3 cup chopped fire-roasted Hatch green chiles or can sub a 4-ounce can, drained well
  • 1 12-oz jar artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (reserve 2 tsp. liquid)
  • 1 cup 2% cottage cheese
  • 1/2 cup 0% plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 1/2 tsp lime juice
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 3/4 cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese divided
Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Chop up chiles, removing seeds Beforehand. Drain and Chop artichokes (save 2 tsp jar liquid).

  2. Set aside. In small blender, add Cottage cheese, yogurt, lime juice, lime juice, garlic, reserved artichoke "juice", salt and pepper and blend until smooth.

  3. Pour yogurt mixture into 3-cup capacity baking dish.

  4. Add ½ cup Parmesan, artichokes and chiles into mixture, stir well. Top with remaining ¼ up Parmesan.

  5. Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes, until bubbling and lightly browning on top.

Spinach & Cottage Cheese Gnudi (Naked Ravioli) – Fast & Easy Vegetarian Meal!

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Gnudi (pronounced nood-ee) is an easy vegetarian dish to make for pasta night – except, it isn’t exactly pasta, it’s more like naked ravioli. Snicker-snicker, the name makes me giggle.

Just imagine that cheesy, spinach filling in ravioli, minus the doughy wrapper – and that’s gnudi. Also kinda like a cross between gnocchi and a southern dumpling.

Fast and easy to make, comforting to eat, and absolutely delicious in warmed pasta sauce of your choice. I always keep this pasta sauce in my pantry because it’s yummy, tastes homemade, and has no added sugars like many other jarred varieties do.

Traditional gnudi recipes use ricotta cheese, a smooth and mild cheese used frequently in sweet and savory Italian recipes. I prefer to use 2% milkfat cottage cheese because, cup for cup, it has less than half the calories (428 cal vs 203 cal) and a little more protein!

A great vegetarian meal solution if you’re looking to get enough. A serving of five gnudies (w/o sauce) has 295 cal, 25g protein, 31g carb, and 6g fat. I used all-purpose flour in my recipe, but you can substitute a gluten-free baking blend flour if needed.

Cottage Cheese Tips as a Substitute for Ricotta

General: Cottage cheese (in any milk fat percent) can be substituted for ricotta. The are both cheese made from cow’s milk and have a similar taste, although cottage cheese is saltier with larger curds.

Draining: In recipes where you don’t want excess moisture, like this spinach gnudi recipe, the cottage cheese will need to be drained. Simple measure your desired amount into a  mesh strainer and set over a bowl for 10 minutes to allow the excess liquids to drain out (actually this is the whey protein, so in other recipes I do use the cottage cheese as is – curds and whey.)

Blending: In other recipes where I use cottage cheese (like this cottage cheese waffle recipe), I blend the cottage cheese, including the whey liquids) to make in smoother and have more of the ricotta texture.   

Salt Considerations: Because cottage cheese is saltier that ricotta (which seems very lightly sweet to me), you may want to omit any added salt in the recipe. You can always add more salt later if, by tasting, it seems to need it, but you really can’t take oversalting out of a recipe.

Freshness and Freezing: Sometimes I have extra cottage cheese left in my tub. It stays fresh, covered tight, in the fridge for 7 to 10 days. If you turn the carton upside-down so that it rests on the lid, you can create a vacuum seal that will help extend freshness. When it’s time left in the fridge is drawing near, I will stick in the freezer (either blended or still curds) to save and defrost later for a recipe. An opened tub of cottage cheese will stay fresh in freezer for about 3 months.

5 from 6 votes
Spinach & Cottage Cheese Gnudi is a 15 minute vegetarian meal that is delicious and fun to eat (and say)! Soft dumpling-like pillows of cheese and spinach, served atop your favorite warmed pasta sauce. Lower fat, lower carb than traditional recipes.
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Spinach & Cottage Cheese Gnudi (Naked Ravioli)
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
15 mins
 
Course: dinner, Pasta
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: 15 minutes, cottage cheese, pasta, vegetarian
Servings: 3 servings
Calories: 295 kcal
Ingredients
  • 1 cup cottage cheese 2%
  • 6 ounces fresh baby spinach
  • 1 tbsp. water
  • 3/4 cup flour divided
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese extra for garnish
  • 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 cups bottled pasta sauce of choice warmed
Instructions
  1. Drain cottage cheese in strainer for 5-10 minutes, discard liquids.
  2. Meanwhile, add spinach and water to microwave steamer or vented bowl and microwave on high for about 90 seconds.
  3. Let spinach cool to touch, about 5 minutes. Chop and then squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible. Set aside.
  4. Start boiling a pot of water.
  5. In a bowl, mix together 1/2 cup of the flour, Parm cheese, Italian seasoning and pepper. Next stir in drained cottage cheese, an egg, and the squeezed spinach. Dont throw the whole spinach clump in, it will never stir up. Instead, use fingers to break in up into the chopped bits.
  6. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup flour on plate. Use hand to form 15 small balls of the spinach mixture, about 2 tbsp. each or so.
  7. Roll each ball around in the flour to coat. Drop into boiling water for about 4 to 5 minutes or until gnudies ride to the top.
  8. Use slotted spoon to remove gnudies and, for each serving, place 5 gnudies in a bowl with about 2/3 cup warmed pasta sauce. If desired, sprinkle with more Parm cheese