21 Cottage Cheese Recipes You've Got to Try

Summer 2023 might just be remembered as the summer of cottage cheese. Among the other inexplicable social media trends, cottage cheese has gone viral in several realms this year, including TikTok and Google searches. But maybe it’s not so inexplicable. Cottage cheese is high in protein and calcium, as well as essential micronutrients like selenium and riboflavin. And it’s delicious! It’s come a long way since the classic diner "diet plate" of a hamburger patty served with a scoop of cottage cheese and slice of melon on the side. Think of it as you would ricotta and enjoy it on its own, drizzled with olive oil and topped with plenty of cracked pepper or take a look at the ways it can flex as an ingredient with surprising versatility. Getting hungry? Here, cottage cheese acts as an anchor for a perfect lunch, assembled from just a few ingredients. This is a real treat for a bagel lover, but with much more protein than if you had gone the cream cheese route. Brushing the bagel slices with olive oil before toasting crisps them up so much, you’ll never want to stop crunching.

Cottage cheese helps bind these irresistible potato fritters, inspired by Indian aloo tikki. Crispy on the outside and melting once you bite into them, they go well with chutney on the side.

Sandwiched with jelly between two toaster waffles and griddled, cottage cheese becomes an ooey-gooey filling to a crisp breakfast treat. If you’ve got a crowd, get a nice big skillet and do several at once. It doesn’t take long, and it’s pretty simple, so no worries if you haven’t had your coffee yet.

If you’ve had ricotta pancakes, you will know the general flavor direction of this elegant classic French dessert, much like a sweet, fruity popover. Different from a popover, however, is its signature creamy middle, which here, is courtesy of the cottage cheese’s curds.