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.
Get the Recipe: Everything Bagel Cottage Cheese Bowls
Curry Potato Fritters
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.
Get the Recipe: Curry Potato Fritters
Breakfast Grilled Cheese
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.
Get the Recipe: Breakfast Grilled Cheese
Cherry Clafoutis
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.
Get the Recipe: Cherry Clafoutis
Tasty Dill Bread
Dill lovers, you’ve got to give this one a shot. This bread’s flavor is subtle, but it adds an amazing dimension to sandwiches, and your morning toast, slicked with some honey butter, will be bewitching.
Get the Recipe: Tasty Dill Bread
Noodle Kugel
Talk about a comforting slice. Dave Lieberman’s noodle kugel is traditional, nostalgic and rich-tasting, studded with raisins and lightly sweet, as all sweet kugels should be.
Get the Recipe: Noodle Kugel
Skillet Pancakes with Canadian Bacon and Peaches
This is an oven pancake with staying power, thanks to the cottage cheese in the batter as well as on top. Chunks of Canadian bacon bring exciting salty hits to a peach compote that tops the whole thing. It’s a special breakfast fit for company that doesn’t keep you chained to the stovetop flipping individual pancakes!
Get the Recipe: Skillet Pancakes with Canadian Bacon and Peaches
Cottage-Cheese Tzatziki Mezze Plate
Here, cottage cheese stands in for the full-fat yogurt in a garlicky, minty tzatziki that turns a few salady items into a full meal or an exciting appetizer board. You might find that it becomes a hot-weather go-to.
Get the Recipe: Cottage-Cheese Tzatziki Mezze Plate