Here are a few delicious ways to cook with cottage cheese for filling, nutritious meals:

Sub It in for a Healthier Lasagna

Use cottage cheese to add that creamy, luscious texture to lasagna—without packing on the excess fat and calories. Personally, I love to include cottage cheese in my lasagnas as a 50-50 split with ricotta cheese.

If a recipe called for 2 cups ricotta cheese, I’d usually do 1 and 1/4 cups ricotta and 3/4 cup cottage cheese, but it really just depends on the recipe you use. It will add a bit more liquid, so decrease the sauce slightly to help offset this problem. I like to switch it up and add zucchini as noodles with cauliflower and broccoli into the layers and a little parmesan cheese into the cheese mixture for flavor.

Make a Delicious Stack of Pancakes

Use cottage cheese as a base for protein-packed flapjacks. It couldn’t be any easier, and cottage cheese pancakes can satisfy both savory and sweet palates.

All you need are 2 eggs, 2 heaping tablespoons of cottage cheese, 3 tablespoons of cream cheese, and 1 heaping tablespoon of flour. Mix ingredients together in a food processor, cook the pancakes on the skillet, and drizzle maple syrup over them for a classic stack For added flavor, use fresh fruit, spices, herbs, or nut butter or anything you’re in the mood for!

Use It in Your Favorite Dip

You can easily use cottage cheese in a savory, rich dip. Try a spinach dip, where the greens and cheese work well together, to help boost the protein and lower the total fat. While you’d typically use sour cream or mayonnaise for dips, swapping in cottage cheese saves a ton of calories and saturated fat, while adding in more nutrients, like calcium and protein. Plus, it tastes great!

Add It to Pesto

Much like other dips, cottage cheese adds depth to light pesto. For the pesto, it doesn’t sub for any ingredient but is added to your favorite pesto, whether it’s a traditional basil-pine nut-parm-olive oil-garlic pesto or one made with pistachios or walnuts. Adding cottage cheese to pesto also makes the sauce more nutritious by increasing protein and lowering total calories per bite.

Fill Warm Breakfast Crepes

You can make sweet or savory crepes and fill them with cottage cheese for creaminess and satiety. Fill buckwheat crepes with cottage cheese and top with pineapple chunks. Fold the crepe closed and drizzle with maple syrup. Let them cool to room temperature before eating, though it’s also fine (and probably nice) if they are a little warm.

Spread It on Toast

Say goodbye to avocado (for the moment) and give cottage cheese a try instead. For a gourmet breakfast toast that’s high in protein and calcium, spread 1-2 tablespoons of cottage cheese on a slice of whole grain bread and then top with 1-2 cut figs for a sweet, nutty taste, says Moon.

To finish, drizzle a teaspoon of 20-year aged balsamic vinegar (or balsamic reduction) and garnish with 1-2 mint leaves, along with some sea salt, to taste.

Make Overnight Oats

There’s nothing easier than waking up to a ready-to-eat breakfast. Overnight oats are super healthy, too, they pack a ton of protein, good fiber, and carbohydrates to provide long-lasting energy.

Try this recipe: a ½ cup rolled oats, ½ cup of almond milk, 5-6 oz. of cottage cheese, ¼ cup of blueberries, and a pinch of ground ginger, cinnamon, and salt to finish. You can also use a little agave syrup or honey if you’re in need of some added sugar.

Place oats, milk, and spices into a jar. Top with cottage cheese, then blueberries. Drizzle with agave. Chill in refrigerator overnight and have a nice breakfast in the morning.

If you are dairy-free in many nicer grocery stores you can buy dairy-free cottage cheese. This is one that I buy at Central Market in Poulsbo.  I like it (and I know it is strange) with a little catsup.  Leftover from my college days when funds were limited.  Ha Ha