Cottage Cheese Smoothie – Eating Bird Food

This cottage cheese smoothie is thick, creamy and tastes like dessert. Plus, it’s packed with over 17 grams of protein. No protein powder needed!

Cottage cheese is having a moment and I’m here for it! I recently shared the viral cottage cheese ice cream, frozen cottage cheese bark and now this cottage cheese smoothie!

For this smoothie we’re blending up cottage cheese with frozen raspberries, bananas, almond milk and a touch of honey. It tastes like cheesecake in smoothie form but is packed with over 17 grams of protein, which makes it a great post-workout snack or quick on-the-go breakfast.

Why You’ll Love This Smoothie

• It’s thick, creamy and tastes like raspberry cheesecake!
• It’s a high protein smoothie, without requiring protein powder.
• Easily customizable! Feel free to make this smoothie your own.
• You only need 5 simple ingredients!

Ingredients Needed

• almond milk – used as the liquid base for this smoothie. I like using unsweetened vanilla almond milk as it adds a touch of vanilla flavor without any added sugars. If you only have plain almond milk on hand you could add a splash of vanilla extract for a hint of vanilla flavor.
• cottage cheese – the key ingredient in this recipe, providing a creamy texture and rich flavor with plenty of protein. I used full-fat Good Culture cottage cheese, but low-fat will work as well. Full fat will be creamier though!
• frozen banana – this helps to make this smoothie super thick and creamy and adds some natural sweetness.
• frozen raspberries – adds some tartness to balance out the sweetness of the banana and honey. Plus, raspberries add fiber and antioxidants!
• honey – a touch of honey to balance out the tartness of the raspberries. Feel free to adjust the amount based on your personal preference.

How to Make

This cottage cheese smoothie recipe couldn’t get any easier to whip up! Just add your almond milk, cottage cheese, frozen banana, frozen raspberries and honey to your high-speed blender and blend until smooth!

Taste the smoothie and adjust as needed. If it’s too thick, add more milk to thin it out. If it’s too thin, add a handful of ice or another 1/2 of a frozen banana to make it thicker.

Once you achieve your desired consistency, pour into a glass, top with a few fresh berries if desired, and enjoy!

What’s The Best Cottage Cheese to Use?

When making this smoothie, I recommend using full-fat cottage cheese to get a creamier texture with the most amount of protein. Both small-curd and large-curd cottage cheese work well, though small-curd cottage cheese is generally creamier.

The type of cottage cheese you use is up to personal preference. I personally like to use organic dairy products free from antibiotics and hormones (like rbST). If you’re looking for good organic cottage cheese brands I recommend Good Culture, Organic Valley, Kalona SuperNatural and Nancy’s. I also like Friendship Dairies no salt added, small curd 1% cottage cheese (in the red container). Cottage cheese tends to be really high in sodium so I like that this variety is a little lower than your typical brands. Unfortunately, this brand isn’t organic.

Is Cottage Cheese Healthier Than Yogurt?

Both cottage cheese and yogurt (specifically Greek yogurt) are healthy options that provide high-quality protein, essential nutrients, and probiotics. However, cottage cheese usually contains more protein and fewer carbs than yogurt, making it a great choice for those looking to increase protein intake or follow a low-carb diet.

Substitutions & Notes

Feel free to get creative with this recipe and make it your own!

• Nut-free: If you have a nut allergy, swap the almond milk with another dairy-free milk of choice or regular dairy milk.
• Swap out the fruit: Swap out the raspberries and/or bananas for another frozen fruit like frozen strawberries, blueberries, peaches, blackberries, cherries, pineapple or mango. Or, you could combine two or three fruits for a unique combination of flavors!
• Add greens: For a nutrient boost, add a handful of spinach or kale.
• Add frozen veggies: Frozen cauliflower or zucchini can add creaminess without altering the taste much. This is one of my favorite ways to sneak veggies into my smoothies!
• Add nut butter: Almond butter or peanut butter will add some additional protein and give this smoothie a richer taste.
• Sweetener: Feel free to omit the honey if you’re watching your sugar intake, or use a different sweetener like stevia, dates or maple syrup.
• Toppings: The options are endless when it comes to smoothie toppings. Some of my faves are fresh berries, seeds or nuts, a drizzle of nut butter and shredded coconut.
• Amp up the protein: Add a scoop of protein powder to really amp up the protein count in this smoothie. You might need a bit more liquid if you do this as protein powder can thicken up a smoothie.
• Make it a smoothie bowl: If you want to enjoy this as a smoothie bowl, use less liquid or another frozen banana to make it extra thick and scoopable.

More Smoothie Recipes

Be sure to check out all of the cottage cheese recipes as well as the full collection of smoothie recipes on EBF!