Cottage cheese has emerged as a versatile and nutritious ingredient, particularly beneficial for those aiming to lose weight. Packed with protein and relatively low in calories, it can be the star of many delicious and satisfying salads. This article explores various cottage cheese salad recipes tailored for weight loss, offering a range of flavors and nutritional benefits.
Why Cottage Cheese for Weight Loss?
Cottage cheese is a cheese curd that is a great source of protein. Eating more protein may help the long-term reduction of visceral belly fat, therefore cottage cheese could help as it is high in protein. It is often chosen for its high protein and relatively low carbohydrate content. It’s a great snack to eat before bed as it’s low in carbohydrates and high in protein. This makes it an excellent choice for those looking to manage their weight. It promotes satiety, helping you feel fuller for longer and reducing the likelihood of overeating. Cottage cheese can be a staple in the diet, eaten plain for breakfast or lunch.
Nutritional Benefits
There are 98 calories in 100 grams of cottage cheese. Cottage cheese offers protein, key nutrients, and satisfaction for relatively few calories.
The Basic Cottage Cheese Salad
At its simplest, a cottage cheese salad can be a quick and easy meal. Many people prefer to pair cottage cheese with fruit. Peaches, pears, and pineapples are all popular toppers. But be leery of adding these fruits as they’ll add a lot of extra carbs. My favorite way to eat cottage cheese has been to top it with garden fresh tomatoes and basil, ground black pepper, a pinch of salt, and a drizzle of olive oil.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup cottage cheese (go with a full-fat (4%) cottage cheese to make this taste amazing!)
- Diced cucumber
- Cut tomatoes
- Minced red onion
- Balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Add diced cucumber, cut tomatoes, and minced red onion to a medium bowl.
- Add balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper to the cucumber, tomato, and onion mixture.
- Spread 1 cup of cottage cheese in a thin layer on a plate.
- Eat with keto crackers or a fork.
Variations
If you want the carbs to be lower, you can reduce the amount of tomatoes, cucumbers, or red onions or use less cottage cheese.
Read also: Cottage Cheese Keto Guide
Keto-Friendly Cottage Cheese Salad
For those following a ketogenic diet, cottage cheese can still be a great option when paired with the right ingredients. This recipe makes two servings so there’s enough to share or you’ve got yourself lunch two days in a row.
Ingredients:
- Cottage cheese
- Cucumber
- Tomatoes
- Red onion
- Balsamic vinegar
- Salt and pepper
Instructions:
- Combine diced cucumber, tomatoes, and red onion in a bowl.
- Dress with balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.
- Serve over a bed of cottage cheese.
Cottage Cheese, Arugula, and Pear Salad with Hazelnut Glaze
This salad combines the creamy texture of cottage cheese with the peppery bite of arugula and the sweetness of pear, all tied together with a sumptuous honey and hazelnut glaze. This is a well-balanced recipe that has a reasonable 382 calories.
Ingredients:
- Low-fat cottage cheese
- Arugula
- Pear
- Hazelnuts (3 tbsp)
- Garlic (1 clove)
- Lemon (½ lemon, juiced)
- Olive oil (2 tsp)
- Honey (1 tbsp)
- Water (½ tbsp)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Remove the stalks and skin from the pear and slice thinly.
- Chop the hazelnuts, chop the garlic, and zest the lemon.
- Heat a small saucepan and toast the chopped hazelnuts with olive oil over medium heat until golden.
- Add the garlic, then the lemon zest, before adding lemon juice, honey, salt, and water, and allow it to come to a boil before removing it from the heat.
- Dress the plate with a layer of low-fat cottage cheese, lay down that arugula, and top with the pear slices before dressing with the hot hazelnut glaze.
- Finish with a sprinkling of salt and black pepper.
Health Benefits
The perfect fruit to go with this salad is definitely the pear. Not only are they highly nutritious, but they are also linked to a lower risk of diabetes, they promote gut health, and have anti-inflammatory properties. Arugula is not only rich in nutrients like beta-carotene and vitamin C, but it has particularly high levels of anti-cancer properties as well.
Prep Time:
12 minutes.
Cottage Cheese Egg Salad
Egg salad is such a classic sandwich filling or addition to a salad and we have made it even more nutritious by making egg salad with cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is a great protein source and there are so many different ways that you can use it. As simple as mashing some boiled eggs with cottage cheese and a few other ingredients. This is the best eggs salad recipe I have ever tried! It is SO creamy, you would never know that it wasn't loaded with mayo. It's a healthy egg salad due to using fat free cottage cheese instead which also boosts the protein.
Read also: Delicious Cottage Cheese Dishes
Ingredients:
- Eggs
- Fat free cottage cheese
- Dijon mustard
- Fresh dill, chives or parsley
- Salt and pepper
- Red onion
- Lemon juice
Instructions:
- Boil the eggs until just hard boiled, about 8-10 minutes.
- Mash the boiled eggs with fat free cottage cheese, Dijon mustard, fresh dill, chives or parsley, salt and pepper, red onion and Lemon juice.
- Mix well and serve.
Variations
But, you could add diced peppers, cucumber, celery or tomatoes. Diced pickles are another really delicious addition.
Serving Suggestions
You could put it on a slice of rye sourdough as an open faced sandwich with some avocado slices on top or even stuffed inside a Cottage Cheese Bagel for even more protein.
Storage
Egg salad with cottage cheese stores really well, making it perfect for meal prep. You can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days. Just give it a good stir before serving. We wouldn't recommend freezing it.
Cottage Cheese Salad with Fresh Veggies and Herbs
This salad has a base of protein-packed cottage cheese and is topped with fresh veggies and herbs. It’s super easy to whip up, low in calories and high in protein making it a great healthy lunch option that’s filling and delicious. It’s light, refreshing and packed with 29 grams of protein! It comes together in a matter of minutes!
Ingredients:
- Cottage cheese
- Cucumber
- Cherry tomatoes
- White wine vinegar
- Fresh dill or parsley
- Cracked pepper and flaky sea salt
Instructions:
- In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, cucumbers and onion.
- Using a slotted spoon to drain excess liquid, scoop the veggie mixture on top of the cottage cheese.
- Toss to combine, top with fresh herbs, a drizzle of olive oil, cracked pepper and flaky sea salt.
Ingredient Substitutions
Vegetables - The fresh cucumber and juicy tomatoes work well with the cottage cheese, but feel free to swap them out with whatever you have on hand. Bell peppers, green onions, peas, green beans, olives and broccoli are all great substitutions.
Read also: Protein on Carnivore: Cottage Cheese
Vinegar - I like the touch of sweetness that the white wine vinegar adds to this dish, but you can use apple cider vinegar as a substitute if that’s what you have on hand. You can also skip the vinegar all together. I tested this salad without the vinegar and it was still delicious!
Swap the veggies for fruit - Try swapping the veggies for fruit instead for a sweeter, fruity cottage cheese salad. Some good fruit pairings would be oranges, sliced strawberry, peaches, crushed pineapple, blueberries and mango.
Serving Suggestions
Serve it on its own for a light lunch, as a side with a protein for dinner or bring it to a potluck or party and serve it as a dip with pita chips.
Storage Instructions
Store any leftover salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Due to the nature of fresh produce and cottage cheese, it’s best to enjoy this dish as fresh as possible. As it sits the veggies might get soggy.
Greek-Inspired Cottage Cheese Salad
This Greek-inspired cottage cheese salad is creamy, packed with protein, and ready in 10 minutes.
Ingredients:
- Cottage cheese
- Cucumber
- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Red onion
- Olives
- Chickpeas
- Avocado
- Vinegar
- Olive brine
- Oregano
- Salt and pepper
Instructions:
- Add cottage cheese, cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, red onion, olives, chickpeas, and avocado to a bowl.
- Top with vinegar, olive brine, oregano, salt, and pepper.
Tips for the Best Salad
Use 2% or higher cottage cheese: Fat-free versions tend to be watery and less satisfying.
Don’t skimp on the oil and vinegar: Since this salad is simple, good-quality olive oil and vinegar go a long way in boosting flavor.
Meal Prep Instructions
For best texture, keep ingredients separate until serving. Store veggies together, cottage cheese in its own container, and the dressing in a small jar. Pack chips separately to stay crisp. Mix everything right before eating to prevent watery veggies and cottage cheese separation.
Extra Topping Ideas
sun dried tomatoes, banana peppers or sliced pepperoncini, marinated artichoke hearts, fresh herbs like dill or parsley, hemp hearts, hard boiled eggs (1-2 chopped), or roasted red peppers.
Additional Tips and Considerations
- Varying Ingredients: Cottage cheese is great in the fact that it can be mixed with a lot of different ingredients due to its plain taste. Experiment with different salad fruit - apple or banana also work well. One idea could be crushed pineapple for a high-protein sweet snack. You could also mix it with some dashes of tabasco if you wanted to heat it up a little. (If you go a bit overboard mix in some sour cream to bring the spice level back down). Or even mix it with some chopped English cucumber and cherry tomatoes to make a high-protein side salad, or jacket potato topping, there are loads of options out there!
- Sodium Content: Cottage cheese can be higher in sodium, but it also offers protein, key nutrients, and satisfaction for relatively few calories. If you’re watching your sodium intake, compare labels and choose a lower sodium brand.
- Serving Suggestions: I chose to serve this cottage cheese salad with some fresh bread. It works really well, especially if you need a few carbs with a meal like me! You could choose a nice crusty roll or some sourdough.
- Making Ahead: You could make the dressing ahead of time and warm it in the microwave when you’re ready to serve, but I wouldn’t recommend putting the other ingredients together until you’re ready to eat it.
- Smooth Texture: If you want to make this high protein egg salad really smooth, then you can mix it in a blender. But we like some chunks and the added texture.