Published August 6, 2025
The ketogenic diet has surged in popularity over recent years, celebrated for its potential benefits, including effective weight loss and enhanced mental clarity. In 2025, one name stands out in the keto community: Rick Wiggins. But his path to keto influencer wasn't always a straight line, and it involved an unexpected ingredient: cottage cheese.
The 75 Hard Spiral and the Cottage Cheese Revelation
Like many, Rick Wiggins started his health journey with the best of intentions. In the middle of a "75 Hard spiral," a social media-sanctioned self-optimization grind disguised as a fitness challenge, he found himself facing a dilemma. He was committed to the challenge, which meant doing two 45-minute workouts (at least one of them outdoors), reading ten pages of a nonfiction book, and drinking a gallon of water each day. Most intimidatingly, he was supposed to stick to a diet of his choosing. Wiggins went all in with HIIT training, runs, and a squeaky-clean keto plan. However, somewhere along the way, the diet crumbled when he tried to justify the cost of avocados and eggs.
Still, Wiggins wanted to eat well, which for him meant protein-heavy, low-effort, and ideally not financially ruinous meals. That's when he discovered the surprising versatility of cottage cheese. With 3.5 million followers, Rick Wiggins shares quick, high-protein recipes meant to satisfy cravings while staying protein-powered.
Initially, Wiggins was skeptical of cottage cheese. "It was white and lumpy. It was wet. It was everywhere," he recalls. He found the ingredient personally affronting because he never saw it in his Caribbean household growing up. His parents didn’t eat it, and they didn’t cook with it. Yet, he saw Rick blending it into pizza crusts, brownies, and pancakes.
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He experimented, blending cottage cheese with cheddar, cream, taco seasoning, and hot sauce to make queso. The result? "Fire," he admits. This marked the beginning of his cottage cheese conversion and his exploration of easy, accessible keto recipes.
The Rise of Cottage Cheese and the Keto Connection
Wiggins' story is part of a larger trend: the resurgence of cottage cheese. Once relegated to diet plates and forgotten in the dairy aisle, cottage cheese is experiencing a renaissance, fueled by its high protein content and versatility in keto and other health-conscious diets.
The current cottage cheese wave centers on the same values: control, efficiency, and self-regulation. Modern cottage cheese branding sells function first: gut health, low carb, high protein. The packaging often mirrors wellness trends-clean lines, block fonts, neutral palettes-the same aesthetic you’d find in a Scandinavian furniture showroom. Some lean into compliance culture, highlighting Whole30- or keto-friendly ingredients.
Brands like Good Culture, founded in 2015, were literally born out of the desire to bring a revamped, better-tasting, and healthier version of cottage cheese to the public. Trader Joe's even dropped Ranch Cottage Cheese Dip. The message? This is food you eat because it’s good for you-crafted with “good-for-you-ingredients,” made with only “the good stuff,” and “a versatile bit of dairy capable of providing protein and texture.” That’s how the brands framed it.
A Brief History of Cottage Cheese
The story of cottage cheese is intertwined with societal shifts and dietary trends.
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Meat was scarce during World War I, so the U.S. Department of Agriculture promoted dairy as a substitute. By the 1950s, cottage cheese had migrated from the war effort to weight-loss plans. It was low in fat, high in protein, and flavorless enough to avoid overindulgence. That’s right around the time when the “diet plate” made its way to America’s diner menus-usually a scoop of cottage cheese, a ring of canned peach or sliced tomato, maybe a wedge of iceberg lettuce.
By 1972, Americans were eating about five pounds of cottage cheese per person each year. Even Richard Nixon was known to pair his with ketchup. He had such a lust for lactose, in fact, that he reportedly requested cottage cheese at his 1969 inauguration dinner. And when he resigned from office in 1974, his final White House lunch was cottage cheese with pineapple and a glass of milk.
However, cottage cheese wasn't universally embraced. Mid-twentieth-century food campaigns primarily targeted white, middle-class women. Even when it showed up in government campaigns and school lunches, it wasn’t a staple in every home. It simply didn’t catch on in many immigrant, Black, and working-class communities. In her 2011 book, Food Is Love: Food Advertising and Gender Roles in Modern America, historian Katherine J. Parkin explains the marketing never spoke to them. My Caribbean family’s fridge, for example, held sorrel, pepper sauce, and mango chutney, not clumps of dairy.
By the 1980s, its popularity started to slide-quietly edged out by a new dairy star with smoother texture, stronger marketing, and fewer identity issues: yogurt. In a 2012 study published in the Journal of Dairy Science, researchers found that texture was the biggest barrier to cottage cheese acceptance, especially among younger consumers.
Rick Wiggins: The Accidental Influencer
Rick Wiggins' journey to keto influencer was similarly accidental. He started cooking keto-friendly meals in 2016 when he began his health journey and lost 80 pounds in two years. "At first, I was just sharing what I was eating, super basic meals," he told Tasty. "But over time, I started getting more creative with recipes, especially ones that didn’t require a ton of effort. That’s when things really took off. I realized people weren’t just interested in my results."
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One thing that sets Irick apart from other creators is that he embellishes his recipes with a deadpan sense of humor that is… divisive in the comments. His humor isn’t a gimmick - it’s just how he is. “I think some people get genuinely triggered when I mispronounce a word,” he told us. He doesn’t do it for views, though; he does it for his longtime fans.
Wiggins' approach is refreshingly straightforward. "If you're looking for aesthetically-pleasing, complicated dinners, Irick's content is not for you," notes Tasty. "But if you want cost-effective, good-for-you recipes that are actually easy to make after a long workday, he's got you."
He doesn’t think there’s a code to going viral. He shoots two videos a day, posts whichever one feels stronger, and dumps the rest into a backup folder. Posting multiple videos a day has worked wonders for his growth, but even viral success comes with burnout. In the future, Irick might find himself reminiscing about those daily video-making adventures. But he'll have no regrets about prioritizing time with his family: "I'm actually obsessed with making videos and wish I could do it forever."
Wiggins' Impact on the Keto Community
Rick Wiggins' success lies in his ability to create accessible, relatable content. He's not trying to impress Michelin-star chefs or win over foodies. He’s here to make cooking at home actually doable for regular people. This resonates with a large audience seeking practical solutions for maintaining a keto lifestyle.
Wiggins is among the 50 famous influencers on the keto diet. These personalities are not only advocating for the diet but are also actively shaping the conversation around ketogenic living in 2025. In addition to these influencers, Cast Iron Keto plays a significant role in promoting the Keto lifestyle. Whether you’re new to a low-carb lifestyle or looking to refine your long-term keto habits, following the right influencers can significantly impact your journey. From busy moms and food bloggers to health coaches and weight-loss advocates, each of these creators brings something valuable to the keto community.
The Future of Keto and Cottage Cheese
As the keto diet continues to evolve, influencers like Rick Wiggins will play a crucial role in shaping its future. His focus on simplicity, affordability, and humor makes keto accessible to a wider audience. And, as he's demonstrated, even the most skeptical can be won over by the surprising potential of cottage cheese.