Whether you love cottage cheese or hate cottage cheese, you need to make this Cottage Cheese Smoothie! Here's why: If you love cottage cheese, you'll love this smoothie. If you are not a fan of cottage cheese, you'll learn that cottage cheese is not just a lumpy slimy bowl of curds that your grandma ate, but it can actually be used to make delicious, nutritious, high-protein recipes!
One of my FAVORITE things about this smoothie is that it keeps well in the fridge for up to 2 days and barely has any separation, so this is a great make-ahead smoothie for breakfast meal prep.
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Why make a cottage cheese smoothie
Cottage cheese is enjoying a renaissance, and I AM HERE FOR IT! Here's what I love about this smoothie:
- Lots of protein (about 16 grams per smoothie!)
- 1.5 servings of fruit
- Naturally sweetened
- Subtle tangy flavor of cottage cheese without all the curds. It's silky smooth!
- It keeps well in the fridge and barely has any separation! So this is a GREAT make-ahead smoothie recipe, or a breakfast meal prep smoothie.
I've been whipping and blending cottage cheese for YEARS, before TikTok and the internet caught on that cottage cheese is delicious blended.
Some of my most popular recipes are pumpkin spice whipped cottage cheese and mango whipped cottage cheese. DEFINITELY give those a try if you like the idea of eating more cottage cheese but agree that the curds are not the best and that cottage cheese needs some flavor.
If you like the sound of this cottage cheese smoothie, you might also love my berry buttermilk smoothie, which transforms buttermilk into something delicious!
Related recipe: Savory Cottage Cheese Recipes
Ingredients
This recipe below makes one large 16-oz smoothie, or two smaller smoothies. Double the ingredients if you want to!
- ½ cup cottage cheese - any kind will work here! I prefer sodium-free or low sodium for smoothies because I don't need the extra sodium
- ⅓ - ½ cup milk, depending on how thick you like your smoothies
- 1.5 cups frozen fruit - I used peaches but any favorite frozen fruit or mixed fruit would work!
- 1 tablespoon agave syrup (or honey or sugar, or a sugar-free sweetener of your choice), use more or less to taste, depending on how sweet your fruit is
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (or try vanilla bean powder for an extra vanilla flavor)
More cottage cheese recipes to try: Whipped Cottage Cheese Bowls with Almond Butter
Equipment
- Blender
- Measuring cups and spoons (but I eyeball it usually—equal parts milk and cottage cheese, a bunch of fruit, a squeeze of agave, a splash of vanilla)
Instructions
Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until completely processed and there are no more frozen fruit chunks remaining. Taste and add more sweetener or more milk if you like, then pulse again to combine. Enjoy immediately, or refrigerate for up to 2 days.
More cottage cheese recipes to try: Dragon Fruit Whipped Cottage Cheese
What kind of cottage cheese to use for smoothies
Any kind of cottage cheese will work here (small curd, large curd; low fat, 4% fat), but I do try to buy sodium-free or low-sodium cottage cheese when using it for sweet recipes, just because I don't need the extra sodium. Look for cottage cheese with the fewest ingredients. I try to avoid cottage cheese brands that use carrageenan, gums, and starches to thicken the cottage cheese.
Want to try a savory cottage cheese recipe? Ethiopian Spiced Cottage Cheese (Ayib Begomen)
Can I make this smoothie with fresh fruit?
Yes, fresh fruit is great in this smoothie! Your smoothie might need a handful of ice added to it to be really cold.
More fresh fruit recipes to try: Air Fryer Peaches
Nutritious smoothie add-ins to try
This basic smoothie has just 5 ingredients, but I sometimes like to get fancy with a tablespoonful of chia seeds and ground flax seed, or a generous shake of cinnamon. A little protein powder or collagen peptides will make this a super high protein smoothie.
More cottage cheese recipes to try: Cottage Cheese Toast (Sweet and Savory)
What fruit not to use for smoothies
I am not a fan of blueberries or papaya in smoothies because they contain a lot of pectin and gel up when the smoothie sits for a few minutes. You can absolutely make a blueberry cottage cheese smoothie, or this delicious papaya shake, but be prepared to drink it all quickly, or have to re-blend the leftovers to get it smooth again.
Other fruits I don't love in smoothies are blackberries (because of the chunky seeds) and raspberries (because of seeds but also they're sooo expensive that I don't want to "waste" them in a smoothie."
But fruits like peaches, frozen mango chunks, pineapple, strawberry, mixed frozen berries have all been a favorite of mine in a smoothie.
Make ahead smoothie
As I mentioned above, this cottage cheese smoothie keeps well in the fridge for up to 2 days, so it is a great make ahead smoothie. It separates juuust a little at the bottom (maybe a half an inch of water?) but is super easy to stir back together with your straw.
The reason this smoothie does not separate is that it is naturally thick thanks to cottage cheese. Most smoothies become thick because they're blended with ice... so once the ice melts it forms a layer of water and is pretty unappetizing the next day. But this smoothie is nice and thick. Just make sure to use the fruit I recommended so it doesn't gel up. If it does gel up, then just pop it back into the blender for a few seconds.
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Cottage Cheese Smoothie
Ingredients
- ½ cup cottage cheese - (any kind, I prefer low-fat and low-sodium)
- ⅓ - ½ cup milk - (any kind, start with ⅓ cup and add more if needed)
- 1.5 cups frozen peaches - (I used peaches)
- 1 tablespoon agave syrup - (or honey, sugar, or sugar-free sweetener of your choice), use more or less to taste
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract - (optional)
Special equipment
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until completely processed and there are no more frozen fruit chunks remaining. Taste and add more sweetener or more milk if you like, then pulse again to combine. Enjoy immediately, or refrigerate for up to 2 days.
- If you liked this recipe, don't forget to give it a star rating and pin it on Pinterest!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.