Cottage Cheese with Fruit (Easy Snack or Breakfast)

by Kayla Berman on April 18, 2024 1 comment

Cottage Cheese with Fruit is a nutritious and delicious breakfast or snack option! Assembled in less than 5 minutes, this quick and easy “recipe” is packed with protein and fiber. Plus the additional toppings of your choice – like granola, nuts, or seeds – can make these satisfying bowls even better.

If you love cottage cheese as much as I do, you have to check out my recipes for Cottage Cheese Toast and Cottage Cheese Pizza Bowls next. You will be obsessed!

Why You’ll Love This Fruits with Cottage Cheese Recipe

Highly Nutritious: These bowls of cottage cheese with fruit are a very nutritious meal or snack option! This will be dependent on the toppings you choose … but they have the potential to be jam-packed with all the nutrients needed for a satisfying meal. Protein, healthy fats, carbs, fiber, vitamins … these bowls have it all!
SO Stinking Easy: This is probably the easiest breakfast you could ever come up with! It literally involves three steps … add cottage cheese, add fruit, add toppings. Voila! Your morning meal done in probably 2 minutes. Plus it is no cook! Perfect for those days when you don’t even have time for the toaster.
Customizable: I love when a recipe is more of a guideline than an exact science. You know a little bit of this a little bit of that? That is what this “recipe” for fruit with cottage cheese is. The measurements included are simply a frame of reference. You can add a scoop of cottage cheese, a sprinkle of berries, the toppings you have in your pantry, and call it a day.

Ingredients

When it really comes down to it, this easy recipe only requires 2 simple ingredients. Can you guess them? Ding ding ding … you are correct!! Cottage cheese and fruit.

You can keep this straightforward base pretty much as is or add to it to your heart’s delight!

Cottage Cheese: The star of this show is cottage cheese! My favorite brand to enjoy is Good Culture and I am not picky about the fat content. I enjoy all the varieties from low fat to full fat! It just depends on my mood. I have included a more in depth breakdown of the options below!
Fruit: For these cottage cheese breakfast bowls I simply use my favorite fruit. Which is fresh berries! I love them all … blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries.

Cottage Cheese Breakdown

I honestly think of cottage cheese as a bit of a superfood! I don’t think this is factually accurate and recognized by everyone, but it is definitely one of my own personal superfoods. The dairy product is truly a marvel!

It has a delicious taste, very high protein content (about 15 grams of protein per 1/2 cup serving), and is SO versatile. Cottage cheese is simultaneously being used in cheesy pasta sauces and ice cream! I mean talk about doing it all.

Anyway, let’s get down to the nitty gritty. Although I believe that enjoying any type of cottage cheese is a great way to add some extra nutrition to your diet, not all cottage cheese is created equal.

Every bowl of cottage cheese will have a different taste, texture, and nutritional makeup depending on the brand and the fat percentage. I will not be diving into the differences between different brands because we would be here all day, but I will be breaking down the differences in the fat percentages for Good Culture Cottage Cheese below.

This information will not be exactly the same across different brands such as Breakstone’s but is a good reference point.

Low-Fat Cottage Cheese: The low fat cottage cheese option has 2% milkfat. It has 2.5 g fat, 14 g protein, and 80 calories per serving. I find that low fat cottage cheese has a relatively similar taste to the fuller fat options, although it is slightly less rich. The real difference lies in the texture! Low fat alternatives will lose some of that creaminess and have a drier consistency.
Full-Fat Cottage Cheese: Full fat cottage cheese is made with whole milk and has 4% milkfat. It has 4.5 g fat, 14 g protein, and 110 calories per serving. This is the classic, middle of the road option and my personal favorite! I find it has the perfect creamy texture, but is still pretty low calorie. It feels like I’m not sacrificing on health or taste here, and I find it to be an excellent choice.
Double Cream Cottage Cheese: On the opposite end of nonfat cottage cheese there is a double cream option. This has 6% milkfat with 7 g fat, 14 g protein, and 130 calories per serving. This will have the richest taste and the creamiest texture. This would be a great option for those recipes where you are looking for a thick and creamy base, like cottage cheese based desserts!

Equipment Needed

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How To Make This Cottage Cheese Fruit Recipe

Cottage cheese fruit bowls are so dang easy to prepare! It is essentially a no-recipe recipe. It is all in the assembly! Just follow the simple steps below:

Step 1: Cottage cheese and fruit. Add the cottage cheese to a serving bowl. Top with the fresh fruit of your choice. Read the full post for my recommendations!

Step 2: Next add the toppings of your choice. My personal favorites are fresh berries, a drizzle of honey, and crunchy granola.

Step 3: Serve and enjoy! This simple recipe is a great choice for a healthy breakfast or snack.

Whipped Cottage Cheese

If you would love to enjoy these fruit breakfast bowls, but you don’t like the texture of cottage cheese … do not worry! I understand that the curds are not for everyone.

You have the very easy option of whipping the cottage cheese. It is so dang simple! The process is essentially adding a serving of cottage cheese, or more if you are meal prepping, to a food processor or high speed blender. Then just blend until a very smooth and creamy consistency forms, with no curds remaining. It is very similar to whipped ricotta cheese or whipped brie cheese!

Once you’ve whipped your cottage cheese proceed with assembling this protein-packed breakfast or healthy snack as instructed above.

If you are not a fan of the taste of cottage cheese as well as it’s texture then I am sorry to say that these bowls are not for you. I would recommend sticking with the tried and true, the breakfast original … greek yogurt! It will pack the same protein punch.

Best Fruit With Cottage Cheese

I think the best fruit to pair with cottage cheese is a pretty personal decision! It will all depend on your unique tastes. A fruit I think pairs wonderfully with cottage cheese, you may think pairs terribly. And vice versa!

However, there are a few recommendations that come to mind:

Berries: Berries are my favorite option. Now I don’t know if this is just because of my deep love of berries, but either way I find the combination to be divine. I love fresh blackberries and raspberries best!
Pineapple: I believe pineapple is another fan favorite when it comes to cottage cheese. It sort of reminds me of my grandma! LOL. We all know those pre-made cottage cheese and fruit cups that are sold in the grocery store with all the different flavors. I find pineapple to be the number one most common!
Stone Fruit: Stone fruit is another tasty option. I think some juicy summer peaches or plums would go wonderfully with cottage cheese. You could even try using my Stone Fruit Salad!

Topping Ideas

Toppings are always my favorite part of a meal! Whether it is a smoothie bowl for breakfast or a burger bowl for dinner … I am all about the tasty ingredients on top. That is where the fun is! This recipe for fruit and cottage cheese is no different:

Sweeteners: If you feel like adding a bit of extra sweetness to your high-protein breakfast just drizzle on some honey, agave nectar, or pure maple syrup. You could do a granulated sweetener too, but I prefer liquid sweetener here.
Granola: I love love love granola for adding a bit of crunch to pretty much anything! I recommend my Homemade Honey Granola Clusters. Or you could even add the cottage cheese to my Granola Cups! How fun would that be!?!
Nuts & Seeds: If you are looking for that crunch without the added sugar, nuts and seeds are about to be your new next best friends. I recommend a sprinkle of chia seeds, flax seeds, or pumpkin seeds. You could also add some slivered almonds or chopped walnuts. Any and all options will make for an even more delicious and nutritious breakfast!
Fancify: There is also the option to take your cottage cheese bowl up a notch! I do like to keep things plain and simple for a quick breakfast on busy mornings but that doesn’t mean you have to. Elevate this recipe with fresh basil or mint leaves, fresh lemon juice or zest, and perhaps a drizzle of balsamic glaze. You could do a fruit compote as well!

Meal Prep Suggestions

Meal prepping this cottage cheese with fruit recipe is a great way to have the most important meal of the day ready to go! It is perfect for whether you are always rushing out of the door to work or just like the ease of having something prepared ahead of time!

I have two suggestions for how to meal prep this simple recipe. First, you could make DIY cottage cheese and fruit cups. Second, you could assemble meal prep containers.

DIY Cottage Cheese & Fruit Jars: This option will essentially be like making those store-bought cups you can find in the dairy aisle at your local grocery store in your own kitchen. Add a layer of cottage cheese and the fruit of your choice to mason jars. You could also add a sweetener if you’d like. Then just grab and go! I would recommend storing any crunchy toppings, especially granola, separately.
Meal Prep Containers: This option is very similar. It just involves using a meal prep container with those separate compartments over a mason jar. I would recommend this option if you don’t like your food touching. Or if you want the meal prep to last longer! With the cottage cheese and fruit mingling in a jar, both ingredients likely won’t stay as fresh as they would if they were stored separately.

FAQs

Is cottage cheese and fruit healthy?

I am not a dietician or nutritionist, but yes in my opinion it is a very healthy option.

Cottage cheese itself is a highly nutritious food. It is loaded with protein, can be very low calorie, and is great in supporting weight loss or muscle gain. It is also high in B vitamins and calcium!

Then when you add in fruit and other toppings like nuts and seeds the nutrition only increases further. Depending on your choice of toppings you can really load up on the fiber, micronutrients, and healthy fats!

All in all, it is a very well-rounded and satisfying meal or snack option.

What fruit goes with cottage cheese?

This is very much up to personal preference in my opinion! I think all berries are a fantastic choice – blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries.

Tropical fruits go well too, like pineapple, or stone fruits, such as peaches.

What type of cottage cheese should I use?

This is totally up to you! The cottage cheese you should use will depend on your personal tastes but also your goals.

All options are high in protein, but the calories will depend on whether you use low fat or full fat cottage cheese. I recommend using whatever aligns with your needs! I have included a full breakdown of the different cottage cheese options above if you are looking for more information.

When it comes to brands, I love Good Culture or Breakstone’s.

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