Healthy Cottage Cheese Recipes

A baked russet potato is topped with roasted cherry tomatoes, cottage cheese, and fresh chives for an easy, weeknight dinner or side dish.

This lightened-up lasagna is big on flavor, thanks to roasted portobello mushrooms and fresh basil.

Try this light spinach dip made healthier with reduced-fat cream cheese, nonfat yogurt and low-fat cottage cheese instead of full-fat cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream. It will save you a whopping 84 calories and 10 grams of fat per serving when compared to traditional versions. Serve it with pita chips and crunchy vegetables or spread it on a sandwich.

A little low fat dairy and some vitamin-rich fruit and you've just started your day right, nutritionally speaking.

Fight off between-meal hunger pangs with an easy healthy snack of cottage cheese, pear and walnuts.

Potatoes mashed with sautéed onions and sauerkraut makes a flavorful filling in these yummy pierogi. We used whole-wheat pastry flour for added fiber and substituted extra-virgin olive oil for margarine or butter. Pierogi freeze beautifully, so make a large batch if you like.

We pulled out a few of our favorite EatingWell tricks to achieve plenty of creaminess in our pumpkin cheesecake without all the saturated fat of a typical recipe: nutrient-packed canned pumpkin and pureed nonfat cottage cheese replace some of the cream cheese. A touch of pumpkin pie spice warms up the flavor. For the crust, shop the natural-foods section for gluten-free gingersnaps without any hydrogenated oil. Simple toasted walnuts are an elegant garnish. Or try making candied walnuts. Just be careful not to eat all of them before they make it to the cake!

Mac & cheese can be a true comfort on a gloomy day, and our healthy update takes advantage of extra-sharp Cheddar balanced with creamy low-fat cottage cheese and tucks a layer of spinach into the middle, which may help picky eaters down their vegetables. Whole-wheat pasta adds robust flavor and extra fiber.

Traditional stollens are leavened with yeast, but using baking powder speeds up preparation time. Pureed cottage cheese is a wonderful stand-in for most of the butter in the traditional recipe.

Sometimes we even stun ourselves. This ultra-rich and creamy chocolate cheesecake has less than 10 grams of fat per slice, making it one of our all-time best successes. We replaced the full-fat cream cheese in the original with pureed cottage cheese and reduced-fat cream cheese. To achieve a rich chocolate flavor, we used cocoa powder enhanced by a small amount of high-quality chocolate instead of 12 ounces chocolate chips.

It is well worth seeking out yellow-fleshed potatoes, such as Yukon Golds, for these cheesy mashed potatoes for their rich flavor and appealing color.

Combining low-fat cottage cheese with goat cheese adds creaminess without as much fat.

Several readers challenged our test kitchen to come up with a tasty, but healthful, revival of a Jewish dish that usually flaunts a pint of sour cream, a pint of cottage cheese, half a stick of butter, 4 eggs and a cup of milk. We took the challenge--lightly.

In our healthier version of this ultra-rich dip, the crabmeat plays a starring role while a blend of pureed nonfat cottage cheese and reduced-fat cream cheese provides all the creaminess you would expect. Serve with slices of whole-grain baguette.

Using low-fat dairy products, cutting down on egg yolks and baking the filled pancakes, rather than frying them, lightens these Jewish favorites considerably.

This healthy quinoa lasagna recipe has a layer of quinoa (rather than noodles) along with vegetables, cheese and herbs. Though it tastes like comfort food, don't worry, this quinoa lasagna recipe is not too heavy--you'll still have room for dessert. To save time, use your favorite jarred tomato sauce in this vegetarian lasagna. (Adapted from “Quinoa Revolution” by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming; Pintail Books, 2012.)

We pulled out a few of our favorite EatingWell tricks to achieve plenty of creaminess in our pumpkin cheesecake without all the saturated fat of a typical recipe: nutrient-packed canned pumpkin and pureed nonfat cottage cheese replace some of the cream cheese. A touch of pumpkin pie spice warms up the flavor. For the crust, shop the natural-foods section for gingersnaps without any hydrogenated oil. Simple toasted walnuts are an elegant garnish. Or try making candied walnuts. Just be careful not to eat all of them before they make it to the cake!

Tuna mac & cheese takes a trip to the Southwest with spicy tomato and festive blue tortilla chips on top. Canned tomatoes with green chiles and ancho chile powder add a peppery kick, but if you like, you can keep it mellow by using a 14-ounce can of drained petite diced tomatoes and mild chili powder.

Cottage cheese topped with crunchy bell pepper and sweet tomato makes for a satisfying afternoon snack or pair it with hearty whole-grain crackers for a light lunch.

Chives and cottage cheese are a simple topping for baked potatoes.