Amidst my quest over the last year for truly high protein foods, I’ve identified a handful of excellent ones. And one of ‘em is cottage cheese.
(Remember that trick where you multiply grams of protein by 10, then compare it to the calories? If it’s greater than the calories you’ve got yourself a truly high protein food, if it’s less, it means you have to eat a lot of extra fat/carbs/filler to get that amount of protein, and it may not be worth it. Think about how many almonds you’d have to eat to get a protein-rich snack, right?! It’s not about counting calories but this equation helps us understand what strings are attached to our protein!)
Cottage cheese is one of those ultimate high protein foods (14 grams of protein to every 80 calories). But even since I was little, the cold, lumpy, wetness of it gave me the ick. I want to love it because it’s literally pure protein - like Butcher’s Bone Broth - but I have to get creative.
I’ve baked it into pancakes (total win!) and whipped it into baked eggs (also insanely good), but wanted to give these little 2-ingredient chips a try. The protein numbers alone are enough to make a nutritionist weep with joy.
All you need is full-fat cottage cheese (blended smooth), everything bagel seasoning, and an oven. The first batch I ate while standing over the oven, though subsequent batches were shared.
Quick heads up though - sometimes the simplest recipes (two ingredients, bless) are the trickiest. There are some tips that you should pay attention to if you give these a try! Most important is full-fat cottage cheese (I used Good Culture with 14 g protein)
Important notes:
Use full-fat whole milk cottage cheese. Look for 14g protein per 1/2 cup. (Good Culture works well)
Spread thinly and leave room—they spread.
Cool completely before removing for best crispness. Seriously—be patient!!
They’re best eaten right away, but store airtight in refrigerator if you have extras. They won’t be as crispy but they’ll still taste good!
Yields: 15 chips
Ingredients:
1 cup chilled full-fat cottage cheese (I used Good Culture)
2 tsp everything bagel seasoning
Steps:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line a baking sheet with a Silpat / Silmat or parchment paper lightly sprayed with oil.
Blend cottage cheese in a food processor until smooth.
Scoop about 1 TBS portions onto baking sheet, leaving space between each.
Spread each scoop into thin, even circles with the back of a spoon.
Sprinkle with everything bagel seasoning.
Bake 25–30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Check after 20 minutes and continue baking until golden and crisp.
Cool completely on pan.
Remove with a fish spatula or thin metal spatula.