Don't know what to make with leftover cottage cheese? Try a cottage cheese smoothie. It combines so smoothly with frozen fruit and milk to bring a thick and creamy texture and boost of protein.

Two cottage cheese smoothies in short glasses.

As someone who has taken the long road to ~~love~~ like cottage cheese, I still get a little nervous when I have some leftover from a recipe. Healthy alfredo sauce, cottage cheese pancakes, and protein mac and cheese all only use part of a container and I don't eat it straight-up, so without a plan it would languish in the fridge for who knows how long.

Since blending it is always the name of my game, I added cottage cheese to a smoothie on a whim and was jazzed by how well it incorporates into milk to add thickness and protein. Its flavor when combined with fruit, vanilla almond milk, and agave nectar is also super mild to nonexistent!

A cottage cheese smoothie is the perfect recipe to have in your back pocket when you have some leftover.

Reasons to Love This Recipe

Cottage cheese provides protein to a smoothie without the use of protein powder. One-quarter cup of cottage cheese in a small smoothie (half of the recipe) adds roughly seven grams of protein and is a good source of other nutrients.
As always with my cottage cheese recipes, blending = no curds for us texture-adverse people.
Using cottage cheese in a smoothie provides a similar creamy texture and flavor as smoothies with Greek yogurt.
A small amount of agave nectar takes away the "tang" flavor of cottage cheese and bumps the sweetness level up perfectly when using unsweetened milk.
As written this cottage cheese smoothie doesn't call for banana if you're not a fan (though it's easy to sub in if that's your preference).

Smoothie Ingredients

Cottage Cheese: Either small or large curd cottage cheese works in a smoothie as it's getting blended, as does 2% or 4% fat. Choose a low-sodium or no-salt-added variety if that's important to you.
Strawberries + Pineapple: These two fruits are commonly paired with cottage cheese as toppings in packaged cups, and combine for a sweet and complementary flavor in a cottage cheese smoothie. Frozen strawberries and frozen pineapple chunks work best.
Milk: Any is fine. Though this smoothie contains dairy, I usually go with unsweetened vanilla almond milk as I always have it on hand.
Agave Nectar: This is the secret ingredient! Just one teaspoon (for two servings) adds the perfect amount of sweetness along with the fruit and balances the flavors.

How to Make This Smoothie

Add cottage cheese and fruit to a blender, then pour in most of the milk. If the milk you're using is unsweetened, add the teaspoon of agave nectar. If using sweetened milk, hold off on it for now.
Blend well until completely smooth, adding the rest of the milk as needed in order to thin the smoothie out. Taste and add agave if desired.

All of the recipe ingredients added to a blender.

The blended cottage cheese smoothie mixture in a blender.

Recipe Tips and Tricks

Opt for frozen fruit. Frozen fruit works best in a smoothie as you don't need to add ice and worry about the flavor becoming diluted. Be sure the frozen fruit you're using does not have added sugar as it's not needed here.
Freeze your own fruit. For instance, drain a can of pineapple chunks, space them out on a parchment paper-lined plate or dish, and freeze until solid.
Know your blender. If you're concerned your blender is not high-powered enough to blitz up whole frozen strawberries, consider buying frozen sliced strawberries or chopping up fresh strawberries and freezing them yourself.
Variations. Add vanilla protein powder or a tablespoon of peanut butter or almond butter for more protein, blend in spinach or your favorite greens powder, add soaked chia seeds (steps and details in my filling green smoothie post) or ground flaxseed for extra fiber and omega-3s.

An overhead view of strawberry pineapple cottage cheese smoothies in glasses.

More Healthy Breakfast Recipes

High-fiber and protein overnight oats use Greek yogurt and your favorite protein powder for a creamy, no-cook breakfast that can be easily batch-prepped for the week.
Collard greens for breakfast? Orange juice, vanilla yogurt, and more temper their bold flavor and deliver one extra tasty collard greens smoothie.
These healthy baked oatmeal bars are sweetened primarily with maple syrup and ripe bananas and are great served warm, at room temperature, or cold!
We love the spice blend in this homemade ground breakfast sausage recipe. Using turkey or chicken is an easy way to lighten it up.

Two cottage cheese smoothies in short glasses on a stone serving tray.

More Smoothie Recipes

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