6 Sweet and Savory Cottage Cheese Toast Ideas

Cottage cheese toast is an easy and delicious, high protein meal! Depending on the toppings, it can be made sweet or savory and is loaded with healthy nutrients and lean protein. Here are 6 different cottage cheese toast ideas to enjoy for breakfast, lunch or an afternoon snack!

I love cottage cheese and have since I was a girl. If you’re looking for some fun new breakfast options, these cottage cheese toast recipe ideas are perfect. But keep in mind that this is only the starting point! You can choose endless toppings and because of it’s mild flavor, just about any mix-ins and seasonings will work with this highly nutritious cheese.

Pair a slice of cottage cheese toast with a high protein strawberry smoothie if you really want to load up on protein. Or enjoy for lunch with this nourishing fiesta salad.

What is cottage cheese?

Cottage cheese is a fresh cheese, meaning it does not go through an aging or ripening process to develop flavor. The flavor winds up being mild, with a creamy, but chunky texture. The texture is what often gives people pause, but I share a tip below on how to make it creamy.

Cottage cheese is made from the curds of various levels of pasteurized cow’s milk including nonfat, reduced-fat, or regular milk. The most commonly available options are nonfat or low fat cottage cheese.

It’s also offered in different curd sizes, including small, medium, or large.

Cottage cheese tastes great with a wide variety of ingredient toppings. And its a lot more affordable and less fickle than avocado toast! No fussing with getting the perfectly ripe avocado. Just open a tub and you’re ready to go. 

Why you’ll love these cottage cheese toasts

• Healthy and satiating. Because of the high protein content of cottage cheese, you will feel full and satisfied after snacking on one of these toasts, especially if you use a high fiber bread. Cottage cheese is also great for gut health and loaded with beneficial probiotics. 
• Easily customizable to your specific taste preferences. There are almost endless topping ideas!
• Quick, easy and affordable! This is one of those great snacks that are perfect when you’re hungry but don’t have the time or energy for anything elaborate. 

Savory Toast Ideas

Today we’re making 3 different savory toast combos, but of course play around with the ingredient suggestions. Adjust the toast topping to what you have on hand or adjust to suit your specific tastes. A few key takeaways when selecting savory toppings:

• You can never go wrong with fresh produce. Choose in-season veggies that are easy to slice thin and offer a crunch of bite. In addition to the options shown here, red onion, baby arugula or blanched asparagus would be delicious and great options.
• Add flavor! Cottage cheese is so mild that you really want to be generous with seasoning the cheese itself, or the toppings you use. Sprinkle everything but the bagel seasoning or a nice drizzle of good, flavored olive oil are both good choices, in addition to the ones above.

Assembling toast

Toast bread to start, then gather about ½ cup cottage cheese for each toast. Some recipe suggestions below call for a seasoning to be mixed into cottage cheese first before spreading. 

For the first toast, you will need fresh dill, tomatoes, radishes, fresh cracked pepper and sea salt. 

Next, let’s play tribute to avocado toast and get in even more protein! You will need nutritional yeast to mix into the cottage cheese (it gives it a nutty depth of flavor), hardboiled egg, avocado and some microgreens. 

Our last cottage cheese toast reminds me my favorite bagel sandwich from our local shop. Grab some tomato slices, cucumber slices, lemon pepper and capers for tang. Mix the lemon pepper into the cottage cheese, then spread on the toast. Top 

Sweet Toast Ideas

Cottage cheese reminds me of a chunky ricotta, and that makes it the perfect vehicle for playing around with sweet or savory toppings.

The above pictured toasts are just suggestions and the key takeaways are:

• Use lots of fresh fruit! From blueberries and raspberries to pineapple or kiwi, mild and slightly tart cottage cheese is the perfect balance to sweet fruits.
• Nut butters, seeds and fresh chopped nuts are all great ways to add creamy or crunch texture. I love cashew butter because it’s a bit more mild, as well as slivered almonds and chia seeds.
• Fresh homemade jam, like my raspberry freezer jam is a classic cottage cheese mix-in. Or of course feel free to use your favorite brand of jarred jam or jelly.
• Other fun toppings include lemon or orange zest, honeycomb or straight honey, and sweet cacao nibs.

Ingredients for sweet toast combos:

Berries, chia seeds and fresh honeycomb (but feel free to use a drizzle of honey or maple syrup).

Bananas, cashew butter, sweet cacao nibs and shredded coconut.

Fresh jam, slivered almonds and orange zest.

Tips and helpful notes

Cottage cheese can be watery and/or runny depending on the brand you purchase. If your cheese is a bit too wet, strain out excess liquid using a fine mesh strainer or a piece of cheese cloth. This will ensure your toast doesn’t get prematurely soggy.

Hood brand cottage cheese, as well as Good Culture, are both great options for cheese that is on the drier side.

Note that cottage cheese is not to be confused with dry curd cottage cheese. Dry-curd cottage cheese, also known as farmer cheese or baker’s cheese, is the solid portion, or curds, that remain after milk has been cultured and slowly heated. 

Want smooth cottage cheese?

Want to add more cottage cheese to your diet, but don’t love the chunky texture? Easy fix! Simply add desired amount of cottage cheese to a food processor or blender, and whip till creamy and smooth.

You could even play around with flavoring the cheese during this process. Add honey or maple syrup, salty seasonings or even another dairy product! I love whipped cottage cheese with ricotta or plain Greek yogurt.

Why is cottage cheese healthy?

An average serving of cottage cheese has 14 grams of protein and just 1 gram of fat and 3 grams of carb. This makes it an ideal food for those looking to increase their protein intake, but still have flexibility to add other foods from other sources of carbs and fat.

Cottage cheese has more protein than hummus and less sugar than the average cup of yogurt. Thus making it a great option for dipping fresh veggies and crackers, or adding into smoothies or topping on pancakes.

Cottage cheese is also packed with many nutrients, such as B vitamins, calcium, phosphorus, and selenium.

Lastly, some brands of cottage cheese also contain good for your gut probiotics. If your brand of cottage cheese has live active cultures, it will usually say so on the package. If you want to nourish or heal your gut, choose brands with active cultures.

I hope you enjoyed these ideas and will give cottage cheese toast a try! If you try it and love it, please consider leaving a comment and 5 star rating below. Thank you!

More High Protein Breakfast Ideas

• High Protein Overnight Oats
• Egg White Oatmeal
• High Protein French Toast
• High Protein Cranberry Smoothie

Tried this recipe? Please leave a comment and/or rating, letting me know how you enjoyed it! Connect with me on Instagram and Pinterest, and never miss a post by signing up for my weekly newsletter!