Did you know that you can make the most incredible, light and fluffy, chocolatey brownies with cottage cheese? High protein brownies that are under 100 calories each and they taste far more indulgent than they are. Cottage Cheese Brownies are a great, lower calorie and higher protein alternative when you are craving brownies, but want something lighter.
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I LOVE brownies. They are 100% my weakness and probably my favorite ever food. I will never, even cut them out of my diet and I definitely still enjoy them. However, it's good to have a lighter option on hand too.
Whilst these will never compare to the sugary buttery super-indulgent brownies (and I won't try to convince you that they will), they are still super chocolatey and have such a nice texture - and under 100 calories each too!
You would never know these are brownies with cottage cheese. So, don't be put off by that as an ingredient. They have twice the amount of protein as a rugular brownie too!
Looking for more healthy brownies recipes? Why not try our low calorie Greek Yogurt Brownies, easy No Bake Brownies, or our delicious Chocolate Covered Raw Brownies?
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Ingredients and Substitutions
A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Cottage cheese - This is the star of a cottage cheese brownie. We used fat free to keep these lighter, but full fat cottage cheese does give an even better texture because of the high fat content. Use the best quality cottage cheese you can, as the cheaper ones tend to be watery.
- Egg - A medium sized egg.
- Vanilla - Make sure you use vanilla extract and not essence in this high protein brownie.
- Coconut oil
- Milk - Any milk will work here, but we used skim milk.
- Cocoa - We used unsweetened cocoa powder. You can use cacao powder instead.
- Flour - All purpose flour (plain flour). You could use oat flour instead, but they would be more dense.
- Protein powder - This is optional, but we love that it gives even more of a protein boost. You can use vanilla or chocolate protein powder. We love this Organic Protein Powder, because it has the best ingredients. You could leave this out and add more flour.
- Sugar - We used coconut sugar, because it gives an amazing caramel flavor to this cottage cheese brownie recipe. But any granulated sugar will work.
- Baking powder - This helps the healthy brownies to rise
- Chocolate chips - We use Refined Sugar Free Dark Chocolate Chips for all our recipes.
Variations
Just like regular brownies, there are a few different ways that you can change up the flavor and different things you can mix in.
Chocolate - Whilst we have used dark chocolate, you could use milk and you could use white chocolate chips too.
Flavor - Who doesn't love chocolate orange? Add some orange extract instead of the vanilla for some orange cottage cheese brownies. You could do the same with mint or almond extract.
Nuts - For some added texture, add some chopped walnuts or pecans into the brownie batter.
Toppings - For something a little more fun, why not top these with some mini Oreos?
How To Make Cottage Cheese Brownies
Prep: Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C(fan)/350°F/Gas 4. Line a brownie tin with parchment paper.
- Step 1: In a food processor add the egg, cottage cheese and vanilla. Blend until smooth.
- Step 2: Meanwhile, gently heat the chocolate chips and coconut oil together until silky and smooth. Allow to cool slightly.
- Step 3: Pour the cottage cheese mixture into a large mixing bowl and add the flour, cocoa, sugar, protein powder, baking powder and milk. Mix well to form a smooth batter.
- Step 4: Add the melted chocolate and fold it in.
- Step 5: Pour the batter into the lined tin and sprinkle over the remaining chocolate chips.
- Step 6: Put into the preheated oven and cook for 20-25 minutes.
- Step 7: Allow to cool in the tin for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
Serving Suggestions
We usually eat these by themselves, as they are such a great sweet treat for under 100 calories. But, they are really good warm with some ice cream, cream, or custard. Why not serve our Chocolate Frozen Yogurt with it?
If you are needing an afternoon pick-me-up, then have a square or two of these and a coffee like our Homemade Iced Latte or Cinnamon Coffee.
Dannii's Top Tips
- Make sure you let the melted chocolate mixture sit for 2 minutes before folding it into everything, because you don't want the cheese to curdle.
- Your chocolate brownies with cottage cheese will still look a little wobbly/jiggly when they come out of the oven (but shouldn't be really wobbly), as they will still continue cooking as they cool down. You don't want to over-cook these.
- Every oven cooks differently, so start checking on these at 20 minutes. They could also take up to 25 minutes.
- You can use brown sugar in this recipe if you want a more caramlized flavor.
- The cottage cheese has to be blended, otherwise the texture won't be right.
Frequently Asked Questions
These need to be stored in the fridge in an airtight container. They will keep for up to 5 days.
Yes, these can be frozen, however the texture won't be exactly the same once defrosted. You can individually wrap them and then store them in a freezer bag. They will keep for up to 2 months.
These are best eaten warm, so you can reheat them in the microwave for 15-20 seconds.
More Chocolate Recipes
If you've tried these chocolate brownies with cottage cheese, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Cottage Cheese Brownies
Ingredients
- 200 g (1 cups) of Fat free cottage cheese
- 1 Egg
- 1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract
- 35 g (0.25 cups) of Coconut oil
- 60 g (0.7 cups) of Cocoa powder - unsweetened
- 70 g (0.5 cups) of Flour - plain (all-purpose)
- 25 g (0.25 cups) of Protein powder
- 65 g (0.5 cups) of Coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon of Baking powder
- 190 ml (0.75 cups) of Milk
- 110 g (0.33 cups) of Dark chocolate chips - for the batter
- 1 tablespoon of Dark chocolate chips - for the topping
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C(fan)/350°F/Gas 4. Line a brownie tin with parchment paper.
- In a food processor add 1 Egg, 200 g of Fat free cottage cheese and 1 tsp of Vanilla extract. Blend until smooth.
- Meanwhile, gently heat 110 g of Dark chocolate chips and 35 g of Coconut oil together until silky and smooth. Allow to cool slightly.
- Pour the cottage cheese mixture into a mixing bowl and add 70 g of Flour, 60 g of Cocoa powder, 65 g of Coconut sugar, 25 g of Protein powder, 1 tsp of Baking powder and 190 ml of Milk. Mix well to form a smooth batter.
- Add the melted chocolate and mix it in.
- Pour the batter into the lined tin and sprinkle over 1 tbsp of Dark chocolate chips.
- Put into the preheated oven and cook for 20-25 minutes.
- Allow to cool in the tin for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
Recipe Video
Recipe Tips
- Make sure you let the melted chocolate mixture sit for 2 minutes before folding it into everything, because you don't want the cheese to curdle.
- Your chocolate brownies with cottage cheese will still look a little wobbly/jiggly when they come out of the oven (but shouldn't be really wobbly), as they will still continue cooking as they cool down. You don't want to over-cook these.
- Every oven cooks differently, so start checking on these at 20 minutes. They could also take up to 25 minutes.
- You can use brown sugar in this recipe if you want a more caramlized flavor.
- The cottage cheese has to be blended, otherwise the texture won't be right.
Nutritional Information
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The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
Phil says
Love this brownie recipe. I make my own chocolate and use cacao powder instead. Full fat milk gives it nice silky texture and helps the protein content along a bit
Maria B. says
I just made these brownies yesterday, my first attempt at a cottage cheese brownie. They are fabulous! I definitely will be making them again. Since I am in the US, I wasn't sure what size pan to use, I ended up with an 8x8 inch pan and cut them into 16 pieces. They are fudgy and delicious. I did use full fat cottage cheese and unprocessed cane sugar. I want to try them again using a raspberry or orange flavored chocolate. Also, I used bourbon instead of vanilla extract. Thank you for sharing what is now my favorite healthy go-to brownie recipe! CHEERS!
Dannii Martin says
I am so glad that you enjoyed these cottage cheese brownies and you found a pan that works.