This rich and creamy Ninja CREAMi Cottage Cheese Ice Cream is high in protein, easy to adapt with different flavors and toppings and is a must make healthy cold treat this summer. You could never know that this is cottage cheese ice cream!
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If you already have a Ninja Creami, then you know how incredible they are at making healthy frozen desserts. If you don't have one, then you need to get on the creami train. Check out our Ninja Creami Recipes.
Whilst they are usually high in protein anyway, as most of ours use Greek yogurt, we decided to take that to the next level and make a cottage cheese creami which has 9 grams of protein per serving.
If you are on the fence about cottage cheese, then you need to try this as you honestly can't taste it. It just makes it super creamy and gives it an almost cheesecake flavor.
Cottage cheese and the Ninja Creami are both having a bit of a moment on social media, so why not combine them? Cottage cheese is high in protein and the Ninja Creami is so easy to use for making healthier desserts. What a combination!
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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 - To get the creamiest cottage cheese ice cream, then you can use full-fat cottage cheese. We used fat free to keep it lighter and lower in calories though and you still get great results.
- Yogurt - Although this is a cottage cheese Ninja Creami recipe, there is Greek yogurt in it to bulk it out, but still keep it high in protein. Again, we have used fat free, but you can use full fat to get creamier results.
- Vanilla - Use extract rather than essence which tastes artificial.
- Maple syrup - Any liquid sweetener will work here. We used maple syrup, but you could use honey or agave. If you want this to be sugar free then you can leave it out, but I think it is needed to balance out any tartness.
- Cocoa powder - This is where all the chocolate flavor comes from. You could use cacao instead.
- Milk - We used skim milk to keep it lighter. But you can use full fat if you prefer or even dairy free such as almond milk.
Variations
Protein powder - You could make this even higher in protein by swapping the cocoa for a chocolate protein powder. You could also use a vanilla protein powder instead to make a vanilla ice cream.
Orange - Chocolate and orange is such a delicious combination, so why not add a little bit of orange juice and zest to the mix?
Mix-ins - When it comes to mixing things into the cottage cheese ice cream in the ninja creami, you can't go wrong with chocolate chips. You could mix in some crushed nuts or Oreos too.
How To Make Ninja Creami Cottage Cheese Ice Cream
- Step 1: Add all of the ingredients to the Ninja Creami pint container.
- Step 2: Mix well. We used a milk frother for this. There may still be some of the cottage cheese curds, but they will go when the ice cream is spun.
- Step 3: Put the lid onto the pint container and freeze for 24 hours.
- Step 4: Remove the lid and put the frozen tub into the outer bowl and put on the outer bowl lid. Put into the Ninja Creami machine and set to the frozen Yogurt setting and spin. This may result in a crumbly consistency.
- Step 5: Replace the tub in the machine and press Respin. This may take 1-2 more re-spins to achieve the perfect creamy consistency.
- Step 6: Add any mix-ins and return the tub to the machine. Press the mix-ins button.
Serving Suggestions
Much like regular chocolate ice cream - there are so many options when it comes to toppings. Think about when you go into an ice cream shop, and all the different toppings that you can choose from. The same goes for this!
We kept it simple with just some chocolate chips (a mix of white and dark that we had leftover). But, why not try our Homemade Chocolate Sauce too? You could also make some of our Homemade Healthy Nutella and drizzle that over it to make it extra chocolatey. Some of our low sugar granola on top adds a nice crunch too.
Our kids love adding sprinkles onto it and marshmallows too. Whilst we have just scooped this chocolate frozen yogurt recipe into a bowl, you can put it in a waffle cone to make it feel more like a treat.
Tips For Making The BEST Cottage Cheese Ice Cream
- If you wanted to make this a little extra creamy, without using full fat cottage cheese, yogurt and milk, then just add a couple of tablespoons of heavy cream (double cream) to the mixture.
- Make sure to use small curd cottage cheese so that it is easy to blend.
- To combine everything together easier, you can use a milk frother or use a blender to blend everything first.
- This is a fairly runny ice cream, as we didn't want to add anything like pudding mix that I see in so many Creami recipes. So, just keep that in mind that you will need to serve it quickly, or it can go back in the freezer to harden up.
- When putting the ingredients into the pint container, don't exceed the max fill line.
Frequently Asked Questions
The ice cream will harden again when it goes into the freezer, so we would recommend keeping it in the Ninja container, so it can be re-spun again when you are ready to eat the leftovers. You can also just leave the pint out of the freezer for 10 minutes until it softens and then scoop it.
No, there is no need to blend the cottage cheese first before you blend all the ingredients together. Plus, the spinning in the machine makes sure that the mixture is all smooth and creamy.
When making a healthy ice cream with just fat free yogurt/cottage cheese rather than cream, sometimes you have to re-spin it more times. If after all the re-spins it's still crumbly, then add a tablespoon of milk and re-spin again and it should be a creamy texture.
More Ninja Creami Recipes
If you've tried this cottage cheese Creami recipe, 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
Ninja CREAMi Cottage Cheese Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 110 g (0.5 cups) Fat free cottage cheese
- 110 g (0.5 cups) 0% Fat Free Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon Maple syrup
- 3 tablespoon Cocoa powder
- 250 ml (1 cups) Skim milk
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to the Ninja Creami pint tub.110 g Fat free cottage cheese, 110 g 0% Fat Free Greek yogurt, 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract, 2 tablespoon Maple syrup, 3 tablespoon Cocoa powder, 250 ml Skim milk
- Mix well. We used a milk frother for this. There may still be some of the cottage cheese curds, but they will go when the ice cream is spun.
- Put the lid onto the pint container and freeze for 24 hours.
- Remove the lid and put the frozen tub into the outer bowl and put on the outer bowl lid. Put into the Ninja Creami machine and set to the frozen Yogurt setting and spin. This may result in a crumbly texture.
- Replace the tub in the machine and press Respin. This may take 1-2 more re-spins to achieve the perfect creamy consistancy.
- Add any mix-ins and return the tub to the machine. Press the mix-ins button.
Recipe Tips
- If you wanted to make this a little extra creamy, without using full fat cottage cheese, yogurt and milk, then just add a couple of tablespoons of heavy cream (double cream) to the mixture.
- Make sure to use small curd cottage cheese so that it is easy to blend.
- To combine everything together easier, you can use a milk frother or use a blender to blend everything first.
- This is a fairly runny ice cream, as we didn't want to add anything like pudding mix that I see in so many Creami recipes. So, just keep that in mind that you will need to serve it quickly, or it can go back in the freezer to harden up.
- When putting the ingredients into the pint container, don't exceed the max fill line.
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.
Megan says
I followed the recipe exactly. Unfortunately, found it to be incredibly sour tasting and we couldn't enjoy it.
Dannii Martin says
Sorry you didn't enjoy it. It should have a slightly tangy flavour, with it using cottage cheese. But not sour. If it was sour, then I would think your cottage cheese was not fresh. A sour or bitter taste is a sign that the product has gone bad.
Kerry O'Neill says
I LOVED this recipe!!! I bought a Creami a while back and used it once and was unimpressed. This recipe is a game changer, my mind is already coming up with so many variations! I only froze it for 12 hours or so (impatient) but it came out perfectly. So soft and almost a smooth, mousse like texture. Thank you so much for this!