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Cottage cheese ice cream is thick, creamy, packed with protein, easy to customize, and perfect made into portable, portion-controlled ice cream bars!
You may have heard of the viral cottage cheese ice cream recipe floating around TikTok, Instagram, and other social media platforms. If you’re wondering what cottage cheese ice cream is, it’s essentially a high protein frozen treat that’s made with a blended cottage cheese base.
Regular ice cream typically has a heavy whipping cream base that’s sweetened with sugar, sometimes with egg yolks added to make it a custard. Cottage cheese ice cream is a healthier, higher-protein, lower-fat version of ice cream that uses blended cottage cheese as its base.
Another thing that makes this a healthier option is that you can use any type of sweetener you like. Honey, maple syrup, keto maple syrup, etc. all works!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Portion control! Just grab an ice cream bar and you’re good to go with the perfect serving size.
- There’s no need to periodically stir the ice cream while it’s freezing. I’ve seen some of versions of the viral TikTok cottage cheese ice cream recipe that tell you to stir the ice cream every 30 minutes until frozen, and others that don’t. When you make it into popsicles, there’s no need to stir at all!
- You’ll be enjoying your frozen treat much faster. Instead of having to wait (4 hours or more!) for a tub of cottage cheese ice cream to freeze, you just have to be patient enough for small popsicles to freeze. This took about 1 hour in my freezer, but the length of time will vary based on how cold your freezer is, and the size of your popsicle molds.
Easy Cottage Cheese Ice Cream Recipe – Made Into Popsicles!
Ingredients
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas. For the full recipe (including ingredient amounts), please see the recipe card below.
- Cottage cheese – 4% milkfat makes delicious, rich ice cream bars
- Keto maple syrup – or regular maple syrup or honey
- Refined coconut oil – this ingredient is optional, but results in creamier texture; instead of refined coconut oil, you can use virgin coconut oil (but if you use this, it will add a mild coconut flavor), MCT oil, or any nut butter you like (such as peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, etc.)
- Vanilla extract – for flavor and aroma
- Roasted chopped almonds – these are optional; you can omit them or swap them out for any kind of nuts you like, such as walnuts, pecans, peanuts, pistachios, etc.
- Dark chocolate – this is to dip the popsicles in; the end result is an ice cream bar that looks similar to a Magnum ice cream bar!
- Small popsicle molds – I bought these small popsicle molds on Amazon; each holds about 3 tablespoons or 1.5 fluid ounces
Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Make the Cottage Cheese Ice Cream Mixture
- Add the cottage cheese, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla extract to a food processor.
- Puree until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary.
- Stir in the almonds.
Pour Into Molds, Freeze, and Coat in Chocolate
- Pour the mixture into molds and freeze until solid.
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave or double boiler. Unmold the ice cream bars, dip each in chocolate, and let the excess chocolate run off.
- Place the bars on a parchment paper-lined tray. If there’s extra chocolate, drizzle it decoratively on top. Freeze briefly to set the chocolate.
Keto Cottage Cheese Ice Cream
To make these ice cream bars low carb and keto friendly, use a keto chocolate to coat them. My favorite brand of keto chocolate is ChocPerfection which is available on Amazon, and another popular type of sugar free chocolate is Lily’s which you can also buy on Amazon.
Variations on This Recipe
- Fruit. You can blend just about any type of fruit you like into the cottage cheese, such as bananas, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, etc. Or if you like pieces of fruit in your ice cream, you can stir in chopped fruit after the mixture is blended.
- Extracts. In this recipe we use vanilla extract, but feel free to swap it out and experiment!
- Mix-ins. Here we mix in chopped almonds, but you can stir in just about anything. Any type of chopped nuts, dried fruit, shredded coconut, sprinkles, or chocolate chips would be delicious.
- Swirl-ins. Swirl in any type of nut butter you like, or go with caramel sauce or jam.
- Coating. Feel free to skip the chocolate coating, or go with any type of chocolate you like!
Storage
Once the chocolate coating is set, wrap each ice cream bar in plastic wrap, place them in an airtight container or zip-top plastic freezer bag, and freeze for up to 1 month. Before serving, let the ice cream bars sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes to soften a little.
Cottage Cheese Ice Cream FAQs
Who First Made Cottage Cheese Ice Cream?
Like many viral TikTok recipes, this one is a little hard to pinpoint the original creator. In doing some research, I found that @paigelindgren and @lainiecooks are both credited for having viral videos for high protein cottage cheese ice cream. (If you know of another source, please let me know in the comments below!)
Also, it bears noting that just because this is a viral TikTok trend doesn’t mean that was the birthplace of the original idea. For all I know, protein ice cream with cottage cheese could be an old Atkins recipe or something like that!
I’ve been using cottage cheese to make decadent-tasting healthy protein smoothies (that taste like cheesecake milkshakes!) for years now. Check out my Raspberry Cheesecake Milkshakes.
What Type of Cottage Cheese is Best for Ice Cream?
I like to use 4% milkfat cottage cheese for the best flavor and most richness. My favorite brand is Good Culture, which has live and active cultures and no gums, chemical preservatives, or added hormones. If you prefer organic, Organic Valley cottage cheese is a good option.
If you want high protein cottage cheese that’s even lower in fat, you can use 2% milkfat cottage cheese.
You might also be wondering about small curd or large curd cottage cheese. I typically use small curd to make this recipe, but either will work because it’s blended anyway!
More Cottage Cheese Recipes to Try
- Savory Scones with Scallion and Cheese
- Kluski z Serem (Polish Pasta with Cottage Cheese Recipe)
- Garlic and Chive Healthy Cottage Cheese Dip
Let’s Connect
Did you make this recipe? Please rate it and leave a comment below. You can also tag @anediblemosaic on social media.
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Cottage Cheese Ice Cream Bars
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup 4% cottage cheese
- 2 tablespoons keto maple-flavored syrup or regular maple syrup or honey
- 1 tablespoon refined coconut oil melted (optional for creamier texture; see Notes for substitution ideas)
- 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup roasted chopped almonds optional (see Notes for how to roast almonds)
- 6 ounces dark chocolate chopped
Instructions
- Add the cottage cheese, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla extract to a food processor. Puree until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary. Stir in the almonds.
- Pour the mixture into molds and freeze until solid.
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave or double boiler.
- Unmold the ice cream bars, dip each in chocolate, let the excess chocolate run off, and place the bars on a parchment paper-lined tray. If there’s extra chocolate, drizzle it decoratively on top. Freeze briefly to set the chocolate.
- Enjoy, or wrap each ice cream bar in plastic wrap, place them in an airtight container or zip-top plastic freezer bag, and freeze for up to 1 month.
Notes
- Refined Coconut Oil Substitutions: Instead of refined coconut oil, you can use the same amount of any of the following: virgin coconut oil (but if you use this, it will add a mild coconut flavor), MCT oil, or any nut butter you like (such as peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, etc.).
- How to Roast Almonds: Spread the almonds out onto a baking tray and bake in a 350F oven until they’re light golden in color and smell nutty, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Tip for the Chocolate: Stir 3/4 teaspoon coconut oil into the melted chocolate. This will add extra shine and help the chocolate set quickly.
- Recipe Yield and Serving Size: As written, this recipe makes 1 1/2 cups of popsicle mixture, which is perfect for 8 small ice cream pops. I use a small popsicle mold that holds 3 tablespoons (1.5 fluid ounces) per mold.
- Serving Tip: Before serving, let the ice cream bars sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes to soften a little.
- Keto Version: Use keto chocolate for coating, which will bring the net carbs per bar down to about 1 or 2 grams net carbs each.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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