Cottage Cheese Cookie Dough
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Last updated on Apr 09, 2025
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This edible cottage cheese cookie dough is the ultimate protein-packed dessert! It’s gluten-free, egg-free, naturally sweetened and comes together in just 10 minutes with 7 simple ingredients.
Cottage cheese is really having its moment and I’m here for it! First, cottage cheese ice cream went viral and now cottage cheese cookie dough all thanks to Jake Cohen’s amazing recipe.
I actually shared my recipe for cottage cheese cookies a few weeks ago, which was actually based off this recipe, so I figured I might as well share the original cookie dough recipe to the blog!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Protein-packed: One serving is packed with 14 grams of protein!
- Healthier indulgence: This recipe gives you all the joy of eating cookie dough but with healthier ingredients. It’s a sweet treat you can feel good about indulging in.
- Easy to make: No baking or complicated steps required! This recipe comes together in about 10 minutes with only 7 simple ingredients.
- Family-friendly: It’s kid-friendly and adult-approved!
Ingredients Needed
- cottage cheese – the star of the show! You can use any variety you like, but keep in mind if you use small curd you might need less almond flour as small curd cottage cheese doesn’t have has much liquid. I like using whole milk Good Culture cottage cheese. I recommend using 4% milkfat cottage cheese for the best results. And because cottage cheese has a higher sodium content there’s so need for added salt in this recipe.
- maple syrup – adds a touch of natural sweetness. Just two tablespoons will do the trick.
- vanilla – adds that classic cookie dough flavor.
- almond flour – a nutrient-dense flour that’s grain-free and gluten-free. My favorite brand is Bob’s Red Mill super fine almond flour.
- peanut butter – I love the addition of peanut butter in this cookie dough recipe. It adds some nuttiness and additional protein and healthy fats. Feel free to use your preferred nut or seed butter in place of the peanut butter.
- vanilla protein powder – this really amps up the protein content and adds some flavor. I used Nuzest protein powder (use code eatingbirdfood for 15% off your order) but I also love Sun Warrior Vanilla Warrior Blend.
- chocolate chips – what’s cookie dough without chocolate chips?! I used Lily’s dark chocolate chips because they are sweetened with stevia and low in sugar, but you can use any brand you prefer.
How to Make
This recipe comes together in under 10 minutes in only 2 simple steps:
Blend: Add the cottage cheese, maple syrup and vanilla extract to your blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.
Combine: Transfer the cottage cheese mixture to a medium mixing bowl and stir in the almond flour, protein powder and peanut butter until well incorporated. Gently fold in the chocolate chips. Enjoy immediately, or store in the fridge for a chilled treat!
Substitutions & Notes
Almond Flour – I’ve only tested this recipe with almond flour and I’m not sure how other flours like oat flour or coconut flour would work in this recipe, so I wouldn’t recommend using a different flour.
Peanut butter – Feel free to substitute the peanut butter with any nut or seed butter of choice. Cashew butter, almond butter, tahini or sunflower seed butter will all work as substitutes. Just a note, that if you use tahini or sunflower seed butter the flavor of the cookie dough will vary slightly.
Maple syrup – I haven’t tried it, but you should be able to swap the maple syrup with another liquid sweetener of choice like honey or agave.
Protein powder – If you don’t have protein powder on hand or just aren’t a fan you could try replacing some of the protein powder with more almond flour. I haven’t tried it, but I would start with 1 ¼ cups almond flour if you are skipping the protein powder.
Mix-ins – Feel free to mix in some of your favorite mix-ins like nuts, seeds or dried fruits to add an extra crunch and flavor. You could also experiment with different types of chocolate chips, like dark chocolate chips, butterscotch chips or white chocolate chips for a different twist.
How to Eat Cottage Cheese Cookie Dough
This cottage cheese cookie dough recipe is incredibly versatile and can be served so many different ways! Here are some ideas:
- Straight up – Simply dig in with a spoon for a delicious, protein-packed snack or dessert. It’s great for a mid-afternoon or post-workout treat.
- Sundae – For a cookie dough sundae with a chocolate drizzle simply use an ice cream scoop to scoop the dough into a small bowl. Melt 1-2 Tablespoons of additional chocolate chips with 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil in the microwave for 15-20 seconds. Drizzle chocolate over the cookie dough. Enjoy!
- Balls – Roll the dough (using a heaping Tablespoon) into balls. These can also be dipped in chocolate for chocolate covered cookie dough bites. You can also freeze the cookie dough balls for a refreshing treat anytime you want one!
- Dip – Add almond milk (about 1/4 or so) for a thinner texture that’s perfect for dipping. Serve with apple slices, strawberries, bananas or graham crackers.
- Parfait – Layer this cookie dough with Greek yogurt and fresh berries for a delicious parfait. It’s the perfect way to start your morning!
Can I Make Cookies With This Recipe?
This recipe was intended to be an edible cookie dough recipe, but after trying it I was determined to create a version that could could be baked as cookies in the oven. I made a few tweaks to this cookie dough recipe, but if you want to make cookies you’ll have to try my recipe for cottage cheese cookies!
How to Store Cookie Dough
In the fridge: Transfer your cottage cheese cookie dough to an airtight container and store it in the fridge. It should stay fresh for up to one week. Just give it a good stir before serving as the ingredients may separate a bit in the fridge.
In the freezer: For longer storage, you can freeze this cookie dough. I recommend scooping it into bite-sized balls and placing them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze until solid, then transfer the cookie dough bites to a freezer-safe bag or container (I like my Stasher bags). They should keep well for up to 3 months. When you’re ready for a treat, just grab one (or a few) from the freezer and enjoy! They’re delicious eaten straight from the freezer.
Everything You Need to Make Cottage Cheese Cookie Dough
Vitamix A3500 Ascent Series Smart Blender
Buy Now →
Buy Now → 
Cuisinart 9-Cup Food Processor
Buy Now →More Cottage Cheese Recipes
- Cottage Cheese Cookies
- Frozen Cottage Cheese Bark
- Banana Cottage Cheese Pancakes
- Cottage Cheese Pancakes
- Cottage Cheese Chocolate Mousse
- High-Protein Strawberry Pretzel Salad Bowl
Be sure to check out all of the cottage cheese recipes as well as the full collection of dessert recipes on EBF!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Cottage Cheese Cookie Dough
Ingredients
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup fine almond flour
- 1 Tablespoon natural peanut butter , or almond butter
- ¼ cup vanilla protein powder, I used Nuzest
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor blend together the cottage cheese, maple syrup and vanilla until smooth.
- Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in the almond flour, protein powder and peanut butter until well incorporated.
- Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Cottage Cheese: You can use whatever variety you like, but if you use small curd you won’t need as much almond flour
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this today & I practically live off your cottage cheese pancakes receipe (not kidding) so I knew I’d love this & yet I was still so excited by the result 😍
I didn’t use a blender & it still turned out fine obviously texture is different but once the chocolate chips are in who cares! Yum!!
Thankyou Brittney!!
Ahh this makes me so happy, Claire! I love that you’re a fan of the pancakes too — and so glad this one lived up to the hype. Totally agree, once the chocolate chips are in, it’s all good. Thanks for the sweet review! 🙂
This is delicious, but the calorie count seems way too low for what it actually is.
Thanks so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. The nutrition info is accurate based on 6 servings, but it can definitely vary depending on the exact ingredients used. The values listed are based on the specific brands I used, but things like cottage cheese, protein powder, and chocolate chips can all make a big difference in the final macros. I always recommend double-checking with the exact products you’re using if you’re tracking closely. Really appreciate you pointing it out!
This “dough” is light and fluffy and tastes even better chilled. I thought the flavors blended together nicely, and it almost tricks your brain into thinking you’re eating real cookie dough. I did miss the flavor of all-purpose flour, but I understand why almond was used. Overall, it’s a solid recipe and definitely worth trying!
So glad you gave it a try—and love that you enjoyed it even more chilled. Thanks so much for the thoughtful feedback!
My kid only eats double chocolate chip cookies. What ratio of cocoa powder can I put in to make them double chocolate?
Thank you
Totally get that—kids know what they like! You can turn this into a double chocolate version by adding about 1 to 1½ tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder to the mix. Start with 1 tablespoon, give it a taste, and add a little more if needed. You might need to splash in a tiny bit of almond milk if the dough gets too thick. Hope your kiddo loves the chocolatey twist!
I love this recipe and I make it all the time. I don’t use a blender. I just hand mix the ingredients (making sure the peanut butter is softened) and it’s delicious.
So glad you’ve been enjoying this one, Patti! Love that you just mix it by hand — super helpful for anyone without a blender. Thanks so much for the review. I really appreciate it!
this is so good! I was really skeptical but it’s delicious and fills my cookie craving with some protein and clean ingredients!
Yay! That makes me so happy to hear. I’m so glad you loved this recipe. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
Surprised I love it so much; I didn’t expect it to be so good. Swapped maple syrup for date sugar
Yay! That makes me so happy to hear. I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
I love this recipe so much. I can’t stop making it and eating it and talking about it. I think I’m probably eating too much of it but man, it’s good. I cut the maple syrup in half and reduce the almond flour a bit – ends up more like pudding consistency but satisfies the craving with *slightly* fewer calories.
Haha, I love this, Lee! Glad you found a version that works for you. Thanks so much for making it and for leaving a review. I really appreciate it. 🙂
Wanted something sweet but still wanted it to be a little healthier than regular cookie dough. This definitely hit the spot and was so easy to make. Even my husband liked it and couldn’t believe it had cottage cheese in it.
Woo! So glad this recipe was a hit. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it, Leann.
This was a quick and easy treat to make to cure my sweet tooth. It turned out delicious.
So glad this recipe was a hit. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
ethanks a lot of information amazing
I’ve made different variations of cookie dough and this was so not a hit, I’m sorry. I love all the ingredients used but they just don’t taste right in this recipe
So sorry to hear you didn’t love this recipe. Thanks for giving it a try though!
I just put these together. Does anyone know if they can be frozen?
Hi Deb – It should be fine to freeze this cookie dough! I would store it in an airtight container in the freezer or wrap it in plastic wrap before freezing to prevent freezer burn. Thanks!
I was intrigued by this idea but honestly these were so bad. I don’t typically leave reviews for recipes but I just wanted to provide an alternative opinion to the existing reviews so people are warned that these are definitely not for everyone (because some of the ingredients are expensive!). I love protein balls and breakfast cookies and make them regularly, but these were not a hit for me or my kids.
Oh no! So sorry to hear that this recipe wasn’t a hit! Thanks for giving it a try.
Can you substitute post flour for almond flour.
I haven’t tried it, but another reader did use oat flour instead of almond flour and she said it turned out great! Let me know if you try it and how the recipe turns out for you!
Hi. Do you not need to pretreat the almond flour the same way you would regular flour? I’m also w feting if there’s an alternative to almond flour if I don’t have it on hand. Thanks!
Hi Kara! You don’t need to pretreat almond flour like regular flour since it doesn’t contain gluten and behaves differently in recipes. I’ve only tested this recipe with almond flour. so I wouldn’t recommend using a different flour. I do have this chickpea cookie dough recipe you could try instead, which doesn’t call for almond flour. Let me know if you give either of these recipes a try and what you think!
It a good start but I added salt and a little baking soda. The additions made it taste much more cookie dough flavored!
Sounds great, Grace. I am so glad you were able to adapt this to your preference. Thank you for sharing your review & star rating, I really appreciate it!
Turned out awesome, great texture and not overly sweet. Will definitely make again.
YAY! I am so glad you are enjoying this recipe, June. Thank you for your review + star rating, I appreciate it!
This recipe surpassed my expectations and I am a cookie snob. Thanks for sharing a high protein snack I enjoy eating.
Ahh yay! This makes me so happy to hear, Catherine. Thanks for giving this recipe a try and for sharing your review & star rating, it means so much to me!
Super yummy and satisfying!
YAY! I am so glad you are loving this recipe, Emily. Thank you for your review & star rating, it means so much to me!
I love this recipe! I had no almond flour so used coconut flour, and vanilla chai protein powder. I would give it 10 stars if I could.
YAY! This seriously makes me so happy to hear, Sherri! I am so glad you are loving these cookies and they turned out amazing for you with coconut flour. May I ask if you had to make any changes with the ratios since you switched the flours? Thanks so much for sharing your review + star rating, I appreciate it!
I tried another almost identical recipe but without the nut butter, and it was gross. Stumbled on this recipe and added the nut butter and it is actually edible. Very much *not* like actual cookie dough, but edible. If I didn’t know what cookie dough was supposed to taste like this might get 4 stars.
Hi Stefanie. Thanks so much for your feedback. I am glad you gave this recipe a try. This is definitely not an exact duplicate of regular cookie dough, but definitely a healthier alternative.
Ok….. made this several times. Eat a little daily! Now topped it with Ration yogurt and keto granola and OMG!
Ahh YAY! This sounds amazing. I am so glad you are loving this recipe. Thanks for sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
LOVE this recipe. Mixed with vanilla sugar free ice cream and it was very tasty. Will add pecans to the next batch.
YUM! This sounds great. I am so glad you gave this recipe a try and it turned out delicious for you. Thank you for sharing your review & star rating, it means so much to me!
So good and a healthier choice than most sweets. This is my guilt free snack! This recipe has the perfect proportions.
YAY! I am so glad you are loving this recipe, Amanda. Thanks for sharing your review + star rating, I appreciate it!
love this recipe, although I won’t use vegan vanilla protein powder next time! made the flavour a bit weird. will definitely be trying again!
Hi Kate! What brand of vanilla protein powder did you use? Just curious because I use Nuzest for this recipe and haven’t had an issue with the flavor being weird.
I’ve made this a few times and served to my toddlers as a dip with apples slices and pretzel sticks. It’s a family favorite! Like others said, I blend the peanut butter along with the other wet ingredients. I use an unflavored/unsweet protein powder so I compensate with an extra half teaspoon of vanilla and an extra tablespoon of maple syrup.
YUM! This is amazing, so many great ways to use this recipe, Natalie. Thanks so much for coming back to share your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
This is my new go to breakfast! I mix up 3x the ingredients in my food processor (I dump everything in but the chocolate chips) then portion it out for the next week or so.
Instead of maple syrup I use Swerve brown sugar and I used Lily’s sugar free chocolate chips. And Jif has a great no sugar added peanut butter that I use. And I add a bit more protein powder, add I use a sugar free one too.
But this is delicious!
Amazing! I am so glad you found this recipe and are loving it, Michelle. Thank you for coming back and sharing your review + star rating, I appreciate it!
can you bake this like cookies?
Hi Karen – YES! I recommend, this cottage cheese cookie recipe! Enjoy!
This is absolutely delicious! Thank you for the recipe. I put the peanut butter in the food processor too – easier to mix!
YUM! I am so glad you are loving this recipe and it turned out great for you! Thanks for sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
This is the 3rd time I’ve made this and I love it! It mixed the blended ingredients in my Nutribullet and it was so much creamier than my regular blender, I also used Equip Prime Protein in vanilla, instead of my plant based and it is fabulous!
YUM! I am so excited to hear that you re loving this recipe, Nova. Thank you so much for sharing your review + star rating, it means so much to me!
Any reason to not put everthing in the blender? Protein powder can be tricky to mix in thoroughly depending on brands.
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why not. Let me know how it turns out for you.
This is so dang good!! I love cottage cheese, but have been wanting to experiment with other ways to use it, but am scared it won’t be good. I hesitantly made it last week, and just came back to make my second batch! This time I used 1 TBSP maple syrup, and I use PB2 instead of peanut butter and it’s so good!! It’s delicious fresh; but even better after it’s been refrigerated for a bit. Also; my immersion blender did a bender job than my big blender.
AMAZING! I am so glad you gave this recipe a try and it turned out amazing for you, Brianna. Thanks for your review & star rating, it means so much to me!
Absolutely love this!!! I have made sure there is some in my fridge for the past month. I have made some tweaks. For some added fiber, I replaced half of the almond flour with oat flour. My daughter is allergic to nuts so I wanted to see what happens using straight oat flour. It works out great! A dash of almond extract adds decadence. I usually blend the cottage cheese too long so it ends up on the runny side. I add PB2 to help with that. Decreased the syrup and chips and dang nabit, it’s a perfect type 2 diabete snack! No cottage cheese, green yogurt is great substitute. It will have a slight tang. Next up, I’m going to reduce the chips to have and add some dried cherries. Such a great recipe and I’m having fun putting my own twists on it!
Ahh this sounds amazing, SO glad you loved this recipe. LOVE your additions, so fun and flavorful. Thanks for sharing your review & star rating, Pam. I really appreciate it!
It had a distinctive cheese cake taste, so it was more like cheese cake cookie dough. def not like cookie dough but still a fun and healthier alternative.
Glad you gave this recipe a try and it turned out for you! Thanks for your review + star rating, I truly appreciate it!
I followed the measurements and mine looks nothing like cookie dough, it looks like batter, and using a cup of almond flour is a huge amount of calories, you can maybe have two tablespoons of this as a serving
Hi Nicole – I am sorry to hear this didn’t turn out for you. What % of cottage cheese did you use?
Can you substitute with PB Powder??
I haven’t tried it, so I am not sure how it will work out. It might cause the cookie dough to be a little dry. Let me know how it turns out if you give it a try!
This does not taste like cookie dough. 🫤 It doesn’t taste bad but would not make it again.
Oh so sorry to hear you did not love this recipe, Celeste.
I had no idea what to expect, but holy moly this is simply amazing!! Literally have not made a recipe from your site that I didn’t absolutely love!!!
WOO! This is so great to hear, Jenna. I am so excited to hear that you are loving this recipe and it turned out great for you. Thanks for sharing your review + star rating, it means so much to me!
Delicious, Can these be baked as is? Or do we need to add something else?
Hi Yvette – Here is my recipe for cottage cheese cookies, enjoy!
Is the protein powder necessary for the recipe? Or can I skip it?
You can skip it and use more almond flour instead of the protein powder! Let me know if you end up trying this recipe and what you think of it.
how much is a serving??
Hi Gloria – I would have to remake this recipe to be able to tell you the exact serving, but I would say 1/3 cup give or take. So sorry I don’t have the correct answer for you right now, I will report back once I make it again. Hope you enjoy!