These Cottage Cheese Brownies are rich, fudgy, and made with cocoa powder, melted chocolate, and a cup of blended cottage cheese for a little extra protein. You truly can’t taste the cottage cheese and the whole batch costs about $5.36, or just $0.34 per brownie.
We love easy brownie recipes, but I wanted a version with a little more protein and a little less sugar. No one in my family except me likes cottage cheese, and everyone loved these brownies. Once it’s blended smooth with the chocolate, the cottage cheese just makes them moist and fudgy. While I love One Bowl Brownies, this is a great everyday alternative.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
- Pantry ingredients. No protein powder, almond flour, or specialty sweeteners — just cocoa powder, chocolate chips, flour, and a tub of cottage cheese.
- Fudgy, not cakey. Blended cottage cheese adds moisture, and using just one egg keeps the texture dense and chewy.
- Kid-approved. They look and taste like regular brownies, which is what convinced my family to try them.
- Less sugar and flour than traditional brownies.
After years of baking brownies and experimenting with ingredients, I’ve learned that blending cottage cheese until completely smooth is the key to getting the best texture in this recipe. I also recommend letting the brownies cool completely before slicing so they have time to set and hold their fudgy texture.
You might also like to try Cottage Cheese Pudding, Cottage Cheese Cheesecake and Cottage Cheese Cookies.
No Fancy Ingredients Needed
A lot of cottage cheese brownie recipes call for almond flour, coconut sugar, or protein powder. This one doesn’t. One tub of cottage cheese plus regular baking staples makes 16 brownies for about $5.36 total, around $0.34 each, and the leftover cottage cheese goes right into breakfast.
Ingredients
- Cottage Cheese. Small or large curd both work since you blend it. I prefer full-fat for the richest flavor. Blend until completely smooth, like sour cream, so no one notices it.
- Melted Chocolate Chips. I like to use mini chocolate chips.
- Vanilla Extract. Pure vanilla extract will give the brownies a richer taste.
- Egg. One egg helps to give the brownies the perfect texture without being a cakey brownie.
- Granulated Sugar. For a less sweet brownie, you can use ½ cup.
- Butter. Melted and slightly cooled.
- Milk. I used whole milk, but you can substitute your favorite milk.
- Cocoa Powder. Use unsweetened cocoa powder.
- All Purpose Flour. Also, try using whole wheat flour.
- Baking soda. If you don’t have this, try one of the Best Baking Soda Substitutes.
- Salt. Just a little brings out the chocolate flavor.
- Chocolate Chips. The extra chocolate chips make this recipe absolutely perfect.
Find the complete list of ingredients at the bottom of the page.
Step By Step Instructions
Step 1. First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then spray an 8×8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Step 2. Next, use a blender or food processor to blend the cottage cheese, vanilla extract, egg, milk, sugar, cocoa powder, melted butter and melted chocolate until smooth.
Step 3. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Pour in the cottage cheese mixture and stir just until no dry flour is left. Overmixing makes the brownies tougher and more cake-like. The batter will look thinner than regular brownie batter. That’s normal, so don’t add more flour.
Step 4. Spread the batter into the pan. Gently tap on the counter to make sure it is even.
Step 5. Top with the remaining chocolate chips on top of the batter. You can fold these into the batter or just sprinkle on top like we did.
Step 6. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the edges are set and a toothpick in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs (not wet batter). The top won’t get as crackly as a regular brownie, and that’s normal.
Step 7. Let the brownies cool completely in the pan, about 1 hour. For the cleanest squares, chill them for 30 minutes before slicing.
Pro Tips
- The batter will look thin. Because of the milk and blended cottage cheese, this batter is looser than regular brownie batter. That’s normal — it bakes up fudgy. Just don’t add extra liquid or swap in almond flour, which can make them mushy.
- Thinner Brownies. If you prefer a thinner brownie, you can use a 9×13 baking dish. You will need to adjust the baking time since the batter will be thinner in the pan.
- Reduce the sweetness. You can reduce the sweetness and only use ½ cup sugar.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Stir until just combined or the texture will change.
- Allow to cool before cutting. They will not hold their shape if you try to cut the brownies too soon.
- Line the pan. You can also line the pan with parchment paper. It will be easier to lift out of the pan to cut.
Variations
- Nuts. Mix in chopped nuts or sprinkle on top. I love chopped walnuts or chopped pecans.
- Sea Salt. Top with flaky sea salt.
- Sprinkles. Add sprinkles on top before baking for a festive touch.
- Protein Powder. For extra protein, add a scoop of chocolate protein powder.
- Sweetener. Instead of granulated sugar, you can use maple syrup, honey, monk fruit sweetener or coconut sugar, but the texture will be different.
- Peanut Butter. Swirl peanut butter or nut butter on top of the batter before baking.
- Chocolate Chips. Try using dark chocolate chips instead.
Storage
- To Store: Store the brownies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. For a warm, fudgy treat, microwave an individual brownie for about 15 seconds.
- To Freeze: Freeze the brownies in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
We’ve tested this recipe with all-purpose flour. Whole wheat flour works too. Almond flour and sugar substitutes change the texture a lot, and readers have found the brownies turn out softer and mushier, so we don’t recommend swapping both at once.
I prefer the flavor of full fat whole milk cottage cheese. If you do not want to use full-fat cottage cheese, you can use reduced fat.
No. As long as you blend it until totally smooth, the chocolate covers it completely. It just makes the brownies extra moist.
They have a little extra protein, about 4 grams per brownie, from the cottage cheese and egg. This recipe is meant to be a regular, kid-friendly brownie made with pantry staples, not a protein bar. That’s why it uses real flour and sugar instead of protein powder or almond flour.
Not this recipe. It uses regular sugar and flour. If you need a low-carb option, try our Keto Brownie Bites.
Yes. Wrap cooled squares individually and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
Try More Brownie Recipes
I can’t wait for you to try these brownies. Please leave a comment and star rating once you make them.
Cottage Cheese Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup Cottage Cheese
- 1/2 cup Melted Chocolate Chips
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Egg
- 3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 3/4 cup Milk
- 1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
- 3/4 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips
See how we calculate recipe costs.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare an 8×8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Use a blender or food processor to combine the cottage cheese, vanilla extract, egg, milk, sugar, cocoa powder, melted butter and melted chocolate until smooth.
- Stir together the flour, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined but do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into the baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup chocolate chips on top of the batter.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool and then the brownies are ready to slice, serve and enjoy!
You could not taste the cottage cheese, and they were really good. My kids loved them.
Made as written. Very chewy, chocolate-y brownies!! The crust is not crunchy like regular brownies but that is a small trade off to get this much flavor with this much protein.
Amy – Thanks for your review and taking the time to comment! So glad you enjoyed the flavor and extra protein!
I did have an issue with it being a bit mushy even after cooking longer. I did substitute most of the flour for almond flour. That may have been the issue, so I will still give 5 stars. They taste delicious anyway. I am diabetic, so I did 1/2 cup almond flour and 1/4 c all purpose flour. I also subed sugar for monk fruit. Those may have been my issues. The batter was very liquidy and surprised me there. I will try again and see if my changes could have been my issue, or maybe I did something wrong somehow. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Sarah – I am not certain as it has only been tested according to how it was written. Let me know if you try it again. Thanks for commenting!