Cottage Cheese Brownies

These Cottage Cheese Brownies are everything you are looking for in a healthy dessert.  They have no butter or oil.  They are also made with healthy swaps like maple syrup, almond flour, and cottage cheese. These simple, healthy brownies bake up super rich, fudgy, and delicious.  Honestly, you'd never know they were a healthy dessert if someone didn't tell you.

Cottage Cheese is one of those magical ingredients that can take the taste of whatever you put it in, while still retaining its health benefits, which include being high in protein and probiotics.  Adding them to these Cottage Cheese Brownies is a no-brainer because they give these brownies 4 grams of protein per serving and keep the calorie count low, coming in at less than 150 calories.  The almond flour also keeps them gluten-free and rich in nutrients.  If you leave out the chocolate chips, they are only 100 calories each!

Cottage Cheese Brownies might be one of my favorite brownies I've ever made... healthy or not!

If you like healthy brownies, also try my 2-Ingredient Black Bean Brownies, Healthy No Bake Brownie Bites, and Avocado Brownies.

Why You'll Love this Cottage Cheese Brownies recipe...

• These Cottage Cheese Brownies are surprisingly rich and decadent for how healthy they are!
• They have protein, which you normally don't find in brownies, making them healthy protein brownies.
• This an easy recipe with ingredients you most likely have on hand.
• Kids will love them! My twins and husband had no idea they were "healthy" until I told them.
• They have no butter or oil.
• They are perfect for when you are craving something sweet but don't want a full-on sugary dessert.

Ingredients:

Here's an overview of what you'll need to make these Cottage Cheese Brownies, but keep scrolling for the full recipe amounts.

• Cottage Cheese: Cottage Cheese is the secret ingredient to making these brownies fudgy, delicious, low-calorie, and high-protein.  The creamy texture is a perfect substitute for oil in baking. You can use your favorite brand of cottage cheese, and depending on your diet, either a full-fat cottage cheese or low-fat cottage cheese will work. Of course, the full-fat will give you a richer dessert.  And since you are blending it anyway, you can use small or large curd.
• Eggs: Eggs act as a binder to hold it all together.
• Vanilla Extract: Vanilla brings out the flavors in the chocolate.
• Maple Syrup: I used maple syrup and sugar as a sweetener.
• Sugar: You can leave this out if you want a no-refined sugar recipe.  I think a little bit adds a lot to the recipe.  You can also swap out your favorite powdered healthy sweetener.
• Almond Flour: Almond flour is a great alternative for healthy baking.  It's basically ground-up almonds, so you get the nutrition of the almonds in your baked goods.  Most grocery stores carry it now in the baking section. It's also naturally gluten-free and vegan.  You can also buy it here.
• Cocoa Powder: Unsweetened Cocoa powder gives the brownies a rich chocolate flavor.
• Baking Soda: Baking soda helps the baking magic happen.
• Chocolate Chips or Dark Chocolate Chips: This is another optional ingredient, depending on how healthy you want to make these, but I love adding them.  You could also use sugar-free chocolate chips if you want to make them healthier.

Instructions:

This is an overview of the instructions to make Cottage Cheese Brownies, but the full detailed printable recipe is below in the recipe card.

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and spray an 8x8 baking dish or pan with cooking spray.  
2. In a food processor or high speed blender, blend together the cottage cheese, eggs, vanilla, maple syrup, and sugar.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: the almond flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda.
4. Add the blended cottage cheese mixture and the wet ingredients to the almond flour mixture and mix well. Add the chocolate chips and fold them together until they are well combined. The almond flour will look a bit lumpy, but that is ok.
5. Pour the batter into the baking dish. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the center is cooked and a toothpick comes out clean.  They will be softer than a traditional brownie.  We ate ours on a plate with a fork.

Variations

I love Cottage Cheese Brownies as written, but here are some fun variations.

• Other Mix-Ins: You can add any traditional brownie mix-in to these, including nuts, sea salt, marshmallows, or sprinkles.
• Make Them Healthier: These brownies are pretty healthy as written, but to make them healthier, leave out the sugar and chocolate chips.
• Make them Highter Protein: Add a scoop of your favorite protein powder.

FAQ

If you make these Cottage Cheese Brownies, I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a comment and a star rating ★ below. Make sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook too!

Cottage Cheese Brownies

Julie Wunder

These Cottage Cheese Brownies are surprisingly rich, chewy, and fudgy! Made with cottage cheese, maple syrup, and almond flour, they are perfect for when you are craving a healthier sweet. They are also high protein, gluten-free, and low in sugar! 

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 10

Calories 147 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ⅔ cup cottage cheese
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup sugar
• ½ cup almond flour
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup chocolate chips, plus extra for the top

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and spray a 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray.
• In a food processor or blender, blend together the cottage cheese, eggs, vanilla, maple syrup and sugar.
  
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda.
  
• Add the blended cottage cheese mixture to the almond flour mixture and mix well. Add the chocolate chips and fold together until well combined. The almond flour will look a bit lumpy, but that is ok.
• Pour the batter into the baking dish. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
  
• Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the center is cooked and a toothpick comes out clean.
  

Notes

Storage & Leftovers

Store any leftovers in an air-tight container on the counter for three days.  If you are keeping them longer than that, store them in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Freezing

You can freeze these brownies for up to three months.  Cut the brownies before freezing them in individual servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 147kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 4gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.4gTrans Fat: 0.003gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 97mgPotassium: 110mgFiber: 1gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 49IUCalcium: 48mgIron: 1mg

Keyword Cottage Cheese Brownies

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