Cottage Cheese Is The High-Protein Ice Cream Base You Need To Try This Summer

There are a variety of creative ways to make nontraditional ice cream. Whether it's through the use of unexpected ingredients to unique ways to make it without using a machine, the dessert that's widely considered one of the most popular out there can take on many forms — One of those comes by way of a viral trend involving cottage cheese. While the ingredient itself is nothing new, one of its more unconventional uses has gained recent popularity on TikTok. Fans of the dessert substitute enjoy how easy it is to make as well as its versatility with toppings and flavorings. It doesn't hurt that cottage cheese ice cream can be made into a healthier alternative to its traditional sibling to boot.

Making this snack sensation is easy enough: Combine cottage cheese with the chef's choice of flavors, blend together, then freeze until it's at the desired consistency. One thing to remember is that cottage cheese is naturally tart, so it's important to round that flavor out with other ingredients to bring back that otherwise missing sweetness. Here, at-home chefs can swirl in honey, caramel, or even chocolate as a flavor enhancement. Cottage cheese ice cream can also be topped with the usual gang of berries, nuts, or graham cracker crumbs.

Ice cream is just one of the many unconventional ways cottage cheese can be used in recipes. For the next social gathering, consider bringing along a cottage cheese puff pastry treat. It may not have the same layered texture as puff pastry, but the cottage cheese acts as a natural glue when making the dough for light and tasty croissants and hand pies (this is while sneaking in a stealthy protein punch to those carbs). It can also be used to make moist and delicious, gluten-free muffins when teamed with rolled oats. For those seeking a unique but familiar dish, strawberry blintzes could be the right idea. These crepe siblings wrap cottage cheese in flat pancake-like layers that are perfect for brunch.

If ice cream or confections don't strike anyone's fancy, perhaps consider utilizing cottage cheese as part of a mousse recipe. Here, mix cottage cheese with heavy whipping cream, and any flavorings like cocoa powder or strawberries. Certainly, a mousse could be made with cottage cheese as the only base, but that would result in more of a light, silky, creamy texture. However, adding in a fluffy-peaked heavy whipped cream maintains the airiness that's expected in traditional mousse.