Surprise yourself with a Healthy Cheesecake made with cottage cheese and Greek yogurt. It's much higher in protein than a classic cheesecake, but you'll never be able to taste the difference. Serve it with black currant jam for a beautiful sweet tang.
Sometimes people ask why I like to take something that's perfectly delicious (like a classic cheesecake) and change it (in this case, to a healthy cheesecake with cottage cheese). Often, I just like to see what I can get away with. Did I say this Beet Muffin was actually red velvet? Oops!
Surprise! A Healthy Cheesecake made with cottage cheese and Greek yogurt
I made this swap to cottage cheese though because I'm trying to find a way to add more cottage cheese into my diet. Cottage cheese is high in protein, vitamins and calcium, all of which are a good thing to include in a breakfast.
It's much higher in protein than a classic cheesecake, but you'll never be able to taste the difference
Prior to the 1980s, cottage cheese overshadowed yogurt sales and was tooted as a health food. But halfway through the 1980s, yogurt took off and left cottage cheese sales in the dust.
While yogurt consumption has increased 7 fold, cottage cheese consumption has halved (read more about the trend from NPR).
I remember eating cottage cheese as a kid every time I went to a self-serve salad bar. I'd always have it with melon and pineapple, and it was really tasty.
At some point, I started eating a lot more yogurt instead of cottage cheese. I seemed to have forgotten about cottage cheese, until I became pregnant and I started scouring the Internet about what health foods I should eat.
Cottage cheese appeared on almost every list of 'best foods for pregnant women' because it's high in protein!
After multiple tubs of cottage cheese with fruit and toast, I started craving something new and knew I needed to make a healthy cheesecake with cottage cheese.
When I shared this cheesecake, no one even noticed that instead of cream cheese in it, I made it with cottage cheese and greek yogurt.
It's much higher in protein than a classic cheesecake, and to me, that's a thumbs up because our baby is getting nutrients while I'm getting a slice of heavenly cheesecake.
Make this Healthy Cheesecake even healthier by using a spelt crust and topping it with fresh fruit and granola
If you want to make this even healthier, you can use the spelt crust from this Breakfast Greek Yogurt Cheesecake, and top it with granola and fresh fruit instead of jam. Good morning to cheesecake!
This healthy cottage cheese cheesecake is topped with black currant jam in the photos. But if you would like a healthier topping, try using this Easy Blueberry Jam with Chia Seeds (the jam is made with no refined sugar).
Healthy Cheesecake with Cottage Cheese
Print Recipe Save RecipeIngredients
For the crust
- 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs (140 grams) (also works with digestive crumbs)
- ¼ cup caster sugar (50 grams)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (85 grams) melted
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the cheesecake filling
- 2 ⅓ cups cottage cheese (500 grams)
- 1 cup Greek yogurt (200 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon maple syrup (75 grams)
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- ½ bourbon vanilla bean
For the blackcurrant jam
- ¾ cup blackcurrants (150 grams)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- 3 tablespoons water (50 milliliters)
Instructions
- Line an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper on the bottom. Oil the sides of the pan if it is not non-stick.
- Preheat oven to 350°F / 176°C.
To make the crust
- In a large bowl, mix everything together.
- Gently press the crust into the lined pan. I find it easiest to use a small piece of parchment paper to cover my fingers, and press down on the crust. Set aside.
To make the cheesecake filling
- In a food processor or blender on low speed, blend the cottage cheese and Greek yogurt together until it is smooth.
- In a small bowl, beat the eggs together. Beat the eggs, maple syrup and flour into the cottage cheese mixture. Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla pod and mix into the cheesecake.
- Pour everything into the pan. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour, until the cheesecake is set.
To make the blackcurrant jam
- In a medium saucepan, mix everything together. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Allow to cool before topping on the cheesecake.
To serve
- The cheesecake is best chilled, or at room temperature.
miri says
can I substitute sugar for the maple syrup?
Anna says
I used 3 tbls of brown sugar instead of the maple syrup, tasted great!
Costi says
I love the fact that you put measures in grams too! I'm Italian and this helps me a lot! P.s. Your recipes are amazing, keep it up! Lots of love! xxx
Christine says
Is there anything I could substitute for the maple syrup? It's so expensive here...
Tina Jui says
You could try honey, but I haven't done it before with this particular recipe. You would get the sweetness from the honey, but you wouldn't get the maple syrup flavors though. Maple syrup can be so expensive!
Julia Simmonds says
this looks really good, and \I have all the ingredients to hand...3 blackcurrqant bushes in the garden. But - can i freeze it? just the 2 of us home at the moment, and it is too much for us!
Sabrina says
Hmm, it looks gorgeous! Can you tell me what I can use instead of greek yoghurt? I live in France and we don't have real greek yoghurt. Can "crème fraîche" ou simple or double cream can work?
Thank you!
Tina Jui says
Hi Sabrina, since the Greek Yogurt is such a large part of the recipe, it will be difficult to substitute. Can you find another variety of thick yogurt in France? Perhaps you can find Skyr (Icelandic yogurt)?
Sabrina says
Hi! Thanks for your answer. I found some greek yogurt with sheep's milk at the supermarket. Don't know if it will work but I'll give it a try! Thanks again :)
Sabrina
Sally says
It is an easy yet super delicious recipe! Thanks for this amazing cheesecake magic!
Tina Jui says
Hi Sally, I'm glad to hear that you liked the cheesecake! Thanks for stopping by to leave the comment :)
jonathan says
Who can turn down cheesecake for breakfast?
Melissa says
Wow, this sounds amazing! I am obsessed with cottage cheese (mainly because of the protein) but was a little bored with just eating it plain. This is a fantastic idea and I am totally going to try this. Thank you.
Thank you also for adding your giveaway to my link up. I'm really happy to have found your lovely blog.
Tina Jui says
Hi Melissa, Thanks for stopping by! I was in the same position as you - wanting to eat cottage cheese, but also needing a new way to have it. I hope you give this a try and love it - we do here.
Rami @ Tasteaholics says
Hmm cottage cheese.. that's an interesting spin on a cheesecake... love it! Thank you for the recipe. Pinned :)
Tina Jui says
Thanks for the pin! It's really delicious with cottage cheese - and healthier!
Angela - Patisserie Makes Perfect says
This is so interesting, I've never had a cottage cheese, cheesecake! Is the texture quite smooth? As cottage cheese is quite nobbly, do you have to beat it quite a lot?
This looks like such a delicious cheesecake.
Tina Jui says
Hi Angela - the texture is smooth, just like a classic cheesecake. You put the cottage cheese with the yogurt in a blender, so there are no lumps. Give it a try -- it's delicious :)