Cottage Cheese Protein

There’s no denying that making ice cream out of cottage cheese has found its place in the TikTok sun. You can’t beat having your protein packed cheese snack as a frozen dessert, but calling something “ice cream” comes with expectations. Expectations that are hard to meet without egg yolks and heavy cream. Instead of making a substandard ice cream out of cottage cheese, consider a small shift that makes for a better dessert. Break out your popsicle molds and make some satisfying raspberry cheesecake pops.

Ice crystals are unwelcome in ice cream, but popsicles are more flexible. They run the gamut of texture, from blocks of straight up frozen lime juice to creamy-ish fudgesicles. There’s room for a little crystallization, or even a lot.

These pops are closer to the fudgesicle end of the spectrum. Cottage cheese gets blended with thick, tangy Greek yogurt and a touch of sugar until it’s convincingly close to the consistency of cheesecake batter. Fold or blend in some fresh fruit and you’ve made something divine. You could stop there and eat it as-is, but having a popsicle waiting for you at any given moment can turn a crummy day right around.

This recipe is a whiz to make in the food processor, and since mine broke halfway through the recipe, I can confidently say that it’s easy to make with an immersion blender too. Add the cottage cheese, yogurt, and sugar to the food processor. Blend until smooth, about a minute depending on your blender. The cheese should become very fine, but if you rub a bit between your fingers you may still feel the texture of little bits. While the Greek yogurt helps smooth things out, fine bits might turn up when you eat it, so know and understand that it may not become completely silken, and that’s okay.

Blend in a few raspberries to make a pink swirl, and drop in four or five more raspberries to mash up roughly with a spoon. This makes for a pretty finished product, and you’ll get bursts of raspberry every now and then while you eat it. Fill up your popsicle molds with the mixture and tap against the countertop twenty times or so to “burp” any bubbles. Freeze solid, about four hours or overnight.

Although this recipe is lightly sweetened with granulated white sugar, you can substitute out a different sweetener, like honey, agave, or stevia powder. Adjust the amount according to your needs or remove it completely, it’s not going to drastically change the consistency. (Besides, they’re popsicles and the consistency is always going to be perfect.) This recipe makes six flat popsicles, but more if you have smaller molds, or you’re making DIY molds out of Dixie cups. Go ahead, enjoy a slice of “cheesecake.”

Add the cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, and sugar to a blender. Blend until smooth. Add half of the raspberries and blend again to add color. Crush the remaining fruit into the mixture with a spoon for texture, color, and pops of flavor. Fill popsicle molds with the mixture and freeze for at least four hours or overnight.