Not your typical way to serve cottage cheese snacks…as a chip. That’s right. Turn a tub of soft and creamy cottage cheese into these crispy keto friendly chips. Satisfy your craving for potato chips with these healthy cottage cheese chips.
When it’s the beginning of January, resolutions are likely on your mind. But with it still being Winter, you probably just want to stay inside, keep warm and do nothing.
I hear that. It’s also the beginning of award show season and there are still sports to watch over the weekend. That means you might be sitting in front of the television for long chunks of time. Just when planning a healthy lifestyle change!
To help reach your health goals, start with small achievable changes. Do you like to have snacks around while you watch t.v.? Are you over indulging in them? Switching out a high fat snacks with a more nutritious option could be a helpful change.
Here are a few ways to improve a traditional snack food, potato chips.
Healthy Alternatives to Chips
Skip the fryer
One way to make chips healthier is to change the cooking method. Use a dehydrator or your oven’s lowest temperature to dry them until crunchy, instead of frying them to a crisp. Some tips on making your own vegetable chips.
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More plant based options
A bag of chips doesn’t HAVE to mean it’s made from potatoes. There are so many other non-starchy vegetables that can be transformed into a crunchy snack too—like beets, kale and carrots . They’ll likely be lower in carbohydrates & calories as well as higher in fiber.
Fruits—like apples, pineapple, watermelon, mango, banana—can be made into a crunchy chips too. These snacks are often freeze-dried to achieve a crispy texture.
Shop Crispy Green, Rhythm Superfoods or Bare for plant based chip options. Or try making your own chips at home, with these Oven Baked Pesto Zucchini Chips or Carrot Veggie Chips recipes.
Cheese chips
But, this one may be a first. These are made out of cheese. Unlike a crispy piece of hard cheese you may have had before, this version is made from cottage cheese.
When cooked, the soft chunky cheese transforms into a thin crispy chip. It’s low in fat/carbohydrates and higher in protein compared to traditional potato chips. Making these a healthy chips choice. Mix in different combinations of spices to customize their flavor.
Making high protein chips from cottage cheese
I’ll admit it, this recipe is a little stubborn. You have to get these three factors exactly right in order for the cottage cheese to properly turn into chips. Once you get the hang of it though, they’re easy (but yes, tedious) to make.
Ingredients
There is only one key ingredient to making these cheese chips, the cottage cheese. Unfortunately not all brands work the same. Their ingredients—including amounts and any additives used— can vary significantly. This probably doesn’t become an issue for most recipes with cottage cheese, but in this one it’s a crucial factor.
Some brands of cottage cheese will work. Some will not. The cottage cheese chips in this post are made from the Trader Joe’s small curd cottage cheese—the one in the pink container, not the fat free or organic options. (Although, you might also be able to use those.)
I recommend reading the comments section (at the bottom of this post and on Youtube) to see what other brands people have tried. Did you try something new? Let us know how it worked out in the comments.
Kitchenware to use
You will need a reliable non-stick pan for this recipe. The cottage cheese not only melts, it adheres to the pan—REALLY well—that you need to peel it off. If your non-stick pan isn’t well coated, the cottage cheese will get stuck to the surface and you won’t be able to remove it properly. Instead of cheese crisps, you’ll have a stuck on cheese mess to clean up.
This is the frying pan I use to make these. You’ll also need a flexible spatula to help flip the chips.
Amount of heat
Your pan needs to be hot enough to melt the cottage cheese quickly, yet not too hot that it burns it. Cooking over a medium heat works in our kitchen. But this can vary between different ovens.
Check out the video below to see how the cottage cheese needs to bubble. Adjust your heat accordingly.
Watch how to make this recipe
Chips for dinner?
Enjoy these protein crisps as a snack or use them to replace potato chips in recipes. They add a crunchy layer onto this Tuna Melt Lasagna.
FAQs & Helpful Tips
Yes, but it may take a few tries to get everything right for this recipe. I recommend reading through the post & comments for helpful tips. Remember that the process of making these cheese crisps can be tedious. Best to try this recipe when you have some time to experiment in the kitchen.
Yes, these cottage cheese chips can be made up to 3 days in advance.
Keep them refrigerated in an airtight container. Adding a piece of bread helps them stay fresh. Chips may soften a bit but should still have a crunch.
Yes, if they get soft they can be heated before serving to crisp up again.
Place a single layer of chips onto a sheet pan. Heat in a preheated 350° oven for 3-5 minutes. Watch them carefully to make sure they do not burn.
Yes, thanks to all the feedback from this recipe. These chips can be made in the microwave oven too. Check out the details on making microwave cheese chips too.
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Cottage Cheese Chips
Satisfy a potato chips craving with these healthy chips made out of cottage cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 cup small curd cottage cheese Trader Joe's
- ¼ teaspoon pepper butcher ground
- ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- In a small bowl mix cottage cheese with the spices.
- Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes.
- Scoop ½ teaspoon of the cottage cheese mixture into the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Once the cheese has stopped bubbling, the surface is dry and is starting to brown, use a rubber spatula to lift the edges from the pan. Carefully peel the chip away from the pan. Flip and cook an additional 20-30 seconds. Repeat with remaining batter.
Notes
Make sure to leave space when dropping in the cottage cheese, as these spread.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 15 chipsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 36Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 79mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 3g
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omg these are so cool. I love cottage cheese.
Thanks, me too. Let me know if you give these a try.
These are kinda fun to make, and they are crispy like potato chips. Thanks for the recipe!
Happy to hear you’re enjoying them.
Can you use ricotta cheese
Don’t think it would come out the same. But might still taste good.
So cool! Do you think these will work with Israeli cottage cheese?
Yes, I don’t see why not. You might have to experiment first to see what brands are best, depending on their fat% and curd size (here I used a 4% and small curd). I’d recommend dropping a small amount on a frying pan to test. If it doesn’t come out like these chips, it will probably be more like a melted cheese crisp (also delicious). Good luck experimenting.
Thanks!
Do you have the nutritional information on this recipe?
Sorry, I haven’t come across any for cottage cheese cooked this way. Best to go off the nutrition facts on the container. ¼ cup cottage cheese makes about 22 chips with this recipe. Hope you enjoy.
Do you think I could make these in the oven? Make more at once. Thanks for the recipe!!
Unfortunately not, though that would make the process easier. A large griddle could help speed up the process.
I didn’t have much success. I only had Daisy 4%, the curds spread out quite a bit and I couldn’t get them off the pan. I tried a second time, maybe I’ll have to try the Trader’s Joe’s cheese.
Sorry it didn’t work out with that brand. Best to give it a try with Trader Joe’s cottage cheese. Seems to work out the best with it.
I didn’t have any luck with these. Mine never seemed to sufficiently dry. I drained the cottage cheese, yeah, still no luck. The next time I am near Trader Joe’s I will pick up their cottage cheese and try again. Hope it works they sound delish!
No need to drain. You might want to adjust the heat to get the liquid to evaporate faster. Definitely recommend trying it with the Trader Joe’s cottage cheese.
Closest thing to an actual potato chip since I started Keto in August. Took some time to get the griddle temp. right, but they are easy and good.
Awesome, glad you like them.
What temperature did you use? I have an electric griddle and these look interesting.
She said she uses medium. Hot enough to cook but not to burn it before the top dries. Might take some experimenting.
I’m wondering what griddle temp you used?
Looking forward to trying these😋
1/2 a teaspoon? Those must be micro chips. Lol.
The mixture spreads out a lot. They end up the same size as a regular chip.
Just tried these out using the 4% small curd I had on had. Delicious. Rich tasting and delicately crunchy. I will up the temp and try these on my griddle next time. I have small wooden tongs that worked great to grasp the edge of the chip and help the spatula peel it up.
I had success with this recipe using ALDI brand low-fat small curd cottage cheese. Next time I’ll use the 4% from ALDI just to compare.
That’s Awesome! Thanks for sharing, enjoy.
I also use Aldi (Family Farms) 4% small curd in the microwave. 3.5 mins on high and perfect every time!
no oil or fat for frying?
No, just a heated non-stick pan/surface.
I used the Walmart brand cottage cheese and it worked good too. For spices I used 1/2 tsp of dry ranch dressing mix. It was so yummy!
Good to know that one works too. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for this! I’m always looking for healthy snacks.
I love this idea! I would not have thought to use cottage cheese to make chips.
I’ve made parmesan chips and they were amazing but never thought of trying cottage cheese – will have to try!
Who Knew?! This is beyond brilliant.I will definitely be trying this 🙂
What?? Who knew cottage cheese could be made into a chip! Totally trying!
I know it’s crazy. The good kind.
Ok my first spoonfuls were just sliding all over my big pan so I changed to an 8” nonstick. I just made it into one big chip and then broke pieces off. While still warm I was able to fold it into a taco shell but I couldn’t stop eating it. Made the rest like this. Much easier. Husband liked them too.
Has anyone tried with an air fryer?
Tried a couple of times now with mixed success. Will try with Trader Joe’s cottage cheese when I can. What did not work well: Lactaid Brand 4% Cottage Cheese and Kroger Brand small curd 4% Cottage Cheese. The first made a mess on my stainless steel pan brushed with olive oil (to avoid sticking). That was not good enough to prevent the sticking. My final attempt was to put 1/2 teaspoon scoops in microwave on a plate covered by parchment paper (per another You Tuber’s recipe). At 50% power and in about 5 minutes (stopping every 30 seconds after the first 3 minutes), I got what peeled off the parchment as an oversized cheese crisp (?) as everything spread out across the whole parchment. It tasted good and encouraged me to ask daughter to buy some Trader Joe’s Cottage Cheese next time she goes there in a nearby town. What was surprising is cottage cheese tastes very different and good when heated in these ways.
Has anyone tried using parchment paper in the pan instead of just nonstick?