These crunchy cottage cheese chips are so easy to make. They are packed with protein and are low carb and keto-friendly. You only need one ingredient to make them and you can easily customize them to make different flavors. These chips make a great snack.
I recently tried making the popular viral cottage cheese chips. I actually had some difficulty getting them to be crunchy at first because most of the recipes I came across were very vague on the instructions. After much research and trials, I am sharing my version with a few tips to ensure that you end up with super crunchy chips.
These chips are a fun healthy snack and you don’t have to be on a keto diet to enjoy them.
Ingredients
- Cottage Cheese
The only ingredient you need to make the chips is cottage cheese. To help ensure the chips are extra crunchy, this recipe works best with cottage cheese made with whole milk (so 4% milkfat) and cottage cheese that contains a high amount of protein (ideally 14 grams of protein per 1/2 cup).
You can make the chips plain. They will have cheese and salt flavor. Or you can also add seasonings of your choice to create more flavors. I used no salt bagel seasoning on mine.
More Flavor Variations
- Everything bagel seasoning: I recommend using no salt bagel seasoning because the chips are already salted.
- Chili powder: You can sprinkle a little chili powder to make them spicy.
- Garlic and Onion: You can sprinkle some garlic and onion powder on them so they have garlic/onion flavor.
- Cheese: You can mix in a little cheddar or parmesan cheese to add a different cheese flavor.
- Herbs: You can also add some dried herbs like rosemary or chives.
How to Make Cottage Cheese Chips
- Use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop up the cottage cheese and release it onto your prepared baking sheet. Flatten the cottage cheese with the back of a metal spoon.
- If adding seasoning, sprinkle it on at this time.
- Then bake the chips for about 40 minutes or until they are browned on the surface. You want the edges to be dark brown and the center of the chips to be a medium golden brown. The browner the chips are, the crunchier they will be.
Expert Tips
- This recipe works best with whole milk cottage cheese that is high in protein. The higher the amount of protein, the crunchier the chips will get because they have less moisture.
- The chips need to bake for a long time. Most recipes I saw gave a bake time between 10-30 minutes but that’s not nearly long enough. Mine take between 40-50 minutes.
- The darker brown the chips get, the crunchier they will be.
More Keto Chips
1 Ingredient Cottage Cheese Chips
Ingredients
- 1 cup (256 g) whole milk small curds cottage cheese (4% milkfat) see note before starting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. See note section regarding parchment paper.
- Use a 1 tbsp cookie scoop to scoop the cottage cheese and release onto your prepared baking sheet. Space the scoops about 2 inches apart. Use the back of a metal spoon to flatten the cottage cheese (about 3/16 to 1/4 inch thick). If adding seasoning, sprinkle it on at this time.
- Bake cheese for about 40-50 minutes or until edges are dark brown and the surface is browned on the chips. Your baking time can vary depending on how thin you flatten the cottage cheese. I recommend to start checking around 20 minutes. Ideally you want the surface of the chips to be a golden to medium brown. The browner the chips are the crunchier they will be. Make sure to watch the chips closely during the last part of baking.
- When chips are done, remove them from the oven. Let them cool fully. Do not try to eat them before they are cooled as they will not yet be fully set. The chips will continue to get firmer as they cool and should be fully firm and set when they are cooled (about 20-30 minutes after baking). Enjoy them once they are fully set and cooled. If you are not eating them right away, store them in an airtight container or sealed bag and consume within a few hours (if you just leave them out, the moisture from the air can cause them to turn a little bit softer). Store any leftovers not consumed within a few hours in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
- Parchment paper note: Some readers have reported their chips sticking to the parchment paper or running together. We recommend using a good quality brand parchment paper. There are many inferior cheaper brands that do not have a good nonstick coating. This can result in the chips sticking, running together, or even cooking too quickly/burning. We highly recommend Reynolds parchment paper. We've also had success with Kirkland Paper Chef parchment paper.
- Cottage Cheese note: This recipe works best with whole milk cottage cheese with a high amount of protein. I used Good Culture brand* which contains 14 grams or protein per 1/2 cup. Most of the other brands contain 12-13 grams only. While the recipe will still work with lower amount of protein, the chips don't get as crunchy. They end up being a little chewy.
- You don't need to blend the cottage cheese beforehand.
- Baking time note: Baking time can vary depending on your baking equipment, how close your chips are to the top of your oven, the cottage cheese brand and how thin you spread your chips. We recommend positioning your oven rack to the middle of your oven. While our chips took about 45 minutes, we recommend checking starting at 20 minutes.
- I recommend only making a small amount of chips at a time because any uneaten chips need to be stored in the fridge which causes them to lose their crunchiness. You can rebake them for a few minutes to get them crunchy again.
- I used salt-free everything bagel seasoning* on mine. I used about 2 1/2 tsp across the 16 chips.
- *This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
What temperature did you use?
These are baked at 350°F (177°C)
Mine completely fell apart trying to pull parchment off. I followed directions
Some readers have reported their chips sticking to the parchment paper or running together. We recommend using a good quality brand parchment paper. There are many inferior cheaper brands that do not have a good nonstick coating. This can result in the chips sticking, running together, or even cooking too quickly/burning. We highly recommend Reynolds parchment paper. We’ve also had success with Kirkland Paper Chef parchment paper.
Have you tried with dry cottage cheese? It’s very high in protein but might not have enough moisture?
We have not tested this recipe with dry cottage cheese so we are not sure how that would work!
Pulled mine out at 40m and they were good but not crispy in the middle, I used the same cottage cheese as recommended, will try again and leave in a little longer, Very tasty tho 🙂 my only question is … what is the secret to keeping the spoon from sticking to the cheese when flattening them out?
We’re glad you enjoyed the recipe! I found a metal spoon to be the best tool for me since it is less likely to stick to the cheese and it also has some weight to it which allows you to compact down the mixture!
Used high quality parchment and drained excess liquid in mesh strainer. 1 tablespoon cookie scoop, flattened Still ran together.
Can you tell me what brand of cottage cheese you are using? It seems like that may be the issue. It may be that you are using one without the typical thickening stabilizers and that may be what is causing the cheese to run together.
I’m definitely going to try this again, with your tips! My first attempt did not turn out well, but I managed to peel some pieces off the parchment, and the taste was really good, so definitely worth another try – making sure they don’t stick, and getting them crispy! (Mine started to burn around the edges long before they were crispy in the middle.)
We’re glad you enjoyed the taste of these! Your baking time can vary depending on how thin you flatten the cottage cheese. I recommend to start checking around 20 minutes!
I used regular (not light) Daisy cottage cheese and half way through baking time I saw a puddle of liquid covering half of the tray. I removed the tray and poured off the liquid then returned it to the oven. Those previously sitting in the liquid didn’t brown much but still tasted good. The others browned well. This shocked me and I wonder if any others experienced the same.
Hi, I haven’t worked with Daisy cottage cheese yet but I did learn recently that Daisy cottage cheese is different from most other cottage cheeses out there. It doesn’t use the same thickeners, so that could explain why it is more watery while baking. I’m also wondering if that is why some people are having issues with theirs crisping up.
Does small curd vs large curd make a difference?
We do prefer whole milk small curds cottage cheese (4% milkfat)!
Appreciated tips as tried different recipe before and weren’t as good. Delicious healthy snack! Thank you
I’m so glad you found the tips helpful!
Dang, I had a whole three paragraphs written out about my experience and the page keeps refreshing because of the ads so five stars just watch your cook time.
We’re very sorry that your page refreshed before you could finish writing your experience. The ads are not meant to refresh the page so not sure what happened. However, we’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
15 minutes and they were burnt. I think they’ll be great cooked for a shorter time, but I honestly cannot imagine how 40-50minutes works for you?
We’ve made this more than a dozen times and always needed 40-50 minutes. A lot of things can affect baking time though. It could be that you are flattening the cottage cheese too much which can cause them to burn too quickly. It could also be the baking sheet you are using. We use aluminum baking pans. Some cheaper baking pans (especially dark metal pans) tend to get too hot and can cause baked goods to brown or burn before they are done baking. It could also be your oven. Some ovens run hot. We use a separate oven separate to make sure our oven is at the correct temperature. It could also be that your oven rack is too close to the top of the oven. One other thought is that it could possibly be the brand of cottage cheese you are using. There may be brands out there that are more watery which could cause spreading or burning. We did test a few different brands with no issues but we aren’t able to test every brand out there.
Perfect Time is key !!
I’m glad you enjoyed!
Followed the directions and they were burnt to a crisp.
We’re sorry to hear that! This was the baking time we needed and we tested this recipe more than a dozen times. We recommend checking your oven temperature and making sure it’s at 350°F. Some people’s ovens run hotter. It could also be that you spread your cottage cheese thinner. Ours were about 1/4 inch thick. If you spread it very thin, then your baking time will be a lot less.
Made these for my family and they were a big hit. My toddler loved them!
We’re so happy to hear that!!
I have tried to make this a couple of times without success! They melt together! What am I doing wrong! I am a good cook!
What brand of parchment paper are you using? I’m guessing that may be the issue. There are a lot of cheaper inferior brands of parchment paper out there and it may be causing your chips to melt together. I recommend using Reynolds brand.
Tried making these twice. Both times it was as though they had been super-glued to the parchment. What exactly does “treated baking tray” mean?
It sounds like it may be your parchment paper. Make sure you use a good brand of parchment paper like Reynolds. There are many cheaper brands out there that don’t make a good parchment paper and the nonstick coating on it is not good.
Love this idea, although mine burnt horribly at around 20 minutes after checking on them.
Will try again with a shorter time!
We’re sorry to hear that! Make sure the oven is at 350°F and that your oven rack isn’t too close to the top. Baking time can also vary depending on how thin you flattened the chips.
Would love to add something sweet to these? Have you tried?
We have not tried that with this recipe!
serving: 1chip, calories: 16kcals
16k calories????????
16 kcal is 16 calories. kcal is the unit of measurement for a food calorie.
Jst made some. They all spread together. Wht a mess. Used and did exactly as recipe said. Protein content was 12percent. Couldn’t find higher. Maybe a better brand of cottage cheese?
I’m sorry that happened. I haven’t had any issues with spreading. It may be the brand. It could possibly also be the parchment paper. Make sure you use a good brand of parchment paper like Reynolds.
Is there some way additional protein could be added? All I can find us the 12-13 grams of protein.
You could potentially add protein powder, but we haven’t tried it. You can also just try with the cottage cheese you are able to find. The chips might not be as crispy all the way through but they should still turn out.
Mine burnt after 35 minutes- next time I will check them earlier- I may have flattened mine to much? I will definitely try again though and check them earlier.
Hi Heidi! We hope you give them another try!
I made these chips and they came out great.
I’m so glad you like them!
They look just like the picture! We’re easy & tasty!
I’m so glad yours looked like the ones in the picture and worked out for you!
Why did you say to flatten the cheese specifically with a metal spoon?
I found that to be the best tool for me and what I used. Metal is less likely to stick to the cheese and it also has some weight to it which allows you to compact down the mixture.
incredible, easy, delicious, versatile. did in airfryer/toaster oven, only 7-8min each 2 trays. being lazy after struggling with first batch just spread next one and cut immediately after taking out. Thanks so much.
added zaatar, paprika, garlic powder and some crushed fried onion.
Thank you for sharing!
Oven setting?
These are baked at 350°F (177°C).