These healthier cottage cheese muffins are soft and moist. They are just 4 ingredients and don’t contain any eggs, refined sugar, butter or oil. The muffins take only a few minutes to prepare and can easily be customized.
Cottage cheese muffins with chocolate chips

These muffins are easy to make. I also love that you can customize them with chocolate chips, fruit, nuts, or other mix-ins.

Ingredients

  • Cottage cheese
  • Bananas
  • Coconut sugar
  • Self-rising flour

Cottage cheese: This recipe works best with 4% high protein cottage cheese. If you use low fat cottage cheese your muffins will not be rich enough since there is no other added fat in the muffins.

Bananas: Bananas help with the texture of the muffins and also provide natural sweetness for the muffins. It also helps to hide the tangy flavor from the cottage cheese. This recipe works best with very ripe or overripe bananas. You will taste banana flavor in the muffins. You can also substitute with eggs, but the cottage cheese flavor will be stronger.

Coconut sugar: The muffins are sweetened with coconut sugar. You can use other granular sugar substitutes. I don’t recommend using liquid sugar substitutes because the muffin batter will be too wet.

Self-rising flour: Self-rising flour is a flour blend that already includes a leavening agent and sodium. I like using self-rising flour because it saves a few extra steps and ingredients but you can also make your own homemade self-rising flour blend.

Optional mix-ins: I added some chocolate chips to the batter but it is optional. The muffins still taste great without them. You can also add other mix-ins like chopped fruit or nuts.

How to Make Cottage Cheese Muffins

  • Add the cottage cheese, bananas and coconut sugar and blend until smooth.
  • Add the flour to a large mixing bowl. Add in the liquid mixture. Use a spatula to mix in the flour, just until all of the flour is incorporated.
  • Use an ice cream scooper to scoop the batter into your prepared muffin pan.
  • Bake the muffins for about 25 minutes or until they are cooked through.

Baked muffins in a muffin tin

Texture

The muffins are soft and moist. The texture won’t be quite as light or tender as muffins made with butter or oil because these muffins contain very little fat. The muffins are lightly sweet since they are meant to be muffins and not cake.
Chocolate chip muffins on a cooling rack

Expert Tips

  • It’s best to bake these muffins directly in the greased muffin pan or using parchment cup liners. I don’t recommend using regular muffin liners because the muffins will stick to them and they will be very hard to peel off.
  • The muffins are lightly sweet. You can make them sweeter by adding more sugar to the batter or adding sweet mix-ins like chocolate chips.

A stack of two cottage cheese muffins with chocolate chips

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5 from 1 vote

4 Ingredient Healthier Cottage Cheese Muffins

These 4-Ingredient Cottage Cheese Muffins are soft, naturally sweetened, and full of protein — perfect for kids’ snacks, lunchboxes, or a quick breakfast. With no processed sugar and just a few simple ingredients, they come together fast, and you can toss in chocolate chips for a fun twist.
Servings: 13 muffins
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups (340g) 4% high protein cottage cheese
  • 3/4 cup (180g) mashed very ripe or overripe bananas, about 2 large bananas, see note
  • 1/2 cup (72g) coconut sugar
  • 2 cups (280g) self-rising flour, see note before starting

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Spray two 12-cup muffin pans with non-stick cooking spray (you will need to grease 13 cavities total; you can either do 12 and 1, 6 and 7, or whatever combination you prefer). I don't recommend using muffin liners unless you use parchment paper ones because the muffins will stick to regular muffin liners.
  • In a blender, blend cottage cheese, bananas and coconut sugar until completely smooth, scraping down the sides of your blender as needed to help everything evenly mix.
  • Pour the mixture into a large bowl. Add in the flour. Fold in self-rising flour with a spatula until all of the flour is incorporated and there are no pockets of unmixed flour. Make sure to mix in the flour with a spatula and not a mixer or whisk. The latter can cause you to overmix the batter. If adding any mix-ins, add them in now.
  • Use an ice cream scoop (with 1/4 cup capacity) or use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop the mixture and release into your prepared muffin pans, filling about ¾ full.
  • Bake for 25-35 minutes (mine were done around 30 minutes) or until the muffins are puffed, golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. When you apply light pressure to the surface, it should also bounce back.
  • Let muffins cool a few minutes in pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store uneaten muffins in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Notes

  • Banana note: If you are using a scale to weigh the bananas, you don't need to mash them first. You can add them directly into the blender. I included the mashed amount for people that are using measuring cups rather than a scale. You will need approximately two large bananas but I do recommend you weigh or mash them into measuring cup to get a more accurate measurement. Adding too much banana can make your batter too wet.
    • Bananas can be substituted with 3 large eggs, but the muffins will have a more tangy taste from the cottage cheese. I preferred using bananas rather than eggs. If you use eggs, you should also increase the sugar to 3/4 cup instead of 1/2 cup.
  • Cottage cheese note: Make sure to use 4% cottage cheese. These muffins don't have any other added fat. I also recommend a high protein cottage cheese, with approximately 13-14 grams of protein per 1/2 cup serving. I tested these with Amazon Grocery,* Daisy* and Clover Sonoma* cottage cheese brands.
  • I tested these with Wholesome* and Big Tree Farms coconut sugar.*
  • Self-rising flour amount. There are 2 main kinds of self-rising flour sold in the US. One that is a lower protein (2 grams per 1/4 cup serving) flour and one that has a regular amount of protein (3 grams per 1/4 cup (30g) serving). The amount of protein affects how much liquid is absorbed. For this recipe, I tested it with Gold Medal self-rising flour (regular amount of protein). Please use a self-rising flour with a regular amount of protein (3 grams per 1/4 cup), or make your own self-rising flour with the recipe I share at the end of the notes. Avoid brands like White Lily self-rising flour or King Arthur self-rising flour which contain less protein. You do not want a low protein flour because your muffin batter will be too wet.
  • I made these with Gold Medal self-rising flour.*
  • *These product links are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
  • Homemade self-rising flour: Whisk together 2 cup all purpose flour, 3 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Make sure your all purpose flour has a regular amount of protein (3 grams per 1/4 cup). Most brands in the US contain this amount but there are some brands with higher protein (4 grams per 1/4 cup) such as King Arthur Flour all purpose flour and Bob's Red Mill all purpose flour. You do not want a high protein flour because your muffins will come out dry and dense.
  • You can add 1/2 cup of optional mix-ins like chocolate chips, chopped fruit or nuts. I also added a few extra chocolate chips on top of the muffins for presentation.
  • Estimated nutrition does not include optional mix-ins like chocolate chips
Serving: 1muffin, Calories: 120kcal, Carbohydrates: 23g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 306mg, Fiber: 0.4g, Sugar: 8g, NET CARBS: 23
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. This is not a comprehensive list of all the nutrients in the recipe (i.e., does not include vitamins, cholesterol, etc). I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
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