This lemon cottage cheesecake is light and creamy, featuring a no-bake cheesecake filling. The cheesecake needs just 4 ingredients. The cheesecake is easy to prepare and can be made ahead of time. It is a cool and refreshing dessert.
Lemon cottage cheesecakes on a serving board

This lemon cottage cheesecake is made with cottage cheese instead of cream cheese for a lighter cheesecake filling. The filling also doesn’t require any baking. I made mine into flower shaped individual cheesecake bites.

Ingredients

  • Cottage cheese
  • Condensed milk
  • Lemon
  • Pie crust

Cottage cheese: Make sure to use 4% high protein cottage cheese. Low fat cottage cheese or low protein cottage cheese will be too watery. You want to use a cottage cheese with around 13 to 14 grams of protein per 1/2 cup serving.

Condensed milk: This recipe uses full fat sweetened condensed milk. Sweetened condensed milk adds sweetness to the filling and also helps it set.

Lemon: Lemon juice is added to give the cheesecake its lemon flavor. You can also add lemon zest for more lemon flavor.

Pie crust: For the crust layer, I used refrigerated pie crust, which I cut into individual crusts and baked until golden. You can also use a graham cracker crust or another type of crust.

How to Make Lemon Cottage Cheesecake

  • The cottage cheese and condensed milk are blended until smooth. Mix in the lemon juice.
  • Let the filling chill in the fridge for at least one hour.
  • Cut the pie crust with a cookie cutter. I used a 3.75 inch flower shaped cookie cutter.
  • Place the cut pie crusts into the cavities of a nonstick muffin pan. Poke holes across the bottom of the pie crusts with a fork.Pie crust cut into flowers with a cookie cutter and placed in a muffin pan
  • Bake the pie crusts for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow the pie crusts to fully cool before removing them from the muffin pan.
  • Pipe or spoon cheesecake filling into the pie crusts. Serve right away or keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

Cheesecake filling in the middle of flower shaped pie crust
A lemon cottage cheesecake cut in half

Expert Tips

  • The cheesecake filling is lightly sweetened. If you prefer a sweeter filling, you can increase the amount of condensed milk.
  • If you prefer a stronger lemon flavor, you can add lemon zest or a little more lemon juice. If you add more lemon juice, the cheesecake filling will not be as thick.
  • You can use a homemade pie crust, but I like using refrigerated pie crust to save time. You can also make a graham cracker crust.
  • The pie crusts are baked at a lower oven temperature to prevent the crusts from shrinking too much during baking.

Lemon cottage cheesecake after baking and filling with fresh lemon zest

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4 Ingredient Lemon Cottage Cheesecake

These individual lemon cottage cheesecakes are light, creamy and feature a no bake filling. The cheesecakes need just 4 ingredients and can be made ahead of time.
Servings: 12 pieces
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (113g) 4% high protein cottage cheese, see note before starting
  • 2/3 cup (198g) full fat sweetened condensed milk
  • 3 tbsp (45ml) lemon juice
  • 2 (15 oz/425g total) refrigerated premade pie crusts, softened to room temperature, see note

Instructions
 

  • Add cottage cheese and condensed milk to a blender and blend until the cottage cheese is completely smooth, stopping to scrape the sides of the blender as needed. Add in the lemon juice and blend a few seconds just until the lemon juice is fully incorporated. The mixture will thicken once the lemon juice is added.
  • Transfer the mixture to a bowl and cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap. Place into the fridge for at least one hour to chill. You can also make the filling the night before and let it chill overnight.
  • When ready to make the pie crusts, preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Lightly grease the interior of a standard nonstick muffin pan.
  • Roll out both softened pie crusts on a pastry board or large cutting board. Use a 3.75 inch flower cookie cutter to cut 12 flower shapes out of the dough (6 from each pie crust).
  • Gently place cut dough into a standard muffin tray, pressing down to make sure it fits snuggly. Use a fork to pierce the bottom of the crust 3 times. See photo in post for reference.
  • Bake pie crusts in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and fully cooked. Set aside to cool.
  • Once fully cooled, you can lift the pie crusts from the muffin pan. Transfer the chilled filling into a piping bag and pipe into the pie crusts. You can also just spoon the filling into each pie crust. Serve right away or keep in the fridge until ready to serve. Store any uneaten cheesecakes in an airtight container in the fridge.

Notes

  • Pie crust note: This recipe uses refrigerated premade pie crusts (the kind that you unroll and bake). There are usually 2 crusts in a box, with the box net weight being 15 oz. I used Amazon Grocery* pie crusts.
  • Cookie cutter: I used this 3 3/4 inch flower cutter.*
  • Cottage cheese note: Make sure to use a cottage cheese that contains 13 to 14 grams of protein per 1/2 cup serving. If you use a cottage cheese with less protein, the filling will be too runny. Also make sure to use 4% cottage cheese. Low-fat cottage cheese is too runny. I used Daisy cottage cheese.*
  • *These product links are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
  • You will have leftover dough which you can re-roll to make more individual pie crusts. I always find that the leftover re-rolled dough scraps tend to shrink more in the oven. You will need to make more filling if you want to use the leftover pie scraps.
  • The pie crusts are baked at a lower temperature than what is indicated on the box instructions to prevent too much shrinkage.
  • Estimated nutrition assumes 22 grams of pie crust per individual cheesecake.
Serving: 1piece, Calories: 153kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Sodium: 162mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 10g, NET CARBS: 20
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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