4 Ingredient Healthier Cottage Cheese Brownies (No Flour, Refined Sugar, Butter or Oil)
These cottage cheese brownies are rich, fudgy, and healthier than regular brownies. The brownies need just 4 ingredients and don’t contain any flour, refined sugar, butter or oil. They take less than 5 minutes to prepare.
These healthier cottage cheese brownies are super fudgy and so easy to make. Blend all the ingredients and the batter is ready to be baked.
Ingredients
- Cocoa powder
- Cottage cheese
- Honey or coconut sugar
- Eggs
Cocoa powder: These brownies are made with Dutch process cocoa powder. Dutch process cocoa powder is less acidic than natural cocoa powder. I don’t recommend using natural cocoa powder because it is more bitter and acidic.
Cottage cheese: High protein 4% cottage cheese is used to give these brownies a protein boost and make them a little healthier.
Honey: The brownies can be sweetened with honey or coconut sugar. Honey will make the brownies more fudgy and moist. If you prefer a less moist brownie, you can use unrefined coconut sugar.
Eggs: Eggs act as a binding agent and help create the structure for these brownies.
How to Make Cottage Cheese Brownies
- The cottage cheese, sweetener and eggs are added to a blender and blended until smooth. Add in the cocoa powder and blend until the batter is uniform in color.
- Transfer the batter to your prepared baking pan.
- Bake brownies until they are set and a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean.
Texture
The brownies are very moist and fudgy. They are not chewy or cake type brownies. The brownies are lightly sweet. I do recommend letting the brownies to cool for several hours or overnight. If you eat the brownies soon after they are done baking, they won’t taste as sweet but they are much sweeter if you eat them the next day or if you wait several hours.
Expert Tips
- You can use either coconut sugar or honey to sweeten the brownies. I liked the flavor the honey adds to the brownies but the brownies are quite moist if you use honey. If you use coconut sugar, the brownies still are fudgy but aren’t as moist. If you do use coconut sugar, you will need to use more of it and it won’t be a 1:1 substitution with honey.
- You can taste a little bit of the tanginess from the cottage cheese if you eat the brownies soon after they are baked. If you let them rest for several hours, the brownies get sweeter.
More Brownie Recipes
4 Ingredient Healthier Cottage Cheese Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (339g) high protein 4% cottage cheese, see note
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup honey, can substitute with 1 cup + 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- 3/4 cup (72g) unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang on the sides for easy removal later.
- Add cottage cheese, eggs and honey to a blender and blend until completely smooth, scraping down the sides of the machine with a spatula as needed. Make sure there are no chunks of cottage cheese remaining. Add in the cocoa powder and blend until the cocoa powder is fully incorporated and the batter is uniform in color.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan, spreading it evenly with a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the center of the brownies are set and toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean. If you make this with the coconut sugar, the brownies will initially puff up a lot during baking and also crack slightly, but will sink back down once the brownies cool. If you make the brownies with honey, the brownies will get more moist on the surface as they cool.
- For best results, wait several hours to cut and serve the brownies. If possible, wait for them to fully rest overnight in the fridge before eating. Waiting a few hours or overnight will allow the brownies to become sweeter. The brownies are more tangy if eaten soon after they are baked. You can also add frosting before serving the brownies. Store leftover brownies in an airtight container in the fridge.
Notes
- If using coconut sugar, you do need to add more because coconut sugar contains less sugar than honey. I used Kirkland raw honey to make the brownies.
- Cottage cheese note: Try to use a high protein 4% cottage cheese, around 13 or 14 grams of protein per 113 grams serving. I used Amazon Grocery cottage cheese.* You can use Good Culture or Nancy's cottage cheese, but the brownies do have a little more tangy flavor.
- *These product links are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
- Optional chocolate frosting:
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips
- ¼ cup (2 ounces) canned coconut milk (can substitute with heavy cream)
- Add chocolate chips to a medium bowl and set aside. Heat coconut milk in a small pot or pan over medium low heat. Heat until simmering. Pour hot coconut milk over chocolate chips. Let sit for 60 seconds then gently mix until chocolate is completely melted.
- Estimated nutrition does not include optional frosting.
I’m diabetic. Can I use allulose and if so, how much would you recommend?
Sorry, we haven’t tested this recipe with allulose!
Does I Does the honey flavor come through?
Not really. It just sweetens the brownies but it doesn’t really taste of honey
Wonderful recipe, absolutely delicious brownies. Thank you
Thank you! We’re so glad you enjoyed these brownies!
Not bad for something healthy. I backed off on the honey(used 1/3 cup), otherwise too sweet. I topped it off with some shredded coconut.
We’re glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Quick, simple, tasty… I love it!
Thank you! We’re so glad you love these brownies!
Love this recipe!! Do you think I could use either Maple Syrup or Agave instead of the Honey in these Brownies?
We’re so glad you loved these brownies! We haven’t tested this recipe with maple syrup or agave.
This recipe is simple and delicious. Thank you.
We’re so glad you enjoyed these brownies!
I been dying to make these cottage cheese brownies. I only buy 0% fat free cottage cheese & use Splenda because I didn’t have honey or coconut sugar. These came out tasting delicious. Will definitely satisfy the sweet tooth.
We’re so glad you enjoyed these brownies!
Moist and delicious. I used 1/2 cup honey, and they were still sweet enough!
I’m so glad you liked them!
How do you make them more cake-like and less fudgy?
These brownies are meant to be very moist and fudgy so we aren’t sure what adjustments would need to be made to make them more cake-like.
Too much enjoy your recipes thank you very much I appreciate yours
We’re so glad you enjoy the recipes!
It’s great!
Thank you! We’re glad you enjoyed these!
Bake at what temperature????
These are baked at 350°F (177°C).
More Recipe
Hello! You can find more recipes right on the website!
Are these brownies good for Bariatric patients?
I would recommend discussing this with your healthcare professional to see if these would be a good fit for you!
Could you use Lactaid 4,% cottage cheese to make these? I don’t have access to any of the cottage cheese brands you mentioned. We have Daisy, Country Farms, Meijer (from mi) Equate Walmart.. Crystal Dairy. I’d really like to try this recipe. I have stopped buying processed foods more and more. Cooking and Baking much more. Very much interested in high protein options, and less ingredients. Lost 161 pounds in 2 years with bariatric surgery. Intend to keep it off but still love dark chocolate and need to get my protein. Where would I find more of your recipes. Thank you.
Sorry we have not tried with Lactaid cottage cheese!
THANKS YUMMY KEEP IT GOING
We’re so glad you enjoyed these!
Would a fat free cottage cheese work?
We haven’t tested this recipe with a fat free cottage cheese. We really recommend to try to use a high protein 4% cottage cheese, around 13 or 14 grams of protein per 113 grams serving.
Can I use 0%fat cottage cheese for the brownie recepe???
We haven’t tested this recipe with a fat free cottage cheese. We really recommend to try to use a high protein 4% cottage cheese, around 13 or 14 grams of protein per 113 grams serving.
Just wondering if I can substitute cacao for the Dutch cocoa powder?
You can, but the brownies will be much more bitter, so you would need to increase the sweetener. If using honey, this may cause the batter to be too wet, so it’s probably better to use coconut sugar instead.