3-Ingredient Cottage Cheese Chocolate Pudding
Nutrition Snapshot

I will tell you right off the bat: I have hated cottage cheese my entire life. And now, because of this chocolate cottage cheese pudding recipe, I cannot be without it in our fridge.
This recipe is an absolute game-changer for the high-protein dessert game, so I strongly encourage you to stick around and give it a try! This is truly a “don’t knock it ’til you try it” situation.
What is cottage cheese?
Besides being a food I’ve undeservingly turned my nose up at for more than 30 years?
Cottage cheese is a soft white cheese made from pasteurized cow’s milk that is acidified, causing the curds to separate from the whey. You may have heard cottage cheese called “curds and whey” before – pretty on the nose!
Because it’s a fresh cheese that isn’t aged, it has a more mild flavor than most cheeses.
What are the different types of cottage cheese?
The most basic overview of the different kinds of cottage cheese are:
- High-fat (6% milkfat)
- Full-fat (4% milkfat)
- Low-fat (2% milkfat)
- Fat-free
You’ll also find small curd and large curd cottage cheese varieties.
Flavorwise, cottage cheese should have a mild taste with a hint of salt. The lower the milkfat content, the more tart the flavor.
Since it’s getting blended, the curd size really doesn’t matter. But for this recipe, you do want to stick with a full-fat or high-fat cottage cheese.
Benefits of cottage cheese
Unless you are vegan or have to maintain a dairy-free lifestyle because you’re lactose-intolerant (I’m so sorry), cottage cheese is an awesome addition to a high-protein diet.
A 4-ounce serving of full-fat cottage cheese gets you 13 grams of protein for ~120 calories, in addition to essential nutrients like calcium, vitamin A, and B12.
Key ingredients for cottage cheese pudding
- Cottage cheese – I’ve been using 4% milkfat small curd country-style cottage cheese. Since it’s getting blended, I don’t think the curd size really matters. But I don’t recommend using fat-free or low-fat cottage cheese – stick with full-fat or high-fat.
- Cocoa powder – My pantry is running low on ingredients, so the only thing I had was Hershey’s unsweetened 100% cocoa powder and it worked out great! You could experiment with other natural unprocessed raw cacao powders as well.
- Monkfruit sweetener – I used golden monkfruit sweetener for the batch I photographed because I’d run out of powdered monkfruit sweetener. The slight grainy texture the golden sweetener added didn’t bother me a bit, but if you want it to be completely smooth, go for the powdered monkfruit sweetener instead.
Nutrition Disclaimer: Feel free to use different ingredients to suit your own dietary needs, but note it could change the flavor and vary from the nutritional calculations in the recipe card on this post!
How to make a blended cottage cheese dessert
Step 1: In a blender bottle or bowl of a food processor, add your cottage cheese. You don’t need to drain it unless you feel that it’s extra “soupy”.
Step 2: Add your monkfruit sweetener.
Step 3: Now add your cocoa powder.
Step 4: Blend or pulse on high speed until smooth and combined, stopping to scrape down the sides with a spatula if needed.
Step 5: You can see that mine has tiny granules because I used golden monkfruit sweetener in this batch, but yours should be totally smooth if using a powdered sweetener!
Step 6: You can either serve it immediately, but I would recommend letting it chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes before serving.
Serving suggestions & variations
- Want to add more protein? Add a little chocolate protein powder!
- Add nut butter. I’ve tested it with almond butter and peanut butter and the flavor combinations were great, and cashew butter didn’t lend much flavor but did make it a bit thicker.
- Include toppings or add-ins, like chocolate chips, toffee pieces, diced fruit, or a big dollop of homemade whipped cream on top.
- Swap the sweetener. You could use powdered sugar (confectioners sugar) in place of the monkfruit sweetener. I’m also a fan of blending coconut sugar and arrowroot powder together to form powdered coconut sugar (instructions in the recipe card).
FAQs
Does this really taste like pudding or like cottage cheese?
The cottage cheese falls into the background and this really does taste like rich, creamy chocolate pudding. Be sure to use a full fat cottage cheese (lower fat versions will be slightly tangy).
Can you make this in advance?
Yes! Feel free to make a large batch and store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days in a well sealed container!
Can this cottage cheese chocolate pudding be frozen?
Yes! You could technically turn this into cottage cheese ice cream! Allow the frozen cottage cheese mixture to rest on the counter for 10-15 minutes before scooping into it (the cottage cheese tends to harden into a brick in the freezer).
If you are freezing to store leftovers, let them defrost in the fridge 2-3 hours or overnight. The texture will be slightly different when defrosted.
Cottage Cheese Chocolate Pudding
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces full-fat cottage cheese
- ยผ cup cocoa powder
- ยผ cup monkfruit sweetener, powdered is preferred, but you can also use golden monkfruit sweetener if you don't mind it being a little grainy
- ยฝ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, optional
- Toppings or add-ins, toffee bits, dark chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, diced fruit, etc.
Instructions
- In a blender bottle or bowl of a food processor, add your cottage cheese. You don't need to drain it unless you feel that it's extra "soupy".8 ounces full-fat cottage cheese
- Add your monkfruit sweetener and cocoa powder. You can also add vanilla extract, if you've chosen to include it.1/4 cup cocoa powder | 1/4 cup monkfruit sweetener | 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Blend or pulse on high speed until smooth and combined, stopping to scrape down the sides with a spatula if needed.
- You can either serve it immediately, but I would recommend letting it chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes before serving.
- Top with or mix in anything you'd like, then serve and enjoy!Toppings or add-ins
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is generated by an automatic API and does not take variations across specific brands into account. This information is provided as a general guideline and should not be treated as official calculations. Learn more here.
great!! just great!! easy and convenient!!! a must have if you are a diabetic chocoholic!!!!!!
Hello, is the carb count of 34
grams correct? Just double checking as I’m diabetic. Thank you so much!
The provided nutrition information is generated by an automatic API and does not take variations across specific brands into account. This information is provided as a general guideline and should not be treated as official calculations.
With that said, this is as close an estimate as I’m able to get myself based on the ingredients I used for each 4 ounce serving:
Full-fat cottage cheese: 4g carbs
Cocoa powder: 6g carbs
Monkfruit sweetener: 24g carbs
Hope that helps!