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These cottage cheese brownies are SO fudgy, full of rich chocolate flavor and are made with wholesome ingredients like whole wheat flour and cottage cheese. They’re the perfect healthier alternative for your sweet cravings!
Cottage cheese has become one of my favorite ways to add a little protein boost to baked goods and desserts. It’s super creamy texture and mild flavor works perfectly, like in my Cottage Cheese Chocolate Mousse, Cottage Cheese Blueberry Muffins and Cottage Cheese Cookie Dough!
You’ll Love These Healthier Brownies
Unlike traditional brownies, these are made with less butter and sugar and some more nutrient-dense simple ingredients like whole wheat flour and cottage cheese. Here’s why you’ll love them:
- Perfectly fudgy brownies. These brownies still have the perfect gooey fudgy texture and crinkly top that every brownie lover wants from traditional recipes.
- Lighter and lower sugar. These brownies are made with lighter ingredients like cottage cheese, less butter and less sugar than most regular brownie recipes.
- Made with whole grains. They’re made with whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour for a higher fiber, more nutrient dense brownie. Each brownie has 4 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber.
- More nutritious with all the rich flavor. Even though they were made with nutrition in mind, they have everything you’re looking for in a brownie recipe!
Make sure to check out all of my Cottage Cheese Recipes!
Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card for full recipe and ingredient amounts.
- Cottage cheese: Any kind of cottage cheese works, but I recommend using full-fat (my favorite is Good Culture) or at least 2%.
- Whole wheat flour: I recommend King Arthur’s Golden Wheat (white whole wheat), but you can use any kind that you have.
- Cocoa powder: Unsweetened cocoa powder adds chocolate flavor and bonus: each tablespoon of cocoa powder has about 2 grams of fiber!
- Chocolate chips: You’ll need both chopped chocolate or chocolate chips (semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips) plus mini chocolate chips for mixing in! You can also use sugar free chocolate chips to lower the sugar.
- White sugar: Regular sugar gives these brownies the classic shiny top. Even though we’re using regular sugar, the added sugar is still lower than most brownie recipes. You can also use brown sugar, coconut sugar, or maple syrup but keep in mind the texture may be different.
- Salted butter: After a lot of testing, a little bit of butter is really essential for the classic fudge brownie texture, and this recipe uses a lot less than most. You can also swap in a neutral oil like avocado oil.
- Milk: I recommend regular milk, at least 2% fat.
- Egg: Just one egg for the perfect texture.
- Vanilla extract: A must for flavor.
- Baking soda + salt: Baking soda provides a little lift and salt balances the flavors.
Variations
- Add toppings. Before baking top with sprinkles, chopped nuts, flaky sea salt or even mini marshmallows.
- Mix-ins. Instead of mini chocolate chips, add a 1/2 cup of chopped nuts, mini marshmallows or even mini M&Ms to the brownie batter before baking.
- Brownie muffins. Bake in a muffin pan instead of a brownie pan for easy cottage cheese brownie muffins!
- Peanut butter swirl. Swirl two tablespoons of peanut butter or any nut butter onto to the top before baking.
- Higher protein. For a higher protein brownie, swap 1/2 cup of flour with chocolate protein powder.
How To Make Cottage Cheese Brownies
- Add wet ingredients. Add cottage cheese, melted chocolate, melted butter, vanilla extract, egg, milk, sugar and cocoa powder to a food processor.
- Blend. Process cottage cheese mixture on high until blended. Note: Avoid cracking the egg right on top of the melted chocolate or butter in the food processor if those ingredients are hot.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine whole wheat flour, baking soda and salt.
- Combine. Combine wet and dry ingredients and then fold chocolate chips into the cottage cheese brownie batter.
- Pour. Pour batter into a 9×9″ baking dish lightly oiled or lined with parchment paper. Top with more mini chocolate chips.
- Bake. Bake for 20-25 minutes in the oven, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Note: different ovens may vary so make sure to test the center before removing from the oven. Allow to cool to room temperature before slicing into 16 brownies.
How To Store
Store extra brownies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also stick them in the microwave for 15-20 seconds to warm them up!
Jamie’s Tips
Tips For Success
- Don’t over bake. Make sure to watch your brownies closely because everyone’s oven is a little different. As soon as a toothpick comes out clean or with just a couple of tiny crumbs, take them out to avoid over baking!
- Choosing cottage cheese. I recommend using full fat cottage cheese or at least 2% for the best creaminess.
- Don’t forget to blend. The cottage cheese must be blended or you’ll end up with a much different texture and curds in your brownies.
More Cottage Cheese Recipes
If you’ve made and loved these Cottage Cheese Brownies or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and comments below!
Cottage Cheese Brownies
Fudgy delicious brownies made with healthier ingredients like cottage cheese and whole wheat flour.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate, melted
- 1 cup cottage cheese, full fat or 2%
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup melted butter, or avocado oil
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour, I recommend King Arthur golden wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour.
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Start by adding cottage cheese, melted chocolate, melted butter, vanilla extract, egg, milk, sugar and cocoa powder to a food processor. Process on high until blended. Note: Avoid cracking the egg right on top of the melted chocolate or butter in the food processor if those ingredients are hot.
- In a large bowl, combine whole wheat flour, baking soda and salt.
- Combine blended wet ingredients with dry ingredient and mix until just combined. Fold in mini chocolate chips.
- Transfer to a 9×9" baking dish lightly oiled or lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes in the oven, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Note: different ovens may vary so make sure to test the center before removing from the oven 🙂
- Allow to cool and then slice into 16 brownies.
Notes
For best results, I recommend using at least 2% or whole milk cottage cheese.
Any whole wheat flour will work but I recommend King Arthur golden wheat or whole wheat pastry flour.
Nutrition
Calories: 143kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 166mg | Potassium: 144mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 134IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an estimate.
Did you try this recipe?Leave a comment + star rating below!
Wow these are light, chocolatey without being too heavy! I added a 1/4 of white sugar & switched 1/4 for white flour instead of the whole meal. It is a lovely recipe to use cottage cheese in. Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these! Thank you so much for your comment 🙂
These are so fire! I love the lower sugar option and adding the whole wheat flour, can’t even tell the difference.
Hi Jamie,
Do you think I could use the Kodiak Baking Mix in this recipe instead of the flour to reduce the carb count? I know you have other recipes that use that, that have been delicious.
I haven’t tried but I think it would probably work!
It worked perfectly and they were so delicious. I paired them with low carb ice cream and enjoyed it so very much and 100% guilt free. Thank you for all your delicious recipes!!!! You are so talented.
Thank you so much for your kind words Patricia!
These are a fantastic option for an everyday brownie. They stay moist for days and are a satisfying dessert. I’ll be making again – thank you.
Thanks so much for leaving a review!
Could I try coconut flour or almond flour instead?
Coconut flour and almond flour are very different than wheat flour so it’s unlikely to turn out the same unfortunately! If you wanted to experiment with a gluten-free flour, I’d probably grab one from the grocery store that’s a gluten-free baking blend that’s meant to be used 1:1 with regular flour.
Hi, which of the ingredients are you calorie totals calculated with? I used swerve instead of sugar and almond milk instead of regular milk, and I calculated the calories per 1/16th and it was exactly 143. If I substituted lower calorie ingredients for the ones on your recipe list, how could the calories be the same?
The nutrition information is only an approximation and will always vary depending on the specific ingredients/brands you use.
So rich and delish!!! I love being able to enjoy a sweet treat while getting my protein intake
Thanks Alyssa! So glad you enjoyed these 🙂
These have the perfect brownie texture, and are so satisfying. Well done, and thank you!
Thanks so much for trying them and leaving a review!! 🙂
Yummy yummy! Great recipe and a very nice chocolate taste without being overly sweet.
I baked it in a 9 inch round pan since that’s what I had available and it took closer to 35 minutes to bake but it’s absolutely perfect.
So happy you enjoyed these! Thank you for leaving a review 🙂
Very very good! Baked in a metal 9 x 9 baking pan and took a lot longer to cook, about 45 minutes.
Paired with moka yogurt, all guests adored!
So happy you enjoyed them! 🙂
Love that they aren’t too sweet and don’t leave you feeling over sugared like most desserts. Made mine in a 9×9 pan and needed to be baked for closer to 40 minutes.
So glad you enjoyed them! They bake a little faster in my oven but I find that it definitely depends on the oven 🙂
Do these have to be Refrigerated??
I prefer to keep them refrigerated 🙂
Was horrible.. bitter chocolate.. it was like eating “Ghirardelli, Intense Dark Chocolate Bar, 92% Cacao”
What a waste.. Not even whipped cream would help, I’m not sure ice cream would either which would sort of defeat the purpose..
Next time I’ll only use half the chocolate and no chocolate chips.. absolutely horrible.!
Sorry this didn’t work out for you! Did you use semi-sweet chocolate? Since this calls for semi-sweet chocolate it should make the brownies sweeter, not more bitter. Omitting the chocolate and chocolate chips will definitely make this less sweet and more bitter. You can also try milk chocolate if you prefer something even sweeter.
1) Should have read one important comment you made – that almond flour would not be good to use.. well yuck.!
Yes yes yes yes yes, I used the almond flour, or rather my caregiver did. No wonder It made 3 pans full..
Then I was thinking, were we supposed to use a both semi-sweet chocolate chips and baking cocoa.? I used Nestlé’s semi-sweet chocolate chips, And I also use Nestle’s baking cocoa… 1/2 cup of baking Coco really sounds like an extremely amount… Oi… So sorry 😔