Is Cottage Cheese Making a Comeback? Was It Ever Gone?

By: Giselle Wright

Cottage Cheese? Who would voluntarily eat cottage cheese? Cottage cheese is the type of food that you’d see in your grandma’s fridge or incorporated into a fad diet, and definitely not crave-worthy. If you were to imagine a 1980s dish, you might imagine thinly chopped iceberg salad with gooey canned fruit plopped alongside a heaping amount of runny cottage cheese. And I don’t blame you; that sounds disgusting.

Cottage cheese is the type of food that you inherently think is gross just by the name. At first, I thought the same thing. What’s the appeal? Who would willingly want to eat this? You’d be surprised. Cottage cheese has made its comeback. It’s Cottage cheese (delicious version). With more than 250 million views on TikTok, the #cottagecheese piqued my interest. As someone who loves cheese and will eat almost any variety, I decided to give good old cottage cheese another try. I toasted some whole wheat bread, dolloped on some Friendship small curd cottage cheese, and added a dash of my homemade pesto. I was completely blown away. Imagine the inside of burrata mixed with the satisfying crunch of bread topped with herby pesto. Chef’s kiss! Cottage cheese is now in almost every one of my meals, and I'm not embarrassed to say... It's amazing.

Cottage cheese is packed with 25 grams of protein in just one cup and provides your daily intake of essential amino acids to help your body work smoothly. It’s a win-win. That’s just one of the many benefits that come along with cottage cheese. Additionally, it provides important nutritional values (such as calcium, vitamin B) and helps to regulate blood sugar. This is the type of food that makes you feel good after you eat it.

Here are some tips if you are new to cottage cheese and want to give it a try: My favorite cottage cheese is the brand Friendship. They offer a variety of sizes of curds, the texture smoother and not as clumpy. Another tip might be to mix in one of your favorite flavors. This could be pesto, honey, chili crisp, or anything you want! It adds depth.

Though cottage cheese has notoriously gotten a bad rep, I think it deserves a second chance. Your grandma loves it for a reason!