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You have to try this easy cottage cheese ice cream. It’s made from protein-packed cottage cheese, honey, vanilla, raspberries, and graham crackers, all blended together to make a creamy, sweet tooth-satisfying dessert.
If you’re looking for more refreshing treats, be sure to try my 2-Ingredient Homemade Ice Cream Recipe and Blueberry Nice Cream. These easy and healthier ice cream recipes are perfect for cooling down on hot summer days!
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If you’ve been on TikTok lately, you’ve probably seen people making ice cream with cottage cheese. “What a strange idea!”, you might say. That’s what I thought but then I tried it myself. Believe it or not, it actually works and it’s totally delicious. So delicious that I decided I had to make my own version.
I came up with this creamy, protein-packed raspberry cottage cheese ice cream version and I just can’t get enough. Full-fat cottage cheese gets nice and creamy in the blender and is sweetened with just a hint of honey, vanilla, and the natural sugars of fresh raspberries. I added some graham cracker chucks to the mix as well. They remind me of the buttery graham cracker crust you might find on a cheesecake.
The combination is just dreamy and is actually pretty good for you. A much healthier choice than traditional ice cream, it’s a high protein dessert that only takes 10 minutes of active time in the kitchen.
Why You’ll Love This Cottage Cheese Ice Cream Recipe
- A healthier choice. Packed with protein and probiotics and much less sugar than traditional ice cream, this sweet treat is the perfect guilt-free indulgence for those looking to treat your body right.
- So easy. This recipe only requires 5 ingredients and you don’t even need an ice cream maker! Just throw everything into a blender, fold in some delicious mix-ins, and freeze.
- Creamy texture. The blended cottage cheese adds a creamy, velvety texture that will make you think you’re indulging in real, premium ice cream.
- It tastes like raspberry cheesecake. The combination of fresh raspberries and cottage cheese mimics the flavor profile of my favorite raspberry cheesecake’s filling while the graham crackers are reminiscent of its buttery crust.
- Customizable. This recipe is so easy to make your own. Adjust the sweetness, try a different flavor profile, consider a fun topping or two, you name it!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Cottage cheese: I used full fat cottage cheese. You could use a low-fat product or fat free cottage cheese, just note that your ice cream will have an icier consistency.
- Honey: Maple syrup or agave nectar would also work.
- Vanilla extract: To add flavor and aroma.
- Graham crackers – The crackers are optional, but I think you’ll love the texture and extra flavor it adds to the ice cream.
- Fresh raspberries: If fresh raspberries aren’t available, you can use any frozen fruit, but thaw it before blending.
How to Make Cottage Cheese Ice Cream
I know it’s a strange concept, but this cottage cheese ice cream recipe is incredibly delicious, healthy, and wonderfully easy to make. I also love a good 5-ingredient recipe – it just makes life so simple!
- Blend. In your food processor or blender, combine and process the cottage cheese, honey, and vanilla on high speed until smooth.
- Add the mix-ins. Pulse in the graham crackers and fresh raspberries until evenly distributed.
- Freeze. Seal the ice cream in the cottage cheese container and freeze for 4 hours. You can also transfer the ice cream to a loaf pan.
- Serve. Allow the ice cream to sit on the counter for 30 minutes or so before scooping and serving.
Recipe Tips
- Go full fat. Use full-fat cottage cheese. It will yield a significantly creamier finished product with fewer ice crystals.
- Blend thoroughly. Cottage cheese is, by nature, chunky. So, you will want to give it a good spin through your blender to ensure it gets the smooth, creamy texture you are looking for.
- Timing is everything. This ice cream starts to get icy after 4 or so hours in the freezer. It’s just the nature of the cottage cheese. So try to get your timing right and pop it in the freezer 4 hours before you intend on eating it.
- Let it sit. Before scooping, allow the ice cream to sit at room temperature for about 20 to 30 minutes. It will be much easier to scoop, and it will lose some of the crystallization it may have developed in the freezer.
Fun Ice Cream Variations
I love how versatile this recipe is. If you strip it down to just the cottage cheese, honey, and vanilla, it’s basically a blank canvas for all sorts of fun flavors and mix-ins. Here are some ideas for you.
- Try a different berry. Swap raspberries for blueberries or blackberries for a slightly different spin on things.
- Go tropical. Instead of raspberries and graham crackers, fold in pineapple chunks, shredded coconut, and toasted macadamia nuts. You can even swap some of the vanilla extract out for coconut extract.
- Chocolate. In place of the raspberries and graham crackers, add a couple of tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder to the blender and fold in some chocolate chips at the end.
Serving Suggestions
While this easy homemade ice cream is delicious on its own, it’s even tastier when paired with a drizzle of Homemade Strawberry Sauce or Boozy Chocolate Dipping Sauce over a scoop of raspberry cottage cheese ice cream. Consider adding chopped nuts, chocolate chips, or cookie crumbles to your bowl of ice cream for added flavor and texture.
Pair cottage cheese ice cream with my Two-Ingredient Mini Lemon Cakes, my White Chocolate Chip Cookies, or this Fresh Berries Cobbler for the healthiest a la mode you’ve ever made. This healthy ice cream makes it a fun, sweet addition to an indulgent brunch, too, so serve it alongside my Cream Cheese Waffles with Honey Whipped Cream or these Almond Flour Pancakes.
How To Store It
Timing is everything with this particular ice cream. If it sits too long in the freezer (past 4 hours), it will start to crystallize, giving it an unpleasant icy texture. This means that you will want to eat it the day you make it. Think ahead and throw it in the freezer a few hours before dinner, and enjoy it for dessert.
Why did my cottage cheese ice cream turn out so icy?
Cottage cheese ice cream can turn out icy because cottage cheese has more water than milk or heavy cream, and that water freezes into ice crystals, making the ice cream hard and grainy. To fix this, let it thaw a bit before serving to soften it up. Also, to avoid the iciness in the first place, try stirring or folding the ice cream every 30 minutes while it’s in the freezer. This helps break up the ice crystals and keeps the texture smoother.
More Easy Ice Cream Recipes
Here are a few other surprisingly easy ice cream recipes for you to try. Pssst, most of them don’t even require an ice cream maker.
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Cottage Cheese Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups cottage cheese
- 2 to 3 tablespoons honey, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 to 3 sheets graham crackers, broken into pieces
- 1 cup fresh raspberries
Instructions
- Blend. Add the cottage cheese, honey, and vanilla to a blender. Blend on high speed until smooth.
- Add the mix-ins. Pulse in the graham crackers and fresh raspberries until evenly distributed throughout the cottage cheese mixture. You can use a rubber spatula to help mix them in a bit.
- Freeze. Transfer the contents of the blender to the empty cottage cheese container. Seal the container and freeze for 4 hours*.
Notes
- Freezing: I suggest not freezing much past 4 hours as ice crystals will start to form. For a smoother consistency, stir through the ice cream every 30 minutes until frozen.
- Choose Full-Fat Cottage Cheese: Use full-fat cottage cheese to achieve a creamier ice cream with fewer ice crystals.
- Raspberries: If you can’t get fresh raspberries, you can use frozen ones, but thaw them before blending.
- Blend Thoroughly: Blend the cottage cheese until completely smooth before adding the mix-ins.
- Scoop Smoothly: Allow the ice cream to sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before scooping out the ice cream.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
