These cottage cheese mashed potatoes go with a Tuesday roast chicken and hold their own next to the Christmas turkey. The cottage cheese gets blended completely smooth with milk and does the work butter usually does, then mashed into Yukon golds with golden garlic and fresh rosemary. 10g protein, 225 calories per serving. Ready in 30 minutes.
Key ingredients and substitutions
- Yukon gold potatoes: Naturally sweet and stay creamy when mashed. Russets or Idaho potatoes work, but you’ll want a touch more milk to make up for the drier texture.
- Cottage cheese: The protein source, 10g per serving, and what replaces the butter or cream cheese in classic mash. Full-fat or low-fat both blend smooth; skip fat-free, it doesn’t have the body. Brand matters more than you’d think. Good Culture and Daisy blend cleanest; some larger-curd brands need an extra 30 seconds in the blender.
- Milk: Loosens the cottage cheese so it pours in smoothly. Any milk works. Add more at the end if you want a looser mash.
- Garlic: Fresh, minced, sautéed until just golden. Jarred works but the flavor is flatter.
- Fresh rosemary: Aromatic lift. Dried rosemary works at half the amount.
- Salt, pepper, olive oil spray: The basics for sautéing and seasoning.
How to make cottage cheese mashed potatoes
- Boil the potatoes. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add your diced Yukon gold potatoes, cover, and lower the heat so it doesn’t overflow. Cook until they’re fork-tender, about 15-20 minutes.
- Sauté garlic and rosemary. While the potatoes cook, hit a pan with olive oil spray over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and rosemary, cook until the garlic is just golden, about 2 minutes. Pull off the heat immediately. Any darker and it turns bitter.
- Blend the cottage cheese. Blend the cottage cheese and milk until completely smooth, at least 60 seconds. Any visible curds at this stage stay in the finished mash.
- Drain and mash. Drain the potatoes well and mash them right in the pot, or rice them for a fluffier texture. Leave the skins in for extra fiber and a little chew.
- Combine. Stir in the blended cottage cheese, the sautéed garlic and rosemary, salt, and pepper. Mash or stir until everything is creamy.
- Taste and adjust. Add more milk if you want it looser, more salt if it needs it. Serve hot.
Tips for getting it right
Grainy or lumpy mash is almost always a blending problem, the cottage cheese needed longer in the blender or your brand has bigger curds than expected.
- Blend the cottage cheese for a full 60 seconds. Stop too early and the curds stay in the finished mash.
- Don’t overmix the potatoes. A masher or ricer keeps them light. A stand mixer or food processor turns them gluey.
- Watch the garlic closely. Pull the pan off the heat the moment it’s golden. Brown garlic is bitter garlic.
- Season at the end. Cottage cheese carries its own salt. Taste before adding more.
- Keep the skins on for extra fiber. They mash in fine and add a bit of texture.
Variations
- Herb swap: Trade rosemary for chives, thyme, or sage.
- Parmesan stir-in: Grate in a quarter cup of Parmesan after mashing for extra savory depth and a few more grams of protein.
- Roasted garlic version: Roast a whole head of garlic and mash the soft cloves in instead of sautéing the minced. Sweeter, deeper garlic flavor.
- Loaded mash: Top with crispy bacon, chopped chives, and a spoon of Greek yogurt.
What to serve with cottage cheese mashed potatoes
- Protein: Air Fryer Chicken Legs, Tuscan Chicken, or Christmas Roast Beef.
- Vegetable: Roasted Tenderstem broccoli or a green salad.
- Holiday plate: Roasted Citrus Turkey, with these alongside instead of the usual buttery mash.
- Extra: A spoonful of gravy or cranberry sauce if it’s that time of year.
Frequently asked questions
No, once it’s blended fully smooth with milk it disappears into the potatoes. You get the creaminess without the curd flavor.
The cottage cheese wasn’t blended long enough. Run it a full 60 seconds in the blender or food processor before adding it to the potatoes.
Yes, but the texture comes out tangier and you lose a couple of grams of protein. Full-fat Greek yogurt is the closest substitute.
Fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a pan with a splash of milk to loosen them back up. They also freeze for up to 2 months if you portion them into containers, thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Yes. Make them up to two days ahead, store in the fridge, and reheat with a splash of milk on the stove or in the microwave. They actually taste better the next day.
You overmixed. Skip the stand mixer and food processor for the potatoes themselves, both overwork the starch. Use a hand masher or a ricer.
An immersion blender works on the cottage cheese and milk. It won’t get quite as silky as a high-speed blender, but it beats lumps.
Absolutely. Swap in sweet potatoes for a slightly sweeter version that still gets super creamy with the blended cottage cheese.
More recipes you will love
- High Protein Mac and Cheese
- Cottage Cheese Bruschetta Dip
- High Protein Pasta Salad
- Buffalo Chicken Dip with Cottage Cheese
- Cottage Cheese Alfredo
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Cottage Cheese Mashed Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 4.4 pounds potatoes - I used yukon gold
- non-stick spray/olive oil spray
- 3 cloves garlic - minced
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary - about 30 leaves
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1 cup filtered milk - add more to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt - or to taste
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil on the stove.
- Add the diced potatoes to the pot, and close the lid. You may need to turn the temperature down to keep it from overflowing.4.4 pounds potatoes
- While the potatoes are cooking, spray non-stick spray or olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the rosemary, and garlic. Cook for a few minutes until the garlic begins to turn golden brown, and then remove the pan from heat.3 cloves garlic, 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- While the potatoes and herbs are cooking, blend together the cottage cheese and milk, and set aside.1 cup cottage cheese, 1 cup filtered milk
- When the potatoes are fork-tender, turn off the heat, strain the potatoes.
- Mash the potatoes by either using a potato masher in the pot you cooked them in, or rice them using a potato ricer. You can remove skins this way if desired (I tend to leave them in for extra fiber).
- Add the cottage cheese mixture, sautéed herbs, salt, and pepper into the pot with the potatoes, and stir or mash them together.1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons salt
- Taste and adjust the milk and seasoning if necessary.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Blend cottage cheese 60 seconds minimum. Curds = grainy mash.
- Masher or ricer only. No stand mixer, no food processor.
- Pull garlic off heat the moment it’s golden.
- Salt last. Cottage cheese brings its own.
