These Lemon Blueberry Cottage Cheese Muffins are made with whole grain oats and contain a boost of protein for a healthy snack. Mix up the recipe using your favorite muffin flavors!
After falling for my Cottage Cheese Pancakes, I knew more cottage cheese recipes would be in my future.
A muffin lover to my core, I decided to try my hand at a recipe for cottage cheese muffins.
And you guys… This high protein muffin recipe is a winner!
Cottage cheese adds protein, moisture, and tanginess to baked goods, which I consider to be wins all around.
If you’ve been following along for a while, you may have noticed I often use oats instead of flour to bake muffin recipes. My Double Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins and my Cranberry Orange Muffins are two of my favorites!
There are a number of reasons why I replace all-purpose flour with oats in baking recipes.
First and foremost, oats are a whole grain and I’m a big fan of keeping whole grains in my diet for a slow-burning carbohydrate source.
Secondly, I love the flavor and texture oats bring to baked goods! There is a natural nuttiness and with the right combination of ingredients, oats generate a fluffy texture.
And lastly, I know many of my followers (myself included) either follow a gluten free diet, or minimize the amount of wheat they consume.
So long as you use certified gluten-free oats in these cottage cheese muffins, they are naturally gluten free!
I love how simple these blueberry cottage cheese muffins are to prepare, as everything gets tossed into a blender (with the exception of the blueberries). That’s right, the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients all get tossed in.
Because both the cottage cheese and the oats need to be blended, I determined making the batter in the blender is a great way of minimizing prep time and cleanup.
Use this as a base recipe for all kinds of muffins. I go with blueberry lemon, but all sorts of flavor combinations work here!
Let’s discuss the wholesome ingredients for this moist and delicious cottage cheese muffin recipe.
Ingredients For Cottage Cheese Muffins:
Cottage Cheese: The main ingredient that adds protein, moisture and a slight tangy flavor to the muffins. Use any fat content you like. I use 2%
Quick Oats: Taking the place of all-purpose flour, we need oats to serve as the base for the muffins. I use quick oats, but old fashioned oats or rolled oats work too. Instant oats and quick oats yield a lighter texture.
For gluten free cottage cheese muffins, use certified gluten-free oats. I use gluten-free sprouted oats.
Eggs: A couple of eggs help the batter rise so that the muffins are nice and fluffy. I haven’t tested the recipe using an egg replacer, so please drop a comment below if you try it with a replacement for eggs.
Granulated Sweetener of Choice: Sweeten the muffins using any kind of granulated sweetener. Cane sugar, brown sugar, maple sugar, coconut sugar, and sugar-free sweetener are all great options.
Avocado Oil: We need some fat to ensure the muffins are nice and moist. I like using avocado oil because it is a good source of omega-3 healthy fats and has a neutral flavor. Olive oil or melted coconut oil works here too.
Pure Vanilla Extract: A splash of vanilla extract brings warm flavor to baked goods for a cozy vibe.
This is the base recipe for cottage cheese muffins, and now we get to customize it with various flavors.
Optional Additions:
Blueberry Lemon Muffins: 1 cup of fresh blueberries and 2 teaspoons of lemon zest (as seen in this recipe).
Chocolate Chip Muffins: ½ cup to 1 cup of chocolate chips
Cranberry Orange Muffins: ½ to ⅔ cup dried cranberries and 1 tablespoon orange zest
Strawberry Muffins: 1 cup finely chopped strawberries and 2 teaspoons lemon zest or orange zest
Banana Nut Muffins: Reduce the amount of cottage cheese to ½ cup and add ½ cup mashed banana with ⅔ cup of chopped walnuts or pecans.
Cinnamon Raisin: ½ to ⅔ cup of raisins and 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
Apple Cinnamon: 1 chopped apple and 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Higher Protein: Add 5 tablespoons of your favorite protein powder.
Recipe Customizations:
- Make a double batch if you have two muffin tins.
- Replace the granulated sweetener with 2/3 cup pure maple syrup and add another 1/2 cup of oats.
- Use sour cream, Greek yogurt, or ricotta cheese in place of the cottage cheese.
- Replace the oats with 2 cups of oat flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour.
- Use sugar-free sweetener such as monk fruit sweetener if you follow a low-carb diet.
Now that we’re experts on the basic ingredients, let’s bake a batch of muffins!
How to Make Cottage Cheese Muffins:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a muffin tray with muffin liners.
Add all of the ingredients for the cottage cheese muffins to a blender and blend on a low speed or medium speed until the ingredients are completely combined and the batter looks relatively smooth.
You may need to stop the blender once or twice to scrape the sides using a rubber spatula to help it along. Feel free to use a food processor instead of a blender for this task if you’d like.
Use a rubber spatula to stir in any additions you like, such as blueberries, chocolate chips, lemon zest, orange zest, chopped walnuts or pecans, etc. I add 1 cup of fresh blueberries and the zest of 1 lemon.
Pour the muffin batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling the muffin holes ⅔ of the way full with batter. If you’d like, sprinkle the tops of the muffins with extra blueberries.
Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 18-22 minutes, or until the muffins are fully cooked and golden brown around the edges.
Muffins are best when they reach an internal temperature of 190 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Insert a digital thermometer into the center of a muffin to check for doneness.
Allow the muffins to cool completely before removing them from the tray and unwrapping one to eat. Unwrapping muffins while they are still fresh out of the oven causes much of the muffin to stick to the muffin paper.
The muffins taste even better the next day when the flavors have had more time to develop.
How to Store Muffins:
- Room Temperature: Store cottage cheese muffins in an airtight container or in a zip lock bag on the counter for up to 3 days.
- Refrigerator: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Transfer any remaining muffins to a large zip lock bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
For those of you who enjoy a mindful treat, these whole grain cottage cheese muffins are a great option!
Each muffin contains 7 grams of protein. Enjoy one or two alongside another protein source such as Greek yogurt or more cottage cheese for a quick breakfast. The rest of the nutrition information is available in the recipe card below!
Make them for grab and go breakfasts, healthy snacks, or even dessert.
If you’re looking for more healthy muffin recipes, also try out these reader favorites!
More Healthy Muffin Recipes:
- Oatmeal Banana Zucchini Muffin
- Healthy Apple Oatmeal Muffins
- Peanut Butter Banana Baked Oatmeal Muffins
- Double Chocolate Sweet Potato Muffins
- Spiced Apple Carrot Muffins
- Almond Flour Banana Muffins
Enjoy these cottage cheese blueberry muffins the next time you’re craving a sweet treat!
Blueberry Cottage Cheese Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- ⅓ cup avocado oil
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups rolled oats
- ⅔ cup granulated sweetener*
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
Optional Additions:
- 1 cup add-ins such as fresh blueberries or chocolate chips
- 2 tsp lemon zest or orange zest
- 5 Tbsp protein powder of choice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a muffin tray with muffin liners.
- Add all of the ingredients for the cottage cheese muffins to a blender and blend on a low speed or medium speed until the ingredients are completely combined and the batter looks relatively smooth. You may need to stop the blender once or twice to scrape the sides using a rubber spatula to help it along. Feel free to use a food processor instead of a blender for this task if you’d like.
- Use a rubber spatula to stir in any additions you like, such as blueberries, chocolate chips, lemon zest, orange zest, chopped walnuts or pecans, etc. I add 1 cup of fresh blueberries and the zest of 1 lemon.
- Pour the muffin batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling the muffin holes ⅔ of the way full with batter. If you’d like, sprinkle the tops of the muffins with extra blueberries.
- Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 18-22 minutes, or until the muffins are fully cooked and golden brown around the edges.
- Muffins are best when they reach an internal temperature of 190 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Insert a digital thermometer into the center of a muffin to check for doneness.
- Allow the muffins to cool completely before removing them from the tray and unwrapping one to eat. Unwrapping muffins while they are still fresh out of the oven causes much of the muffin to stick to the muffin paper.
Notes
Nutrition
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