Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bowl

We’re starting the New Year off strong with another breakfast of champions. This bowl is an elite way to start the day: creamy, protein-packed cottage cheese meets crunchy, sweet, and salty homemade granola. Divine! The granola is endlessly customizable: from the spices and the sweetener, to the oil and the add-ins. And yes, you can even add chocolate! Give yourself something to look forward to first thing in the morning with this tasty, fueling breakfast.

What stands out

Yogurt parfaits are tried and true, so let’s make something new for breakfast! Enter the cottage cheese breakfast bowl. The key to preparing luscious, creamy, “this is cottage cheese?!” is to whip it up in the blender or food processor until it’s nice and smooth. We love cottage cheese for its high protein content, and now we can enjoy it in its creamiest form. This begs for a crunchy pairing, and our simple homemade granola is suited to the job.

How to Prepare

Preheat the oven to 350F (177C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl mix the oats, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, and salt and stir. Next, add the oil and maple syrup, then stir until the oats are evenly coated.

Pour the mixture onto the lined baking sheet and spread evenly. Then, using a spatula or clean hands press the mixture flat onto the cookie sheet for bigger clusters.

Bake for 22 minutes, making sure to stir halfway through, until the oats are lightly golden.

🆒 Remove the granola from the oven and let rest for 45 minutes. Once the granola is cool, break it into any size clusters, based on your preference.

After the granola has cooled stir in the dried cranberries.

To serve, add cottage cheese to a food processor and process until smooth. Spread the smooth cottage cheese onto a plate, and add granola on top.

Finally, feel free to add in berries, a drizzle of honey, or anything you wish! Enjoy!

Kitchen tip

Be sure to add any dried fruit to the granola after it has baked; otherwise the dried fruit will become rock hard.

Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bowl Variations and Substitutions

1. Instead of cottage cheese, feel free to use yogurt.
2. You can customize granola in so many ways! You can add roughly chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews, etc), a spoonful of flax or chia seeds after baking the granola, and any dried fruit you love.
3. In addition to or in place of cinnamon, these spices also add excellent flavor to granola: ground ginger, nutmeg, and pumpkin spice blends.

How to Make this Ahead for Meal Prep

Granola is an excellent recipe to meal prep. You can easily double, triple, or quadruple the recipe. Granola will last in an airtight container, on the counter, away from direct sunlight, for a few weeks (though we don’t recommend more than 3 weeks). It makes for a quick and straightforward breakfast, snack, and sometimes even satisfies our sweet tooth. You can also freeze granola. Pack individual servings in airtight containers. Dried fruit can get a bit hard and chewy when frozen, so consider adding that ingredient once you’re ready to enjoy. To thaw, place the frozen granola in the fridge for about 12 hours.

Serve it with

• For an brunch spread double this recipe and serve it up family-style on a large platter, alongside dishes like potato hashBulgarian spanikopita toast and blueberry coffee cake.
• If you love healthy, protein-packed, make-ahead breakfasts like this one, you may also like: chia seed breakfast puddinghealthy breakfast muffins and blueberry oat cake.

Questions

Can i make this gluten-free?

Yes, you can make this gluten-free. Not all oats are gluten-free, so be sure to look for ones labeled “gluten-free.”

Can i make this dairy-free?

Certainly! Try this with your favorite dairy-free cottage cheese or dairy-free yogurt.

Can we preparE THIS RECIPE ahead of time?

Yes, both the whipped cottage cheese and the granola can be made ahead of time. The whipped cottage cheese can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 5 days. And the granola can be stored in an airtight container, on the counter, out of direct sunlight for a few weeks.

Can i use other sweeteners?

If you don’t like, or can’t access, maple syrup, you can use honey instead.

Why do You add the dried cranberries after baking the granola?

We mix the dried cranberries into the granola after baking to prevent them from drying out and burning.

Ingredients

Makes 1 serving

• 2 cups rolled oats
• ⅓ cup pistachios
• ⅓ cup raw pumpkin seeds
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ cup avocado oil
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup dried cranberries, (and/or raisins and mini chocolate chips), for garnish
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• fresh berries and a drizzle of honey, for garnish (optional)

Equipment

• Measuring Cups + Spoons
• Mixing Bowls
• Redmond Real Salt
• Parchment Paper
• Baking Sheet
• Large Food Processor

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (177C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, add the oats, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, and salt and stir.
3. Add the oil and maple syrup and stir again until the oats are evenly coated.
4. Pour the mixture onto the lined baking sheet and spread evenly. We like to use a spatula or clean hands and press the mixture flat onto the cookie sheet for bigger clusters.
5. Bake for 22 minutes, making sure to stir halfway through, until the oats are lightly golden.
6. Remove the granola from the oven and let rest for 45 minutes.
7. Once the granola is cool, break it into any size clusters, based on your preference.
8. After the granola has cooled, stir in dried cranberries.
9. To serve, add cottage cheese to a food processor and process until smooth.
10. Spread the smooth cottage cheese onto a plate, and add 1-2 tablespoons of granola on top. You will be left with a whole jar of granola to use throughout the week.
11. Note: the total calories for the granola are 1758 for the whole batch. If you divide that into 12 equal portions = 146 calories per portion. We like to use 1 portion from that whole batch and store the rest.
12. Feel free to add in berries, a drizzle of honey, or anything you wish! Enjoy!

Kitchen notes

The Granola:

Granola is endlessly customizable. You can use gluten-free oats (look for “gluten-free” on the label). How to Store: Store any leftover granola in an airtight container, on the countertop, out of direct sunlight. It will last for a few weeks, but may change in texture. Cottage Cheese: You can use any kind of cottage cheese you want: flavored, plain, full fat or low fat. Full fat varieties tend to have a creamier texture and a slightly less sour taste.