Protein-Packed Cottage Cheese Banana Pudding Recipe

Banana pudding is a rich, creamy, and decadent dessert that's often made with sweetened condensed milk or vanilla pudding mix. When the recipe features homemade custard, it includes ingredients such as whole milk, eggs, butter, and sugar. Classic banana pudding is delicious, but our lightened-up version allows you to enjoy this traditional favorite while cutting back on fat and sugar.

Recipe developer Michelle Bottalico has created a recipe for banana pudding that features cottage cheese as the main ingredient. Cottage cheese can enhance desserts by adding creaminess and a deep, rich flavor. It also turns this dish into a high-protein dessert, with over 20 grams of protein per serving. Don't worry about any lumps — it blends completely smooth and creamy.

The pudding is flavored with ripe bananas, vanilla extract, and cinnamon, and it's naturally sweetened with a little maple syrup. It turns out thick, creamy, rich, sweet, and fruity all at once. You could simply blend the ingredients and serve it as is, but the recipe goes a step further to create beautiful layers in parfait glasses. The pudding is layered with sliced fresh banana and crumbled vanilla cookies, and a final topping of whipped cream and sprinkled cinnamon makes this dessert picture perfect. In even more good news, you can make this pudding in the blender and assemble the layers in less than 20 minutes, so it's an easy way to create an impressive dessert without spending hours in the kitchen.

For the pudding, you will first need cottage cheese, and you can choose any percent fat you prefer. You'll also need ripe bananas, vanilla extract, maple syrup, and cinnamon. For the layers and topping, gather a large ripe banana and vanilla cookies.

Blend the cottage cheese, bananas, vanilla, maple syrup, and cinnamon in a blender or food processor until smooth. Taste and adjust for sweetness and add more maple syrup if desired.

Place about ½ cup of pudding in the bottom of 4 parfait glasses, jars, or bowls.

Thinly slice the third banana and place ⅛ of the banana slices on top of the pudding in each container, and then crumble 2 of the cookies on top of the banana in each container.

Make another layer in the same way with the rest of the pudding, banana slices, and cookies.

Top each glass with whipped cream and sprinkle cinnamon on top.

Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Though making banana pudding with cottage cheese isn't the traditional method, it turns out deliciously creamy, and this is not the only recipe made better with cottage cheese. Some of the best ways to use cottage cheese include adding it to desserts, making sauces with it, or using it in baked dishes. Let's start with desserts. Delicious baked goods that can be made with cottage cheese include cheesecake, cornbread, tiramisu, scones, and dessert bars. Cottage cheese will produce a lighter result without skimping on flavor.

When making sauces, you can use cottage cheese to cut back on fat, for example, by using it to replace all or part of the mayonnaise in a recipe. Since it's a bit tangy, it's a good one-to-one replacement for sour cream as well. You can also swap it for yogurt as a textured alternative, since cottage cheese and Greek yogurt have a similar nutritional profile. However, if you're not a fan of the texture, just blend it first until smooth. You can even elevate queso dip with cottage cheese, enhancing the cheesy flavor and packing a protein punch at the same time.

Enhance your breakfast by adding cottage cheese to egg bites or pancake batter to ramp up the protein and add extra flavor, or try it mixed with fresh herbs as a topping for toasted bread. Last but not least, use it to thicken salad dressings or smoothies to perfection.

If your goal is to boost your protein intake, you can do this while enjoying many kinds of high-protein desserts. Try making a cheesecake enhanced with Greek yogurt or cottage cheese (and optional protein powder) for a decadent and delicious dessert. Similarly, there's a simple swap to give tiramisu a protein boost. Just replace the heavy cream with plain Greek yogurt. These protein-packed cake pops made with milk, Greek yogurt, peanut butter, and protein powder are another rich and tasty idea.

Dessert isn't usually the healthiest meal of the day, but there are ways to make it more nutritious, such as using whole food ingredients or avoiding processed sugars. Chia seed pudding made with chia seeds, non-dairy milk, and cocoa powder is also a tasty sweet treat. You can add protein powder if desired, but it's optional. Protein powder can also be added to desserts like brownies and smoothies to increase the amount of protein in them. On a hot day, enjoy protein ice cream made with egg yolks, soy milk, and protein powder, or frozen yogurt made with berries, Greek yogurt, and protein powder. Finally, protein balls made with oats, nut butter, maple syrup, cocoa powder or chocolate chips, and protein powder are great for taking on the go.