Greek yogurt gets all the glory for being a versatile concentrated source of protein that can be used in either sweet or savory dishes, but it comes at a price. We’ve all been so enamored by Greek yogurt that we’re overlooking its humble cousin, cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is far less expensive than Greek yogurt, has just as much protein, and can also be used in both savory and sweet dishes. It’s a powerhouse ingredient! My rediscovery of cottage cheese combined with a killer sale on pineapple led to this tropical Pineapple Protein Smoothie. It may seem a little strange, but stick with me, I promise it’s good!
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I recently rediscovered my love for cottage cheese, thanks to Sarah Bond’s new book, For the Love of Popsicles (you can also catch Sarah’s amazing work over at her blog Live Eat Learn). In her book she has a protein popsicle that utilizes cottage cheese, which totally blew my mind.
The popsicle tasted like blueberry cheesecake and I immediately knew that I needed to make them in several more flavors. But since the popsicles were a little difficult for me to eat with braces on my teeth, I decided to just make smoothies instead. And since pineapples were on sale for $1.49 each this week, pineapple smoothies it is! (I have also made a strawberry flavor, which was awesome.)
Check out my tutorial on how to cut and freeze fresh pineapple, so you can take advantage of those sales, too.
Why Cottage Cheese?
Like Greek yogurt, cottage cheese is super high in protein (about 12 grams per half cup). Unlike Greek yogurt, cottage cheese is not very trendy, so the demand and price are much lower. Like half the price: $2.99 for Greek yogurt vs. $1.59 for cottage cheese at my local Aldi. So if you love to use Greek yogurt as a source of protein, but are finding it hard to make it work with your budget, give cottage cheese a try! While they can’t always be swapped in the same recipes, they’re both very versatile ingredients.
Cottage cheese does have a bit more salt than Greek yogurt, so if you’re watching your salt you should be aware of that. But it does go just as well with fruit and sweet recipes as it does in savory dishes. In this smoothie the cottage cheese gets blended up until smooth, so there is no noticeable curd or texture. It just taste creamy and tangy, just like Greek yogurt!
Of course if you’re still a bit freaked out by this or already have Greek yogurt in your fridge, you can totally substitute it for the cottage cheese. ;)
What Kind of Cottage Cheese is Best?
Cottage cheese comes with different fat content levels, like milk and yogurt. The higher fat content cottage cheese always tastes better, but I used a 1% fat cottage cheese for my smoothie and it was delish! Mine was also small curd, although I don’t think that matters much for this recipe since it’s getting blended until the curd is undetectable.
What Kind of Blender Should I Use?
I broke down and bought a fancy blender a couple of years ago (thanks Instagram influences 😅), but I still use my super cheap single serving blender for most things, including this smoothie. My point is, you don’t need a powerful blender to make this smoothie. Any old $15 blender will work.
Pineapple Protein Smoothie
Servings 1 16 oz.Ingredients
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese ($0.27)
- 1/2 frozen banana ($0.10)
- 1/2 cup frozen pineapple chunks ($0.19)
- 1/2 tsp brown sugar (optional)* ($0.01)
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract ($0.07)
- 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed (optional) ($0.03)
- 1 cup milk of choice (I used unsweetened almond milk) ($0.31)
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients into a blender, then blend until smooth. Serve immediately.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!I like to add flax to my smoothies because a little extra fiber never hurts, especially with higher protein foods. Plus, flax gives it an almost graham-like flavor and texture, which reminds me of pie crust. :)
How to Make Pineapple Protein Breakfast Smoothie – Step by Step Photos
The protein base for this smoothie is cottage cheese! Creamy, tangy, and full of protein. I used a 1% fat cottage cheese, but you can go higher if you prefer. Add 1/2 cup cottage cheese to your blender first.
On top of the cottage cheese add 1/2 of a frozen banana, 1/2 cup frozen pineapple chunks, 1/2 tsp brown sugar, 1/4 tsp vanilla extract, and 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed. Lastly, pour 1 cup of the milk of your choice over top. I used unsweetened almond milk because it’s neutral in flavor and not too heavy.
Then simply blend until smooth. You may need to stop and stir with a spoon on occasion to loosen any frozen chunks, but it shouldn’t take any more than a minute or two to blend.
Serve your Pineapple Protein Smoothie immediately while it’s still icy cold!
Could I leave out the banana? I’ll eat anything, but I can’t stomach bananas and the flavor is so permeating. Would I need to alter other quantities or add something else?
The banana affects the volume, sweetness, and texture of this smoothie, so if you were to leave them out it would change quite a bit. I’d need to do more testing and experimenting to figure out the best route for replacing them.
This is absolutely delicious!
You’ve inspired me to get your exact model of blender, for $15 from Target. I figure if I get in the habit of making smoothies I can always get a more powerful blender later. And if it works for you I’m sure it’ll work for me!
I hope you like it! FWIW, I used mine for smoothies for years and even loved it for that. Sure, it’s not professional level blending, but it got the job done!
This was really solid. I usually have a hard time either having enough ingredients on hand for a good smoothie, or just getting the proportions right. This one took care of both problems. Definitely will become a mainstay for me.
I really liked this smooth, the husband and I are on week 2 of making it. He is not a fan of dairy and so we used almond milk and instead of cottage cheese/greek yogurt we threw in one whole avocado for 2 smoothies. DELICIOUS. I also really like the idea of making this into Popsicles.
Delicious, simple and filling. I omitted the sugar and flax to reduce calories, and I didn’t feel like it needed sugar. This will be a breakfast go-to!
This was creamy and tangy—so delicious! I omitted the sugar and added two scoops of Bob’s Red Mill Vanilla Protein Powder, and it made two good-sized portions.
Thank you Beth! I never would’ve thought to use cottage cheese in a smoothie. It just so happened I have some I need to use before it goes off and this hit the spot. I did change up the fruit based on what I have in the freezer, and used a mix of banana, blackberries and strawberries.
Happy to hear it Hayley!
This looks delish and I would totally try it! But mainly piping in to say you can make popsicles in little paper cups (or something reusable) and eat it with a spoon! Depending on the recipe, it can seem like shaved ice with a bit of “shoveling” ;)
I dunno about this one. I am pro the cottage cheese– although i can totally taste it, i just happen to love the taste and i’m overall a fan of the texture. However, the banana is really over powering this for me. I can’t taste the pineapple at all, but i do taste a little bitterness on the backend. It’s not terrible and I did drink the whole thing :) But I wouldn’t make it again as is. I might try the avocado instead of banana as a previous commenter suggested or go a more strawberry/pineapple/ginger route? The cottage cheese totally works though!
Cheaper, creamy, very nice.
A-mazing. I’ve made it three times now. Very delicious.
One thing to note: I agree with the commenter about pineapple + dairy creating a bitter flavor after 30 minutes. I was very slowly sipping my second smoothie as I was reading a book, and quite suddenly there was an unpleasant bitter flavor in the remainder of the smoothie. I recommend drinking this with relative speed.
Can’t wait to try it with other fruits!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Loved this healthy smoothie as did my husband when he tasted mine..He is a diabetic so not so healthy for him. Thanks for sharing!
I didn’t make this but just wanted to warn you not to leave pineapple and dairy sitting together. If you make this, you should drink immediately. The reason is that pineapple contains bromelain, an enzyme that reacts with dairy and makes bitter compounds. If you eat right away it’s fine, but they will develop over about 30 minutes. Kiwifruit, papaya, and mango (I think) have enzymes with similar effect. It’s why they can be used as meat tenderizer. The bitterness isn’t dangerous, just disgusting to eat. I believe these enzymes are destroyed with cooking, so canned pineapple may not have the same effect. I learned all this one time making greek yogurt with frozen pineapple for the week. They sat in the fridge for a while and were all disgusting.
Thanks for the tip! I never would have known because I tend to eat mine way too fast. 🤦♀️
I usually make canned crushed pineapple with cottage cheese and cinnamon for my snacks. It turns a little watery towards the end of the day but I’ve never noticed a bitterness. Thanks for the heads up because I definitely would have done this with fresh pineapple and expected it to last a few hours!
Beth, this recipe looks amazing. I am looking forward to trying it!
Very good. I made it this morning and really enjoyed. Plenty of flavor and sweetness for me and *staying power* to hold me over until lunch time!
Hahaha! I just made this and thought it was really tasty. I offered a sip to my husband and he agreed. Then, I told him it had cottage cheese in it and he told me his mind was 100% changed. Upon discovering it contained cottage cheese, he decided it was disgusting! More for me!
Hahahah He lies. :D
Well this is a game changer. I just did fresh banana instead of frozen to make it creamier and omitted the milk since I never own any. Did this with strawberries and other mixed purple/red mixed berries. Didn’t need any extra sweetener, I just added way too much vanilla (but in best way). I’m going to feel a lot less guilty making smoothies now!
I’m loving this! A perfect breakfast.
For those allergic to bananas, frozen avocado makes a creamy smoothie.
Love it! Kids loved it! Cheaper than greek yogourt but still as creamy! I pit moringa powder in mine, out of flax seeds. Moringa powder taste like bah, but in this smootie, nothing! Great taste, super good texture! I’ll be making this in the morning! Thanks Beth!
P.s. kids ask for a second serving! 3 and 6 years old.
Made it for supper tonight. Not impressed. My banana was ripe and the pineapple was sweet…smoothie didn’t have much flavor. I have to admit my favorite smoothie is sweet-tart (O.J., banana, strawberries, blueberries and a bit of lemonade concentrate). Not high in protein but very yummy! This was disappointing.
I tend to agree, I never put both banana and pineapple in the same smoothy. I use one or the other. If I’m trying to make a smoothy with 2 servings of fruit plus 2 of veggies, I use banana or pineapple (I keep both in my freezer) and another more tart fruit (various berries mostly). I keep all my kale/collard stems for one veggie serving (I use 5 or 6 stems) and one more veg, whatever I have in the fridge. I love the idea of using cottage cheese instead of yogurt as a protein element. Thank you for that!
Serendipitous yet again-I just went shopping this morning and have all the ingredients for this! I too, am allergic to banana as one person said, I’ll probably toss in some frozen blueberries instead. And I like the weird chewy texture of a handful of oats in my smoothies because I’m weird like that. I think I’m going to try it without them though, and see how I like the cottage cheese texture (which I realize will be smooth because of the blending, but it’s not yogurt, so I’m curious). Thanks for reminding me of smoothies Beth!
One of our favourite snacks growing up was canned pineapple chunks mixed with cottage cheese :). I’ve done it with fresh too, works just as well. (Though I’ve found it sometimes turns bitter when kept in the fridge for a while, so better just to prep the amount you’re going to eat :))
Ooh! I have all of these ingredients! A question — I am allergic to bananas. Any suggestions for a substitute? I was wondering about ~1/4-1/3 cup rolled oats (maybe softened with a little milk?)
Oats sound interesting! It will definitely make it creamy, but will be a little more earthy. I’d probably try leaving it out and adding more fruit of another kind (either more pineapple, or an additional fruit like peaches, strawberries, mangoes, etc.). It won’t be as sweet/creamy that way, but still delish no doubt!
I’m also allergic to banana, so I usually either increase the amount of other fruit in the smoothie, or use an extra dollop of yogurt to get the creaminess I want, maybe with a little extra sugar or other sweetener.
For the creaminess, you can try to sub bananas for frozen avocado. Add a bit more sweetner and voilà! It’s gonna be a bit green though!
Thank you!
What a great idea to use cottage cheese, I love it! More economic and cottage cheese comes in smaller packages than yogurt so no leftovers. 👍👍👍👍👍
Please change my reply to 5 🌟