This High-Protein Cottage Cheese Bowl Is a Winning Breakfast

If you are a cottage cheese fan, meet your new favorite recipe: our Savory Cottage Cheese Bowl. Protein-rich cottage cheese is elevated with the bright flavors of dill, lemon, capers and chives, all brimming with inflammation-fighting antioxidants. And we don’t stop there. We added a crisp tomato, cucumber and red onion salad, and bumped up the protein with chickpeas and choline-rich eggs, which are great for brain health. As a hearty breakfast or lunch, this dish is packed with both protein and vegetables that will keep you satisfied for hours. Keep reading for our expert tips on how to manage the sodium in this dish and some ideas for adding more flavor. 

Tips from the EatingWell Test Kitchen

These are the key tips we learned while developing and testing this recipe in our Test Kitchen to make sure it works, tastes great and is good for you too! 

• Once you dress the tomato mixture, serve it immediately alongside the cottage cheese. This is important because letting the vinaigrette sit on the tomatoes for too long can make them watery.
• Adding chopped capers to the cottage cheese enhances the flavor and adds a bit of saltiness.
• For extra flavor, crunch and salt, you can sprinkle everything-bagel seasoning over top.

Nutrition Notes

• Cottage cheese is trendy right now, but we’ve always been a fan of this high-protein dairy staple. Cottage cheese is typically available in 4%, 2%, 1% and nonfat varieties; lower-fat varieties will have less saturated fat. You’ll also see that we recommend no-salt-added cottage cheese, which is significantly lower in sodium than regular cottage cheese. Reducing the overall sodium in your diet is beneficial for heart health. 
• Tomatoes and cucumbers are both sources of potassium, which can help pull excess sodium out of your body, which is beneficial for heart health and to reduce bloating. They both are also around 95% water, which makes them hydrating foods, excellent for maintaining healthy skin. 
• Chickpeas are an additional source of protein in this recipe. They are also the main source of fiber, which will also work with the protein to keep you fuller for longer after this meal. 
• As another protein source in this recipe, soft-cooked eggs provide a velvety texture that pairs well with the other ingredients. Eggs are also one of the best sources of choline, which is important for brain health and beneficial for your cognition, memory and mood.