These high-protein, low-carb microwave cottage cheese chips are the best! They're light and crispy, deliciously savory, and quick and easy to make!
Who knew that microwaving cottage cheese would produce such yummy, crispy chips? Not only that, these chips are tastier than most low-carb chips AND they're high in protein (43 percent of calories come from protein) and low in calories.
Thanks to Perspective Portions and Keto Twins for the recipe, ideas and suggestions on these cottage cheese chips! They're wonderful. We now always have cottage cheese in our fridge so we can make these chips.
Plus, they're so easy to make. Simply add seasoning to cottage cheese and spoon a teaspoon-size portion on a piece parchment paper. Put the parchment paper in the microwave and heat for 3 to 5 minutes at half power until done. Remove and let sit for a few minutes, and then gobble up!
You can flavor the cottage cheese chips in a number of ways. We love to season with garlic and onion powder and a pinch of salt. Be sure to check out "variations" below for some more ideas. We'd love to hear your favorite seasoning combinations!
Ingredients
Full-fat (4% milkfat), small curd cottage cheese including additives: You'll need to buy full-fat (4% milkfat) cottage cheese for chips to work. Low-fat cottage cheese doesn't have enough fat to make decent chips. Be sure to get small curd cottage cheese that includes additives (like guar gum or locust bean gum) since this helps produce stable chips. For one serving of chips, we use ⅓ cup of cottage cheese.
Garlic and onion powder: For ⅓ cup of cottage cheese, we use ⅛ teaspoon of garlic powder and ⅛ teaspoon of onion powder. You can always add more to taste if you like.
Salt: We add just a pinch of salt for ⅓ cup. Just a little is needed.
About Cottage Cheese
Cottage cheese is a white, soft and creamy, mild-in-flavor cheese. It's made from the curds of pasteurized cow's milk. It's a nutritious cheese that's high in protein and low in calories.
How To Make
STEP 1: In a small bow, add ⅓ cup cottage cheese with garlic and onion powder and pinch of salt. Stir until combined.
STEP 2: Spoon a teaspoon of mixture onto a piece of parchment. Flatten to an even with a spoon (but don't spread it thin). Spoon each dollop 3 inches apart from one another and continue to flatten with spoon. You may need to heat in two batches since it makes 9 to 10 chips.
STEP 3: Carefully place parchment paper with cottage cheese dollops into microwave. Microwave at half power for 3 minutes. When done, chips should look somewhat dried and slightly browned. If still wet, continue to heat in 30-second increments at half power until slightly browned and dried (which takes 3 ½ to 4 minutes in our microwave, but could take 5 minutes or slightly more in other microwaves). When done, remove parchment paper from microwave and let sit for at least 2 minutes to harden and crisp. Carefully peel cottage cheese chips from parchment paper and place on plate. Serve immediately.
Note: Determining how long to microwave the chips is a process that takes some figuring out, but once you determine how long it take in your microwave, then every time after becomes easier!
Variations
Depending on how adventurous you are, you could try a variety and combination of seasonings on these cottage cheese chips. When testing different seasonings, we recommend not using too much to start (about a ¼ teaspoon total for ⅓ cup of cottage cheese).
Other potential seasonings include pepper, paprika, chili powder, dill, or other preferred seasonings.
NOTE: The chips don't seem to work as well with seasonings that include seeds (like sesame or poppy seeds). We tried everything bagel seasoning and the chips took much longer to heat in the microwave and they didn't turnout as crispy (they were more chewy instead).
Recipe FAQ
We found that low-fat cottage cheese does not work as well in this recipe. It doesn't seem to produce as stable or crispy chips as regular full-fat cottage cheese.
First, be sure you're using full-fat cottage cheese that includes additives (like guar gum, etc.). Second, if you make chips that are larger than a teaspoon, then they may take longer to cook. Lastly, since all microwaves heat differently, you need to cook longer depending on your microwave. Therefore, continue heating the chips in 30-second increments until slightly browned and dry looking. With some microwaves, it can take up to 5 minutes or slightly longer to heat.
Yes, you can enjoy cottage cheese in moderation. However, cottage cheese contains more carbs than other cheeses (a half cup serving of full-fat cottage cheese contains 5 grams of carbs). It's also rather low in fat. If you're on strict keto diet that is very low in carbohydrates, then you may want to limit your cottage cheese consumption. That said, cottage cheese is higher in protein than many other cheeses, which can make it satiating. Additionally, it's low in calories.
These chips are high in protein since more than 43 percent of the total calories come from protein. High-protein snacks are ideal since they're more likely to keep you satiated over a longer period of time.
Other High Protein Recipes
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear your feedback! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag @lowcarbsimplified on your photo of this recipe on Instagram or Facebook. We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!
Recipe
Microwave Cottage Cheese Chips (High Protein, Low Carb)
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup full-fat cottage cheese, 4% milkfat, small curd with additives
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon onion powder
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- STEP 1: In a small bow, add ⅓ cup full-fat cottage cheese with garlic and onion powder and pinch of salt. Stir until combined.
- STEP 2: Spoon a teaspoon of mixture onto a piece of parchment. Flatten to an even with a spoon (but don't spread it thin). Spoon each dollop 3 inches apart from one another and continue to flatten each with spoon. You may spoon chips over two pieces of parchment paper so it fits properly in microwave.
- STEP 3: Carefully place parchment paper with cottage cheese dollops into microwave. Microwave at half power for 3 minutes. When done, chips should look somewhat dried and slightly browned. If still wet, continue to heat in 30-second increments at half power until slightly browned and dried (which takes 3 ½ to 4 minutes in our microwave, but could take 5 minutes or slightly more in other microwaves). When done, remove parchment paper from microwave and let sit for at least 2 minutes to harden and crisp. Carefully peel cottage cheese chips from parchment paper and place on plate. Serve immediately.
Notes
- You'll need to buy full-fat (4% milkfat) cottage cheese for chips to work. Low-fat cottage cheese doesn't have enough fat to make decent chips. Be sure to get small curd cottage cheese that includes additives (like guar gum or locust bean gum) since this helps produce stable chips. For one serving of chips, we use ⅓ cup of cottage cheese.
- Depending on your microwave, you may need to heat the chips for up to 5 minutes, or slightly more, at half power until done.
Good base recipe. The microwave settings depend on the amount of cottage cheese and on the power of your microwave. In my small microwave I did it on full power, some needed 3 minutes, some a little over 4 minutes. My cottage cheese melts together into a big pancake sized chip, it’s still good. Requires experimenting. Same idea is good for any other cheese, times vary, but once you figure out quantity and time, easily reproducible.
Yes, microwave times vary depending on the cottage cheese brand, the amount, and your microwave. Thanks for sharing your experience! It really helps other readers understand the range of timings that might work.
Can u store the chips, what is the best way
Yes, it's best to store leftovers in a covered container in the fridge.
Do theses taste like cottage cheese? I’m not a fan of cottage cheese but love the amount of protein it has.
Not really, especially if you season. There is some sourness in it but if you cook it right, it's nice and crispy and should get the taste of the seasonings.
Just a runny mess. Don’t know what I’m doing wrong
Sorry to hear that. If it's not working, there are usually two things to try. The first would be to keep cooking it longer, 30 seconds at a time. Another option is try a different brand of cottage cheese. Unfortunately, the cleaner and more natural the cottage cheese ingredients the more likely this recipe doesn't work. Finally make sure you're using 4% small curd cottage cheese. Lower fat cottage cheeses tend to not work.
This recipe can sometimes be tricky to get dialed in the first time because of variations in microwave ovens and cottage cheeses but once you find a process that works it becomes very easy to repeat.
Let us know if it does or doesn't work for you and we'll try to come up with other ideas.
This recipe looks great. Can I try this in an oven or air fryer toaster oven? We got rid of our microwave.
Yes, in fact see the comment from Roberta on this page. She had success doing them in the oven.
Have you ever tried blending the cottage cheese smooth, then dolloping them? Just wonder if that smooth consistency would work.
That's a great idea. We do that with other cottage cheese recipes... will have to try it out!
Delicious!!
Agreed! Our favorite seasoning is now cheddar powder, which is worth a try.
Thinking I may try this in the dehydrator.. thought?
That's an interesting idea. I'm curious if that works. If you try it, let us know!
I used Amazon brand whole fat cottage cheese mixed with a tablespoon of cheddar powder. Lovely!
Great! Yeah, cheddar powder is our new favorite seasoning for the chips!
I've made these many times and this is what I've learned:
Trader Joe's or Daisy brand 4% small curd Cottage Cheese works best.
Try adding some popcorn seasoning for a variety - nacho, ranch, cheddar
Some microwaves do best at 60% power for 6-7 minutes.
The chips should be well browned for them to be crispy. Microwave an additional 30 seconds at full power until they are browned.
Awesome feedback. Will be updating the post with some of this. Our new favorite is cheddar seasoning. Will have to try the others! Thanks for sharing this information, we really appreciate it!
I like these a lot. But thought I was doing something wrong, as they were just running over the parchment paper. Did them again & the same thing. Came here & looked at the recipe. Looks the same, just not as brown and I have a sheet of chips, not chip looking. .
I did them in the oven to see if I could get it closer. A little better shape. They browned nice. 375 at 5 minutes.
Thank you for the recipe!
If you want them more brown or chip like you probably just need more microwave time? We've tried it in multiple microwaves and some needed more time than others. Also some brands and types of cottage work better than others (ironically the ones with more natural ingredients and lower fat ones do worse).