Cottage cheese is trending – thanks to TikTok

It’s a retro food that’s made a comeback thanks to social media.

Cottage cheese — long a polarizing dairy product — is now cool, with over 200 million views for #cottagecheese on TikTok.

Users are racking up millions of views on videos sharing their twists on the curdled milk product, using it to make dips, dinners and even desserts.

“Consumers are engaging a lot with new ways to use cottage cheese — whether blended and frozen as a high-protein ice cream alternative or as an ingredient in recipes such as savory breakfast toast, pasta dishes or post-workout smoothies,” Corey Christofel, cultured dairy brand manager of Dairy Farmers of America, said in a statement to The Post.

It’s long been considered nutritious, but now it’s also being celebrated as delicious.

“It, like, kind of checks all the boxes, it’s good for you and it tastes good,” said Melissa Ben-Ishay, the CEO of food company Baked by Melissa, who has a large online following of people who look to her for healthy recipes.


Cottage cheese on a wooden spoon.
The polarizing dairy product has become cool again.

Ben-Ishay, 39, has 2.2 million TikTok followers, thanks in part to viral cottage cheese she shares, such as cottage cheese with cucumber on toast.

“A lot of what you see as going viral is just good, and it will always just be good,” the cottage cheese enthusiast added. “But people either didn’t know about it, [or they forgot about it] and that’s why it went viral.”

@healthfactsz

🍧🍓LOW CARB HIGH PROTEIN ICE CREAM 🙌 If you want more healthy low carb recipes like this, then checkout the link in my bio @healthfactsz and download the free KETO GUIDE eBOOK. It’s packed with 20 powerful low carb recipes & helpful tips and strategies that can help you achieve your health and weightloss goals. . Cottage cheese really is having its moment. . I’ve shared a ton of whipped cottage cheese desserts with you, but this latest viral trend has had me hooked! . It takes 5 minutes to prep and the result is low carb, packed with protein, and so good. . Here is how I made it: . 1.Grab a 16oz tub of a GOOD cottage cheese. Toss into a food processor or blender. . 2.Add your favorite sweetener (allulose, monkfruit, or stevia work best) – 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup depending on desired sweetness. . 3.Add your favorite fruit or toppings. I added 1.5 cups of fresh strawberries. You can use frozen. . 4.Process or blend it up well. . 5.Remove and put back into the cottage cheese container or freezer-friendly dish. I topped mine with strawberries and crushed hazelnuts for a little crunch and texture. . 6.*IMPORTANT*: Freeze for about 2-4 hours. 3 hours feels perfect for me. You can also freeze over night, but you may want to remove it from the freezer for about 30 minutes to thaw out a bit. . ENJOY. . . Cc: @ketorecipes #ketodiet #ketodietrecipes #lowcarbbreakfast #lowcarbsnack #lowcarbideas #cottagecheese #cottagecheeserecipes #straberry #viral #relatable #repost

♬ original sound – Health Facts

Ben-Ishay’s favorite brand of the product is Good Culture, which launched in 2015 and has worked to update cottage cheese’s taste and image.

Last year, it secured $64 million in Series C funding.


Woman with brunette hair holding Good Culture cottage cheese.
Melissa Ben-Ishay, the CEO of food company Baked by Melissa, went viral for her cottage cheese recipes.

Toast with tomato and cucumber.
Her simple cottage cheese on toast recipes captured the attention of TikTok.
Baked by Melissa

Ben-Ishay says cooking with cottage cheese is a fun way to pack more protein into dishes.

She also loves the nostalgia factor of serving it to her 7- and 5-year-old kids, just as her mother did to her when she was young.

“I just have, like, such a vivid memory of eating that cottage cheese,” the New Yorker recalled fondly.

Danielle Zaslavshaya, 39 and an influencer, said cottage cheese-based recipes were a staple in her household. Born in Ukraine and raised in Miami, Zaslavshaya had a cottage cheese hiatus after childhood until she started eating it again when she met her husband three years ago and was served it by his sister.


Iceberg lettuce with pineapple and strawberries topped with cottage cheese.
Old-school cottage cheese salad plates gave the dairy product a bad rap.
Getty Images

Mixed cottage cheese based dip.
Cottage cheese is trending on TikTok, with influencers getting creative with their recipes.

“I started eating it in its simplest form like just you know, raw cottage cheese with adding like things to it,” she recalled.

Though she admits that the smell and texture can be offputting, Zaslavshaya is thrilled the curdled dish is getting its time in the sun.

“I feel like it falls into that unfamiliar food category that just had a resurgence and people just started you know showing the health benefits [including] that it has a lot of protein and there’s like different ways to eat it,” she said.


Woman in silver feathery skirt and long sleeved top eating.
Danielle Zaslavshaya is enjoying the cottage cheese renaissance.
Troy Mattison

Vintage poster woman shopping cottage cheese.
The retro dairy product is back – thanks to social media.
Getty Images

For both her and Ben-Ishay, it’s not just a passing fancy.

“I think for me, cottage cheese is not a trend. It’s something that I was reminded I love,” mused Ben-Ishay.

Zaslavshaya said you just have to embrace it.

“People love cheese,” she said. With cottage cheese, you have to get past the idea that “it’s weird, it’s something that my grandma eats.”