A classic blueberry muffin is a timeless morsel of goodness—the sweet burst of juicy berries, the golden top, the soft, cakey center. The taste and texture of Cottage Cheese Blueberry Muffins is comparable (perhaps, better) to this iconic bakery muffin.
The easy recipe, made with wholesome ingredients, packs in extra protein and calcium due to a generous amount of cottage cheese. These muffins are nutritious and nourishing as a healthy breakfast, post-workout snack, or feel-good treat!
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Plus, they are sweetened with a small amount of maple syrup instead of refined sugar, which helps keep them moist and adds marvelous flavor!
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Ingredients
- All-purpose or unbleached flour
- Whole wheat pastry flour
- Baking powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Cottage cheese
- Vegetable oil
- Maple Syrup
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Lemon Zest
- Blueberries
🌾Whole wheat pastry flour (affiliate link): No one will ever know that you used whole wheat flour in these muffins because of the fine crumb. However, you are getting extra fiber and nutrition from the bran and germ of the wheat kernel.
Cottage cheese: For richer muffins, use regular 4% fat. To reduce overall fat and saturated fat choose low-fat varieties with 1.5 to 2% fat. The taste difference is not significant.
Smaller curds will blend and melt better than larger curds, but any type of cottage cheese will melt into the cakey batter as it bakes.
Vegetable oil: Choose one with a neutral flavor and low saturated fat. Canola, sunflower, and lighter olive oils work the best in this recipe. You can use melted butter; however, it has higher water content and may result in a drier muffin.
🍁Maple syrup: Real maple syrup is wonderful for baking and has a few more nutrients than white sugar, but you can substitute granulated sugar of any type—coconut, cane, raw, turbinado.
🥚Egg: Vegans can use a flax egg instead of a chicken egg.
*To make a flax egg, mix a Tablespoon of ground flaxseed with three Tablespoons of water. Let sit for five minutes before using in recipe.
Vanilla extract: My favorite types have the word "Madagascar" (affiliate link) on the bottle.
🍋Lemon zest: You can omit this ingredient but the flavor sacrifice is not worth the time saved! This excellent lemon zester (affiliate link) makes light work of the chore!
🫐Blueberries: Use fresh or frozen. Do not thaw frozen berries.
How to make
These muffins are a simple, easy bake that tastes like cake, but is not as much trouble. Beginning and reluctant bakers will find these are worth the effort!
Wash your hands, lathering with soap and rinsing with running water for 20 seconds, before starting.
Preheat the oven to 400°F, and place parchment or foil liners (affiliate links) in a regular-size muffin/cupcake tin (affiliate link) that holds a dozen.
Place all dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk (affiliate link) to combine.
Place cottage cheese and the remaining ingredients through the lemon zest in a medium bowl and beat for about three minutes with a whisk. The result should be a homogeneous color with small white cottage cheese polka dots.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.
Gently mix until there are no dry spots. The batter will be very thick.
Fold in the blueberries.
Portion the batter into the muffin liners, so they are a generous three-quarters full.
When the bake is finished, let them sit on the counter or stovetop for three to five minutes before removing the muffins to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Find the full recipe with amounts and complete instructions at the bottom of this post.
Baking tips and storage
The blueberry muffins will cook slightly more after they are taken from the oven. Baking them for too long can result in dry muffins, although the cottage cheese and maple syrup will help them stay soft and moist.
When mixing the dry and wet ingredients and folding in blueberries, use as few strokes as possible to prevent your overmixing. Peaked, domed muffins are the result of overmixing. (DO LESS!)
An ice cream scoop (affiliate link) works nicely when transferring the batter into each muffin liner.
Liners made from parchment or foil (affiliate links) release easily—no sticking and no messy pans!
Frozen berries may leach blue color into the surrounding batter. Mix as little as possible after adding so that your muffins aren't gray and peaked.
These muffins are fine at room temperature for the better part of a day, and then, should go into the refrigerator where they will keep for two to three days.
🧊Freezing is best for longer storage. They will stay fresh there for up to three months.
Microwave for 30 seconds to thaw. This is very easy to do in the morning for breakfast!
Is this a nutritious blueberry muffin?
I love that each is a morsel of moderation. With 18 grams of carbohydrate (slightly more than a serving), 5 grams of protein, and 7 grams of fat, they are a well-rounded baked good.
Pair one with a carton of Greek yogurt for breakfast and you've got nearly 20 grams of protein to start the morning and keep those hungry rumbles away until the lunch hour! (Add fruit, and you'll get a fiber and vitamin assist.)
Blueberries, of course, are highly nutritious with fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and beneficial flavonoid phytochemicals.
The blue pigment in blueberries comes from anthocyanins, an anti-inflammatory flavonoid that may fight cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and support bone health.
That berries are bone builders is not well-known, and this recipe goes all-in for bones with its combo of cottage cheese, a calcium-rich food, and blueberries.
Blueberries are a good source of potassium and vitamins K and C, which also assist in strengthening bones.
Note: Frozen blueberries have less of these nutrients than fresh.
- The downsides to this recipe are salt and very little fiber.
You could get slightly more fiber by eliminating the white flour in the recipe and replacing it with whole wheat pastry flour. So, all the flour would be whole wheat.
Cottage cheese is high in sodium, so each muffin has about a tenth of the day's sodium allowance, which is good to know if you limit salt in your food.
FAQ ❓❔
No. The bits of cottage cheese melt into the muffin as it bakes and make it very delicious!
Choose low-fat or full-fat. Avoid fat-free unless you have dietary restrictions that require no-fat foods. There is little taste difference between low-fat and full-fat cottage cheese.
Also, look for smaller curd cottage cheese, which is most easily incorporated into the batter.
You can substitute gluten-free flour and up to a ¼ cup of almond flour for the white flour in the recipe.
However, the recipe will not bake properly with entirely almond flour, while oat flour is a problem because your muffin will have a dense, heavy crumb.
Yes. They are interchangeable.
Blending is not necessary, but you can do this if you want. The tiny white blobs of cheese in the batter will melt into the muffin as it bakes.
Most children enjoy their mildly sweet flavor and the dark, juicy berries.
Other healthy bakes you may like...
🍌Banana bread is another iconic bakery favorite. My Oat Flour Banana Bread (with chocolate chips) is a healthy twist on this classic. It's rich in fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals!
Want more berry muffins? Try these blog favorite Banana Blackberry Oatmeal Muffins. With no refined sugar, and super nutrition, they are a keeper!
Maybe, berry scones are more your cup of tea? Blackberry Scones with Lemon Glaze are tender and exceptionally simple and fast.
🎃If cottage cheese is a staple in your diet and cooking, you may enjoy these hearty Pumpkin Protein Waffles. They boast unmistakable pumpkin spice flavor and muscle-boosting power from cottage cheese and protein powder!
Cottage Cheese Blueberry Muffins
Equipment
- large mixing bowl
- medium mixing bowl
- Set of dry measuring cups
Ingredients
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour, or use unbleached
- ¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt, fine crystals
- 1¼ cups cottage cheese, low-fat
- ⅓ cup neutral vegetable oil, canola, mild olive oil, sunflower oil
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest, grated (can sub orange zest)
- 1 cup blueberries, frozen or fresh
Instructions
- Wash hands thoroughly, lathering with soap and rinsing under running water.
- Prepare a muffin tin with liners or coat the wells with non-stick spray.
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Place dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk.
- Mix wet ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk to mix thoroughly.
- Make an indentation in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour liquids into the center and mix just until there are no more dry spots. The batter will be very thick.
- Gently, fold blueberries into the batter.
- Fill each liner or muffin cup three-quarters full and place the tin in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out with just a couple of crumbs sticking to it.Bake three to five minutes longer if the muffins are still wet in the center. The muffin tops should be lightly golden.
- Take the muffins out of the oven and let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes on the counter or stovetop. Then, remove them to wire racks to finish cooling.
Notes
Nutrition
Copyright © 2025 Jani H. Leuschel
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