4-Ingredient Cottage Cheese Mashed Potatoes
These cottage cheese mashed potatoes are creamy, delicious, and packed with protein! The best part is that it’s made with just 4 ingredients and no heavy cream! It’s a light, high-protein twist on the classic recipe. Perfect as a holiday side dish for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner!
⏰ TIME: 50 mins | 🤑 COST: $6.73
🥔 4 INGREDIENTS
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Mashed potatoes are hands down my favorite Thanksgiving side dish. I could probably eat whole pot all by myself! But let’s be real, the classic mashed potato recipe isn’t exactly the healthiest. That’s why I decided to experiment around and make high protein cottage cheese mashed potatoes!
🥔 This cottage cheese mashed potato recipe is:
- Made with just 4 ingredients
- High protein
- Creamy, delicious, and simple to make
- Made without any heavy cream!
- Easily stored for leftovers the next day
These mashed potatoes are made without heavy cream, but are still incredibly creamy, smooth, and delicious. If you crave comfort food that’s lighter and healthier, then look no further.
Not to mention, it’s high in protein thanks to the cottage cheese, which also makes the potatoes creamy without requiring any heavy cream, half & half, or milk. I also love the tangy taste you get with cottage cheese, similar to sour cream!
You’ll only need 4 ingredients for this recipe. Yes, you read that right. Just 4 ingredients! The only extra ingredient you’ll need is salt, which I typically don’t count as part of the ingredient count. I also added some chives on top for presentation, but that is totally optional!
It goes amazingly well with roasted turkey, but I ate it with meatballs during the week I tested this recipe which also made a perfect combo.
There’s so many ways you can eat these mashed potatoes – by itself, with gravy, or even made into potato pancakes!
🥘 Looking for more easy Thanksgiving side dishes? Check out my list of 25 quick & easy holiday side dishes made with 5 ingredients or less!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Yukon Gold potatoes: I prefer using gold potatoes instead of Russet potatoes when making mashed potatoes. I find that it makes the mashed potatoes a little more buttery and creamy!
- Low-fat cottage cheese: It’s a lighter, high-protein alternative to heavy cream and butter found in traditional mashed potato recipes. It also gives a tangy taste to the mashed potatoes, similar to sour cream!
- Butter: Makes the mashed potatoes even smoother, creamier, and incredibly delicious!
- Chives: I used this to top my potatoes, but you can also mix in chopped chives to add to the flavor. Also adds a pop of color!
📌 OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS: You can make the mashed potatoes even more cheesy by mixing in shredded cheddar cheese at the end.
SUBSTITUTION IDEAS
📌 Yukon Gold potatoes: You can use russet potatoes instead of gold potatoes, but this will make the mashed potatoes a little more starchy.
📌 Cottage cheese: Greek yogurt is probably the closest substitute to cottage cheese that keeps the same consistency, tanginess, and protein content. You can also use sour cream but it doesn’t have as much protein.
📌 Butter: I highly recommend using butter since that tastes the best! However if you aren’t able to get your hands on butter, try using olive oil or cream cheese instead.
Equipment You’ll Need
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This is a one-pot recipe so you don’t really need that many tools and gadgets for this recipe!
- Large saucepan or pot: I recommend using a large, deep pot to make the mashed potatoes.
- Immersion blender: I absolutely LOVE my immersion blender for making creamy soups and mashed potatoes. In this recipe, I used it to whip up my cottage cheese and then mashing the potatoes at the end. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a stand mixer to whip the cottage cheese and then use a potato masher to mash the potatoes.
- Potato peeler: To peel your potatoes!
- Other: Cutting board, knife, potato masher
How to Make Cottage Cheese Mashed Potatoes
1. Prep the ingredients
Dice the potatoes: Wash the potatoes in a strainer or colander. Peel the potatoes until most of the skin is off. I like to leave a bit of skin on since it gives a nice texture to the potatoes. Dice the potatoes into large chunks like above.
Whip the cottage cheese: Blend the cottage cheese in a stand blender or in with an immersion blender until it’s smooth and creamy.
Cottage cheese is usually chunky with curds. It’s best to whip/blend the cottage cheese before adding it to the potatoes for smooth, creamy mashed potatoes.
2. Boil the potatoes
Add the diced potatoes to a large pot. Pour cold water over the potatoes until they are just covered. Add 1 teaspoon of salt.
Place the pot on the stove on high heat. Let the water come to a boil (about 20 minutes). Then, reduce the heat to low-medium and let the potatoes gently simmer until tender (about 15 minutes).
The potatoes should be fork tender – meaning that they should mush up when you press on them with a fork (see bottom left photo above).
Once the potatoes are fork-tender, drain them in a colander. Do NOT rinse the potatoes after draining. Return the potatoes to the pot. Place the pot back on the stovetop on low.
3. Mash the potatoes
Add warm melted butter on top of the warm potatoes. You can melt the butter in the microwave in 30-second intervals. I don’t recommend melting the butter in advance. Do it right before adding to the potatoes.
Add the blended cottage cheese on top of the potatoes and butter. Make sure to blend/whip the cottage cheese before adding (see step 1 above).
Mash the potatoes, cottage cheese, and melted butter together using a wooden spoon, potato masher, or immersion blender. Don’t overmix the potatoes! Mash them until they are smooth but still a little chunky like in the photo above.
Taste the potatoes and season with a little extra salt if needed.
4. Serve and enjoy!
Top with chopped chives or mix the chives into the potatoes. Scoop the mashed potatoes into a bowl. Serve with gravy or a pat of butter if desired. Enjoy!
Notes & Suggestions
- Blend the cottage cheese first: I highly highly highly recommend blending the cottage cheese separately first before adding it to the potatoes. During my first trial, I made the mistake of adding the cottage cheese straight from the container and using an immersion blender to mix the potatoes + cottage cheese at the end, but it just turned out a curdled mess.
- Add more flavor: You can customize these mashed potatoes so many different ways! Stir in roasted garlic or some shredded cheddar cheese.
- Make it lighter: Swap butter for olive oil for a lighter version — the potatoes will still turn out creamy and delish!
- Holiday tip: These easy cottage cheese mashed potatoes hold up beautifully on a buffet table. Keep them warm in a slow cooker on “low” for up to 2 hours before serving.
- Serving suggestions: Top with gravy or sprinkle on some chopped chives. You can eat it with roasted turkey, meatloaf, meatballs, or with some greens.
Storage Instructions
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- Make Ahead: Prepare the potatoes a day early and refrigerate. When ready to serve, reheat with a little butter or broth and stir until smooth. Click here for my meal prep guide →
- Fridge: Store the chili in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
- Freezer: While you can freeze mashed potatoes, the texture may change slightly. If freezing, let cool completely first, then portion into freezer-safe containers. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- Reheating: Reheat gently in the microwave or on the stove with a splash of water, milk, or broth to bring back the creamy texture. Stir occasionally while reheating.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Printable Recipe Card
4-Ingredient Cottage Cheese Mashed Potatoes
Equipment
- Large saucepan or pot
- Blender or immersion blender
- Potato peeler
- Potato masher
Ingredients
- 3 lb Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1 ½ cups cottage cheese
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp chives chopped
Pantry staples
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Prep the ingredients. Wash, peel, and dice the potatoes into large chunks or quarters.
- Blend the cottage cheese in a stand blender, food processor, or with an immersion blender until it’s smooth and creamy.
- Boil the potatoes. Add the diced potatoes to a large pot. Pour cold water over the potatoes until they are just covered. Add 1 teaspoon of salt.
- Place the pot on the stove on high heat. Let the water come to a boil (about 20 minutes).
- Reduce the heat to low-medium and let the potatoes gently simmer until they are fork-tender (about 15 minutes).
- Drain the potatoes in a colander. Do NOT rinse the potatoes after draining. Return the potatoes to the pot. Place the pot back on the stovetop on low.
- Melt the butter in the microwave in 30-second intervals.
- Mash the potatoes. Add warm melted butter and blended cottage cheese on top of the warm potatoes.
- Mash the potatoes, cottage cheese, and melted butter together using a wooden spoon, potato masher, or immersion blender. Don’t overmix the potatoes! Taste and add extra salt if desired.
- Serve and enjoy! Top with chopped chives or mix the chives into the potatoes. Scoop the mashed potatoes into a bowl. Serve with gravy or a pat of butter if desired.
Notes
- Blend the cottage cheese first: I highly highly highly recommend blending the cottage cheese separately first before adding it to the potatoes. During my first trial, I made the mistake of adding the cottage cheese straight from the container and using an immersion blender to mix the potatoes + cottage cheese at the end, but it just turned out a curdled mess.
- Add more flavor: You can customize these mashed potatoes so many different ways! Stir in roasted garlic or some shredded cheddar cheese.
- Make it lighter: Swap butter for olive oil for a lighter version — the potatoes will still turn out creamy and delish!
- Holiday tip: These easy cottage cheese mashed potatoes hold up beautifully on a buffet table. Keep them warm in a slow cooker on “low” for up to 2 hours before serving.
- Serving suggestions: Top with gravy or sprinkle on some chopped chives. You can eat it with roasted turkey, meatloaf, meatballs, or with some greens.
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