Cottage cheese is having a comeback thanks to TikTok

Are you in your cottage cheese era?

The dairy product is staging a comeback thanks to a flood of TikTok videos claiming it as a protein-packed superfood. Spooned straight from the tub, spread on bagels, added to pancake mix, or used to make ice cream or cookie dough—the lumpy cheese is having a renaissance.

In July, Google searches for “cottage cheese” rose to the highest levels recorded since 2004. Formerly a vestige of diet culture left over from the ‘70s—before it was overrun by the explosion of the yogurt aisle—cottage cheese is a type of curdled milk product both high in protein and low in calories.

Despite its unsightly texture, the health benefits of cottage cheese are very real.

Just one cup of low-fat cottage cheese offers 48% of your daily protein intake and 23% of your daily calcium, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The casein protein, responsible for cottage cheese’s strange texture, contains all the essential amino acids you need, reduces muscle breakdown and soreness, and promotes muscle growth when consumed after hitting the gym. Cottage cheese also contains high levels of vitamin B12 for healthy brain function, riboflavin for healthy skin and eyes, phosphorus, which helps build strong bones and teeth, and folate, essential for cell growth. If that isn’t enough to convince you, one cup contains just 180 calories. 

While those health benefits have long been known, it’s TikTok that changed cottage cheese’s image. TikTokers are sharing fun recipes online for everything from cottage cheese queso dip (dubbed the “hit of the summer”) to pizza cottage cheese bowls. “What we’re seeing is the intersection of nutrition, wellness and social media culture,” says Steve Young, a founding partner at health food-focused private equity firm Manna Tree. “Visually appealing, protein-packed meals and snacks aren’t just fuel—they’re content.”

As protein mania has taken over, cottage cheese’s resurgence was almost inevitable. While protein itself is not a fad—it is essential for our body’s ability to repair cells and make new ones—our current protein obsession very much is. Food companies have been adding protein to seemingly everything over the last decade, with Americans consuming around twice the daily amount recommended in the federal dietary guidelines.

Despite exceeding the recommended intake, 60% of US adults are now satisfied and trying to shovel even more of it into their diets. And that bodes well for cottage cheese’s future.

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