Naturally Sweetened Blueberry Cottage Cheese Muffins
These blueberry cottage cheese muffins are moist and packed with juicy bursts of blueberries. Naturally sweetened with maple syrup or honey, they’re made with simple ingredients and protein-rich cottage cheese for extra moisture and a subtly creamy texture. A little lemon zest or vanilla and a pinch of cinnamon bring out the best part of every bite. Enjoy plain or with creamy vanilla cottage cheese frosting.
I’m sharing two methods to make these muffins: a quick version that requires no blender (perfect when you’re short on time but still want super yummy homemade muffins), and a more detailed approach using a mixer or food processor to smooth the cottage cheese for that extra fluffy, light-as-air texture – when you want to go that extra mile.
Cottage cheese is a very common ingredient in Baltic cooking. And it is delicious! With Latvian parents, I grew up eating cottage cheese apple cakes and cottage cheese slices and cottage cheese toasts – you get the idea. And I love incorporating cottage cheese in my recipes. It goes particularly well in these blueberry muffins as well as my three banana cottage cheese muffins 😀
Table of contents
- Why you will love this recipe:
- Ingredients for Blueberry Cottage Cheese Muffins
- Substitutions
- Equipment
- How to make Blueberry and Cottage Cheese Muffins
- Tips to get the lightest muffins
- Serving Suggestions
- Storage
- Blueberry Cottage Cheese Muffin FAQ
- How did I test this recipe for blueberry muffins with cottage cheese?
- Recipe Card for Blueberry Cottage Cheese Muffins
- Out and about
Why you will love this recipe:
- Simple ingredients you likely already have at home
- Naturally sweetened with maple syrup or honey — no refined sugar needed
- Cottage cheese, a staple in Baltic and Scandinavian cooking, has long been used in baking for its creamy texture and mild tangy flavor and adds that extra protein boost.
If you are looking for more European café-style breakfast recipes, try this shrimp avocado toast, canned salmon and cream cheese toast, avocado and cottage cheese toast or this fluffy ricotta lemon pancakes recipe.
Ingredients for Blueberry Cottage Cheese Muffins
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (or whole wheat flour)
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt – I use sea salt
- ⅓ cup maple syrup (or honey)
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 large whole eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup whole milk, at room temperature
- 1 cup regular or protein-rich cottage cheese
- 1½ teaspoons lemon zest or vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon (optional) – but it gives it a nice flavor boost
- 1½ cups fresh blueberries (or 1¼ cups frozen) – this recipe depends on the natural sweetness of the blueberries, rather than sugar, so there is 1 1/2 cups. Yummy juicy blueberries in every bite!
Substitutions
- Butter – You could use olive oil or avocado oil (for a neutral flavor), coconut oil (adds a subtle coconut note), vegan butter substitute
- Cow’s milk -You could use Oat, Almond or Soy milk
Equipment
- Sharp knife
- Muffin tray and liners – silicone is best
- Two bowls
- Blender (optional) – stick blender or thermomix
How to make Blueberry and Cottage Cheese Muffins
The cottage cheese slightly alters the texture of traditional muffins. They become more dense but still very moist, a bit more like a moist pound cake.
I use two methods to make this cottage cheese blueberry muffin recipe. The quick method, when I’m in a rush and just want a muffin now and a little bit longer method, that involves beating the cottage cheese, butter and egg whites to provide extra “air” to the muffin batter.
Quick method:
Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Use a silicone muffin tin if possible, or line a 12-cup muffin tin with muffin liners or lightly grease with cooking spray.
Beat together with a spoon, mixer or blender the wet ingredients in one bowl. Sift the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients and gently mix until the flour is just incorporated. Do not overmix. Wash and dry the blueberries and then coat in a tablespoon of flour. Gently add the blueberries to the muffin batter. Bake for 20-23 minutes. Cool for 3 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
This quick method makes delicious muffins. If you would like to make them extra fluffy, then follow this slightly longer method.
Longer method – to get the lightest muffin possible:
Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Use a silicone muffin tin if possible, or line a 12-cup muffin tin with muffin liners or lightly grease with cooking spray.
Note: I recommend using a silicone muffin tin and not using muffin liners if you want to eat the muffins the same day. The muffins stick to the liners if eaten the same day, but are fine the next day if taken off with care.
Prepare the dry ingredients:
In a small bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon if using. This is to avoid those nasty clumps and make sure your raising agents are distributed evenly.
Wash and dry blueberries. Toss them with 1 tablespoon of flour to prevent bleeding and to stop them from settling to the bottom of the muffin.
Prepare the wet ingredients:
Whip up the cottage cheese (Optional step): In a food processor or blender, pulse the cottage cheese until smooth and creamy, about one or two minutes. This will help incorporate air and ensure even distribution in the batter. The muffins will still be delicious if you don’t blend the cottage cheese. You may see little pieces of cottage cheese, but you will not taste it. The flavor blends right in, but the muffin will be a tiny bit more dense.
In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. (If using oil instead of butter, then just mix the maply syrup or honey, oil and eggs together until well combined).
Separate the egg whites and yolks.
Add the egg yolks, maple syrup, lemon zest and vanilla to the butter mixture and beat until well incorporated and fluffy.
Add cottage cheese and milk: Beat in the processed cottage cheese until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Then add the milk and beat until well combined and the mixture looks light and airy.
Combine wet ingredients and dry ingredients:
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in two additions, folding gently with a rubber spatula just until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix.
Beat the whites until soft peaks form.
Very gently fold the blueberries and the egg whites into the batter, using just a few strokes to maintain the air in the muffin batter.
Fill muffin cups: Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups (they should be about ¾ full).
Bake: Place in the preheated oven and bake for 5 minutes at 375°F (190°C), then without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 350°F (175°C) and bake for another 15-18 minutes until the tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Note: Because of the cream cheese, they are not going to be as golden as traditional muffins, so rely on the toothpick method to tell you when they are done, not the color of the muffins.
Cool: Allow the muffins to cool in the muffin pan for just 3 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool. This prevents the bottoms from becoming soggy.
Tips to get the lightest muffins
This recipe will make delicious blueberry cottage cheese muffins even if you use one bowl and use the quick method. But if you would like the lightest and airiest muffins possible, then these tips will help you achieve this.
- Have all ingredients at room temperature to incorporate more air.
- Whip up the cottage cheese if you can to add air to the mixture.
- The initial high-temperature bake creates an immediate rise.
- Handle the muffin batter as little as possible after adding the flour.
- Weigh the ingredients (if possible) to make sure you have the right amount of baking powder needed.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve as is or with a creamy vanilla cottage cheese frosting.
- Offer with a small dish of unsweetened whipped cream or crème fraîche or cultured butter.
- These muffins are a great way to start the day — perfect with a cappuccino or herbal tea for a quick breakfast on busy mornings.
Storage
- Refrigerate for up to 5 days in an airtight container
- Freeze for up to 2 months
Blueberry Cottage Cheese Muffin FAQ
How did I test this recipe for blueberry muffins with cottage cheese?
I often bake with cottage cheese. Long before cottage chees became fashionable, my Latvian grandmother always had a tub of cottage cheese in her fridge. I love the creamy, slightly tangy flavor it gives food. So naturally, I added some to my muffins and and it was Yum!
I also adjusted the sweetness levels by omitting sugar. As my readers will know, I really dislike it when the taste of sugar overwhelms a dish. Here I played around with different amounts of maple syrup and honey and finally decided that 1/3 cup was enough if I added in some extra blueberries. The result is a muffin where the blueberries are really the star of the show!
Recipe Card for Blueberry Cottage Cheese Muffins
Blueberry Cottage Cheese Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour or white whole wheat flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup maple syrup or honey
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 2 large whole eggs at room temperature
- ½ cup whole milk at room temperature
- 1 cup cottage cheese full fat is best, lightly blended or processed until smooth if you have time
- 1½ teaspoons lemon zest or vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon optional
- 1½ cups fresh blueberries or 1¼ cups frozen, unthawed – this recipe depends on the natural sweetness of the blueberries, rather than sugar, so there is 1 1/2 cups. Literally a bite of blueberries in every bite!
Instructions
Quick Method
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). use a silicone muffin tin if possible or line a 12-cup muffin tin with muffin liners or lightly grease with cooking spray.
- Beat together with a spoon, mixer or blender the wet ingredients in one bowl. Sift the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients and gently mix until the flour is just incorporated. Do not over-mix. Wash and dry the blueberries and then coat in a tablespoon of flour. Gently add the blueberries to the muffin batter. Bake for 20-23 minutes. Cool for 3 minutes and then cool on wire rack.
- This quick method makes delicious muffins. If you would like to make them extra fluffy, then follow this slightly longer method.
Longer method – to get the lightest muffin possible:
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). use a silicone muffin tin if possible or line a 12-cup muffin tin with muffin liners or lightly grease with cooking spray.
- Prepare the dry ingredients: In a small bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon if using. This is to avoid those nasty clumps and make sure your raising agents are distributed evenly.
- Wash and dry blueberries. Toss them with 1 tablespoon of flour to prevent bleeding and to stop them from settling to the bottom of the muffin.
- (Optional step) Process the cottage cheese: In a food processor or blender, pulse the cottage cheese until smooth and creamy, about 30 seconds. This will help incorporate air and ensure even distribution in the batter. The muffins will still be delicious if you don’t blend the cottage cheese. You may see little pieces of cottage cheese, but you will not taste it. The flavor blends right in, but the muffin will be a tiny bit more dense.
- Prepare the wet ingredients: In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. (If using oil instead of butter, then just mix the maple syrup or honey, oil and eggs together until well combined).
- Separate the egg whites and yolks.
- Add the egg yolks, maple syrup, lemon zest and vanilla to the butter mixture and beat until well incorporated and fluffy.
- Add cottage cheese and milk: Beat in the processed cottage cheese until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Then add the milk and beat until well combined.
- Combine wet ingredients and dry ingredients: Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in two additions, folding gently with a rubber spatula just until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix.
- Beat the whites until soft peaks form.
- Very gently fold the blueberries and the egg whites into the batter using just a few strokes to maintain the air in the muffin batter.
- Fill muffin cups: Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups (they should be about ¾ full).
- Bake: Place in the preheated oven and bake for 5 minutes at 375°F (190°C), then without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 350°F (175°C) and bake for another 15-18 minutes until the tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean 9see note below).
- Cool: Allow the muffins to cool in the muffin pan for just 3 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool. This prevents the bottoms from becoming soggy.
Notes
Muffin liners
I recommend using a silicone muffin tin and not using muffin liners if you want to eat the muffins the same day. The muffins stick to the liners if eaten the same day, but are fine the next day if taken off with care.How to tell when the muffins are done
Because of the cream cheese, they are not going to be as golden as traditional muffins, so rely on the toothpick method to tell you when they are done, not the color of the muffins.Tips to get the lightest muffins
This recipe will make delicious blueberry cottage cheese muffins even if you use one bowl and use the quick method. But if you would like the lightest and airiest muffins possible, then these tips will help you achieve this.- Have all ingredients at room temperature to incorporate more air.
- Whip up the cottage cheese if you can to add air to the mixture.
- The initial high-temperature bake creates an immediate rise.
- Handle the muffin batter as little as possible after adding the flour.
- Weigh the ingredients (if possible) to make sure you have the right amount of baking powder needed.
Storage
- Refrigerate for up to 5 days in an airtight container
- Freeze for up to 2 months
Serving
These muffins really are very moist and are delicious as is. If you need a topping, consider my naturally sweetened cottage cheese frosting.Nutrition
Out and about
What prompted me to make my blueberry muffins with cottage cheese this week was my recent stop at the Gippsland Food and Wine Cafe. I sometimes try to stop there because they have the most delicious brewed chai tea, as well as so many lovely edible gifts – chocolates, cookies, cheeses, wines, jams etc.
This time I also bought a blueberry muffin, which was beautiful, but also very, very sweet. It was lovely with my chai tea, but when I got home, I was very sugared out and it inspired me to make my own naturally sweetened blueberry cottage cheese muffins.
I was thinking I would freeze them and take one along on my next trip to Melbourne, but three days later and there is nothing left to freeze 😂
