I remember once coming across the delicious-looking recipe for veggie lasagna but much to my disappointment; the recipe called for an ingredient I didn’t have – creamed cottage cheese.
Kind of off topic, but I’ve always got some large curd cottage cheese in the fridge since I absolutely love it. Of course it’s great in lots of recipes, but I love eating it all on its own. In the fall, one of my favs is an indescribably tasty breakfast bowl I make with fresh red apples, cinnamon and a little sweetener.
Ugh, so good!
But, I digress.
Back to the topic of this article which was my culinary quandary. Not only did I not have any creamed cottage cheese on hand, but despite being the cottage cheese fiend I am, I’d never heard of it!
I know, it’s hard to believe.
Obviously if you’re here, it’s probably because you were just like me, scratching your head and wondering what is creamed cottage cheese.
Creamed cottage cheese is made from regular cottage cheese (as opposed to dry curd) that has cream (or light cream dressing) blended into it. Usually the milk fat added ranges from 4 to 8%, the higher the milk fat, the creamier the cheese will be.
Creamed Cottage Cheese vs Cottage Cheese
There are two main differences between creamed cottage cheese and regular cottage cheese.
The first of these is a texture difference. Because creamed cottage cheese has either cream or light cream dressing added to it, it will be creamier and smoother than regular cottage cheese.
The second difference is the amount of fat content. Once again, because additional cream has been added, the fat content in creamed cottage cheese can be between 4% to 8% whereas regular cottage cheese will have lower fat content ranging from 1% down to 0% for non-fat cottage cheese.
| Creamed Cottage Cheese | Regular Cottage Cheese | |
|---|---|---|
| Texture | Creamier and smoother | Coarser and lumpy |
| Fat Content (%) | 4% – 8% | 1% – 0% (non-fat) |
Can You Cream Cottage Cheese?
If you need to use creamed cottage cheese but can’t find any at the store, you can make it yourself at home. The quickest and easiest way to do this is to start with the highest fat cottage cheese you can find – 4% milk fat works well.
Depending on how much you need for your recipe, just pour it into a food processor or blender until it’s smooth. Although it won’t be exactly the same as store bought creamed cottage cheese, your blender or food processor will emulsify the cottage cheese until it reaches a creamy texture.
If you’ve blended at the result is still too runny, try removing as much excess liquid from the cottage cheese container prior to blending.
| Method | Equipment | Milk Fat Content | Additional Steps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homemade | Food Processor or Blender | 4% or Higher | Blend until smooth, remove excess liquid if necessary |
Where to Buy Creamed Cottage Cheese
Although creamed cottage cheese is not available in all grocery stores, your best best for finding it will be in the dairy section.
Creamed Cottage Cheese Brands
We’ve done the searching for you so you don’t have to wonder who makes creamed cottage cheese and surprisingly, creamed cottage cheese isn’t as common as you might expect. Here’s a list of some of the brands we found though:
Axelrod Dairy
While not labeled as creamed cottage cheese, their brand of whipped cottage cheese is effectively the same thing.
Gay Lea Foods
This company makes a variety of creamed cottage cheese and smooth cottage cheese under the Nordica brand name including:
- Nordica 4% Creamed Cottage Cheese
- Nordica Smooth (Plain)
- Nordica Smooth (Blueberry Acai)
- Nordica Smooth (Vanilla Bean)
- Nordica Smooth (Lemon)
Creamed Cottage Cheese Substitute
If you’re not able to try the method we mentioned earlier for making your own creamed cottage cheese, some substitutes you could try might be heavy whipping cream (whipped of course) or sour cream.
There will be obvious taste and texture differences with these substitutes though.
With whipped cream, it tends to be on the sweeter side while sour cream will add some tang or sharpness.
Hey there, I’m Melody! I’m a lifelong foodie and love talking about it to anyone who’s willing to listen (or read!) about my opinions. My favorite pastimes include cooking, eating my cooking and thinking about what I’m going to make next!
