After five rounds of testing, I perfected the viral TikTok recipe into something that has officially replaced frozen pizza in our house. A high-protein cottage cheese pizza crust that actually tastes like pizza. No sad diet substitutes allowed.
Viral Protein Pizza Crust, But Better
Have you hopped on the viral cottage cheese pizza trend? I was shocked by how good it tasted. But as someone who's spent over a decade developing recipes and testing them on the toughest critics (my husband and two sons), I saw room for improvement.
So I went to work and dialed in the perfect ratio of ingredients, plus discovered that a cake pan was the solution to a perfectly formed crust.
As a health coach, I was also delighted that it clocked in at 8 grams of protein and only 7 grams of carbs per slice.
I love Cottage Cheese Bagels for the same reason, and they're a favorite with my kids for their school lunches.
Ingredients You'll Need for This Recipe
If you're like me and always have cottage cheese on hand, aside from the toppings, you might already have all of the ingredients in your kitchen.
- Flour - I used bread flour since it has a slightly higher protein content, but all-purpose works great here, too.
- Baking Powder - Helps the dough to rise as it bakes and become nice and fluffy.
- Salt
- Cottage Cheese - I'm a full-fat fanatic for blood sugar balance so I stick with the 4% milkfat cottage cheese. 2% works great, too. You can use fat-free cottage cheese, but I'm not personally a fan of the taste.
- Egg
- Garlic Powder - I would say this is optional, but truly garlic makes everything better.
- Pizza Sauce - Be sure to get pizza sauce and not regular marinara sauce. Pizza sauce is thicker than pasta sauces, so it won't make your pizza soggy. I love Rao's.
- Cheese - Low-moisture mozzarella cheese for a classic pizza, but feel free to try different cheeses!
- Toppings - Pepperoni, bell peppers, mushrooms, black olives, sausage, Italian seasoning, go bonkers!
See recipe card for quantities.
Hint: I like to save money on cheese by shredding my own, but pre-shredded works great here, too!
How to Make Cottage Cheese Pizza Dough
Start out by preheating your oven to 375°F (190°C) and rub olive oil all over the inside of a 9-inch cake pan to help prevent the dough from sticking. Once that's done, time to make pizza!
- Make the Dough In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, cottage cheese, egg, and garlic powder.
- Form the Crust Put the cottage cheese mixture into the pan. Build up the edges slightly to create a crust, keeping the center thinner since it will puff as it bakes.
- Bake the Crust Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden and firm.
- Cool & Transfer Let the crust cool for 5 minutes then remove it from the pan and transfer it to a baking sheet. You can do the whole recipe from start to finish in the cake pan, but transferring it to a sheet pan at this point makes it easier to slice and serve later.
- Assemble the Pizza. Spread ¾ cup pizza sauce evenly over the crust. Sprinkle 6 oz shredded mozzarella on top. Add pepperoni or your favorite toppings.
- Final Bake Bake at 375F for 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the pepperoni is crispy. For extra crispiness, broil for 10 - 20 seconds at the end. Keep an eye out, though, because it can quickly burn!
- Serve with parmesan cheese, fresh basil and red pepper flakes!
Baker's Tip For A Better Crust
When you're spreading the dough in the cake pan, I recommend spreading it thinner near the center and a little thicker at the edges. The center will puff up when it bakes and it's nice to have a bit of a crust to work with on you final pizza.
Cottage Cheese Pizza Makes Great Leftovers
I make two pizzas when serving this for dinner along with a salad for our family of four. Sometimes we have leftovers which the kids love to take in their lunches the next day.
I wrap up leftover individual slices in plastic wrap or an airtight container. It's great cold or reheated for a few seconds in the microwave.
Joanie's Balanced Bites: What to Eat with a High Protein Pizza
As a family, we keep an eye on our blood sugar and this pizza helps because it's packed with protein and healthy fats that keep you satisfied without spiking glucose.
To balance this meal, add in some fiber-rich sides. Fiber slows digestion and helps maintain steady energy throughout the day. Easy pairings include:
- Our secret recipe for Caesar Salad
- My favorite Mushroom Salad (yay vitamin D booster!)
- Simple green salad with Ginger Dressing
- A creamy Avocado Salad
Got leftover marinara? Check out my Spaghetti Pie for another night this week!
Cottage Cheese Pizza Crust Recipe
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 slices
- Category: pizza
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
A high-protein cottage cheese pizza crust is easy to make, deliciously crisp and tender and finished off with your favorite pizza toppings.
Ingredients
Pizza Dough:
- ¼ cup bread or all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup cottage cheese (full-fat or low-fat)
- 1 egg
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Toppings:
- ¾ cup pizza sauce (I like Rao's)
- 1 ½ cups (6oz) shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese
- Pepperoni or your favorite pizza toppings
Instructions
- Preheat & Prep. Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and rub olive oil all over the inside of a 9-inch cake pan to help prevent the dough from sticking
- Make the Crust. In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, cottage cheese, egg, and garlic powder until a smooth batter forms.
- Shape the Dough. Put the cottage cheese mixture into the pan. Build up the edges slightly to create a crust, keeping the center thinner since it will puff as it bakes.
- Bake the Crust. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden and firm.
- Cool & Transfer. Let the crust cool for 5 minutes then remove it from the pan and transfer it to a baking sheet. You can do the whole recipe from start to finish in the cake pan, but transferring it to a sheet pan at this point just makes it easier to slice and serve later.
- Assemble the Pizza. Spread ¾ cup pizza sauce evenly over the crust. Sprinkle 6 oz shredded mozzarella on top. Add pepperoni or your favorite toppings.
- Final Bake. Bake at 375F for an additional 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the pepperoni is crispy. For a little extra crispiness, broil for 10 - 20 seconds. Keep an eye out, though, because it can quickly burn!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 156
- Sugar: 1.6 g
- Sodium: 414.6 mg
- Fat: 10.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 7.1 g
- Fiber: 0.6 g
- Protein: 8.9 g
- Cholesterol: 50.1 mg
Frequently Asked Questions
One recipe makes 8 slices. For our family of four I make two pizzas.
Yes! All-purpose flour works great. Bread flour is recommended because it has slightly higher protein content, but both work well.
Full-fat (4% milkfat) cottage cheese is recommended for the best taste and blood sugar balance. However, 2% also works great. Fat-free cottage cheese can be used but may not taste as good.
Pizza sauce is thicker than marinara, which prevents your pizza from getting soggy. Always use pizza sauce for best results. Rao's brand is recommended.
Bake for 25 minutes until the crust is golden and firm to the touch.
Tiffany says
I'm glad to have found a protein packed school lunch! This was so easy to make and kid approved 🙂 I was worried my daughter would find the texture to be different than what she is used to but she didn't say anything and asked for seconds, and even ate it cold once for school lunch and was happy with it.
Joanie Simon says
Hooray! So glad it was a hit! My kids dig it too, much to my surprise. And really so easy to make. Hugs to you!
Corinne says
Could ricotta be used instead of cottage cheese?
Joanie Simon says
I've never tried that but sounds intriguing. Though I imagine the water content might be a bit different so the results might not be the same. I'd be curious to try, though. Let me know if you do!