Cottage Cheese Chili Queso

This Cottage Cheese Chili Queso recipe from The Whole Smiths is not only mouth-watering delicious, but it’s loaded with protein and ingredients you can feel good about. It’s great to serve with tortilla chips, your favorite veggies or on top of some toast. 

Queso, But Make It Protein.

While I spend most of my time eating healthier and wholesome foods, I have my vices. Cheesecake, Doritos, and QUESO, to name a few. Specifically, Chili’s queso. In full transparency, I haven’t had Chili’s queso in years but throughout my 20’s I would have said it was my favorite food if you would have asked. 

Fast forward, I just don’t eat it. I’m pretty sure it has gluten and who knows what else in there. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think it tastes great and the flavors aren’t popping. Which is why I decided to take all of the flavors from my beloved queso and turn them into a healthier version that isn’t loaded with additives and junk. 

I chose to use cottage cheese as a base because it’s loaded with protein and not as calorically dense and pure cheese. Not to mention, it tastes a bit lighter and more “every day”. The recipe uses two cups of cottage cheese which has 50 grams of protein in it. To maintain that cheesy flavor though, I also added two cups of grated extra sharp cheddar which clocks in at 56 grams of protein. 

Needless to say, you’ll get some protein in with this one.

Cottage Cheese Chili Queso You Can Make in 15 Minutes. Tops.

Ok, so we’ve established this recipe is loaded with protein but I haven’t even touched on how easy it is to make. If you can measure and blend, you can make this recipe. That’s all it takes. 

The most laborious part of making this Cottage Cheese Queso Chili recipe is grating that damn cheddar. There’s a few things I don’t love in the kitchen despite my love of cooking. Touching raw meat, doing dishes and grating cheddar. It’s just a pain and the truth is I usually use ask Brad to do it. It’s my feigned damsel in distress moment. Feel free to use pre-grated cheddar if you are as big of a baby as I am. 

Anyways. You’re going to add all of the ingredients into a large blender or food processor and blend until it’s smooth but still has a bit of texture left. That’s it! It truly is the perfect last minute item to bring to any occasion. 

Queso Modifications and Options. 

While I recommend making this repine as-is, you can definitely change it up a bit. First, if you don’t like a bit of spice, omit the cayenne and the jalapeños. Personally, I don’t think the queso is very spicy at all but it does have a little kick. Omitting either of those will change the flavor a bit but it will still be delicious. 

You can also get crazy and use a pepper jack in place of the extra sharp cheddar. If you choose to do this, I’d recommend adding a bit of chopped cilantro at the end and giving it a final pulse to blend it. Doing this will add an extra bit of zest and flavor to your queso. 

Another modification is that you can serve it cold or warm. While I thought it tasted great either way, I personally enjoyed the texture a bit more with the cold version. Should you decide to heat it up, add the queso to an oven safe dish and bake it for about 15 minutes at 375*F. It will be slightly bubble around the edges when it is ready. 

You can serve this dish with the obvious tortilla chips or use some veggies like cut bell peppers or onions or even scoop it on top of some avocado toast. I’m planning to make baked potatoes and add some of this Cottage Cheese Chili Queso and roasted broccoli over top. Feel free to use it all sorts of way, not just as a dip.

And with that, enjoy!

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Cottage Cheese Chili Queso

This Cottage Cheese Chili Queso recipe from The Whole Smiths is not only mouth-watering delicious, but it's loaded with protein and ingredients you can feel good about. It's great to serve with tortilla chips, your favorite veggies or on top of some toast. 

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups cottage cheese
• 2 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar
• 1 ½ tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons diced jalapenos + 2 teaspoons of jalapeno juice
• 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne
• 1 medium tomato diced and de-seeded
• 2 tablespoons diced jalapenos

Instructions

• Add the cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, lime juice and seasonings to a blender and blend until combined.
• Add the diced tomato and jalapenos with juice and blend until combined.
• Serve with your favorite chips, tostones, bell peppers, chicharones, or whatever your favorite dipping vehicle is.

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