Cottage cheese seems to go in and out of style, but at our house it's always been a favorite. We use it on potatoes, in baked goods and high protein vegetable dishes like this Cottage Cheese Spinach Bake. It's so easy to make, rich in nutrients, and just filling enough not to weigh you down.
Individual Servings
I've made this on and off through the years, but this past week I made it multiple times for Fuzz and myself in mini pie plates. The Cottage Cheese Spinach Bake in the photo is actually half the recipe baked in one 5-in pie plate. One main dish serving consists of one egg, half cup of cottage cheese and as much spinach as you like. A sprinkling of cheddar or any hard cheese adds richness as does a little feta or goat cheese mixed in with the spinach. But the dish is also very good with just the basics.
Cottage Cheese Spinach Bake Changes
Egg dishes like this are so versatile and open to improvisation. if you don't have enough spinach, throw in some cooked broccoli or just about any other cooked drained vegetable. The cottage cheese is crucial, but you can add in some feta or goat cheese as mentioned above. And of course you can use whatever cheese you like on top. Feel free to adjust the salt or leave it out completely, especially if you add a salty cheese such as feta or parmesan.
Nutrition Info
I added the calories, protein, carbs and fat from My Fitness Pal. The counts are for 1 serving or half the recipe using 2% milk cottage cheese and Kraft fat free cheddar. Using 4% cottage cheese and regular fat cheddar will increase the fat and calories.
Recipe
Cottage Cheese Spinach Bake
Ingredients
- 8-12 ounces fresh spinach or 1 thawed box of frozen spinach
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup cottage cheese ( 4% or 2%)
- ¼ teaspoon Italian seasonimg
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic salt (or regular salt)--optional
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup shredded Cheddar or Swiss cheese (I use fat free Kraft cheddar)
- 1 pinch sesame or Nigella seeds
Instructions
- Wilt the spinach. Put it all in a large pot, set over medium heat and cook until wilted. Press dry and chop. If using frozen chopped spinach, just thaw and drain.
- Stir together eggs, cottage cheese, seasoning, salt and pepper, then stir in chopped spinach.
- Divide among individual casserole dishes or put all in one greased 1 quart casserole dish.
- Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 25-28 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and seeds bake an additional 5 minutes.
- Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.
Anna says
Darlene, thanks for the review! Congratulations on finding a ricer at the thrift store. Not related to the casserole, but my latest thrift store find was a Pampered Chef Cranberry Deep Covered 4 quart baker for $8.99. It was like winning the lottery.
Darlene says
My husband and I loved this light healthy recipe! I wanted to try out some new (to me) small Fat Daddio's pie plates I thrifted, and they were the perfect size for individual portions. For the spinach, I picked all the spinach out of a new container of mixed greens. After wilting the spinach, I squeezed the spinach dry in my potato ricer (another thrift store purchase). It was so easy and fast to remove the liquid this way and didn't dirty a kitchen towel. I mixed a little feta cheese in mine and my husband's was topped with a little Monterey jack cheese. Thanks for a great recipe!
Anna says
Hope you like it, Darlene!
Darlene says
I'm so excited to try this recipe! I love all the ingredients and just need to pick up some spinach at the store tomorrow. Thank you!