Lighter Chocolate Cottage Cheesecake (Printable)

Creamy chocolate dessert made lighter with cottage cheese and Greek yogurt

# What You'll Need:

→ Crust

01 - 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
02 - 2 tablespoons coconut oil or melted butter
03 - 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
04 - 1 tablespoon maple syrup

→ Filling

05 - 2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
06 - 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
07 - 2 large eggs
08 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar or sweetener of choice
09 - 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
10 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11 - 1 tablespoon cornstarch
12 - 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips, melted and cooled

→ Topping

13 - 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
14 - 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
15 - Dark chocolate shavings for garnish

# How to Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 340°F. Line the base of an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper.
02 - In a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, cocoa powder, coconut oil, and maple syrup until well incorporated.
03 - Press crust mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 8 minutes, then set aside to cool.
04 - In a food processor or blender, process cottage cheese until completely smooth, approximately 1 to 2 minutes.
05 - Add Greek yogurt, eggs, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, cornstarch, and melted chocolate to the processor. Blend until silky and uniform.
06 - Pour filling over the cooled crust and smooth the top surface.
07 - Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the center is just set but still slightly wobbly. Turn off the oven, crack the door open, and allow the cheesecake to cool inside for 1 hour.
08 - Remove from oven and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or until completely set.
09 - Before serving, spread Greek yogurt topping if desired and garnish with dark chocolate shavings.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • It tastes like dessert guilt doesn't apply here, rich and fudgy without the heaviness that makes you regret seconds.
  • You get 11 grams of protein per slice, which means this actually keeps you satisfied instead of leaving you searching the kitchen an hour later.
  • The texture is silky and sophisticated, nothing about it whispers that you made a compromise for health.
02 -
  • The cottage cheese must be blended until completely smooth, and I mean truly smooth with no grittiness, or that texture will haunt every bite no matter how good everything else tastes.
  • The oven crack cooling step isn't fancy or optional, it's the difference between a beautiful cheesecake and one with stress cracks across the top that look unintentional.
  • Don't open the oven door during baking to check on it, the temperature drop will make the center bake unevenly and you'll end up with a sunken middle instead of that perfect slight wobble.
03 -
  • If your cottage cheese brand is particularly grainy, strain it through cheesecloth for ten minutes before blending to remove excess liquid that might throw off the texture.
  • Don't skip running the filling through the food processor twice if you're using a blender instead, as blenders sometimes leave tiny graininess that a processor catches more effectively.
  • Make the cheesecake the day before serving so the flavors deepen and you remove the stress of timing from your day of celebration.
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