This cottage cheese egg salad is a creamy, high-protein spin on classic egg salad made without mayo. My version is quick and simple without needing a laundry list of spices and ingredients. Plus, you don’t need to blend the cottage cheese!
I realize cottage cheese has been shoved into basically everything at this point, and I’m sorta guilty with recipes like cottage cheese chocolate mousse and cottage cheese Alfredo, but this is one place where I think it makes SO much sense.
Mostly because I hate mayo.
I can tolerate small amounts of it in certain things, but traditional egg salad where the eggs are basically swimming in mayo? No thanks. Cottage cheese gives you the creaminess egg salad needs without turning the whole thing into a gloopy mayo situation, and you get some extra protein out of the deal which is much appreciated because while eggs are great, two of them (12g of protein) aren’t enough protein for a meal, at least for me.
And before anyone asks, no, I don’t blend it.
There are plenty of cottage cheese recipes where I understand breaking out the blender (like for 3-ingredient cottage cheese bagels), but this isn’t one of them. Once everything gets mixed with the chopped eggs and yolks, the curds pretty much disappear into the egg salad anyway.
Egg Salad Doesn’t Need a Lot
Some creamy salads need a bunch of crunch, acidity and other distractions to keep them from being boring (looking at you, sardine salad), but egg salad can hold its own.
Fresh dill, Dijon, lemon and a little red onion are enough to cut through the richness without turning the ingredient list into a CVS receipt. I want my egg salad to taste like egg salad, not pickles, celery and six different seasonings.
Ingredients You’ll Need
You only need a handful of ingredients for this egg salad and most are probably already in your kitchen.
Eggs: Six large hard-boiled eggs make up the base of the salad. You can cook them using the method in the recipe or use whatever hard-boiled egg method you swear by.
Cottage cheese: This replaces the mayo, adding creaminess and extra protein. I like using a small-curd cottage cheese here since it mixes right into the chopped eggs without any need for blending.
Dijon mustard: A teaspoon gives the egg salad some tang without overpowering everything else.
Fresh dill: This is one ingredient I wouldn’t skip if you can help it. Fresh dill and eggs are just really good together.
Red onion: Two tablespoons give you a little crunch and sharpness without making the entire bowl taste like onion. If you’re super sensitive to raw onion (I am too, I get it), use pickled red onion instead.
Lemon juice: Adds some acidity and keeps the cottage cheese and eggs from tasting flat.
Salt and pepper: Simple and all that’s needed to finish it off.
How to Make Cottage Cheese Egg Salad
Once your eggs are hard boiled, this comes together in about five minutes. Chop, add everything to a bowl and mix. That’s pretty much it.
- Peel the hard-boiled eggs and roughly chop them into bite-sized pieces.
- Add the chopped eggs to a large bowl with the cottage cheese, Dijon, fresh dill, finely chopped red onion, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
- Gently stir until everything is well combined and the cottage cheese and yolks create a creamy coating around the chopped eggs.
- Spoon onto toasted bread, make a sandwich, serve with crackers or eat it straight from the bowl.
My Pro Tips
A Few Things Worth Knowing
- Don’t overmix the egg salad. You want the yolks to break down enough to make everything creamy while still keeping plenty of larger pieces of egg intact.
- Finely dice the red onion. Big pieces can easily take over an egg salad and two tablespoons is plenty here.
- Use fresh dill if you have it. Dried dill works in a pinch, but fresh is noticeably better in something this simple.
- Cottage cheese brands vary quite a bit in consistency and saltiness, so give the finished egg salad a taste before adding more salt.
- And if you like some heat, a pinch of crushed red pepper is an easy addition.
What to Eat with Cottage Cheese Egg Salad
My first choice is toasted sourdough. If I want to turn it into a more protein-focused meal, I’ll add a few slices of turkey bacon and either eat it open-faced or make it into a sandwich.
You could also pile it into a high-protein wrap or tortillas, stuff it into a pita or serve it with crackers and edamame as a snack plate.
For toppings, avocado, pickled onions or sliced jalapeños all work well. A little extra fresh dill and black pepper is great if you want to keep things simple.
Can I Make It Ahead?
Yes. Egg salad is an easy one to make ahead for lunch, although the cottage cheese can release a little liquid as it sits.
Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator and give it a stir before serving if you notice any separation.
I also prefer it cold, so if you make it right after boiling the eggs, give it some time in the fridge to chill out, literally.
More Ways to Use Hard-Boiled Eggs
If you meal prep hard-boiled eggs, I have plenty of ways to keep them from getting boring. My creamy Dijon egg salad uses Greek yogurt instead of mayo with green olives, cabbage and pepitas for lots of crunch.
For something with a little heat, this avocado egg salad combines avocado, Greek yogurt and sriracha and is great served in lettuce cups.
My Korean marinated eggs are probably my favorite way to meal prep them. They sit in a sweet, savory and spicy soy marinade and I usually eat them over rice with ground meat.
And if you’re willing to get a little weird with your hard-boiled eggs, the chocolate egg pudding is still the biggest surprise of the bunch. Six eggs somehow turn into thick chocolate pudding and I swear you can’t taste the eggs once it’s chilled. The whole thing is wild, but you have to try it!
Cottage Cheese Egg Salad
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
- 2 tablespoons red onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Place the eggs in a single layer in a saucepan and cover them with cold water by an inch. Turn the burner to high and bring the water to a rolling boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat slightly and cook the eggs for 8 to 10 minutes depending on how firm you like the yolks.
- Once eggs are cooked, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a mixing bowl.
- Run cold water over eggs until they’re cool enough to work with.
- Peel each egg carefully under running water and place onto a cutting board.
- Dice eggs into bite sized pieces. Add chopped eggs to a medium sized mixing bowl.
- Add remaining ingredients in with the eggs (cottage cheese, dijon mustard, dill, red onion, lemon juice, sea salt and black pepper).
- Gently toss ingredients until well combined.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
