With 15g of protein per serving and a luxurious creamy, smooth texture, this five ingredient cottage cheese chocolate mousse will quickly become your new favorite sweet treat.
I’m a firm believer in eating dessert every day. Unless it’s a special occasion, that usually means a Ninja creami, my favorite high-protein mug cake or more recently, this cottage cheese chocolate mousse. It’s beyond simple to throw together with just five ingredients, and a batch lasts nearly all week.
Cottage cheese has proven its versatility at every meal (from cottage cheese pancakes and bagels for breakfast, to salmon salad for lunch, cottage cheese Alfredo for dinner and now this chocolate mousse for dessert) for being a surprisingly healthy addition ingredient that packs in the protein without you ever being the wiser.
If you’re a chocolate lover, but still want to indulge in something on the healthier side, this high protein chocolate mousse recipe is the answer.
Satisfy Your Chocolate Craving With This Mousse
Traditional chocolate mousse is a whole process. It involves sauce pans, tempering eggs and a bunch of chilling/setting time. Cottage cheese chocolate mousse not only simplifies the process, but makes the recipe so much more nutritious and filling, while still delivering on that chocolate craving big time.
If you want a simple dessert for something sweet after dinner, make a batch of this protein-packed mousse and enjoy a jar all week!
- It’s a luxuriously smooth and creamy texture — you’d never know cottage cheese is the base.
- A great way to get in a higher protein dessert without using protein powder.
- While everyone focuses on protein, a serving of this mousse also contains 6g of fiber!
What You Need To Make It
With just five simple ingredients, there’s hardly any reason not to make this chocolate mousse!
- Cottage cheese — As the main ingredient, pick your favorite kind. I like using a high-quality, whole milk (4% fat) small curd cottage cheese like Good Culture. This recipe will work with any type, however, since we’re blending it. Full fat cottage cheese will result in the creamiest, most decadent tasting mousse.
- Cocoa powder — Grab a good quality unsweetened dark cocoa powder.
- Melted dark chocolate — A little melted chocolate goes a long way in improving the chocolate taste and texture instead of just using cocoa powder. I like to use high-quality 85% dark chocolate.
- Honey — You can adjust this (or another sweetener like maple syrup) to taste. This helps offset the bitterness from the cocoa powder and dark chocolate.
- Chia seeds — This is the secret ingredient that makes the mousse “set” without the use of eggs like a traditional mousse recipe. Like this persimmon jam recipe, we grind the chia seeds up in the blender so you won’t notice their texture, but they’re in there working their magic helping to thicken the mousse.
How To Make Chocolate Cottage Cheese Mousse
There’s a full recipe card at the bottom with detailed ingredient and instruction lists, but here’s a quick run through.
- Place all the ingredients into a food processor or blender. Blend until the mixture is creamy, smooth and airy. This will take about 2-3 minutes. You can scrape down the sides as needed during this process.
- Spoon the mixture into individual serving jars with a lid. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving for the best texture and temperature. The jars will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.
My Pro Tips
Tips & Tricks
- For an extra smooth texture, you can blend or process the cottage cheese by itself first, before adding the other ingredients.
- Taste and adjust the sweetness before portioning into jars.
- If you find the texture to be too thick, add a splash of milk (any kind) while processing. If it’s too thin, a small extra spoonful of chia seeds can be added. *Remember – the mixture will thicken in the refrigerator as it sets.
- Add a splash of vanilla or any other extract to bring even more flavor to the mousse. A dash of peppermint extract easily makes this a mint chocolate mousse.
Topping Suggestions
You can top this chocolate mousse however you like! Some of my favorites include:
- Fresh berries
- Chopped dark chocolate or chocolate shavings
- Whipped cream — you can even create a parfait look by layering whipped cream and the mousse in jars
- Vanilla yogurt
- Banana slices
- Crumbled chocolate graham crackers
- Crushed nuts (peanuts are especially good!)
- Granola – it’d be great with this chocolate cherry granola
More Simple Chocolate Desserts To Try
When a chocolate craving strikes, I have a few go-to desserts I turn to. These chocolate covered oranges are one of them. They’re so easy and kid-friendly too!
No bake brownie bites are another. It’s amazing how closely this recipe resembles the taste of brownie without any baking required.
Dark chocolate granola bark is always a winner. It works with any granola you have on hand and breaking it up into pieces is one of my favorite parts.
Cottage Cheese Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients
- 2 cups cottage cheese
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, high quality
- 2 tablespoons melted dark chocolate, at least 85%
- 1/4 cup honey, or sweetener of choice, *see notes
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender.
- Blend for about 2 minutes or until the mixture is well combined, creamy and airy.
- Divide the mixture into 4 individual cups.
- Refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving for the best texture.
- Top with your preferred toppings: chopped chocolate, chocolate chips or berries like raspberries, which provide a delicious contrast of flavor.
Notes
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.
