3 Cottage Cheese Snacks to Pack on Your Next Hike

Cottage cheese has been having a real moment. Once relegated to diet plates and 1950s kitchens, it’s become one of the internet’s go-to protein sources. Its rise says less about its flavor than its versatility: It’s a food that disappears into almost anything while padding your protein count.

Most recently, cottage cheese chips are trending. They’re baked clumps of cottage cheese, and something that you could easily take with you while you’re on the go. But I wondered if they could make for solid trail fuel. So, I reached out to a dietitian for answers.

“Cottage cheese packs a lot of protein for a relatively modest number of calories,” Johannah Katz, RDN, a registered dietitian specializing in weight management, preventive care, and performance nutrition, told Outside. It helps with satiety and muscle recovery. The catch, she noted, is that protein alone isn’t ideal trail fuel. You still want to pair it with carbohydrates, especially on longer or more strenuous adventures.

With that in mind, here are the best cottage cheese recipes to power your next trail adventure.

1. Cottage Cheese Chips

If you want a savory option on the trail, cottage cheese chips are it. TikTok creator @the.brittney shared the recipe on her page. Here’s how to make it. 

Ingredients:

• Cottage cheese (the amount of your choice)
• Salt, pepper, or everything bagel seasoning to taste

How to Make It:

To make them, place lumps of cottage cheese on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (Make sure to space them out so you don’t end up with one giant baked clump!) Sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and everything bagel seasoning. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for about 40 minutes, or until they’re as crisp as you want.

Katz calls these the most protein-forward option, but on their own they won’t get you far on the trail. To make them real fuel, she suggests pairing them with fruit to boost satiety. Bananas, apples, and blueberries are good options.

2. Blueberry Cottage Cheese Bars

For a sweeter option, you can bake a batch of blueberry cottage cheese bars, a recipe by Eating with Zion, which are super easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup cottage cheese
• 1/4 cup avocado oil
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (you can use more if you’d prefer your bars be extra sweet)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1-1/4 cup of flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries

How to Make It:

Whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, avocado oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Then fold in the flour, baking powder, and blueberries. Pour into a lined pan and bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Then cut it into bars.

Katz likes this recipe because the blueberries round out the protein with something your body can burn as your hiking effort picks up. The blueberries also add anthocyanins (plant-based chemicals associated with lower blood pressure and reduced risk of heart disease), fiber (which is good for digestive health), and vitamins. Research also links blueberry consumption to lower inflammation and a faster bounce-back after a hard effort.

“Exactly how much quick energy the bars provide will depend on how much fruit and whether any other carbohydrate ingredients are in the recipe, since blueberries themselves aren’t an especially concentrated carbohydrate source,” Katz said.

This recipe yields ten bars, and after some math, each bar provides about 11 grams of carbs. For casual hiking, the endurance guideline is usually about 30 to 50 grams of carbs per hour. Two of these bars plus something like a banana, which contains about 27 grams of carbs, can get you in that range to give you enough energy to sustain your trek.

3. Peanut Butter Cottage Cheese Balls

For something to help sustain your hike and give you energy on the trail, try this peanut butter cottage cheese ball recipe by Bored of Lunch.

Ingredients:

• 250 grams (about 9 ounces) of cottage cheese, blended
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• 200 grams (about 7 ounces) of blended oats
• 2 scoops of protein powder
• Peanut butter, to taste
• Melted chocolate (amount of your choice to coat the balls after you’ve prepared them)
• Sea salt, to taste

How to Make It:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and roll into balls. Refrigerate or freeze until firm enough not to break apart. Then, coat each one in melted chocolate and add a pinch of flaky sea salt on top.

Each ball packs about 11 grams of protein for roughly 237 calories. Of the three snacks, Katz calls this the most complete: oats bring carbohydrate and fiber, peanut butter adds fat and calorie density, while honey adds a fast-acting energy boost. “That mix of nutrients can be particularly useful on a long, steady hike because you’re getting both fuel for activity and enough protein, fat and fiber to make the snack satisfying,” Katz said.

The fat from the peanut butter packs more calories into less food, which is useful for longer treks. But Katz said that since fat and fiber digest slowly, if you’re someone prone to stomach trouble, you wouldn’t want to eat a huge serving of this directly before a hike.

How to Pack Cottage Cheese on a Hike

Whether you blend or bake it, fresh cottage cheese is perishable. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, food shouldn’t sit above 40 degrees Fahrenheit for more than two hours, or more than one hour if it’s above 90 degrees Fahrenheit outside. Bacteria can multiply quickly if you don’t store food in cooler temps promptly.

Katz suggests packing any of the three in an insulated container with a frozen ice pack to be safe. If you’re going on a shorter hike, two hours or less, and it’s not too hot outside, you can likely get away with tossing them in a bag and hitting the trails.

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