The advantage of this recipe is that it requires very few ingredients. These Apple and Cottage Cheese Muffins are quickly mixed, quickly baked-and quickly eaten! They can be transported easily to eat on the go, in the office, or at school.
The inspiration for this recipe came from my having leftover cottage cheese, which I decided to incorporate into some muffins. (Because, why not?)
The cottage cheese is the secret ingredient in these muffins. It makes these muffins so tender and gives them an enjoyable, creamy taste.
And that oatmeal streusel topping is just totally irresistible!
Tips & Tricks
These cottage cheese muffins make a great base recipe for all kinds of muffin creations. Try adding fresh or frozen berries or nuts for a new spin.
These muffins make a fantastic on-the-go snack, and are also perfect for packing in your lunchbox. They're super kid friendly!
Squeeze the grated apple. After grating your apple, give it a squeeze in a paper towel or clean kitchen towel to remove excess moisture. Too much liquid from the apple can thin out the batter and lead to dense, gummy muffins instead of a light, tender crumb.
Use small-curd cottage cheese for the smoothest texture. Small curd blends into the batter more evenly than large curd, so you won't get noticeable pockets of cheese in the finished muffin. If all you have on hand is large curd, a quick pulse in a blender or food processor before mixing works well too.
Don't overmix the batter. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together just until you no longer see streaks of flour. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour, which makes for tougher, less tender muffins.
Fill the liners about three-quarters full. This gives the muffins enough room to dome nicely as they bake without overflowing the tin or baking unevenly.
Check for doneness with a toothpick. Every oven runs a little differently, so start checking around the 18-minute mark. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean or with just a few moist crumbs attached.
Bring your egg and milk to room temperature. Cold ingredients straight from the fridge can cause the batter to seize slightly, especially against the melted butter in the topping. A few minutes on the counter before you start makes for a smoother batter and more even baking.
Make Ahead, Storing & Freezing
To make ahead: You can measure out the dry ingredients and mix the streusel topping up to a day in advance, storing each separately at room temperature in an airtight container. Grate the apple and combine the wet ingredients just before baking so the batter doesn't sit around and lose its rise.
To store: Let the muffins cool completely, then keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Because these muffins contain cottage cheese, refrigerating them is the safer choice if you won't finish them within a day or two.
To freeze: These muffins freeze beautifully. Once completely cool, wrap each one individually in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature, then warm in a 300°F oven for about 10 minutes, or microwave for 20-30 seconds, to bring back that fresh-baked texture.
More Recipes
If you love these apple and cottage cheese muffins, check out these other tasty ideas:
- 25 On-the-Go Breakfast Ideas
- Date and Apple Muffins
- Healthy Carrot Muffins
- 16+ Healthy Homemade Snack Recipes
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups whole-wheat flour or all-purpose flour
- ½ cup white sugar (organic for vegan-friendly)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 cup cottage cheese, at 1% M.G.
- 1 cup apples, grated
- ¼ cup oil
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup oatmeal
- ¼ cup butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients-flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In another bowl, mix remaining ingredients. Pour wet mixture over dry ingredients and blend until dough is smooth.
- Pour into muffin tins.
- Mix together the ingredients for the topping and sprinkle on top of the muffins.
- Place muffin tin in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes.
Marg K says
I used dry cottage cheese so added some milk to it but it was not enough. Ended up adding some yoghurt/milk mix to make the them moist enough. They were then a bit too moist. But I will adjust next time because they are tasty.
Kashira says
These muffins are delicious. Great with tea or milk or as a quick protein filled snack. I would highly recommend that you use a sieve to drain the excess liquid from the cottage cheese to make a fluffier and less dense muffin. Also, straining beforehand makes these muffins stay fresher longer.
Toni says
These muffins were moist, easy and delicious! For my tastes I might use a little less sugar but my daughter will really appreciate them. The topping was also really tasty, though I will try 1/2 the amount of melted butter next time as it was pooled in each of the muffin cups when it finished cooking. Thank you so much for sharing.
Toni says
These were quick, easy & delicious. A perfect amount of sweetness, though you could probably reduce the sugar a bit if you’re concerned about it. The topping was tasty. It left a pool of melted butter at the bottom of the muffins so I think I’ll try to reduce it a bit next time. Will definitely make these regularly. Thanks for sharing!