Cottage Cheese Pizza Puffs

square crop of pizza puffs on a white tray in front of football props.

5 from 1 vote

Cottage Cheese Pizza Puffs

These easy Cottage Cheese Pizza Puffs combine cottage cheese, eggs, Italian seasoning, marinara sauce, and mozzarella for a high-protein snack with all your favorite pizza flavors.

Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword cottage cheese, pizza

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Servings pizza puffs

Calories 91kcal

Author Debi

Ingredients

Oil or cooking spray for greasing the muffin pan
16 ounces full-fat cottage cheese Lucerne full fat large curd recommended
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
12 tablespoons pizza sauce or marinara sauce about 1 tablespoon per puff
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Optional pizza toppings such as pepperoni or finely diced vegetables

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Generously grease a standard 12-cup muffin pan with oil or cooking spray.
Oil or cooking spray
Add the cottage cheese and eggs to a blender, or use an immersion blender with beaker. Blend until very smooth and well combined. Stir in the Italian seasoning.
16 ounces full-fat cottage cheese, 4 large eggs, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
Divide the cottage cheese mixture evenly among the 12 muffin cups, filling each about ½ to ⅔ full. Leave room for the mixture to rise as it bakes. There may be additional batter, if so, just fill additional muffin cups.
With these kinds of recipes, I like to place the muffin tray on a large baking sheet to catch any spills that might happen, and the baking sheet makes it easier to get the muffin pan in and out of the oven.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the centers are firm and the tops are lightly golden.
Carefully remove the pan from the oven. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of marinara sauce onto each puff. Sprinkle the mozzarella evenly over the tops. Add your desired pizza toppings, such as pepperoni or finely diced vegetables.
12 tablespoons pizza sauce or marinara sauce, 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, Optional pizza toppings
Return the pan to the oven and broil until the mozzarella is melted and lightly golden, about 1–3 minutes. Watch closely, as broilers can brown the cheese very quickly.
Let the pizza puffs cool in the pan for 5–10 minutes. Carefully loosen the edges with a butter knife or offset spatula, then remove the puffs from the pan and serve warm.

Notes

Cottage cheese varies considerably between brands. Some are very wet, while others are thicker. Full-fat cottage cheese works best for the intended texture. If your cottage cheese is thin and watery, place it in a strainer lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter over a bowl and refrigerate overnight to drain off the excess liquid. Alternatively, place it in a strainer without the cheesecloth and drain for 10 minutes to get the excess moisture out of it.

Grease the muffin pan well to make the puffs easier to remove. No need to grease muffin tins if using silicone.

You can make them in paper liners, but with some reservations. I’ve tested them, and they look… well… disheveled or really messy. They taste good, but they aren’t as crisp because the liners trap more moisture for the crust, they aren’t quite as fluffy because the paper keeps them from rising. And honestly, they’re pretty easy to remove from a good pan that’s been sprayed with non-stick spray, so I don’t really recommend the paper liners.

The toppings should be finely chopped. This is particularly important with vegetables. Large chunks can make the little puffs difficult to eat and may release excess moisture.

Watch closely while broiling because the cheese can brown quickly.

Let the puffs cool for 5–10 minutes before removing them from the pan.

Works as mini muffins, just cook a little less time.

Air Fryer Method: Preheat the air fryer to 325° F. I recommend silicone muffin cups for the air fryer rather than putting a standard metal muffin pan in the basket. Silicone also makes these little pizza bites much easier to remove. Divide the cottage cheese mixture evenly among the cups, filling each about ½ to ⅔ full.

Air fry for 12–16 minutes, or until the centers are set and the tops are lightly golden. Carefully remove the cups from the air fryer. Top each pizza puff with about 1 tablespoon of pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella, and your desired toppings.

Return to the air fryer and cook at 325° F for 2–4 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned. Keep a close eye on them during this final step.

Let the pizza puffs cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing them from the muffin cups.

Nutrition