Coming up with an appropriately descriptive name for a recipe can be tricky at times. There are so many options for this tasty breakfast treat. Triple Berry Breakfast Bake? Triple Berry Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bake? But of course it’s keto-friendly so I want to call that out too. Decisions, decisions.
No matter what, it’s a wonderful high protein low carb breakfast recipe. And it’s easy to make ahead, so you can streamline your healthy morning routine!
To be frank, I could also call it a keto baked pancake or a Dutch Baby. It has a similar texture, and it rises and then falls to become dense and somewhat custardy. Topped with some powdered sweetener or keto maple syrup, it tastes very pancake-esque.
With 18 grams of protein and only 5 grams net carbs, it’s a delicious reason to get out of bed in the morning.
Why I Love This Recipe
- So simple: Blend the ingredients together, scatter the top with fresh berries, and bake. That’s all there is to it!
- Wonderful texture: Similar to a Dutch pancake, this breakfast bake rises and then falls to become more dense and a little like custard or cheesecake.
- Customizable: Feel free to add your favorite berries, or swap in some chocolate chips.
- Nutritious and satisfying: It’s low in carbs, has plenty of protein, and keeps you satisfied.
- Meal prep friendly: This breakfast bake keeps well in the fridge, or even the freezer. So you can bake once and enjoy all week!
Ingredient Notes
- Cottage cheese: You can use whole or part skim cottage cheese for this recipe.
- Almond flour: You can try sunflower seed flour for nut free, but it will change the appearance. You will also need to add a tablespoon of lemon juice to avoid the green reaction.
- Protein powder: I recommend whey protein for this recipe, as egg white protein will make it very rubbery. Plant based protein may also work but I don’t recommend collagen or beef protein.
- Sweetener: You can use erythritol, allulose, or a mix. Please see the Sweetener Options for a more detailed discussion.
- Berries: I used a combination of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. You could do all of one berry, or even swap them for keto chocolate chips.
- Lemon zest: Some freshly grated lemon zest adds a nice flavor to offset the berries.
- Kitchen staples: Eggs, baking powder, vanilla extract, and salt.
How to Make Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bake
- Prepare the batter: In a blender, combine the cottage cheese, eggs, almond flour, protein powder, sweetener, lemon zest, baking powder, vanilla extract, and salt. Blend until smooth.
- Assemble: Pour the batter into the baking dish and distribute the berries overtop.
- Bake: Bake until the edges are set and the top is just barely firm to the touch. Don’t over-bake!
- Garnish: Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting into slices. Sprinkle with powdered sweetener or drizzle with keto maple syrup and serve.
Carolyn’s Best Baking Tips
It is important to use a glass or ceramic baking dish for this recipe. It does not have to be 8×8 inch square, as any dish that holds about 1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) will work. But the breakfast bake may take longer if your dish is narrower and deeper than mine.
Do not over-bake this recipe or it will be very dry. Keep your eye on it in the oven. When the sides are set and the top has risen nicely, it’s done. Remove the breakfast bake and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes. The top will fall as it cools, creating a dense but slightly custardy texture.
If you wish to skip the protein powder, use another 1/4 cup almond flour. The recipe won’t be as high in protein (obviously!) but should be quite tasty!
Sweetener Options
You can use a variety of different sweeteners for this recipe but do not that allulose will make the edges and bottom (the parts that sit against the pan) darken considerably. I used a combination of erythritol and allulose. You can see from my photos that the bottom of the breakfast bake is quite dark.
It tastes just fine, but it is noticeable in appearance. I believe that using allulose alone will make it even more pronounced.
More Tasty Cottage Cheese Recipes
Keto Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (315 g) cottage cheese
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup (84 g) almond flour
- 1/3 cup (36 g) unflavored whey protein powder
- 3 tbsp (30.43 g) sweetener
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup (37 g) blueberries
- 1/4 cup (30 g) raspberries
- 1/4 cup (36 g) chopped strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Lightly grease an 8×8 inch ceramic baking dish (or any glass or ceramic baking dish that holds 1 1/2 quarts).
- In a blender, combine the cottage cheese, eggs, almond flour, protein powder, sweetener, lemon zest, baking powder, vanilla extract, and salt. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Scatter the berries over the top.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges are set and the top is just barely firm to the touch. Remove and let cool 10 minutes before serving.
- Sprinkle with powdered sweetener or drizzle with keto maple syrup if desired.
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Cottage cheese is a healthy, nutrient-dense ingredient for low carb and keto recipes. It has plenty of high quality protein and calcium, as well as other important nutrients. However, it also has a high sodium content, so may not be appropriate for individuals who need to limit salt and sodium.
I haven’t tried this recipe with coconut flour, but you could potentially use about 1/4 or 1/3 cup to replace the almond flour. I do caution that it may give the breakfast bake a more rubbery texture.
This easy breakfast bake recipe has 7.2g of carbs and 2.1g of fiber per serving. That comes to 5.1g net carbs per serving.
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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So easy to make and so delicious. I’ve been eating as a dessert with some zero sugar cool whip and it’s just sweet enough.
Great idea!
My cottage cheese has 410 mg sodium per half cup. So that would be 1230 mg for the cottage cheese but since the recipe has 6 servings it would be 205 mg per serving making it less than eating a half cup of cottage cheese for breakfast. Just thought I’d throw that out there in case anyone was not going to try the recipe because of the sodium comment.
I really liked this!
Just made this, with all monk fruit granular, delicious recipe! ( I didn’t have any alluose.) The texture was lovely, custard like in the center and cake like towards the edges. Highly recommend making this pancake soon!
Thanks so much!
Carolyn, I made these as muffins, and they were delicious! Perfect for a healthy breakfast! Thank you!
Great idea!
Do you think the recipe would work with frozen berries as well? Maybe I will need to bake some minutes longer?
Please read the other comments, I have had that question and answered it a few times. 🙂
After baking this for over 40 minutes its still a goopy mess!! The 8×8 pan makes the mixed thicker than the picture shows.
Sorry, that is simply not true. I made the recipe in an 8×8 pan, exactly as written. So I think you must have mis-measured something if it was thicker than that and didn’t cook through.
This is EXCELLENT! I really doubt every recipe I come across that claims to be Keto and/or Low Carbs, but I tried this one this morning and the texture is like a soft, moist muffin. I didn’t have fruit in the house so used 1/2c of raspberry spread in the batter. It needed another 20 minutes. But it was awesome with syrup on top, or PBnJ. Thanks! I’ll be checking out other recipes of yours with the success of this one! Sincerely, DR
Great to hear!
I don’t have whey but I have unflavored Eqip Prime protein. Do you think it would work?
You can try it… but it may make very soft and take longer to cook through.
Yumm, high protein and healthy
Hi
Could you add Chia seeds to keto cottage cheese breakfast bake & if so should you soak them first a little before adding?
Here’s
Janette
I’m honestly not sure. I haven’t tried. I think you will need to experiment.
This is so similar to a clafoutis. I love the texture. I mixed this recipe slightly by using a strawberry 🍓 whey protein powder and reduced the sweetener by 1 tbsp and used all strawberries since that is what I had on hand. I also added 1 1/2 Tbsp of poppy seeds for a strawberry lemonade poppyseed version. It looks delicious!
Sounds fabulous!
What is the best protein powder to use for this and other recipes that calls for protein powder?
Depends on the recipe but I prefer whey protein.
This looks wonderful, can’t wait to try it. Could I use frozen berries instead of fresh? Thanks!
Yes but they bleed a lot more and release a lot of extra moisture. So you may need to bake it longer.
I wanted to know if I could make this in my air fryer instead of my oven. the temperatures are on the rise here and I really don’t think I’d like to turn on my oven for, anything actually, LOL!
Sorry, I haven’t tried.
Marsha, did you try it in the air fryer?
I would love to try this recipe. I was wondering if frozen berries would work.
Yes but they bleed a lot more and release a lot of extra moisture. So you may need to bake it longer.