These 4-Ingredient High-Protein Brownies Are “Impossibly Delicious” (I Could Eat One Every Night!)

In my book, no evening is complete without a sweet treat. (I just can’t end the night on savory.) Often a few squares of dark chocolate will do the trick, but sometimes I want a more satisfying baked good.

I’m also a vegetarian, and I’m always looking for solid protein sources (talk about getting enough protein seems to be everywhere at the moment!). So I’ve been experimenting more with adding protein to my desserts when I can.

A week ago I came across this recipe for four-ingredient high-protein brownies made with cottage cheese. I’ll be honest — I was pretty skeptical. For starters, I’m not the biggest fan of cottage cheese (it’s the texture), but I was willing to give the recipe a go to see if it would earn a spot in my dessert rotation. Here’s how it went. 

Get the recipe: 4-Ingredient Cottage Cheese Brownies

As the recipe states, all you need is four ingredients: cottage cheese, eggs, honey, and cocoa powder. The recipe stresses that you should use 4% or higher cottage cheese to ensure a high protein content. You can also swap the honey for coconut sugar, although the recipe says that you’ll get a less moist brownie. 

To make the brownies, simply blend the cottage cheese, eggs, and honey in a blender until there are no lumps. Then add the cocoa powder, and blend until smooth and the batter is consistent in color. Finally, pour into an 8×8 baking dish lined with parchment paper, and bake for 40 to 45 minutes in a 350°F oven. The brownies are ready when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean (some crumbs are OK). 

Unlike traditional brownies, you can’t enjoy these brownies warm and fresh out of the oven. The recipe calls for allowing the brownies to cool for several hours, or ideally overnight in the fridge, to let them fully set and the flavors to meld before cutting into them. 

As the brownies baked, a chocolaty aroma filled my apartment (a promising sign!). Visually, you can tell these aren’t your traditional brownies. They have a sheen to them and a more mousse-like texture that flakes off easily as you pick it up. As I mentioned before, I was apprehensive — but after one bite, I was pleasantly surprised. These are delicious! 

The brownie is fudgy, with a whipped, airy texture that’s similar to the center of a decadent chocolate truffle. But the flavor is really what’s most important. It is rich and chocolaty, and has just the right amount of sweetness. The depth of flavor is there. While I was making them, I was tempted to put some vanilla extract and salt in the recipe, thinking the four ingredients alone would be bland, but it wasn’t at all! The recipe noted that there is a slight tangy flavor due to the cottage cheese, but I didn’t really pick up on that either. It easily satisfies my craving and still feels decadent.

My only complaint would be that when it comes to brownies, I’m a corner person (I can’t get enough of those chewy edges!). This recipe doesn’t have that. But what it lacks in chewy edges, it makes up for in flavor — not to mention protein. You can’t beat that. Plus, they were super easy to make. I’ll definitely be baking another batch, and am curious what other cottage cheese recipes I can try next. 

• Add espresso powder: Whenever I make anything with chocolate such as mousse, brownies, or cake, I always add a tiny bit of espresso powder to bring out the chocolate flavor even more. A touch here could add even more depth of flavor. 
• Top with chocolate frosting: There’s an optional chocolate frosting in the recipe if you want even more chocolaty goodness. 
• Serve with whipped cream and berries: Because these brownies are more mousse-like, I think they’d be delicious served with a dollop of whipped cream and some fresh raspberries.