Cottage Cheese Ranch Dip

This easy cottage cheese ranch dip recipeis perfect for getting your protein in while snacking. It only uses 4 ingredients to make a tasty high protein low carb veggie dip. You can eat 2 tablespoons of this healthy dip and it has only 26 calories, 2.2g net carbs and 3.6g protein!

You might also like this low carb green olive & garlic veggie dip.

I love fresh veggies and dip. I’ve been known to eat them for lunch sometimes, especially if I’m on the go and don’t want to order fast food. And they always make for a healthy snack as well as an easy party appetizer.

Regardless for my reasons, I thought it would be nice to make a low carb, high protein veggie dip with cottage cheese for those days I don’t have time for a proper lunch. And as a healthier alternative to classic ranch dressing.

Creamy cottage cheese is packed with protein and when whipped it makes a perfect base for dip and it’s a good substitute for sour cream. So with a packet of ranch, fresh garlic and a squeeze of lemon juice I created this thick and delicious cottage cheese ranch dip. For just 2 tablespoons this dip is low calorie (26 calories), low fat (0.6 g), low carb (2.2 g) and high protein (3.6 g).

Carbs and calories in cottage cheese.

On average 100g of cottage cheese has 98 calories. However because I’m on a low carb diet, I check labels when I buy various grocery products as carbs and calories can differ from one brand to another.

I used to buy Daisy brand cottage cheese because it was the lowest in carb. However now I love Good Culture cottage which I can find at bigger grocery stores and Target. I had just 3g net carbs per ½ cup, is a creamy texture, simple ingredients and live and active cultures.

Here are the carbs and calories for a few different cottage cheese brands for you use using the USDA database. The following are for 100g:

• Good Culture – 73 calories / 2.73g carbs / 12.7g protein
• Daisy – 97 calories / 3.54g carbs / 11.5g protein
• Deans – 80 calories / 5.31g carbs / 10.6g protein
• Land O’Lakes – 97 calories / 4.42g carbs / 10.6g protein
• Breakstone – 77 calories / 4.47g carbs / 8.55g protein
• Friendly Farms (Aldi) – 97 calories / 3.54g carbs / 11.5g protein

Cottage cheese is a fairly healthy food to eat, not only for it’s high protein content but also because it’s fairly low in calories, and a good source of choline, calcium, phosphorus and selenium. (Learn more about the benefits of cottage cheese.)

Recipe ingredients and substitutions.

The simple ingredients I used were Good Culture cottage cheese, fresh garlic, ranch powder mix and both fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. No need for salt or black pepper because of all the spices like onion powder, garlic powder, etc in the ranch seasoning packet give it plenty of flavor.

Cottage Cheese
I really like Good Culture brand but you can see other brands above that are all perfectly good to make this protein dip. And it doesn’t matter if it’s low fat cottage cheese, 2%, 4% or whole milk. You can use whatever type of cottage cheese you want.

This is healthy substitute for that tangy flavor of sour cream that’s often use in traditional ranch dip to create a creamy base. And I like it better than Greek yogurt because it’s not quite as tangy as that.

Ranch Powder Mix
Note I am using the powder mix and not ranch salad dressing. Below you can see that I have a large container of dry ranch dressing mix that I use to make dressings, dips and to use a seasoning on other foods. I’ve also used Aldi brand packet of ranch seasoning mix and it tastes the same so you can use whatever brand you want.

Fresh Garlic and Fresh Lemon
I add these to fresh ingredients because it adds delicious flavor to the dip. The lemon zest especially gives it a bright flavor and fresh garlic is always a favorite for me. Even when I make regular ranch dip I add these two ingredients and people always tell me how much they like it.

You could use bottle lemon juice but the zest is really good so try to find a fresh lemon if you can.

How to make cottage cheese ranch dip.

Step 1: Add the whole container of cottage cheese, ranch mix and the juice of 1 lemon as well as the zest and 1 clove of garlic to a high speed blender.

Step 2: Blend away until the cottage cheese is nice and creamy and smooth in texture. You could probably use a food processor or immersion hand blender if you want but I love my Vitamix to get the creamiest texture without lumps.

Step 3: Before spooning into a container, taste the dip and see if you want to add anything else. Sometimes if I have some fresh herbs I might put them in too.

Step 4: Spoon into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to a week. This recipe makes about 2 cups or 32 tablespoons of dip. You can eat these with fresh vegetables, chips, crackers, or whatever you want.

I like to eat it with bell peppers, carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and sometimes cauliflower or broccoli florets. I’m not a big fan of baby carrots but kids usually love them with ranch dip.

Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.

Other spice blends to try with this cottage cheese dip.

Sometimes I use my sister’s Homemade Ranch Mix instead of store bought. Below are some other dry mixes you can use to make cottage cheese veggie dip.

I bought the Redhot and Ranch seasonings at Target to try out a buffalo ranch flavor. And the Green Goddess from Trader Joes. The Everything Bagel Seasoning is from Aldi.

I’m sure you can find these products at other places but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Two tips for those who like to eat veggies and dip.

TIP 1: I found these wonderful containers pictured below on Amazon. I specifically went searching for them because I dislike dirtying 2 dishes for veggies and dip and these are perfect. They would also be good for nachos and salsa or really any foods you need to dip into.

TIP 2: I learned from a Facebook group that you can keep veggies and fruit longer if you store them in mason jars in the refrigerator.

So if you chop up a bunch of veggies for dip try using a mason jar. It beats putting them in water and them being soggy or ziplock bags where they can dry out.

I know some people do not like cottage cheese but when you blend it, it just becomes a smooth and thick cream. A perfect base for a dip. 

 So if you are trying to get more natural protein in your diet, and don’t like the consistency or flavor of cottage cheese, try it in this easy veggie dip. You can use any herbs and spices you like. Just blend on high and you’ll have a thick, creamy, high protein dip to go with your favorite veggies.

And if you have kids that are ranch lovers this healthy ranch dip makes for great after school snacks or add to their lunch boxes.or try it as easy appetizer to take to parties or even game days.

The nutritional information for 2 tablespons is 26 calories / 0.6g fat / 2.2g carbs / 3.6g protein

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