Cottage Cheese Egg Salad

5 from 2 votes

This recipe for Cottage Cheese Egg Salad is light and creamy with extra protein from the cottage cheese. It's a lighter option than using mayonnaise and an easy lunch or meal prep option to make for the week.

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Cottage cheese egg salad in a bowl with a serving spoon dipped in, halved boiled egg and cottage cheese nearby.
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My Cottage Cheese Egg Salad is So Good!

I know some people who are so-so about egg salad and cottage cheese in general. I’m not one of them! I love finding fun ways to get creative with both, and that’s how this cottage cheese egg salad came to be.

I mean, I’ve made egg salad lighter by creating Greek yogurt egg salad and Avocado egg salad versions and I’ve done so much with cottage cheese recipes this year and now it’s time for this Cottage Cheese Egg Salad!

Even if you’re not usually a fan of cottage cheese, its texture works so well in egg salad and it adds a ton of creaminess. This high-protein version of egg salad takes hard-boiled eggs and mashes them with cottage cheese and simple seasonings (including lemon and Dijon mustard) to make a delicious mashup I’d happily eat by the spoonful or any day for lunch.

Ingredients to Make Cottage Cheese Egg Salad

Ingredients for recipe: cottage cheese, eggs, dijon mustard, celery, seasonings, and lemon.
  • Eggs: I give instructions on how to hard-boil eggs on the stovetop in the recipe, but you can use another method (one of my favorites is the air fryer)!
  • Celery: This adds crunch to each bite. Make sure to finely dice it, so it’s easiest to eat.
  • Cottage cheese: It wouldn’t be cottage cheese egg salad without this. I like to use full-fat cottage cheese for the best flavor.
  • Lemon: For maximum citrus flavor, you’ll use the zest and juice of the lemon. Definitely zest the lemon before you juice it.
  • Dijon mustard: This is a very zingy mustard! Its tanginess cuts through the egg salad.
  • Dill powder, salt, and pepper: These are my simple seasonings of choice. Dill powder is just dried dill!
  • Use fresh herbs. Instead of (or in addition to!) the dill powder, add chopped, fresh dill, parsley, or cilantro.
  • Add scallions. I love green onions in egg salad. They are oniony, but still taste mild. Thinly slice them before adding to the cottage cheese egg salad!
  • Switch up the spices. You could try cumin, coriander, paprika, or curry powder.
  • Add in pickles. Like mustard and lemon, the tang and acidity of pickles work super well in egg salad! Finely chop the pickles (or cornichons, which are like fancy, small pickles!) before adding them.

How to Make Cottage Cheese Egg Salad

Mash, stir, scoop, and serve: That’s all this egg and cottage cheese salad really requires.

Cottage cheese, lemon zest and juice, Dijon mustard, dill, salt and pepper in a bowl before combining.
Step 1: To make the dressing, combine the cottage cheese, lemon zest and juice, Dijon mustard, dill, salt, and pepper. Whisk to combine.
After whisking together with hard boiled eggs and celery on top.
Step 2: Add the hard-boiled eggs and celery on top of the dressing.
Fork starting to mash the dressing, eggs and dressing together.
Step 3: Use a fork to mash the eggs.
Egg salad mixture after mixing.
Step 4: Continue mashing until it’s well-combined and creamy.

Tips for Making Egg Salad with Cottage Cheese

  1. Use a grater to make the salad. You can use Microplane ribbon grater to grate the hard-boiled eggs (in addition to the celery and lemon!), which means no knife or cutting board needed. Everything just goes straight into the bowl like I did in this video.
  2. Blend the dressing. If you are worried about the texture of cottage cheese in this recipe or have some picky eaters, try blending the cottage cheese with the lemon zest, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, dill powder, salt and pepper to create a smooth dressing. Then you can toss that with the eggs and celery.
  3. Use an ice bath after boiling the eggs. This will help loosen the shells and make the eggs so much easier to peel. You can find more hard-boiled egg tips here.
  4. Try a whisk or masher. Instead of using a fork to mash the eggs, use a balloon whisk or potato masher! They’ll get the job done even faster.
Egg salad in a bowl on top of fresh greens with a fork dipped in, with toast and cottage cheese nearby.

How to Serve Egg Salad

  • Sandwich. Cottage cheese egg salad sandwich? Yes, please! This egg salad is delicious sandwiched between toasted bread with some greens.
  • Lettuce cups. Scoop the egg salad into lettuce cups for a light lunch.
  • Open on toasted bread. Sometimes I love open-faced sandwiches because you can really load up on the toppings.
  • As a salad. Add the egg salad to a bed of greens.
  • With sides: Red Cabbage Slaw, Air Fryer Potatoes, Baked Sweet Potato Chips

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I store cottage cheese egg salad?

In an airtight container in the fridge, this egg salad will last for up to 5 days. Enjoy it cold—no need to reheat.

Can you use already hard-boiled eggs in this recipe?

Absolutely! This recipe works great with any hard-boiled eggs—even ones cooked a couple of days prior.

Is there anything I can use besides cottage cheese?

I really do think you should try this recipe with cottage cheese, but you could swap in greek yogurt.

Cottage cheese egg salad on top of slice of bread (open faced sandwich) with mixed greens underneath the egg salad.

More Cottage Cheese Recipes:

If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Cottage Cheese Egg Salad recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!

Cottage Cheese Egg Salad

This recipe for Cottage Cheese Egg Salad is light and creamy with extra protein from the cottage cheese. It's a lighter option than using mayonnaise and an easy lunch or meal prep option to make for the week.
5 from 2 votes
Servings 4 servings
Course Salad
Calories 131
Prep Time 8 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 23 minutes
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Video

Ingredients
  

  • 6 eggs
  • 3 celery stalks finely chopped
  • ½ cup cottage cheese
  • 1 lemon zest and juice
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • ½ teaspoon dill powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  • Place cold eggs into boiling hot water. Boil on medium for 12 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs from the boiling water. Place in an ice bath, then remove and peel the eggs.
  • To make the dressing, combine the cottage cheese, lemon zest and juice, Dijon mustard, dill, salt, and pepper. Whisk to combine.
  • Add the hard boiled eggs and celery on top of the dressing and use a fork to mash until it’s well-combined and creamy.
  • Serve on its own or with crackers, bread, or mixed greens, if desired.

Equipment

Notes

Storage: In an airtight container in the fridge, this egg salad will last for up to 5 days. Enjoy it cold—no need to reheat.

Nutrition

Calories: 131kcal, Carbohydrates: 4g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.03g, Cholesterol: 250mg, Sodium: 352mg, Potassium: 173mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 422IU, Vitamin C: 14mg, Calcium: 71mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.

Cuisine American
Course: Salad
5 from 2 votes

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Comments

  1. Marcy Tyler says:

    Great recipe! Love the crunchy celery with the creaminess of the egg and cottage cheese. Lemon and Dijon add a nice tang! Super yummy 😋

    1. Yumna J. says:

      Aww, so happy you liked it! Thank you, Marcy!!

  2. DBM says:

    This is genius! Love the idea of added protein, but not (at all) a fan of celery… can you suggest an alternative?

    1. Yumna J. says:

      You can use any crunchy vegetable. I would probably use cucumber or carrot but bell pepper might be good as well!

  3. Amy says:

    Does using cottage cheese make in diabetic friendly?

    1. Yumna J. says:

      Hi Amy, I’m not sure. I recommend you speak to your healthcare provider!

  4. Kellie says:

    Looks delicious! I can’t wait to try it with my bread loaded with seeds and textures!

    1. Yumna J. says:

      Yum, sounds like a great combo! Enjoy!!

  5. Leslie says:

    This looks delicious! Are you recommending large or small curd cottage cheese?

    1. Yumna J. says:

      I recommend small curd if you want it to blend together well and large curd if you like your egg salad to have lots of texture.

  6. Sarah says:

    What is The measurement or ounces per serving size.

    1. Yumna J. says:

      It should be approximately 1 cup (8 ounces) per serving.

  7. Tammy Zaruba says:

    Try this

    1. Yumna J. says:

      Thanks for the support, Tammy!