100 Calorie Berry Lemon Breakfast Bars

Name: Cottage Cheese Bars
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 1 Egg (room temperature); 1 cup Low Fat Cottage Cheese (room temperature); 1 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk (or milk of choice); 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice; 1 ½ cups Rolled Oats (or gluten free rolled oats); ⅓ cup Maple Syrup (or sugar of choice); 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract; 1 tablespoon Chia Seeds; ½ cup Raspberries; ⅔ cup Blackberries

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If you’re looking for a low-calorie, gluten-free snack with protein, these Cottage Cheese Bars are it! They are made with cottage cheese, chia seeds, oats, and fresh berries for a healthy on-the-go breakfast option or snack.

Unlike other breakfast protein bars, these are made without protein powder. All of the protein comes from the cottage cheese, chia seeds, egg, and rolled oats. They’re lightly sweetened with maple syrup and fresh berries.

Even if you don’t love cottage cheese, once you blend it into your batter, you won’t even be able to taste it! You can make these bars as part of your weekly meal prep for a nutritious and filling meal to fuel your day.

If you like cottage cheese breakfast recipes, you will love my Cottage Cheese Pancakes and Cottage Cheese Overnight Oats!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

High Protein: These breakfast bars use rolled oats, cottage cheese, and chia seeds and are a good source of protein, which adds up to 6 grams of protein per bar.
You Can’t Taste the Cottage Cheese: The flavor of cottage cheese can be a little polarizing, but even if you aren’t a fan, you’ll still love these breakfast bars. Blending the cottage cheese smooth with oats, maple syrup, lemon, and vanilla completely masks the flavor. You absolutely won’t even know it’s there.
Perfect for Breakfast, Not Dessert: While this recipe does have some sweetness from the maple syrup, it is not a dessert. These bars are meant for breakfast! Two of these bars contain enough protein for your meal.

Ingredients

Cottage Cheese: Use a low-fat cottage cheese to pack in the protein without all the extra calories.
Rolled Oats: Rolled oats have a great texture for baked goods, even after they’re blended. Just be sure to use gluten-free rolled oats if you want to keep this recipe gluten-free.
Maple Syrup: Naturally sweeten these breakfast bars with pure maple syrup. You could also use honey or a sugar-free alternative.
Chia Seeds: Not only are chia seeds a great source of protein and fiber, but they also act as a binder for these bars. They will soak up the moisture and help them hold their shape after baking. You could also use flaxseed if you needed to.
Berries: Use fresh or frozen blackberries and raspberries to add sweetness and additional flavor to your bars. Ripe berries taste best and provide more sweetness, so if you can’t find ripe fresh berries, I recommend using frozen since they’re frozen at the height of ripeness. There’s no need to thaw frozen berries either!

See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.

Variations & Dietary Modifications

Try Them with Other Fruit: Switch up this recipe depending on what berries and fruits are in season! Try them with strawberries, blueberries, or even cherries to switch up the flavor.
Add Chopped Nuts or Chocolate: Add chopped walnuts, macadamia nuts, sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds or chocolate chips to your breakfast bars without protein powder.
Add Some Spices: Get an extra burst of flavor in your breakfast bars by adding a little bit of cinnamon or a pinch of nutmeg to the batter.
Sweeter Flavor: These cottage cheese bars get their sweetness from the berries, cinnamon, and the small amount of maple syrup added. For me, the sweetness is perfect, but if you prefer a sweeter flavor, you can adjust the batter to the level of sweetness you prefer.
Make Them Gluten Free: Swap regular rolled oats for gluten-free rolled oats to make this recipe gluten-free.

These cottage cheese bars are meant to be eaten for breakfast. If you want a high-protein dessert, try these protein-packed mini cheesecakes.

How to Make Cottage Cheese Bars

These healthy breakfast bars with cottage cheese are an excellent source of protein to fuel your mornings. All you need to make them is a food processor, a mixing bowl, an 8×8 baking dish lined with parchment paper, and an oven preheated to 375°F.

All the ingredients in a food processor.

Step 1: Blend the Ingredients. Place all the ingredients, except the berries, into a food processor or a blender. Blend them until they make a smooth batter.

Step 2: Add the Batter to a Baking Pan. Transfer the batter to a large mixing bowl and stir in the raspberries and blackberries. Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan and spread it into an even layer.

Step 3: Bake and Slice. Bake your cottage cheese protein bars uncovered at 375°F for 35-40 minutes or until they turn slightly brown and firm. Remove the bars from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then slice them into 9 bars. Enjoy on their own or pair them with a bowl of chocolate chia pudding for breakfast.

Expert Tips

Don’t Overbake the Bars: Baking these bars for too long will completely dry them out. They will crumble and not taste great. Stop baking them as soon as they turn golden brown on top.
A High Speed Blender is Best: You can absolutely use a food processor to blend the ingredients together; however, I recommend using a high-speed blender for a smoother consistency.
Taste for Sweetness Before Baking: Taste your batter before baking it to be sure it is sweet enough and has the flavors you like. Once you bake it, you can’t change it, so taste before you bake!
Storing Your Bars: Keep your leftover bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. You can also freeze the bars, individually wrapped, for up to 2 months. It’s best to enjoy them cold because reheating will melt them.

A hand picking up some cottage cheese bars off of a plate.

Serving Suggestions

If you love cottage cheese recipes, you’ll love these high-protein breakfast bars. They are mildly sweet, full of protein and fiber, and less than 100 calories each, what’s not to love?! Make a batch to enjoy for breakfast for the week so you can grab a nutritious breakfast on your way out the door each morning.

While you’re meal prepping breakfast, make some delicious avocado egg muffins as well. Three egg muffins and one cottage cheese bar make for a protein-packed meal on-the-go.
If you’re looking to add more protein to breakfast, pair your breakfast bars with a mocha coffee protein shake. You can’t go wrong with coffee and protein for breakfast.

Cottage Cheese Bars Recipe FAQs

Can I use quick oats instead of rolled oats to make cottage cheese bars?

No, with this recipe, be sure to use rolled oats. When baked, quick oats and rolled oats have very different textures. Rolled oats hold their shape and provide a chewier texture, while quick oats are thinner and don’t absorb much moisture. If you use quick oats, these bars may not bake up the same.

Why did my cottage cheese bars fall apart?

Your cottage cheese bars fell apart because the batter wasn’t fully smooth or the bars didn’t have enough time to set after baking. If the cottage cheese isn’t blended completely, the mixture won’t bind properly, and cutting them too soon while they’re still warm can cause them to crumble. To fix this, blend the batter until it’s completely smooth before baking, and let the bars cool for at least 10 minutes (longer if needed) so they can firm up and slice cleanly.

Can I use Greek yogurt as a substitute when making cottage cheese bars?

No, this recipe was developed using cottage cheese and hasn’t been tested with Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt contains more moisture than cottage cheese and likely will lead to a slightly raw or unbaked texture to your bars. If you want to bake with yogurt, try these healthy apple muffins with Greek yogurt instead.