Honey Vanilla Cottage Cheese Fruit Dip

$0.94 recipe / $0.24 serving

Budget Bytes » Recipes » Dips » Honey Vanilla Cottage Cheese Fruit Dip

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’ve fallen in love with a new budget ingredient: cottage cheese. A lot of people are turned off by the texture of cottage cheese, but when you whip it up in a blender it becomes as smooth and creamy as yogurt, and is just as versatile! I made a savory Garlic Herb Cottage Cheese Dip a couple months ago, so I thought I’d also make a sweet version for dipping fruit. This rich, tangy, and sweet Honey Vanilla Cottage Cheese Fruit Dip is a deliciously sensible option for dessert.

Cottage Cheese Fruit Dip with Honey and Vanilla

A hand dipping a slice of apple into the fruit dip on a tray of fruit

Why Cottage Cheese?

Cottage cheese provides a similar creamy-tangy flavor and high protein content as Greek yogurt, but at a fraction of the price. The 24oz. tub of cottage cheese that I bought was only $1.59, compared to about $3.99 for Greek yogurt. Once the cottage cheese is puréed in a blender, the texture is thick and smooth, and like Greek yogurt, the flavor is versatile enough to pair with both sweet and savory ingredients.

What Type of Cottage Cheese is Best?

The brand and type of cottage cheese matters here. For the creamiest dip, avoid low-fat cottage cheese. I used Aldi’s “full fat” cottage cheese, which is only 4% milk fat, or slightly more than whole milk, and the dip was deliciously rich and creamy. I also tested this recipe with Breakstone’s low-fat cottage cheese (2% milk fat) and the result was a little on the chalky side. So make sure you’re using a cottage cheese that you enjoy the flavor of plain, and then it will surely taste good in the dip.

How to Use the Fruit Dip

Besides the obvious use to dip your fresh cut fruit, you can also use this fruit dip for other things! You can add it to your fruit smoothie, just like you’d add yogurt, for a creamy shot of protein. You can use it to make a parfait with fresh fruit and granola, or you can make some “fruit nachos” with cinnamon pita chips, finely diced fresh fruit, and a drizzle of this fruit dip.

A fork dipping a piece of pineapple into the cottage cheese fruit dip, surrounded by fruit.

Honey Vanilla Cottage Cheese Fruit Dip

Cottage cheese is whipped up into a silky smooth texture, sweetened with honey, and flavored with vanilla in this deliciously sensible dessert fruit dip.

Total Cost: $0.94 recipe / $0.24 serving

Author: Beth – Budget Bytes

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 0 mins

Total Time: 5 mins

Servings: 4 about ¼ cup each

1 cup cottage cheese (4% fat) ($0.53)
2 Tbsp honey ($0.25)
½ tsp vanilla ($0.15)
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)* ($0.01)
1 Tbsp water ($0.00)

Add all the ingredients to a blender and purée until smooth.
Serve immediately with fresh cut fruit for dipping, or refrigerate until ready to eat.

*Lemon juice is optional. With lemon juice the dip has a slightly tangier flavor, like cheesecake.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Serving: 0.25cup ・ Calories: 76.2kcal ・ Carbohydrates: 11.33g ・ Protein: 5.5g ・ Fat: 1.2g ・ Sodium: 162.25mg ・ Fiber: 0.03g

Nutritional values are estimates only. See our full nutrition disclosure here.

The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products we use and love. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

A bowl of cottage cheese fruit dip in the middle of a fruit platter

How to Make Cottage Cheese Fruit Dip – Step by Step Photos

Cottage cheese, honey, vanilla, lemon juice, and water in the blender

Add 1 cup cottage cheese (4% fat), 2 Tbsp honey, ½ tsp vanilla, 1 tsp lemon juice, and 1 Tbsp water to a blender.

A spoon lifting the blended fruit dip from the blender

Purée the mixture until smooth and creamy. You may need to stop and stir a couple times to really get it going, but once it starts smoothing out, it should blend easily.

A piece of melon being dipped into the cottage cheese fruit dip with a fork