Cottage cheese is having a moment, and grocery shelves are feeling it.
The often-overlooked soft cheese has had a major comeback. On TikTok, home cooks chasing what some call “protein-maxing” are blending cottage cheese into ice cream, smoothies, flatbreads, bagels and pasta sauces. Its appeal is easy to see: the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health says a half-cup of 4 percent full-fat cottage cheese has about 120 calories and 14 grams of protein.
As demand outpaces supply, some shoppers are finding empty spaces where their favorite tubs used to be.
Cottage cheese sales grew to more than $2 billion in 2025, an 82 percent increase from the end of 2022, according to Circana data cited by The New York Times . The paper also reported that the average American ate about five pounds of cottage cheese a year when sales peaked in the 1970s, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, before dairy manufacturers shifted more production capacity toward yogurt.
What should shoppers buy if the cottage cheese shelf is bare?
Greek yogurt may be the closest dairy swap. A Johns Hopkins clinical nutrition handout lists 5 ounces of plain nonfat Greek yogurt at about 12 to 18 grams of protein, compared with about 14 grams for a half cup of cottage cheese or part-skim ricotta.
High-protein ultra-filtered milk has about 13 grams per 8-ounce serving, while skim or 1 percent milk has about 8 grams.
Ricotta is another easy substitute, especially in toast, pasta, dips or blended recipes. Johns Hopkins groups part-skim ricotta with cottage cheese at about 14 grams of protein per half cup.
A few high-protein, nondairy options include dry beans, peas and lentils, says Kate Yerxa, a registered dietitian and statewide coordinator for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program at University of Maine Cooperative Extension. And Julia Zumpano, a registered dietitian at Cleveland Clinic, says eggs, tuna and tofu can also work as protein swaps, depending on the meal.
Zumpano’s broader advice: Do not chase one viral food.
“[You] should focus on whole food sources of protein: lean meats, fish, eggs/egg whites, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, beans and lentils, [and] nuts and seeds. Choose protein-rich foods you enjoy and incorporate them daily. Vary your sources of protein, avoid processed meats and processed high-protein foods,” Zumpano tells AARP.