4-Ingredient Cottage Cheese Banana Pudding Is A Deliciously Easy Way To Increase Your Protein

There are plenty of great sources of protein out there, from your favorite meat or seafood dish to a morning plate of scrambled eggs. But one of the most unexpected and delicious ways to increase your protein is to whip up this easy, four-ingredient cottage cheese banana pudding.

It tastes extremely similar to regular no-bake banana pudding — creamy, sweet, and banana-y — but with an extra dose of protein, thanks to the cottage cheese. It's the perfect way to get in some extra protein while still enjoying dessert after dinner or whenever you're craving a sweet treat. One cup of cottage cheese has a whopping 28 grams of protein – which is more than a 3-ounce serving of lean beef (24.6 grams) or a scoop of whey protein powder (16.6 grams).

To make two servings of this protein-packed banana pudding, here's what you need: 1 cup of cottage cheese, 1 ripe banana, ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 1-2 tablespoons of maple syrup (depending on your sweetness preference). In other words, one serving of this tasty treat contains 14 grams of protein, which can make a difference if you're trying to eat more on a daily basis — especially if you've noticed any subtle signs that you need to eat more protein, such as getting intense food cravings or having trouble sleeping.

Making this cottage cheese banana pudding couldn't be easier: Simply blend the cottage cheese, banana, vanilla extract, and maple syrup together until smooth. Then, all that's left to do is assemble. Traditionally, banana pudding includes layers of wafer cookies in between the layers of pudding and banana slices, and it's topped with a nice helping of whipped cream. You can definitely choose to still add those ingredients here to make this version similar to the original — after all, the dish will still be full of all that protein, even if you add cookies and cream. However, you may be looking to make the sweet treat as healthy as possible and it'll still be delicious if you skip those. 

In that case, you can swap out the cookies for something like granola. A layer or two of granola — you can assemble as many layers as you want — will provide that satisfying crunch that the cookies are there for, while also providing a little bit of extra sweetness. If you take this route, just make sure to differentiate between the healthiest and unhealthiest store-bought granola brands. You can even add some chopped nuts to up the nutritional value and texture.

To make this dish even lighter option, you can even use low fat cottage cheese instead of the regular version, which will yield the same results. Further, low fat cottage cheese has the same amount of protein as its full fat counterpart, so you won't be giving up any extra protein if you choose the lighter option.