My easy cloud bread with cottage cheese has fluffy and airy texture. It is high in protein, low in carbs and perfect for keto sandwiches.
During my 10+ years on a low carb diet, I have made my fair share of cloud bread recipes. Today I decided to try something new: Instead of using the classic cloud bread ingredient cream cheese, I swapped it out with cottage cheese.
It worked a treat! My cottage cheese cloud bread has a super soft and light-as-a-cloud texture. Yet, it is sturdy enough for sandwiches.
I also added herbs and spices, which complement the slightly tangy flavor of the cottage cheese.
With only 0.3g net carbs and 42 calories per bread, this recipe is a deliciously fluffy alternative to regular, much denser keto bread. It is so light that it almost melts in your mouth!
Also try my cottage cheese bread, which is a sliceable sandwich bread.
Jump to:
What is Cloud Bread?
Cloud bread is a flour free, gluten-free, keto bread alternative. Its main ingredient is egg. It is currently trending on TikTok. However, it was already popular in the 70s during the heyday of the Atkins diet. Back then it was also called "oopsie bread" or "oopsie rolls". Think of it as the lovechild of a fluffy omelette and a slice of bread!
Ingredients
Let's talk ingredients. You'll find exact quantities in the recipe card at the bottom of the post, but I wanted to give you a bit of extra info right here:
- Cottage Cheese - I used low fat cottage cheese, because that's all I could find in my local store. It works fine. However, I think that a cottage cheese with 4% fat will taste richer. The most important thing is that the cottage cheese is not watery. DRAIN ALL LIQUID before you use it! You could use a sieve and let the cheese sit in it for 10-15 minutes.
- Eggs - Always choose large and very fresh eggs for cloud bread. The proteins in fresh egg white are stronger and produce sturdier air bubbles.
- Cream of Tartar - This gives the egg whites more stability. Or use baking powder.
- Olive Oil - A fruity extra virgin olive oil adds flavour.
- Seasoning - In my opinion, cloud bread needs seasoning, otherwise it is pretty bland. I used salt, garlic powder and Italian herbs.
Instructions
It is simple to make keto cloud bread with cottage cheese. Here are the basic steps.
Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed method with ingredient amounts, timings and nutrition information.
STEP 1
Separate the eggs. Whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar until very stiff. Take your time with this! We want sturdy, small air bubbles that don't pop and give the bread a fluffy texture.
STEP 2
Blend the cottage cheese with the egg yolks, olive oil and seasoning until smooth and creamy. This works best in a blender.
STEP 3
Carefully and gradually fold the egg whites into the cottage cheese mixture with a spatula. Use a folding motion to incorporate, without breaking down the air bubbles in the egg whites.
STEP 4
Spoon the cloud bread batter onto a parchment paper lined baking tray. Leave space around the heaps because the batter spreads a little.
STEP 5
Bake in the preheated oven until the bread is golden on top and has firmed up inside. Test for doneness by gently pressing the top of a bread. It should feel springy.
Let cool on a wire rack before removing the cloud breads from the parchment paper.
Katrin's Top Tips
#1 Very stiff egg whites. I get best results with a clean, dry bowl made from glass, metal or porcelain and an electric mixer as seen in the images. Make sure no egg yolk ends up in the whites. This prevents the whites from becoming stiff.
#2 Use a blender for the cottage cheese mixture. In my first test run I used an electric mixer, as seen in the images. It took a long time until the cottage cheese was fully incoporated and I needed to scrape the sides of the bowl several times. The second time, I used a blender. This worked MUCH better and quicker.
#3 Oil! Mist the parchment paper with cooking oil. This way, the cloud bread does not stick.
Variations
Make them smaller: During recipe testing, I made 9 small appetizer-sized cloud breads from a batch. These also fitted on one baking sheet. They were done a little quicker, after exactly 25 minutes in the oven.
Add more structure: For a more traditional bread texture, add 2-3 tablespoons of almond flour or a tablespoon of coconut flour. You could also try adding a tablespoon of whey protein powder for an extra protein boost.
Swap the cottage cheese: Instead of cottage cheese, use cream cheese, mascarpone or ricotta. In this case, the olive oil is not necessary as these alternatives contain a lot more fat.
Flavor tweaks: Use onion powder instead of garlic powder. Or, sprinkle the tops with sesame seeds or nigella seeds.
Serving Suggestion
Use cottage cheese cloud bread just like you would a sandwich! Take 2 breads and fill them with your favourite low carb fillings. Here are a few ideas:
- Ham and cheese, lettuce and tomatoes
- salmon, cream cheese, fresh dill
- keto egg salad, cucumber
- mozzarella, tomato, basil
- smashed avocado
- keto tuna salad
Meals: Serve the cottage cheese bread as a side to keto soups or use it to mop up the sauce of your favorite meals.
Cloud pizza: Simply top the bread with keto pizza sauce, shredded cheese and your preferred pizza toppings. Return back into the oven until the cheese has melted.
Recipe FAQs
The most common reason for flat cloud bread is underwhipped egg whites. This causes the air bubbles in the batter to burst as the bread bakes and the bread collapses. Use very fresh eggs and be sure to beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. The whites should not slide around when you tilt the bowl.
Yes. Simply omit the herbs and spices. Only add the olive oil, a pinch of salt and ½ teaspoon of powdered sweetener. Then, serve with whipped butter and sugar free jam or top with blended cottage cheese and sliced strawberries or raspberries.
No, that's is not possible with this recipe because the bread is too delicate. You would need to add a low carb flour or protein powder for sturdiness plus baking powder to ensure a good rise.
Storage
In my opinion, cottage cheese cloud bread tastes best on day one. Over time, it loses that tiny crunch the crust has when the bread is fresh out of the oven. That said, it is still perfectly fine to eat on day 2 or 3.
I store the bread in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months.
If you store cloud bread either in the fridge or in the freezer, place parchment paper in between each bread to prevent them from sticking together.
More Keto Bread Recipes
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Recipe
Cottage Cheese Cloud Bread
Ingredients
- 3 eggs large, very fresh, separated
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar or ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 3 oz cottage cheese ideally full fat (4%), 85g
- 1 teaspoon olive oil extra virgin
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon Italian herbs or herbs de Provence
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 Fahrenheit / 150 Celsius (electric). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease the parchment lightly with oil (don't miss this step!).
- Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites and the cream of tartar in a large, clean bowl with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Take your time and whip for at least 2 minutes to achieve small, sturdy air bubbles.
- Ideally using a blender, whip the egg yolks with the cottage cheese, olive oil and seasonings until COMPLETELY smooth and creamy.
- Carefully and gradually fold the egg whites into the cottage cheese mixture with a spatula. Use a folding motion to incorporate, taking care to keep the air bubbles intact.
- Scoop the mixture into 6 circular disks onto the parchment paper, leaving space around each round as the batter spreads a little during baking.
- Bake around 25-35 minutes until golden. Test for doneness by gently pressing onto the top of the bread. It should feel springy. (Oven time depends on how thick the breads are).
Nate T
Can you toast these like bread?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes you can, but it browns very quickly.
Kathleen
Can you use plain greek yogurt and drain it?
Katrin Nürnberger
I think that if you drained it overnight, it could work.
Christian
Will this work with ricotta rather than cottage cheese?
Katrin Nürnberger
I have not tried that yet, but it's quite similar so I think it's safe to give it a try.
Dawn
I made them exactly as you said and they were delicious! We ate three of them the first day and made a tuna sandwich on them today. One left! Will try your coconut flour version next. Thank you so much!
North
Perfect! I made these using Polish Twaróg for the cheese and oh my goodness they turned out perfectly. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I absolutely love it.
Cheryl
This recipe takes a little time but its worth it. Very tasty. They do deflate quite a bit once out of the oven so I use 2 for a sandwich. I would like to know which rack to bake on in the oven. I recommend.
Katrin Nürnberger
I always bake on a middle rack.
Sandra
Super easy and awesome recipe.
It’s something different, delicious and nutritious!
Thank you
Regina
Really fluffy! Key to add the flavoring.
Lee
Amazing! So easy and delicious. Thank you!
Mary
I made this according to the recipe and the batter was the consistency of water. So I added 3/4 cup almond flour and it turned out fine. Did I do something wrong?
Katrin Nürnberger
I'm happy that you managed to save it and glad the bread tasted good! The reason for a runny batter is because the egg whites were not stiff. It's essential to use very fresh eggs, and whip the egg whites as per instructions. Then, the batter turns out exacactly as in the images.