These Savory Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bowls that pair cottage cheese with hard-boiled eggs and a fresh chopped vegetable salad are quick, easy, high in protein, and so good that you'll make them again and again!
Michelle's Recipe Rundown
Whether you're looking to eat more protein, incorporate veggies into your breakfast or just want change things up from the same-old, same-old and have an absolutely delicious meal, these savory cottage cheese bowls are a must-try!
Not only do you get 25 grams of protein in each bowl from the cottage cheese and hard-boiled eggs, but adding fresh vegetables to your first meal of the day is always a win. Here I've got cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, red bell peppers and onions in a simple homemade vinaigrette.
Taste Test: The cottage cheese is cool and creamy, while the Mediterranean-inspired vegetable salad is fresh, crunchy and tangy. The hard-boiled eggs are firm yet tender and mildly savory, and a sprinkle of herby fresh basil is the perfect finishing touch. It's a winning combination of flavors and textures!
Ready in about 15 minutes if you already have hard-boiled eggs on hand (about 30 if you don't), this healthy and satisfying cold breakfast makes me feel like I'm doing something good for my body and starting my day off right. But these don't have to be just for breakfast. I also frequently enjoy them for lunch or a light supper.
I make these breakfast bowls at least once a week because they're that good...and we're kind of obsessed. So give them a try, and I bet you will be too!
Jump to:
Ingredients & Notes
This photo shows all of the ingredients you'll need to make these cottage cheese bowls; amounts are in the recipe card below. I've also included a few notes below for some of the ingredients on making the best selections, preparation and simple substitutions.
- Cherry Tomatoes - Halved. Grape tomatoes also work.
- Cucumber - Sliced. Persian/mini or English cucumbers are my top choice since they have less seeds and thinner skin that you don't need to peel (but you can if you want, or you can partially peel them like I did here).
- Bell Pepper - Chopped. Any color will do: red, yellow, orange, green, or even purple.
- Onion - Chopped. I love a sweet onion, such as Vidalia; yellow, white, red or green onions will all work.
- Cottage Cheese - I go for the classic with 4% milkfat for the extra creaminess; you can use low-fat if you prefer.
- Hard-Boiled Eggs - I make and recommend either my Steamed Hard-Boiled Eggs or Instant Pot Hard-Boiled Eggs (both are easy to peel); feel free to use your favorite method. I like to have these made ahead so that the bowls are quick to prepare in the morning. For a simple shortcut, you can use store-bought hard-boiled eggs.
How to Make Savory Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bowls
This is a brief overview of the steps with photos for visual guidance. The full printable recipe with ingredient amounts and detailed instructions is in the recipe card below.
Whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl.
Add the tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, and onions; toss to combine.
For each serving, place half of the cottage cheese, half of the hard-boiled eggs and half of the vegetable salad in a shallow bowl.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper and chopped fresh basil. Serve immediately.
Recipe Tips
- It's best to make the chopped vegetable salad right before serving rather than making it ahead. This ensures that it's at its freshest, crunchiest best. If you make it in advance, the veggies will start to release liquid and soften over time.
- If you don't mind that, you can make the salad a few hours ahead or the night before and store it in the fridge in its own container. When you assemble the bowls (always assemble right before serving), use a slotted spoon to add the salad so you don't pick up too much of the liquid.
- If you don't mind that, you can make the salad a few hours ahead or the night before and store it in the fridge in its own container. When you assemble the bowls (always assemble right before serving), use a slotted spoon to add the salad so you don't pick up too much of the liquid.
- Cooking the hard-boiled eggs ahead of time makes these bowls quick and easy to assemble when you're ready to eat.
- But if you need to make some on the spot, it still only takes about 30 minutes to make this recipe using my recommended Steamed Hard-Boiled Eggs because you can prepare the salad while the eggs cook and cool.
Serving Suggestion
These bowls are great on their own, but I love to serve them with a thick slice of toasted ciabatta bread that's been lightly rubbed with a fresh clove of garlic, drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil, and sprinkled with a little coarse salt. It's the perfect complement. I highly recommend it!
I hope you try this Savory Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bowl recipe and love it as much as I do. Thanks for visiting today!
Love cottage cheese?
Also try my Breakfast Cottage Cheese Toast With Egg.
More Easy Breakfast Recipes With Eggs to Try
If you make this recipe, I'd love to know how it went. Please leave a star rating and comment below. Thanks!
📋Recipe
Savory Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bowls
Ingredients
For the Chopped Vegetable Salad
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
- ½ cup halved cherry tomatoes, or grape tomatoes
- ½ cup sliced English cucumber, about ½-inch thick (I partially peel my cucumber and cut it into half-moons); or Persian/mini cucumber
- ½ cup chopped red bell peppers, ½-inch pieces; or any color
- ¼ cup chopped sweet onions, ½-inch pieces; or yellow, white, red or green onions
Remaining Ingredients
- 1 cup cottage cheese, divided; I use classic 4% milkfat cottage cheese for extra creaminess; you can use low-fat
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and halved; I use and recommend my Easy Steamed Hard-Boiled Eggs
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, divided, or to taste
Instructions
Make the Chopped Vegetable Salad
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, salt, and pepper until well combined.
- Add the tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, and onions to the bowl. Toss until well combined and the vegetables are coated with the vinaigrette. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed.
Assemble the Bowls
- For each serving, place half of the vegetable salad, half of the cottage cheese and half of the hard-boiled eggs in a shallow bowl.
- Sprinkle the cottage cheese and eggs with salt and pepper to taste, then sprinkle each bowl with half of the chopped fresh basil.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- It's best to make the chopped vegetable salad right before serving rather than making it ahead. This ensures that it's at its freshest, crunchiest best. If you make it in advance, the veggies will start to release liquid and soften over time.
- If you don't mind that, you can make the salad a few hours ahead or the night before and store it in the refrigerator. When you assemble the bowls (always assemble right before serving), use a slotted spoon to add the salad so you don't pick up too much of the liquid.
- The prep and total time shown above assumes that you already have hard-boiled eggs on hand.
- If you don't and need to make some on the spot, the total time for the recipe will be more, depending on the method you use. Using my recommended Steamed Hard-Boiled Eggs, it will be about 30 minutes. Get the eggs going first, then make the vegetable salad while they cook and cool.
Leave A Comment