This recipe literally came to me in a dream - use cottage cheese instead of mascarpone in my beloved tiramisu recipe, and boy was my subconscious onto something! This high-protein dessert takes just 20 minutes to put together (the fridge does the rest), uses a handful of whole food ingredients, and comes in at 332 calories and 10g of protein per slice - nearly double the protein-to-calorie ratio of traditional tiramisu, no protein powder needed.

Traditional tiramisu can have anywhere from 400-700 calories and 4-8g of protein. So with this version you're getting more protein from fewer calories, and every bit of it comes from real food. That's the whole goal around here.

And that's exactly how I want my recipes, tasting just as good as the original, but with more protein per calorie, so you won't crash from the sugar rush. So let's get to making this high protein dessert so your holiday table contribution is ready to go! Need something that requires no work? Bring a healthier Greek yogurt Snickers salad!

Jump to:

• what you need to know
• why no protein powder in this tiramisu?
• grab these ingredients (or swaps)
• can you use cottage cheese instead of mascarpone?
• tips to nail this cottage cheese tiramisu every time
• quick recipe video
• Does this tiramisu taste like cottage cheese?
• troubleshooting & testing notes
• Recipe
• more high-protein desserts you'll love

why no protein powder in this tiramisu?

I get it, you see "protein tiramisu" and probably assume protein powder is used. Most recipes do go that route! But I tested this with protein powder and here's what happened: it tasted like artificial sweetener and it had a chalky texture. The whole thing screamed supplement. It lost its rich, creamy authentic tiramisu taste and at that point it's just not worth it.

I'm a big believer that you don't need protein powder to hit your protein goals, even in desserts! Instead, it's the cottage cheese in this recipe that packs in the protein. And it blends completely smooth to give this an uber creamy texture.

The best part? This tiramisu tastes like real tiramisu! Not a protein bar pretending to be tiramisu. Just a dessert that happens to have more protein and fewer calories than the original because that's how I make all my recipes!

grab these ingredients (or swaps)

You'll need the following ingredients to make this tiramisu without mascarpone.

• The cream: To keep the fluffy texture, you need heavy whipping cream. I whip mine with a bit of powdered sugar and coffee. Some with get mixed with the protein cream and the rest will be a topping.
• The protein cream: This is super easy to make because it's just egg yolks blended with sugar, cottage cheese, almond extract, vanilla extract, and salt. Blended cottage cheese is such a great trick here, it's why we use it in so many sweet cottage cheese recipes! And yes, there are raw egg yolks in this dessert - if you are nervous about it, I have a method to cook them in the recipe notes!
• The lady fingers: Lady fingers are a crunchy cookie-like biscuit with a sugared topping. You can get them in most cookie aisles at the store. For tiramisu, we dip them in a combination of coffee and coffee liquor, like Kalhua. There is a trick to dipping though, so be sure to read the tips.
• The chocolate: All tiramisu is dusted with cocoa powder just before serving. I prefer to use the darkest cocoa powder I can find. It's prettier and provides a more robust taste in comparison to the rich cream.
• Optional: For more protein, you can add collagen peptides to the cream mixture.

substitutions & variations

All substitutions are a 1:1 substitute unless otherwise noted. See recipe card for quantities.

• Heavy cream -> vegan heavy cream: Not that it will make it dairy-free, but you can make it with less dairy by using vegan heavy whipping cream.
• Lady fingers -> rice cakes: A popular low-carb trend on social media was to make single-serve protein tiramisu with rice cakes. You can use plain rice cakes in place of lady's fingers for a low-carb version, but I promise it won't taste as good.
• Leave out the alcohol: You can leave out the coffee liquor as desired. I would make the coffee a little stronger if doing this though to cut through the cream.
• Make it decaf: To make it kid-friendly, outside of leaving out the alcohol, I would use decaf coffee.
• A note about the almond extract: this is absolutely necessary because mascarpone has a slight nuttiness to it. We don't have mascarpone, therefore we need almond (just a hint) to replicate this flavor.
• Adjust the sweetness: if you don't like things too sweet, leave out the powdered sugar from the whipped cream mixture.

This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!

tips to nail this cottage cheese tiramisu every time

Be sure to scroll to the recipe card for the full recipe!

1. Don't over-whip the cream: Over-whipping cream will result in basically butter, so just keep an eye on it. When stiff peaks form, fold in the powdered sugar and coffee.
2. Gently, gently fold the cream together: We do not want to deflate the cream, so use a spatula to gently fold in the protein cream. Just work one turn at a time until it's mostly combined. It doesn't need to be fully mixed.
3. The art of dipping lady fingers: You only need to dip the cookies for 2 seconds on each side. So hold it in the coffee, count to 2, then flip and count to 2 again. That's it! Much more, and they will fall apart on you.
4. Let this chill, like really chill: This is a "scoopable" tiramisu as I like to say. It's cream. Dreamy and delicious, but you need to let it chill for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. This will give the cream time to set up, making it easier to cut or scoop out.

Does this tiramisu taste like cottage cheese?

No, I promise you won't taste it! Dan even made the common "It's crazy how cottage cheese can be so gross but as soon as you blend it, it's awesome because it's just creamy". So, rest assured, the cottage cheese just makes it super creamy and packs in the protein - there are no curds.

Recipe