Cottage Cheese Kimchi Dip is a surprising dip recipe that might be an unexpected pairing for most. Growing up we had creamy and spicy dips like chili pepper jelly cream cheese dip or kimchi cream cheese dip at parties. I often saw it served with a block of softened cream cheese on a plate topped with spicy jelly or kimchi on top and you just grab your cracker or chip and dig in. While a time-saver, I think blending the ingredients together makes for a better tasting dip because each bite will have just the right amount of creamy texture and the right amount of mild heat for your crunchy dipper.
This two-ingredient recipe literally only takes about 5 minutes to measure and blend the ingredients together. Just puree the cottage cheese until it’s smooth and then add the kimchi and pulse to combine. Make sure to stick with small curd cottage cheese so it will puree faster. It’s a great addition to your game day snack lineup with tons of flavor that doesn’t require a ton of time.
Why cottage cheese for a dip?
Cottage cheese is a high-protein fresh cheese that has several vitamins and minerals to keep your body strong and lean. When you pick low fat or non-fat cottage cheese, you get a low-calorie fresh cheese that is less expensive than fresh mozzarella. You can satisfy your craving for creamy cheese without adding tons of calories to your diet compared to other types of cheese.
Keep in mind that cottage cheese doesn’t have a lot of calcium like yogurt or milk. If you are looking to up your calcium intake, there are better choices than cottage cheese.
Now if you are looking for a delicious chip dip that is lower in calories than what you would find in the store or mayonnaise-based/sour cream-based alternatives, this recipe is for you! Pureeing the cottage cheese makes it surprisingly creamy and almost a little fluffy. You would think that you are eating a cream cheese-based dip if you didn’t look carefully. And if you have a loved one that will just mindlessly eat this dip in front of the tv watching the football game, this is a great way to take care of that loved one without nagging them about their diet!
How to get creamy cottage cheese
As I mentioned earlier, you’ll save yourself some time by starting off with a small curd cottage cheese. The large curd cottage cheese will take longer to break down. In a busy household, even a minute of time saving is worth the trouble of checking the labels of the cottage cheese curd size.
You really need a food processor with a good motor and sharp blade to get cottage cheese to a silky-smooth consistency. While you might be able to get there with a stick emersion blender, it will take much longer, and this will become more like a 10-minute kimchi dip than a 5-minute dip. If you do use an emersion blender, chop your kimchi by hand so your emersion blender can focus on the cottage cheese!
My favorite food processor is the Cuisinart 9-cup food processor because I can do so many things with it besides blend food. I’ve shredded many vegetables for salads, coleslaw, baked goods. My son has had different sorbet flavors that you can’t find at the grocery store. It’s a great appliance that gets lots of use in a family that cooks a lot at home. Food processors save the home cook so much time in the kitchen, so it makes for a great gift for busy parents who love to cook for their family and friends.
Health Benefits: Kimchi
Fermented food is all the rage now with health experts touting the gut benefits from these foods due to their probiotics. Kimchi is no exception.
What’s even better about kimchi is that it goes well with meat, eggs, other vegetables, soups, stews, rice, you name it. The salty, spicy, slightly sweet, and garlicy flavor in the fermented cabbage is almost indescribable in a good kimchi. The best Hawaii-made kimchi is probably Halm’s Hi-Max kimchi. But if you want to really treat yourself, get the Jongga kimchi which comes straight from Korea. You almost can’t describe why this one is so much better. Get the large size at Costco if you can finish that much kimchi. It’s. So. Good. And it makes this kimchip dip even better!
Here are more snack recipes that your family will enjoy:
Quick and Easy Cottage Cheese Kimchi Dip
Equipment
- 1 Food processor or blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup small curd cottage cheese non-fat or low-fat
- 1 cup kimchi
Instructions
- Put cottage cheese into a food processor and puree until smooth for about 2 to 3 minutes.(If using large curd cottage cheese, this may take longer than 3 minutes.) Scrape the sides of the bowl every so often to ensure that all the cottage cheese curds are blended up well.
- Add kimchi to food processor and pulse until well combined, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. If you want some bigger chunks of kimchi in your dip, save some to put in at the end and just pulse it a few times to combine.
- Pour dip into a serving bowl. Serve with your favorite chips, crackers, or vegetables.
