Strawberry Crunch Cottage Cheese Ice Cream Bars

These Cottage Cheese Ice Cream bars taste like strawberry crunch bars. A graham cracker crust topped with cottage cheese ice cream and a crunchy cookie topping, this high protein dessert has everything you love about traditional ice cream but made in your own kitchen.

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A bite taken out of one corner of a strawberry crunch frozen ice cream bar.

If you chased down the ice cream truck as a kid you likely remember strawberry crunch bars. These homemade ice cream bars combine that nostalgic treat with the viral cottage cheese ice cream. The results are a frozen treat, perfect for hot summer days (or any day!).

This high-protein dessert uses simple ingredients with a layer of graham cracker crust followed by an ice cream base made with fat-free cottage cheese, strawberries and honey. The ice cream layer is creamy, soft and sweet, similar to strawberry cheesecake. The bars are topped with a layer of crushed golden Oreos and freeze dried strawberries for that sweet crunch we all love.

These healthy ice cream bars are made in a high-powered blender and frozen overnight. The most important (and hardest part!) is letting these defrost for 10-20 minutes before enjoying.

For another high protein dessert try cottage dessert bowls or mini strawberry cheesecakes.

One ice cream square on a plate with other plated behind it and fresh strawberries.

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Why you’ll love this recipe

Simple ingredients!
8 grams of protein per bar.
No ice cream maker needed.

Ingredients and Substitutions:

These are the main ingredients and substitutions for this cottage cheese ice cream recipe. See the recipe card below for the full ingredient list and instructions.

Golden oreo thins, honey, graham crackers, strawberries, freeze dried strawberries, melted coconut oil and cottage cheese for ice cream bars.

Low-Fat Cottage Cheese: for a more creamy texture, use low fat cottage cheese or full-fat cottage cheese.
Honey: you can lower to 1/4 cup if preferred but 1/3 cup adds the perfect level of sweetness.
Strawberries: fresh strawberries are best for this.
Melted Coconut Oil: this helps the graham crackers stick together when freezing.
Golden Oreo Thins: a must for that ice cream truck flavor.
Freeze-Dried Strawberries: another must for a similar flavor to the ice cream bars. You can buy these in a small bag at the grocery store.

Variations

Try frozen banana snickers bars for a chocolatey version of these.
Go rogue and add swap the strawberries for chocolate chips.
Use regular ice cream or even “nice cream” instead.

Dietary Modifications

This recipe is gluten-free if you use gluten-free graham crackers and gluten-free Oreos.

How to make this easy dessert recipe (a step-by-step visual guide):

Step 1: make the cottage cheese ice cream

Fresh strawberries, honey and cottage cheese in a blender base.

In a high-speed blender or food processor, add the cottage cheese, honey and strawberries (image 1).

Strawberries, cottage cheese and honey fully blended until smooth.

Blend for at least 5 minutes until completely smooth (image 2).

Step 2: crush graham crackers and add coconut oil

Graham crackers crushed in a ziplock with a rolling pin on top.

Add the graham crackers to a ziplock and crush with a rolling pin (image 3) and transfer to a small bowl

Melted coconut oil mixed into graham cracker crumbs to make a wet sand.

Add the melted coconut oil and mix to combine until it resembles wet sand (image 4).

Step 3: layer the mixture in a loaf pan

Line a loaf pan with parchment paper so the long side hangs over, this will help pull the bars out once frozen.

Graham cracker and coconut oil mixture pressed into the bottom of a parchment paper lined loaf pan.

Add the graham cracker mixture to the bottom and press it down (image 5).

Cottage cheese strawberry ice cream mixture poured over the graham crackers in the load pan.

Top the graham crackers with the cottage cheese ice cream (image 6).

Step 5: crush Oreos and dried strawberries and add on top

Golden oreos and freeze dried strawberries crushed in a ziplock with a rolling pin on top.

To another ziplock, add the golden Oreo thins and freeze dried strawberries and crush with rolling pin (image 7).

Cottage cheese strawberry ice cream topped with crushed gold oreos and freeze dried strawberry mixture in the loaf pan to freeze.

Sprinkle on top of the ice cream to evenly coat the top of the ice cream (image 8).

Step 6: freeze

Top with foil and freeze for 4-5 hours. Remove and pull the ice cream bars out using the parchment paper. Cut down the center lengthwise and into 8 equal squares. (you can eat them at this point through they’ll be slightly soft in the center still) Return to the pan, top with foil and freezzefor another 3-4 hours.

Step 7: defrost before enjoying

When ready to enjoy you MUST let these defrost for 15-20 minutes before eating to ensure they’re soft and creamy and no longer icy. Let the pan sit at room temp until you can easily pull the bars out using the parchment paper. The longer you freeze the ice cream bars, the longer it will take to defrost.

Overhead shot of one square of a strawberry crunch frozen ice cream bar on a plate with fresh strawberries around.

Expert Tip!

Be sure to defrost these for a solid 20 minutes before eating! These get rock hard overnight and must be defrosted to be enjoyed.

Recipe FAQs

How do I store my homemade ice cream bars?

To avoid freezer burn, store your ice cream bars in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.

Can I use any type of cottage cheese?

Yes! I used low-fat cottage cheese to lower the fat and calories but you can absolutely use a higher fat cottage cheese for a creamier and richer bar.

How do I avoid icy texture?

The longer these defrost the less icy they will be! If you’ve ever frozen greek yogurt, this is similar, it takes a while for the icyness to defrost but it’s worth the wait!

Check out our other yummy cottage cheese recipes!

If you make this recipe, please leave a rating and/or comment! Tag me on Instagram @ohsnapmacros, I love hearing from you!