Strawberry Crunch Cottage Cheese Ice Cream Bars
These Cottage Cheese Ice Cream bars taste like strawberry crunch bars from the ice cream truck but higher in protein. 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.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 160kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups low-fat cottage cheese (Good Culture) 16 oz.
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1.5 cups strawberries halved
- 4 sheets graham crackers crumbled
- 1 Tbsp. coconut oil melted
- 4 Golden Oreo Thins crumbled
- 1/4 cup freeze-dried strawberries 8g crumbled
Instructions
- In a high-speed blender, add the cottage cheese, honey and strawberries. Blend for at least 5 minutes until completely smooth.
- Add the graham crackers to a ziplock and crush with a rolling pin and transfer to a small bowl. Add the melted coconut oil and mix to combine until it resembles wet sand.
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper so the long side hangs over, this will help pull the bars out once frozen. Add the graham cracker mixture to the bottom and press it down well.
- Pour the cottage cheese ice cream mixture over the graham crackers.
- To another ziplock, add the Golden Oreo Thins and freeze dried strawberries and crush with rolling pin. Sprinkle on top of the ice cream to evenly coat the top.
- 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 though they'll be slightly soft in the center still). Return to the pan, top with foil and freeze for another 3-4 hours.
- 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.
- TIP: it’s easier to cut halfway through freezing ~ after 4-5 hours in the freezer before it’s super hard, otherwise you'll have to let the entire pan defrost before cutting vs. pre cutting and pulling out however many you want to enjoy to defrost! Return to the freezer to easily enjoy the bars, when desired.
Notes
- If you freeze these for longer then 8 hours they MUST defrost before cutting and eating. This usually takes 20 minutes.
- The longer you let them sit, the creamier the ice cream will be as it does get rock hard overnight with an icy texture while defrosting. It’s worth the wait!!
- You can lower the honey to 1/4 cup if preferred. 1/3 cup adds the perfect amount of sweetness.
- I suggest cutting them into bars after 4-5 hours in the freezer. Either eat them right away or return them to the freezer. This way, they will already be in bar form and you can defrost each one individually when ready to eat.
- Nutritional information is an estimate and will vary with substitutions.
Nutrition
Serving: 1bar | Calories: 160kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 228mg | Potassium: 105mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g
