High-Protein Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Cups
- Sally Rychlak
- Aug 23
- 2 min read
by Sally Rychlak
I had a package of gluten-free graham crackers in my pantry that was rapidly approaching the end of its honorable life, which is really the entire reason these cheesecakes exist.
I didn't want to throw them away, but I also wasn't particularly interested in just eating a sleeve of graham crackers. Cheesecake felt like the better option.
I crushed the graham crackers with a rolling pin, mixed them with a little melted butter and pressed everything into parchment-lined muffin tins. From there, I wanted to see if I could make a higher-protein cheesecake filling without turning it into one of those desserts that tastes aggressively healthy.
The filling is incredibly simple: cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, an egg and vanilla protein powder. I blended everything with my immersion blender until completely smooth.
My first taste of the filling, though, was very... dairy. That's the only way I know how to describe it. It was just a lot happening at once until I brought in the lemon. The zest of an entire lemon completely changed it. It brightened everything up and made it taste much more like an actual cheesecake filling. I wouldn't skip it.
At the last minute, I pulled some wild blueberries out of the freezer, scattered them over the tops and swirled them into the filling. And thus, the pantry clean-out cheesecake became blueberry lemon cheesecake.
These are baked individually in a muffin tin, which makes them easy to portion and honestly a lot less intimidating than making an entire cheesecake. Let them chill completely before eating them. Straight out of the oven they're good, but cold from the refrigerator is when the texture becomes reminiscent of cheesecake.
They're gluten free if you use gluten-free graham crackers, higher in protein thanks to the cottage cheese, Greek yogurt and protein powder, and just sweet enough to still feel like dessert.
All because I refused to let a package of graham crackers go to waste.
1
Frozen Blueberries
Frozen blueberries can go straight in. No need to thaw them first. Wild blueberries are especially good because they're small enough to distribute throughout these little cheesecakes.
Notes
1
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 8 wells of a muffin tin with parchment muffin liners. I especially like parchment here because the cheesecakes release much more cleanly once chilled.
2
Place the graham crackers in a zip-top bag and crush them into fine crumbs using a rolling pin. Combine 3/4 cup of the crumbs with the melted butter, coconut sugar and a pinch of salt.
3
Divide the graham cracker mixture evenly among all 12 parchment-lined muffin cups, pressing it firmly into the bottom. Pre-bake for about 5 minutes, then divide the cheesecake filling among all 12.
4
Meanwhile, combine the cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, egg, vanilla protein powder and lemon zest. Blend with an immersion blender until completely smooth and creamy.
5
Divide the cheesecake mixture evenly over the crusts. Sprinkle the frozen wild blueberries over each cheesecake and gently swirl them into the filling with a toothpick or tip of a knife.
6
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges look set but the centers still have a very slight jiggle. Don't wait for them to look completely firm in the oven—they'll continue setting as they cool.
7
Allow them to cool in the muffin tin, then transfer to the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, preferably longer. They're much more cheesecake-like once they're completely cold.
Instructions
3/4 cup gluten-free graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons butter melted
Pinch of salt
Graham Cracker Crust
1 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 large egg
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
Zest of 1 lemon
1/3 cup frozen wild blueberries
Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Filling
Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Cups: High Protein and Gluten Free
Recipe Curator
Sally Rychlak
Individual blueberry lemon cheesecakes made with cottage cheese, Greek yogurt and vanilla protein powder, with a buttery graham cracker crust. High protein, lightly sweet and very easy to make in a muffin tin.
Servings :
12 Servings
Calories:
100 Calories / Serve
Prep Time
15 min
Cooking Time
15-20 min
Chill Time
2 hours
Total Time
30 min
Comments