Burst Tomato Cottage Cheese Caprese Bowl is an easy, savory, high protein lunch that doesn’t require heating up!
Cottage Cheese Caprese Bowl
I came up with this idea after buying the whole milk version of Good Culture Cottage cheese, which is the best tasting brand in my opinion. It reminded me of the inside of Burrata cheese so I figured why not enjoy this caprese style! This is SO good and makes a delicious high protein lunch! If you love this idea, you might also love this savory cottage cheese bowl or these high protein cottage cheese and scrambled eggs!
I polled my audience and asked what I should share and top of the list was high protein lunch recipes! So I started a series sharing my super simple, high protein lunch recipes on Instagram and Tik Tok and this was so popular I decided to share it here. You can see the videos of this and my other lunches!
Burst tomatoes are wonderful with cottage cheese, it taste a little like pizza! It takes about 5 minutes to make burst tomatoes in the air fryer, but you can also do them in a sheet pan in the oven and roast until they are tender. Or skip the cooking and eat them fresh.
How do you make cottage cheese taste good savory?
- Fresh Veggies – Add some fresh tomatoes, cucumbers or bell peppers.
- Season It– a drizzle of extra olive oil, salt and pepper are a must! Or drizzle on some balsamic glaze.
- Go nuts! Try adding some nuts such as almonds, pistachios, for texture.
- Fresh herbs: chop up some basil or mint to add freshness.
- Bagel It! Add some lox and everything bagel seasoning.
More High Protein Lunch Recipes You Don’t Have To Heat Up
- Spicy Canned Salmon Rice Bowls
- Buffalo Chicken Salad
- Avocado Quinoa Salad
- Tuna Egg Salad
- Tuna Salad Endive Wraps
Burst Tomato Cottage Cheese Caprese Bowl
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Good Culture cottage cheese, I used whole, you can use 2%
- 1 cup grape tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon balsamic glaze
- fresh basil, for garnish
- pinch kosher salt
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Season tomatoes in a medium bowl with 1 teaspoon olive oil and pinch of salt. Air fry 400F 5 to 6 minutes, shaking the basket halfway, until they burst.
- Place cottage cheese in a bowl, top with tomatoes, drizzle more oil, balsamic glaze, salt, pepper, and garnish with basil.
WOW!
this was amazing. Only bought a small cup to try the cottage cheese, but I’m sold. also I have been eating blistered tomatoes all week. As usual your recipes are the best. Thank you!
Where has this been all of my life?!? I usually don’t like cottage cheese but saw this and thought… why not? This is my new lunch obsession! I added some grated fresh garlic to the cottage cheese and it is AMAZING! I almost forgot the fresh basil but quickly got a few leaves off my plant. Don’t skip anything. This could also be a great side dish for a summer meal! Delicious and healthy! Thank you for the recipe.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Girl… this is my new favorite/obsession recipe… as a busy ER RN this is perfect for an energy boost!! ❤️❤️❤️
Glad you enjoy it and thank you for what you do!
I am so looking forward to fresh garden tomatoes! A garden tomato diced into cottage cheese is my all time favorite summer lunch. But I’m using grocery store cherry tomatoes while I wait and this would really make the most of them. Thank you!!
This is a quick delicious lunch. So fresh and tasty. A play on a caprese salad.
Love this! I meal prep for weekday breakfast or lunches.
Can the tomatoes be made ahead of time, like the night before and then packed in a lunch for the next day?
Yes, you can prepare the tomatoes ahead. I do this for lunch prep often.
Great idea and easy to make. Love this for lunch
Love this savory cottage bowl!
I have made this more times than I can count. It is such a wonderful combination and so filling! I use my oil sprayer to spritz the tomatoes and the cottage cheese to save a bit on calories/fat.
Love your recipes but this one just wasn’t for me.
I’m excited to try this soon! If you’re packing for lunch, do you eat it cold or reheat in the microwave?
I enjoyed this recipe for lunch today. I didn’t have fresh basil on hand, so I added dried basil to the tomatoes before blistering. Fresh would definitely be better, but this also worked. I added pistachios and used balsamic glaze. Will definitely make again!
I tried this for the first time today. What an amazing combination! I love cottage cheese, but I don’t always want something sweet with it. I used a toaster oven to burst the tomatoes, since that is what we have available at my office. They were delicious. As someone else suggested, I topped with some pistachios for crunch! I will definitely be making and enjoying this again!
I didn’t have basil on hand, but this was delicious! It filled me up while being low calorie and healthy.
I couldn’t remember what cottage cheese was recommended for this when I was at the store, but I grabbed Good cottage cheese, so I got it right. I liked the texture better than cottage cheese than I had in the past, so I would definitely buy it again.
Almost like eating ricotta cheese.
I cooked tomatoes under the broiler for about 8 minutes and used a fig balsamic vinegar rather than a glaze because that’s what I had on hand. Very tasty!
I have to admit that this was not a meal I was looking forward to, but had some cottage cheese and tomatoes to use up. Well, what a pleasant surprise! Delicious! I used cubed Roma tomatoes and baked in the toaster oven. I also cut up the basil and sprinkled on top of the final product. You must try this delicious mix of flavors!!!
So yummy! I added a few crushed pistachios for crunch and it is so delicious. I could eat this every day!
I would like to try this but need help on what balsamic glaze to buy or make?!
I’m not a chef but I use Roland Foods Balsamic Vinegar Glaze of Modena, I get it off Amazon but I’ve seen it in the regular grocery store too. It’s delicious and not terribly expensive.
This sounds absolutely delicious! I plan to add a little mozzarella cheese also 😃
One word. YUMMY! I used multi color tomatoes and did them a bit longer. Also uses my oil sprayer to save a bit of fat. This is called lunch but I had as post workout snack. So easy and delicious.
Amazing! Followed the recipe exactly, except roasted tomatoes for less time. Thanks so much!
Great!!
This has quickly become a favorite! So fresh and delightful. I love all the different ways that you play with the caprese concept.
I am really cutting back on the fats though, and felt like this was a little higher fat than it needed to be (for my dietary needs)
So I tried a variation of this where I cut the 2 tsp of oil, and simply sprayed the tomatoes with a little olive oil spray. It was fantastic and I didn’t miss the extra oil at all.
This dropped the fat content from 12 to 5.4! Just wanted to share in case anyone else is looking to cut the fat a bit when enjoying this delicious recipe
I’ve been eating this, paired with two English muffins and topped with ham every other day for the last two weeks 🙂 it’s an absolutely amazing meal, and super quick to make if you need to do a fast small breakfast.
Bursting tomato trick is phenomenal. I’ve been airfrying for years now and I’m still discovering new ways to use it.
Thank you for another great recipe!
My new favorite breakfast! I don’t have an air fryer, I just roast them in the toaster oven and the tomatoes come out great. Thanks Gina for another great recipe!
I am so happy I tried this . It was absolutely delicious !!!
Thanks so much for the recipe.
Delicious! Quick and easy lunch!
This is super easy and delicious! It’s also great with ricotta too!
I underestimated how good this is. Super easy, too. Thanks!
This was delicious! I think next time I’ll add a little extra salt because my store bought glaze was so sweet, but I LOVE THIS!
Great!!
I cannot stop eating this for breakfast! Its so good
This is delicious !! So easy to make .
I’m definitely going to add some avocado to this.
Ok, this was SO good. I drizzled olive oil and balsamic reduction. Yum. I did have a small side of pop corners chips for some crunch.. but otherwise delicious, low calorie and high protein! A+
This was beyond delish and such an easy, satisfying lunch!
I’m having this for lunch right now…so good!! Great idea.
I’ve been trying to find more ways to eat veggies for breakfast while not consuming too many eggs. This recipe as well as the savory cottage cheese bowl recipe have been very successful for my goal (and tasty!) Thank you 🙂
Will this be good if I have to air fry the tomatoes the night before or morning of? I can’t leave work for lunch so I pack it daily.
My teenager is a huge caprese fan, so I decided to make this. When I told her I was, she was a typical teenager about something new “I just want a bite or two of yours to try it”. Suffice it to say, I was glad I bought the bigger container of cottage cheese because she took a bite and ran away with the bowl! Fantastic recipe!!
Love it!
Amazing! So easy, flavorful and filling!
Delicious and filling. I used 1 tsp of white balsamic vinegar and olive oil to coat the tomatoes. Then topped it off with purple and green fresh Basil from the garden.
Yum!
My adult daughter and I both commented that we really had “munchie cravings” for the rest of the afternoon after eating this. Not sure why, but I wouldn’t serve it for lunch again without having something else to fill the munchies cravings! (Not sure what would do that-or why we both had the craving.)
Didn’t notice the full fat cottage cheese to be different enough from what I usually get, so wouldn’t waste the calories or $$ on getting it again. Then again, I LOVE cottage cheese and am not picky about the brand.
I would think this would be amazing with toasted sour dough bread, just like burrata would!
I tried this today and loved it! It’ll be one of my favorite quick lunches from now on 🙂 Thanks for creating this delicious recipe!
Wow this is good. The roasted tomatoes are so sweet. Putting them warm on the cottage cheese makes it all melty. Love it!
This looks delicious! In your video you said it has 29 grams of protein, but in the recipe it only shows 20 grams. Which one is correct? Thanks!
I do not like the texture of cottage cheese at all but I really wanted to try this…I put the cottage cheese in my mini blender and made it smooth and creamy….it was delicious. This is my new favorite
Good Culture is SO good! How perfect to pair with your foodie skills! . this recipe looks amazing!
I was a rep for Good Culture products and loved my demonstrations for them. So many people had to be persuaded to try a sample because they didn’t like texture or blandness of typical old school cottage cheese. 100% this cottage cheese is different than others. I took great pleasure in winning over previous cottage cheese naysayers with this brand. It’s just so yummy! I like the 6% at Whole Foods.
I can’t wait to try this recipe.. thank you for all that you do fo us!
It really is so much better than other brands, enjoy!!
There is NO better cottage cheese than Good Culture. I tell my friends that dislike cottage cheese to just give this one a try.
What if you don’t have an air fryer? Any options for tomatoes?
I have a toaster oven air fryer. I was thinking what a mess it would create. I’m going to try “bursting” the tomatoes in a skillet, using some cooking spray.
Perfect
I would think a minute or two under a broiler might work. Keep a close eye on them, as they get blackened quickly.
I top my cottage cheese with avocado and everything but the bagel seasoning. Or, shichimi pepper mix and seaweed gomasio. Sometimes pico de gallo. Hot honey and nuts would be good too!
I had all the ingredients on hand so made this for a quick lunch! It was very tasty and I will definitely make it again.
Great!!