Homemade flatbread: Ingenious use of cottage cheese and eggs creates crispy, golden brown pliable crust

Last week, my husband and I were invited to my son’s house for dinner, which featured grilled chicken wraps. I was only asked to bring the homemade tzatziki I shared with you back in 2022 as part of my gyros column. Upon arrival, I learned the wrap would be homemade and created from the strangest list of ingredients I have ever seen: cottage cheese and eggs.

I watched him add cottage cheese and eggs to a blender and whirl the mixture into a pancake-like batter. Next, he poured it onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and popped it into the oven. Thirty-five minutes later, he removed a beautifully browned, thin tortilla-like sheet from the oven. Twenty minutes later, after topping it with grilled chicken, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, along with a little of my tzatziki contribution, I enjoyed one of the most delicious Mediterranean wraps I have ever had — and it was guilt-free.

I have always been a fan of cottage cheese. When I was young, my mom would top it with canned peaches or diced pineapple or add it to gelatin, especially green and serve it molded — not my favorite combinations. But she would also add a couple of scoops to freshly made mashed potatoes with some thinly sliced green onions to the plate, definitely a favorite. I have also used it in a pinch in lasagna.

I wondered what cottage cheese is and what makes it so versatile. According to AllRecipes.com, cottage cheese is a fermented fresh cheese that starts as milk and is made by adding active cultures that convert milk sugars into lactic acid. It is this lactic acid that separates the curds from the whey. Before cutting the curds, they are a large block; the size of the cottage cheese curd, large or small, is determined by how this large block is cut. Cutting the curd allows the whey to separate from the curd, and once complete, cream is added to make the final product, which we see when we open our containers at home.

When I think of the different ways to use cottage cheese, making a wrap is not something I would have ever dreamed of. Thank goodness there are people more creative than me. I have since learned that using cottage cheese for recipes like this has been a recent Instagram and TikTok craze.

Search the internet for cottage cheese flatbread or wraps and dozens of recipes and videos pop up. Some use more or less of each ingredient, but most recipes contain cottage cheese and eggs.

Before writing this column, I tested several recipes and found that my favorite contains 1 cup of cottage cheese, two eggs and seasoning. I tried different seasoning combinations, but my favorite was garlic powder and Italian seasoning.

I put everything into a quart container and blended it using my immersion blender. This was easier for me than using my larger beverage blender and worked well. The mixture should resemble a thick pancake batter. Next, I have two tips I found most important to the success of my wrap: line your baking pan with parchment sprayed with cooking oil and carefully spread the batter as evenly as possible, ensuring even baking. Please trust me on both of these as I speak from experience. Several of my test batches didn’t turn out well when I didn’t follow these parts of the recipe. Before baking, I also sprinkled a little extra Italian seasoning over the top.

It smells great while baking and may look a bit odd when it first comes out of the oven. But once it encases your favorite sandwich ingredients, you will be glad you tried it.

I have been cutting mine into four equal rectangles before making my wrap, but if you’d like to use it for making roll-ups, don’t cut it until after you have filled it.

The finished product will keep several days wrapped tightly in the refrigerator. I store mine in a zip-top bag, and it has served me well.

If I haven’t intrigued you yet, this information might help. This is an excellent substitute for bread, especially if you are watching your carbs. I added the recipe to the MyFitnessPal app, and it told me that one serving using 4% fat cottage cheese contains only 79 calories, 4 grams of fat, 3 grams of carbs and 9 grams of protein. If you use the low-fat version, one serving contains 86 calories, 3 grams of fat, 4 grams of carbs and 11 grams of protein.

I have used this flatbread as a substitute for tortillas in tacos, bread in sandwiches and pita in my grilled chicken tzatziki wrap and have enjoyed each of them. I also cut them into smaller pieces and popped them in the oven for a bit longer to make crackers, which were pretty darn tasty. Please try them. As strange as they sound, you might like them, too.

• Penny Kazmier, a wife and mother of four from South Barrington, won the 2011 Daily Herald Cook of the Week Challenge. Contact Penny at DhCulinaryAdventures@gmail.com.

Cottage Cheese Flatbread

1 cup cottage cheese (regular or low-fat)

2 whole eggs or 4 egg whites

1 to 1½ teaspoons seasoning (any combo you like — I used ½ teaspoon garlic powder and ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning)

Extra seasoning to sprinkle over top

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line a 9-by-13-inch pan or 13-by-18-inch baking sheet with parchment paper and spray generously with cooking spray.

Combine cottage cheese, eggs and seasoning of choice in a blender or food processor. Blend until the batter is smooth and the consistency of thick pancake batter. (I have also used an immersion blender, which works well.)

Pour onto the prepared pan and spread to uniform thickness with the back of a spoon or an offset spatula. The final size of the flatbread should be roughly 9by 13 inches no matter which pan you use. Sprinkle with extra seasoning.

Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, turning the pan halfway through the baking time.

Remove from the oven when golden brown and allow to cool at least 10 to 15 minutes prior to cutting. Cut into serving sizes as desired.

Makes 2 to 4 wraps

— Penny Kazmier