If the idea of cottage cheese in a summer tomato salad sounds weird to you, try to think of it like a caprese that just got back from a little Eastern European vacation. While plating the dressed veggies on top of the vinaigrette makes for a more elegant presentation, this salad is just as delicious (though possibly a little less photogenic) when all of the elements are tossed together and allowed to marinate. Serve with grilled kielbasa and wedges of cold ripe watermelon for dessert.
Ingredients
6 servings
1
3
4
1½
½
1
3
2
Preparation
Step 1
Gently—but thoroughly—toss tomatoes, cucumbers, scallion whites, 1 tsp. salt, and 4–5 good turns of pepper in a medium bowl to combine. Chill until ready to use, at least 30 minutes.
Step 2
Meanwhile, season radishes with ½ tsp. salt in a medium bowl, then toss with your hands to combine, squeezing the radishes until they get good and juicy. Add cottage cheese and 1 Tbsp. vinegar and stir to combine; season to taste with salt. Chill until ready to use.
Step 3
Spread cottage cheese vinaigrette on a platter. Pour off accumulated liquid from cucumber-tomato mixture. (Reserve the liquid if you like; it’s great over ice with or without a shot of vodka.) Add 2 Tbsp. oil and remaining 2 Tbsp. vinegar to salad and toss gently to combine.
Step 4
Spoon salad over vinaigrette, drizzle with oil, and garnish with scallion greens and a few turns of pepper.
How would you rate For the Love of Cottage Cheese Salad?
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Reviews (27)
Back to TopI have made this so many times and it always slaps, as the kids say. I do swap distilled white vinegar for white wine vinegar, but beyond that this is perfect. Add a nice grilled sausage on top also rounds it out!
CJ
San Diego, CA
7/11/2022
I used this recipe to create my own version - I had a cucumber-tomato Greek salad already prepared, but needed a protein source. I grated the radishes, added a tablespoon of the lemon-oregano-feta dressing from my salad, and mixed that into the cottage cheese. I served the Greek salad over the top of the cottage cheese. This was a big hit in our house, and I’ve made it more than once. Thanks for the inspiration.
Anonymous
California
9/25/2020
I'm not gonna lie. I may have saved some of the radish briney juciyness for the tomato cucumber vodka cocktail...
Anonymous
White Salmon, WA
8/3/2020
Thank you SO MUCH for a creative use of cottage cheese... I had some blueberries lying around, so instead of tomatoes + radishes, I used those instead. Also subbed ACV. I'm always looking for other methods of eating cottage cheese, and this really hit the spot! Will definitely be going into my regular rotation of "I don't feel like making something for lunch but I know that I should eat"
jahgurlremy
Portland, OR
5/22/2020
Cottage cheese is truly an unsung hero that is easy to forget about. This recipe is proof of that. Mixing with peaches or pears anytime of day is great to. Try it in your pancake batter for an extra little bit of protein and great texture. Cottage cheese it's not just for meat and threes! Love it.
Anonymous
Chattanooga Tennessee
5/5/2020
Super weird but way better than I thought it’d be!
Daylebag
Canada
10/6/2019
I am making this AGAIN this weekend- I have made a number of variations of tomato-cucumber salads this summer and while many have been good, this was AMAZING. I did use apple cider vinegar in the final drizzle- but everything else the same. Not sure I will make the others any more at all. Thanks!
mcmargy10801
Arizona
9/7/2019
I love how this recipe doesn't add a lot of superfluous flavors -- it allows those peak season vegetables to truly shine on a bed of creamy, salty, tangy dairy. I had to make some substitutions based on what I had lying around: greek yogurt with some feta mixed in for the cottage cheese; red onion for the scallions, grated into the dairy along with the radishes (and some rubbery zucchini); lemon for the vinegar. Ate with wasa crackers for lunch. *chef kiss*
laschi
Madison, Wisconsin
9/4/2019
Absolutely delicious!! It's light fresh salad and people need to stop judging it by other heavy flavored dishes. It is freaking great for what it is and I almost at the whole plate myself!
VictoriyaL
Sacramento, CA
8/29/2019
Really average. I’m a huge fan of BA and this is the first recipe of theirs I’m disappointed with. I love cottage cheese (eat it everyday with lunch) and all of the veggies used (also part of my staples), but the flavor here was really one note - pretty much just salt and vinegar, which was my suspicion when reading recipe but I trusted in BA and followed exactly. I do think it’s a good start or base to a recipe, and especially liked the radishes mixed with cottage cheese. But, there is a lot more flavor needed - I might try adding smoked paprika, or maybe even sumac to the cottage cheese mix, and play around with a proper dressing to the veggies (maybe balsamic Dijon). I am very hesitant to use plain distilled while vinegar in any recipe (why use a one note flavor when you could add other dimensions) and would swap out for lemon juice or a different vinegar - will continue to reserve white vinegar for cleaning my Nespresso only!
Anonymous
Boston
8/29/2019
I absolutely loved this salad. I had it without the kielbasa on the side.The only thing I didn’t care for was grating the radish. I julienned them instead. I will be making this again!
Anonymous
Florida
8/27/2019
We loved it. I don't even like cucumbers but put them in anyway - so fresh and quick to make! I'll be making this one over and over!
Lisa Warne
Northern suburb of Minneapolis
8/25/2019
Cannot say I loved this salad. I love all the ingredients but it just didn’t taste great. I often eat cottage cheese on top of fresh jersey tomatoes. I rather continue to do that.
Anonymous
New Jersey
8/24/2019
This was a gd home run!!! LOVE the radishes mixed with cottage cheese, genius idea. Will definitely riff on this for the rest of the summer and beyond.
anon89
Berlin, Germany
8/24/2019
Looks great to me! Of course, the negative comment, from someone who hasn't even tried the recipe, is "anonymous".
Anonymous
Tannersville, PA
8/23/2019