THE SPLIT PLATE / RECIPE

Protein Blue Cheese Crema

Tastes like real blue cheese sauce. Quietly protein-forward.

YIELD8 servings
TOTAL TIME5 min + 10 min rest
COOK METHODSee method
EST. / SERVING~66 cal | ~5g protein

Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 150g Daisy Cottage Cheese 2% (1 small container)
  • 113g 365 Blue Cheese Crumbles (4 oz container, full)
  • 30g Fairlife Fat-Free Lactose-Free Milk (~2 tbsp)

Ingredients — continued

  • 1 tsp lemon juice (the acid that sharpens it — don't skip)
  • 1 tsp Dan-O's SPG Tri-O (Salt-Pepper-Garlic — does the work of fresh garlic without the harsh bite)
  • 1 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped (FOLDED IN AFTER blending — never blend, or the sauce turns green)

You want a real blue cheese sauce — not 'inspired by' blue cheese. Texture as smooth as restaurant crema, real blue cheese funk, and enough protein from the cottage cheese base that it carries the meal nutritionally. This is the ecosystem sauce: dip, drizzle, dressing, spread — all the same jar.

Method

  1. 1.BLEND BASE. Cottage cheese + Fairlife + lemon juice + SPG Tri-O in a blender or immersion-blender cup. Blend 60 sec on high until completely smooth — zero curd visible. This is the texture move.
  2. 2.ADD BLUE CHEESE. Add about 80% of the blue cheese crumbles. Pulse 5-6 times — you want the sauce blue-cheese-flavored but with visible chunks. NOT smooth all the way through.
  3. 3.FOLD IN CHUNKS + CHIVES. Stir the remaining 20% of crumbles + all the chopped chives in by hand. Chives go in LAST so they don't blend and turn the sauce green.
  4. 4.REST. Fridge, 10-15 minutes. Lemon mellows, blue cheese funk deepens, texture tightens. Non-negotiable.
  5. 5.TASTE. Too sharp? Add 1 tbsp more cottage cheese. Too thick? 1 tsp more milk. Not funky enough? Crumble in a few more chunks of blue cheese.

SPLIT PLATE SERVING

Adult: Serve the adult portion as described above.

Kid: Serve the kid portion as described above.

If something fails

Sauce is grainy / chalky: Didn't blend the cottage cheese smooth enough. Full 60 seconds on high BEFORE adding the blue cheese. The cottage cheese base is what kills the chalkiness.

Tastes like 'protein hack' not real blue cheese: You under-blue-cheesed. The whole 4 oz container goes in. Don't trim it to 'save calories' — that's the move that makes homemade protein dressings taste fake.

Flat / one-dimensional: Skipped the lemon. 1 tsp lemon juice is what sharpens the dairy and makes it taste finished, not soft.

Harsh raw-garlic taste: You used fresh raw garlic instead of SPG Tri-O. Raw garlic kills blue cheese nuance. SPG is granulated — gives depth without the bite.

Sauce turned green-tinged: You blended the chives. Always fold them in by hand AFTER everything else is mixed.

Too thick / paste-like: Add 1 tsp Fairlife at a time. The cottage cheese tightens overnight — adjust day-of.

Storage and reheating

Store: Airtight container in fridge. Stir before each use — separation is normal.

Reheat: Never — serve cold or room temp. Heat curdles the cottage cheese.

Lasts: 5-7 days. Flavor deepens overnight. Better on day 2 than day 1.

Estimated nutrition

~66 cal | ~5g protein.

thesplitplate.com/cookbook/protein-blue-cheese-crema

Protein Blue Cheese Crema
Split Cook Method™Sauce

Protein Blue Cheese Crema

Tastes like real blue cheese sauce. Quietly protein-forward.

Make this when

You want a real blue cheese sauce — not 'inspired by' blue cheese. Texture as smooth as restaurant crema, real blue cheese funk, and enough protein from the cottage cheese base that it carries the meal nutritionally. This is the ecosystem sauce: dip, drizzle, dressing, spread — all the same jar.

Total time
5 min + 10 min rest
Yield
8 servings
Protein / serving
~5g
Cal / serving
~66
Flavor target

First taste: creamy + tangy (cottage cheese + Fairlife). Mid: real blue cheese funk + sharpness (365 Blue Cheese crumbles). Finish: bright lemon lift + savory SPG depth + fresh chive herbaceousness. Reads as 'restaurant blue cheese' not 'protein hack'.

Ingredients

Batch cookYields 8 servings — quantities below are the full batch.

Ingredients

Method

  1. 1
    BLEND BASE

    Cottage cheese + Fairlife + lemon juice + SPG Tri-O in a blender or immersion-blender cup. Blend 60 sec on high until completely smooth — zero curd visible. This is the texture move.

  2. 2
    ADD BLUE CHEESE

    Add about 80% of the blue cheese crumbles. Pulse 5-6 times — you want the sauce blue-cheese-flavored but with visible chunks. NOT smooth all the way through.

  3. 3
    FOLD IN CHUNKS + CHIVES

    Stir the remaining 20% of crumbles + all the chopped chives in by hand. Chives go in LAST so they don't blend and turn the sauce green.

  4. 4
    REST

    Fridge, 10-15 minutes. Lemon mellows, blue cheese funk deepens, texture tightens. Non-negotiable.

  5. 5
    TASTE

    Too sharp? Add 1 tbsp more cottage cheese. Too thick? 1 tsp more milk. Not funky enough? Crumble in a few more chunks of blue cheese.

Adult plate | Kid plate

Adult plate

Adult

Full recipe as written. Generous on wings, salads, anywhere bold blue cheese belongs.

Kid plate

Kid

Same sauce works for kids — it's mild enough. Serve as a DIP in its own ramekin, not poured over food. Kids commit at their own pace.

Go deeper

Storage and nutrition

Storage: Airtight container in fridge. Stir before each use — separation is normal.

Reheat: Never — serve cold or room temp. Heat curdles the cottage cheese.

Lasts: 5-7 days. Flavor deepens overnight. Better on day 2 than day 1.

Watch the full cook

Brands I use

Daisy
Daisy
Cottage Cheese 2% Low Fat
13g protein per ½ cup, only milk + cream + salt (no gums), blends silky-smooth — the protein base that kills the chalkiness most 'healthy' blue cheese dressings have
365 by Whole Foods Market
Organic Blue Cheese Crumbles
Real blue cheese flavor — Penicillium Roqueforti, no shortcuts. This is what makes the sauce taste like actual restaurant blue cheese instead of 'inspired by'. Don't trim it to save calories — that's the failure mode.
Fairlife
Fairlife
Fat-Free Lactose-Free Ultra-Filtered Milk
Loosens the texture without watering down the flavor. Most homemade protein dressings use water — water kills richness perception. Milk maintains the cream sensation while keeping macros clean.
Dan-O's
Dan-O's
SPG Tri-O Seasoning (Salt-Pepper-Garlic)
Granulated garlic, salt, pepper — gives depth without the harsh bite of fresh raw garlic. Raw garlic overpowers blue cheese; SPG complements it. The 'pro move' substitute.
#Wings dip#Buffalo bowls#Wedge salads#Wraps#Burgers#Steak sauce#Roasted veggies#Buffalo chicken tacos