The Best Cottage Cheese We Tried Beats All The Name Brands

The perfect cottage cheese has a lot to do with the texture. If you're a fan, you might go for large curds or small ones, whether added to some fruit for breakfast or just eaten by the spoonful right out of the container. And if you've tried more than one brand, it's probably clear that not all cottage cheeses are created equal. Some can be dry or just too funky and acidic. That's why we got down to business with Food Republic's ranking of the best cottage cheese you can find at the grocery store. No. 1 in the lineup might be a little bit of a surprise, but it covers all the bases. The best on our list is Walmart's own Great Value Lowfat Small Curd Cottage Cheese.

When you're looking for the right cottage cheese, possibly above all, you want a balance between the chewy curds and the cream base. Great Value offers a relatively large curd, even in the small curd variety, along with a nice creaminess that blends together well on every spoonful. So, you get the squeaky chew of the individual curd — even a bit of resistant pop, like a harder, aged cheese — but with the added smooth mouthfeel of a classic cottage cheese. The curds hold together rather than turning into mush, and their mild zing was much more palatable than some of the others that had just too much extra tang.

Cottage cheese should be a simple creation. It doesn't require any aging and can be made as easily as mixing an acid component (like lemon juice or vinegar) with milk, so there's no need for extra additives, although salt is usually mixed in for more flavor. When you're making a simple bowl of cottage cheese at home, the mellow flavor of Great Value is an easy place to start. While the salty, cheesy aspect may seem a little strange, it can be great on a bowl of berries. And if that doesn't seem to make sense, maybe cottage cheese mixed in with oatmeal might be more along your lines. A classic oatmeal already has a salt component, and the cottage cheese will just add more of a creamy texture. You can even toss in a few tablespoons to your overnight oats for more protein.

If the texture's not your thing, you can whip cottage cheese to get all the flavor, plus the protein and vitamin-rich benefits. It makes a great spread on toast or a creamy, salty base for the perfect smoothie. Whether you like it spooned "straight up" or you need a little masking, there are plenty of unexpected ways to enjoy your cottage cheese. For those who might not be a fan at all, you should probably give Great Value a try to get down to the business of cottage cheese flavor.