THE SPLIT PLATE / RECIPE

High-Protein Chipotle-Style Queso

Sauce Series Ep. 5. Baked protein queso — cottage cheese does the creamy work, jalapeños do the kick. About 80 cal and 8g protein per serving.

YIELD8 servings
TOTAL TIME20 min
COOK METHODSee method
EST. / SERVING~80 cal | ~8g protein

Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 1 cup MULU 2% cottage cheese
  • 1/2 cup Fairlife fat-free ultra-filtered milk
  • 1 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast

Ingredients — continued

  • 1 1/2 tbsp Hoosier Hill Farm cheddar cheese powder
  • 4 oz Velveeta, sliced
  • 2 jalapeños, chopped

Allergens: dairy.

You want queso that eats like the real thing but pulls its weight on macros. Blended cottage cheese plus Fairlife milk builds a creamy base, cheddar powder and nutritional yeast carry the sharp cheesy flavor, and just 4 oz of Velveeta does the melty pull without turning the whole dish into a processed-cheese oil bomb. Fresh jalapeños bring the heat. The whole dish is about 640 cal and 64g protein across 8 servings — roughly 80 cal and 8g protein per serving — so a real bowl of queso costs you almost nothing.

Method

  1. 1.BLEND BASE. Blend the MULU cottage cheese with the Fairlife milk until completely smooth — an immersion blender straight in the tub works. Give the cottage cheese the full run so no curds remain.
  2. 2.COMBINE. Pour the smooth base into an oven-safe glass dish. Stir in the nutritional yeast and cheddar powder, lay the sliced Velveeta on top, and scatter the chopped jalapeños over it.
  3. 3.BAKE. Bake at 300°F for about 15 minutes, until the Velveeta has melted into the base.
  4. 4.WHISK + SERVE. Whisk everything smooth and serve warm.

SPLIT PLATE SERVING

Adult: Serve the adult portion as described above.

Kid: Serve the kid portion as described above.

If something fails

Grainy or curdled base: The cottage cheese was under-blended — blend the base longer before it goes in the dish, and whisk hard after the bake once the Velveeta has melted in.

Too thick after baking: Whisk in Fairlife milk a splash at a time until it loosens to a scoopable queso.

Not cheesy enough: Add another 1/2 tbsp cheddar powder or nutritional yeast — the flavor comes from the powders, not more Velveeta.

Too spicy: Seed the jalapeños next time, or drop to one. Removing the ribs and seeds takes most of the heat out.

Skin forms on top: Normal for a baked cheese dip — just whisk it back in. Press plastic wrap to the surface if storing.

Storage and reheating

Store: Refrigerate promptly in a sealed container. A skin on top is normal — whisk it back in.

Reheat: Reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave, adding a splash of Fairlife milk and whisking to bring it back to a smooth queso.

Lasts: 4-5 days.

Estimated nutrition

~80 cal | ~8g protein.

Whole dish ≈ 640 cal / 64g protein across 8 servings — about 80 cal / 8g protein per serving, not 9g. Anchored on MULU 2% cottage cheese, 4 oz Velveeta, cheddar powder, nutritional yeast, and Fairlife milk from filmed labels. The Velveeta and cheddar powder are real calories, so this is low-calorie queso, not free — the lever is using a little Velveeta for melt instead of a full block. Final per-serving values depend on how you portion it. Rounded from creator-supplied quantities and product labels.

thesplitplate.com/cookbook/high-protein-chipotle-style-queso

High-Protein Chipotle-Style Queso
Split Cook Method™Sauce

High-Protein Chipotle-Style Queso

By Tushar Sharma

Sauce Series Ep. 5. Baked protein queso — cottage cheese does the creamy work, jalapeños do the kick. About 80 cal and 8g protein per serving.

Make this when

You want queso that eats like the real thing but pulls its weight on macros. Blended cottage cheese plus Fairlife milk builds a creamy base, cheddar powder and nutritional yeast carry the sharp cheesy flavor, and just 4 oz of Velveeta does the melty pull without turning the whole dish into a processed-cheese oil bomb. Fresh jalapeños bring the heat. The whole dish is about 640 cal and 64g protein across 8 servings — roughly 80 cal and 8g protein per serving — so a real bowl of queso costs you almost nothing.

Total time
20 min
Yield
8 servings
Protein / serving
~8g
Cal / serving
~80
Allergens and safety

Contains: dairy

Packaged ingredients change formulas — check the label on what's actually in your kitchen.

Flavor target

First taste: smooth, melty cheddar queso. Mid: sharp cheddar-powder tang and savory depth from the nutritional yeast. Finish: a clean fresh-jalapeño heat that builds. NOT grainy, NOT sour-from-the-cottage-cheese — the blend and the bake erase both.

Ingredients

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

Ingredients

Method

  1. 1
    BLEND BASE

    Blend the MULU cottage cheese with the Fairlife milk until completely smooth — an immersion blender straight in the tub works. Give the cottage cheese the full run so no curds remain.

  2. 2
    COMBINE

    Pour the smooth base into an oven-safe glass dish. Stir in the nutritional yeast and cheddar powder, lay the sliced Velveeta on top, and scatter the chopped jalapeños over it.

  3. 3
    BAKE

    Bake at 300°F for about 15 minutes, until the Velveeta has melted into the base.

  4. 4
    WHISK + SERVE

    Whisk everything smooth and serve warm.

Adult plate | Kid plate

Adult plate

Adult

Full recipe as written, jalapeños and all.

Kid plate

Kid

Leave the jalapeños out (or seed them and use half) for the kid's portion — the base without peppers is a mild, kid-friendly cheese dip. Pull their share before adding the peppers if you want one batch to cover both.

Go deeper

Storage and nutrition

Storage: Refrigerate promptly in a sealed container. A skin on top is normal — whisk it back in.

Reheat: Reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave, adding a splash of Fairlife milk and whisking to bring it back to a smooth queso.

Lasts: 4-5 days.

Watch the full cook

Brands I use

MULU
2% Protein Cottage Cheese
The protein base — 18g protein per serving on the filmed tub. Blends into a creamy queso body with no gums.
Velveeta
Original Cheese
Just 4 oz does the melty pull and classic queso texture — the small amount is what keeps this low-calorie instead of a processed-cheese bomb.
Hoosier Hill Farm
Cheddar Cheese Powder
Real-cheddar powder carries the sharp cheesy flavor without adding meaningful fat or calories.
Fairlife
Fairlife
Fat-Free Ultra-Filtered Milk
Loosens the base without watering down flavor or adding real calories.
#Chips + dipping#Nachos#Drizzled over tacos#Burrito bowls#Eggs#Roasted vegetables#Protein mac