Cottage Cheese Bowl with Smoked Salmon and Everything Spice

The short answer: This smoked salmon cottage cheese bowl takes 5 minutes and has about 31g of protein. Spoon cottage cheese into a bowl, top it with wild smoked salmon, cucumber, tomato, red onion, capers and dill, then shower it with a homemade everything spice.

You love a bagel with lox. You just don’t love how hungry you are an hour later. This bowl keeps every flavor you want from that deli breakfast and adds a lot more protein.

It’s one of the meals from our guide to high protein breakfasts you can make in 5 minutes, and it’s built the Clean Fit Fab way: real food, big flavor, and no seed oils.

Why this cottage cheese bowl works on busy mornings

• Two big protein sources. Cottage cheese and smoked salmon add up to about 31g.
• Nothing to cook. Instead, you just slice, spoon and sprinkle.
• Salty, creamy and crunchy. Plus, every bite has contrast, so it never feels like diet food.
• Omega-3s at breakfast. Salmon brings healthy fats most of us don’t get enough of.

Fish like salmon is one of the protein foods nutrition experts point to again and again. The Harvard Nutrition Source breaks down why the protein package matters.

The flavor: what makes it taste so good

The everything spice is the secret. Toasted sesame, poppy seeds, dried garlic and dried onion with flaky salt taste just like the bagel topping, and a jar of it lasts for weeks.

• Homemade everything spice: sesame, poppy, dried garlic, dried onion and flaky salt
• Capers and thin red onion for a briny bite
• Fresh dill and lemon zest for brightness
• A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and cracked black pepper

What you need

Here’s a quick look at the ingredients. Exact amounts are in the recipe card below.

• Everything spice (makes about 1/4 cup): toasted sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried minced garlic, dried minced onion, flaky sea salt
• Bowl: 2% cottage cheese, wild smoked salmon, small cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, capers, fresh dill, lemon zest, extra virgin olive oil, black pepper

Also, a note on fat: we cook with extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, butter or ghee. They taste better, and they’re real food.

How to make cottage cheese bowl

First, stir together the everything spice. Next, spoon the cottage cheese into a bowl and add the salmon and vegetables. Then finish with capers, dill, lemon, olive oil and a big pinch of the spice. The full recipe card is below.

Smoked Salmon Cottage Cheese Bowl with Everything Spice

Cottage cheese with wild smoked salmon, cucumber, tomato, capers, dill and homemade everything spice. About 31g protein in 5 minutes.

5minutes

31gprotein

290calories

1servings

Servings

1x2x3x

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Ingredients Uncheck all

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Everything spice (makes about 1/4 cup)

• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds
• 1 tbsp dried minced garlic
• 1 tbsp dried minced onion
• 1 tsp flaky sea salt

Bowl

• 3/4 cup 2% cottage cheese
• 2 oz wild smoked salmon torn into ribbons
• 1/2 small cucumber sliced
• 4 cherry tomatoes halved
• 1 tbsp red onion very thinly sliced
• 1 tsp capers
• 1 tbsp fresh dill chopped
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pinch black pepper freshly cracked

Instructions

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1. Stir the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried garlic, dried onion and flaky salt together in a small jar.
2. Spoon the cottage cheese into a shallow bowl.
3. Top with the smoked salmon, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion and capers.
4. Finish with dill, lemon zest, olive oil, black pepper and 1 teaspoon of the everything spice. Store the rest of the spice for later.

Calories 290Protein 31gCarbohydrates 11gFat 13gFiber 2gper serving, estimated

Serving ideas

Eat it with a spoon, or scoop it up with cucumber rounds. Also, a slice of toasted sourdough or seeded crackers on the side makes it feel like a full deli plate.

Nutrition at a glance: each serving has about 290 calories, 31g protein, 11g carbs and 2g fiber. Numbers are estimates and change with your exact ingredients.

Swaps and variations

• Use a jammy egg or two instead of salmon.
• Swap cottage cheese for plain Greek yogurt with a little salt and lemon.
• Add sliced avocado for a creamier, more filling bowl.
• Try canned wild salmon, flaked, for a lower-cost version.

Make-ahead and storage tips

Make a jar of everything spice and keep it in the pantry for up to 2 months. The bowl itself is best built fresh, but you can slice the cucumber and onion the night before.

Frequently asked questions

Save this one for your next long day. Want more? Try our greek yogurt protein bowl next.

This article is for general information and is not medical or nutrition advice.