20 Cheeses High in Protein

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20 Cheeses High in Protein

For vegetarians or anyone simply looking to get more protein into their diet, cheese can be a good choice, but which are the healthiest choices? Here is a list of 20 different kinds of cheese that provide the most protein per oz or half cup.

An ounce of cheese is typically equal to a thin slice that would cover a piece of toast.

The current daily value (DV) for protein is 50 grams per day. Cheeses high in protein include ricotta, low-fat cottage cheese, Parmesan, Romano, non-fat cheddar, gruyere, low-fat Swiss, fontina, and more.

In general, cheeses which are low in fat will provide more protein per serving, however, this is not always the case. For more high protein foods, see the articles on vegetarian protein foods, beans high in protein, grains high in protein, and nuts high in protein.

List of High Protein Cheese

FoodServingProtein
#1 Low Fat Cottage Cheeseper 1/2 cup24% DV
11.8g
#2 Grated Parmesanper oz20% DV
10.2g
#3 Ricottaper 1/2 cup19% DV
9.3g
#4 Romanoper oz18% DV
9g
#5 Non-Fat Cheddarper oz18% DV
9g
#6 Hard Goat Cheeseper oz17% DV
8.7g
#7 Gruyereper oz17% DV
8.5g
#8 Low-Fat Montereyper oz16% DV
7.9g
#9 Swiss Cheeseper oz15% DV
7.7g
#10 Fontinaper oz15% DV
7.3g
#11 Provoloneper oz15% DV
7.3g
#12 Edamper oz14% DV
7.1g
#13 Goudaper oz14% DV
7.1g
#14 Tilsitper oz14% DV
6.9g
#15 Low-Fat Muensterper oz14% DV
6.9g
#16 Low-Fat Mozzarellaper oz14% DV
6.9g
#17 Port De Salut Cheeseper oz14% DV
6.8g
#18 Colbyper oz13% DV
6.7g
#19 Blue Cheeseper oz12% DV
6.1g
#20 Brieper oz12% DV
5.9g

See All 115 Dairy and Egg Products High in Protein

About the Data

Data for the curated food lists comes from the USDA Food Data Central Repository.

You can check our data against the USDA by clicking the (Source) link at the bottom of each food listing.

Note: When checking data please be sure the serving sizes are the same. In the rare case you find any difference, please contact us and we will fix it right away.

About Nutrient Targets

Setting targets can provide a guide to healthy eating.

Some of the most popular targets include:
  • Daily Value (%DV) - The %DV is a general guideline for everyone and accounts for absorption factors. It is the most common target in the U.S. and is the target on the nutrition labels of most products. It is set by the U.S. FDA.
  • Recommended Dietary Allowance (%RDA) - The RDA sets an average daily dietary intake level that is sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (97.5 percent) healthy individuals and is specific to age and gender. The RDA is set by the US National Instutites of Health.
  • Adequate Intake (%AI) - Sets a target for Omega 3 and Omega 6 fats. The Adequate Intake is also set by the U.S. Institute of Medicine. It represents a number to ensure adequacy but lacks the same level of evidence as the Reference Dietary Intake. In short, the number is less accurate than the RDI.
  • Reference Dietary Intake (%RDI) -The reference dietary intake is similar to the recommended daily allowance, and is specific to age and gender. The RDI for amino acids is set by the U.N. World Health Organization.
  • See the Guide to Recommended Daily Intakes for more information.

    Want to set your own targets? Sign up for an account and set custom targets in the daily meal planner.

View more food groups with the nutrient ranking tool, or see ratios with the nutrient ratio tool.

Data Sources and References

  1. U.S. Agricultural Research Service Food Data Central

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