Top 10 Cheeses Low in Cholesterol

Written by Daisy Whitbread, MScN
Powered by USDA Nutrition DataLast Updated: April 29th, 2019

This list of low cholesterol cheeses is for those looking to lower their LDL cholesterol, but don't want to eliminate cheese from their diet completely.

In general, low cholesterol cheeses include those where the milk fat has been reduced or removed. These include low-fat cottage cheese, fat-free cream cheese, non-fat cheddar, non-fat Swiss, low-fat ricotta, soft goat cheese, low-fat provolone, low-fat mozzarella, grated parmesan, and blue cheese.

On average low cholesterol cheeses have 7mg (2%DV) of cholesterol per ounce vs high cholesterol cheeses which have 31mg cholesterol (12% DV) per ounce.

Below is a table of the 10 cheeses lowest in cholesterol per ounce. For more, see the list of cheeses high in cholesterol to avoid, and the complete ranking of over 100 dairy foods low in cholesterol.

Table of Low Cholesterol Cheese

Food	Serving	Cholesterol
#1 Low-Fat Cottage Cheese	per oz	0% DV 1mg
#2 Fat-Free Cream Cheese	per oz	1% DV 3mg
#3 Non-Fat Cheddar	per oz	2% DV 5mg
#4 Non-Fat Swiss	per oz	2% DV 5mg
#5 Low-Fat Ricotta Cheese	per oz	3% DV 9mg
#6 Soft Goat Cheese	per oz	4% DV 13mg
#7 Low-Fat Provolone	per oz	5% DV 16mg
#8 Low-Fat Mozzarella	per oz	6% DV 18mg
#9 Grated Parmesan	per oz	6% DV 19mg
#10 Blue Cheese	per oz	7% DV 21mg

See All 22 Dairy and Egg Products Low in Cholesterol

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Table of High Cholesterol Cheese

Food	Serving	Cholesterol
#1 Port De Salut	per oz	12% DV (35mg)
#2 Gouda	per oz	11% DV (32mg)
#3 Gruyere	per oz	10% DV (31mg)
#4 Hard Goat Cheese	per oz	10% DV (30mg)
#5 Tilsit	per oz	10% DV (29mg)
#6 Brie	per oz	9% DV (28mg)
#7 Cheddar	per oz	9% DV (28mg)
#8 Colby	per oz	9% DV (27mg)
#9 Gjetost	per oz	9% DV (27mg)
#10 Swiss	per oz	9% DV (26mg)

Does Cheese Increase Your LDL Cholesterol?

Recently there has been a lot of controversy over whether a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol really affects cholesterol levels. A 2010 study reviewing the advice to reduce consumption of saturated fats found that eating a diet lower in saturated fat and cholesterol is still beneficial for reducing LDL cholesterol and cardiovascular disease risk. Note: This is only true if a low-fat diet is not replaced with a high sugar diet. A diet which lowers cholesterol requires reducing consumption of saturated fats, cholesterol, and refined sugar.

What can I do to lower cholesterol?

Cholesterol reduction can be affected by genetics, but in general it is best to:

Lose Weight
Exercise regularly
Adopt a vegan diet
Reduce consumption of refined carbohydrates and sugars
Reduce stress

Fore more, see the article on cholesterol lowering foods.

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Data Sources and References

USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 28.