Calories in cottage cheese

Creamed (4% milkfat), large or small curd. 98 kcal (410 kJ) per 100 g. Choose a portion below and every figure on the page updates.

Cottage cheese is a fresh, unripened cheese made from curds that keep much of their whey, so it is about 80% water. This creamed 4% milkfat version has 98 kcal (410 kJ) per 100 g, and protein supplies roughly 45% of those calories, with fat providing most of the rest. Carbohydrate is low at just over 3 g, mostly natural milk sugar.

Where the energy comes from

Share of total energy contributed by each macronutrient, using the standard 4/4/9 kcal per gram factors:

Things worth knowing

• A half-cup (113 g) serving gives about 111 kcal (463 kJ) and 12.6 g of protein, which is why cottage cheese is a common high-protein snack.
• Lower-fat versions save less than you might expect: USDA lists 2% cottage cheese at 81 kcal and 1% at 72 kcal per 100 g, against 98 kcal for this creamed type.
• It is saltier than it tastes. A half-cup carries about 356 mg of sodium, roughly 15% of the Daily Value, so no-salt-added versions are worth checking if you watch sodium.
• Compared with hard cheeses, cottage cheese is relatively low in calcium, at 83 mg per 100 g, because much of the calcium is lost with the whey during curd making.

Converting these figures

One 1/2 cup of cottage cheese is 111 kcal, which is 463 kJ. To convert any other figure, divide kilojoules by 4.184 for calories, or use the converter on the home page.

It takes 244 g of cottage cheese to reach 1,000 kJ (239 kcal). See how that compares with other foods on the 1000 kJ to calories page.