20 Cheeses High in Protein

Photo of Daisy Whitbread Written by Daisy Whitbread
BSc (Hons) MSc DipION
Photo of Dr. Patricia Shelton Medically Reviewed by
Dr. Patricia Shelton
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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 ounce (oz) or half cup. An ounce of cheese is approximately equal to a thin slice large enough to cover a piece of toast.

The current daily value (DV) for protein is 50 grams per day. (1) Cheeses high in protein include ricotta, low-fat cottage cheese, Parmesan, Romano, non-fat cheddar, gruyere, low-fat Swiss, fontina, and more.

Many of the cheeses on this list are low-fat or non-fat cheeses. In general, cheeses which are lower in fat will tend to contain more protein per serving. However, this is not always the case, and some of the cheeses on the list have a higher fat content.

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.

FoodServingProtein
#1 Low Fat Cottage Cheese per 1/2 cup 24% DV
11.8g
#2 Grated Parmesan per oz 20% DV
10.2g
#3 Ricotta per 1/2 cup 19% DV
9.3g
#4 Romano per oz 18% DV
9g
#5 Non-Fat Cheddar per oz 18% DV
9g
#6 Hard Goat Cheese per oz 17% DV
8.7g
#7 Gruyere per oz 17% DV
8.5g
#8 Low-Fat Monterey per oz 16% DV
7.9g
#9 Swiss Cheese per oz 15% DV
7.7g
#10 Fontina per oz 15% DV
7.3g
#11 Provolone per oz 15% DV
7.3g
#12 Edam per oz 14% DV
7.1g
#13 Gouda per oz 14% DV
7.1g
#14 Tilsit per oz 14% DV
6.9g
#15 Low-Fat Muenster per oz 14% DV
6.9g
#16 Low-Fat Mozzarella per oz 14% DV
6.9g
#17 Port De Salut Cheese per oz 14% DV
6.8g
#18 Colby per oz 13% DV
6.7g
#19 Blue Cheese per oz 12% DV
6.1g
#20 Brie per oz 12% DV
5.9g

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

Data Sources and References

  1. U.S.FDA - Daily Value on the New Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels
  2. U.S. Agricultural Research Service Food Data Central
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