Feta and soft goat cheese are the lowest-calorie common cheeses at about 75 calories per ounce, roughly 35% fewer calories than cheddar. But several other cheeses also fall well below the 100-calorie mark, and the best pick depends on how you plan to use it.
Calories Per Ounce for Common Cheeses
Cheese calories vary widely, mostly driven by moisture and fat content. Softer, wetter cheeses tend to have fewer calories per ounce because part of that weight is water rather than concentrated milk fat. Here’s how popular varieties stack up per one-ounce (28-gram) serving, based on data from Penn State Extension:
- Feta: 75 calories
- Goat cheese (soft/chèvre): 75 calories
- String cheese: 80 calories
- Cottage cheese (1% milkfat): 81 calories
- Mozzarella (part-skim): 84 calories
- Mozzarella (whole milk): 85 calories
- Camembert: 85 calories
- Brie: 95 calories
- Cream cheese: 99 calories
- Blue cheese: 100 calories
- Provolone: 100 calories
- Gouda: 101 calories
- American (processed): 102 calories
- Muenster: 104 calories
- Monterey Jack: 106 calories
- Swiss: 111 calories
- Parmesan: 111 calories
- Cheddar: 115 calories
The gap between the lightest and heaviest options is about 40 calories per ounce. That might sound small, but cheese adds up fast. A two-ounce portion of feta saves you 80 calories compared to the same amount of cheddar.
Best Low-Calorie Cheeses by Use
Knowing the calorie count is only half the picture. A cheese that crumbles beautifully on a salad won’t work in a grilled cheese sandwich. Here’s how to match low-calorie options to what you’re actually making.
Salads, Grain Bowls, and Toppings
Feta and soft goat cheese are ideal here. Both come in at 75 calories per ounce, crumble easily, and deliver strong flavor so you don’t need much. Feta provides about 4 grams of protein per ounce, while goat cheese edges ahead at 5 grams. Their tanginess means a small amount goes a long way on roasted vegetables, pasta, or eggs.
Sandwiches and Snacking
Part-skim mozzarella (84 calories) and string cheese (80 calories) are your best bets. Both melt reasonably well for sandwiches and come in pre-portioned forms that make it easy to track how much you’re eating. String cheese in particular is a convenient grab-and-go snack that keeps you under 100 calories without measuring anything.
Cooking and Melting
Part-skim mozzarella melts smoothly for pizza, casseroles, and baked dishes while staying under 85 calories per ounce. Provolone (100 calories) is another decent melting cheese if you need something with a sharper flavor. Feta and goat cheese don’t truly melt, so they won’t work for recipes that need stretchy, gooey texture.
Finishing and Garnishing
Parmesan looks expensive at 111 calories per ounce, but nobody eats an ounce of grated Parmesan in one sitting. A tablespoon of grated Parmesan contains just 22 calories and delivers an intense, salty punch. If you’re sprinkling cheese on soup, pasta, or roasted broccoli, hard aged cheeses like Parmesan are calorie-efficient because their concentrated flavor means you use very little.
Cottage Cheese Stands Apart
Cottage cheese deserves its own mention because the serving size is completely different from block or crumbled cheeses. While most cheese is eaten an ounce or two at a time, cottage cheese is typically served by the half-cup or full cup. A full cup of 1% milkfat cottage cheese runs about 163 calories and packs roughly 28 grams of protein, making it one of the best protein-to-calorie ratios of any cheese by a wide margin.
That protein density is why cottage cheese has become a staple in high-protein diets. You can eat a satisfying, filling portion and get more protein than you’d find in a comparable calorie amount of chicken breast. If your goal is staying full on fewer calories, cottage cheese is hard to beat.
Ricotta: Watch the Type
Ricotta is a common cooking cheese that varies significantly depending on whether you buy whole milk or part-skim. A half-cup of whole milk ricotta contains about 204 calories, while the same serving of part-skim ricotta drops to 171 calories. That’s a 33-calorie savings just by switching brands at the store. Since ricotta is often used in lasagna, stuffed shells, or as a toast topping, choosing part-skim is an easy swap that doesn’t noticeably change the taste or texture of finished dishes.
Pre-Portioned and Processed Options
Spreadable cheese wedges like The Laughing Cow contain about 45 calories per wedge. Each wedge weighs just 19 grams (smaller than a standard one-ounce serving), so the calorie count partly reflects the smaller portion. Still, these are useful for portion control. One wedge spread on crackers or a wrap gives you cheese flavor without the risk of slicing off more than you planned from a block.
Reduced-fat versions of popular cheeses are another option. Reduced-fat cheddar, for example, contains one-quarter to one-third less fat than regular cheddar. The calorie savings are real, though many people find the texture rubbery and the flavor blander. Whether the tradeoff is worth it comes down to personal preference. Using a smaller amount of full-flavor cheese often works just as well.
Why Some Cheeses Have Fewer Calories
The calorie difference between cheeses comes down to two factors: water content and fat percentage. Soft, fresh cheeses like feta, goat cheese, and mozzarella contain more moisture, which means fewer calories packed into each ounce. Hard aged cheeses like cheddar, Parmesan, and Swiss have had much of their moisture pressed or evaporated out, concentrating the fat and protein (and calories) into a denser package.
Fat is the main calorie driver. Each gram of fat contains 9 calories, compared to 4 calories per gram for protein. Cheeses made from skim or part-skim milk start with less fat in the milk itself, which carries through to the final product. That’s why part-skim mozzarella and low-fat cottage cheese consistently rank among the lightest options.
Practical Tips for Cutting Cheese Calories
Choosing a lower-calorie variety is the most obvious move, but how you use cheese matters just as much. Grating or crumbling cheese spreads it more evenly over a dish, so you get cheese in every bite with less total volume. A quarter-ounce of crumbled feta scattered across a salad feels more generous than a quarter-ounce cube sitting in one spot.
Stronger-flavored cheeses also help. Blue cheese, aged Parmesan, feta, and sharp goat cheese all deliver more taste per gram than mild cheeses like Monterey Jack or American. You’ll naturally use less because the flavor is more satisfying. Swapping two ounces of mild cheddar for one ounce of sharp Parmesan can cut your cheese calories nearly in half while keeping the dish interesting.