Calories in Mozzarella: Ball, Half Ball and Grated
One fresh ball: 321 calories. Half: 159. The calories in mozzarella work out at 257 kcal per 100 g, which makes it the lightweight of the cheese aisle — cheddar carries 416. The catch is that "just a bit of mozzarella" usually means the whole 125 g ball.
You'd need to walk about 64 minutes to burn the 321 calories in a whole 125 g fresh ball.
How long does it take to burn off mozzarella?
A whole 125 g fresh ball is 321 kcal. Enter your weight and the amount you ate to see how long it takes you to burn that off:
lb
| Activity | Time to burn 321 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 1 hr 4 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 40 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 46 min |
| Jogging | 38 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 1 hr 11 min |
Times are for a 154 lb (11 st) adult at a steady pace; change the weight to see yours. The amount is set to the portion in the text (125 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Quick facts
- Ball, half ball and a pizza's worth
- Fresh vs block
- Mozzarella vs cheddar
- How does mozzarella compare?
- The "diet cheese" myth
- Most popular mozzarella brands
- FAQ
Quick facts
| Per 100 g (fresh) | Amount | RI%* |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 257 kcal (1,075 kJ) | 13% |
| Protein | 18.6 g | 37% |
| Carbohydrates | trace | 0% |
| Fat | 20.3 g | 29% |
| — of which saturates | 13.75 g | 69% |
| Fibre | 0 g | – |
| Sugar | trace | 0% |
| Salt | 0.99 g | 17% |
*RI = reference intake for an average adult (2,000 kcal a day).
Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from CoFID, the UK government’s Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified August 2026. How we verify our data →
Ball, half ball and a pizza's worth
- Whole fresh ball (125 g) — 321 kcal
- Half a ball (62 g) — 159 kcal
- Grated for pizza (30 g) — 77 kcal
Half a ball is the honest salad portion, and at 159 kcal it earns its place: you also get 11.5 g of protein with it. The whole ball is where a light lunch stops being light.
Fresh vs block
The numbers above are for fresh mozzarella — the ball in brine. The firmer block sold for pizza is drier: less water per gram means more cheese per gram, and the calorie figure drifts up towards 300 per 100 g on typical labels.
The rule of thumb: the wetter the mozzarella, the lighter it is. Fresh beats block, and block still beats almost every hard cheese in the aisle.
Mozzarella vs cheddar
Gram for gram, mozzarella's 257 kcal against cheddar's 416 is one of the biggest gaps in the cheese aisle — nearly 40% fewer calories, bought entirely by water content.
Two caveats keep it honest. Per 100 g, mozzarella still holds 13.75 g of saturated fat — 69% of the 20 g daily maximum the NHS suggests. And its salt, at 0.99 g per 100 g, means a whole ball carries about 1.2 g — a fifth of the 6 g NHS daily limit. Lighter than cheddar, yes. A free food, no.
How does mozzarella compare?
| Food | Typical portion | kcal per portion | kcal per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mozzarella (fresh) | 125 g ball | 321 | 257 |
| Cheddar | – | – | 416 |
| Babybel Light | one round | 42 | – |
| Greek yogurt | – | – | 133 |
Burrata, for the record, is mozzarella's richer cousin — the cream-filled centre puts it above a plain ball, so treat it as the indulgent end of this family.
The verdict: for cheese cravings on a calorie budget, mozzarella is the best of the proper cheeses here, and a Babybel Light is the emergency option at 42. For protein per calorie, Greek yogurt quietly beats them all.
The "diet cheese" myth
Mozzarella has a health halo — white, fresh, sitting on salads. Lighter than cheddar is true. Light is not: a caprese with the whole ball starts at 321 kcal before the olive oil lands, and oil-drizzled versions can double.
Treat mozzarella as what it is — the most affordable real cheese in calorie terms, at half a ball a time. The halo only survives when the portion does.
Most popular mozzarella brands in the United Kingdom
Ranked by how widely each product appears among foods sold in the United Kingdom, from the BodyPal food database of over 3.3 million products. Calories are the figures printed on each label.
| Product | Calories (per 100 g) |
|---|---|
| Galbani Mozzarella | 222 kcal |
| Galbani Mozzarella Light | 165 kcal |
| Galbani Mozzarella di Bufala | 262 kcal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels.
Mozzarella FAQ
How many calories in a mozzarella ball?
321 kcal for a standard 125 g fresh ball, and 159 for half. The ball also delivers about 23 g of protein, which is why half a ball over a salad works as a genuine lunch component rather than a garnish.
How many calories in light mozzarella?
Lower than the 257 kcal per 100 g of standard fresh mozzarella — reduced-fat versions cut part of the 20.3 g of fat, and exact figures vary by brand, so the label is the authority. The texture pays for the saving; it's firmer and less creamy.
Mozzarella vs cheddar — which has fewer calories?
Mozzarella, comfortably: 257 kcal per 100 g against cheddar's 416. The gap is water — a fresh ball is heavy with brine, cheddar is pressed dry. Swap grated cheddar for mozzarella in a cheese-heavy dish and you trim over a third of the cheese calories.
Is mozzarella healthy?
It's one of the better cheese choices on numbers: 257 kcal and a strong 18.6 g of protein per 100 g. The flags are saturated fat — 13.75 g per 100 g, over two-thirds of the NHS daily guideline — and about 1 g of salt. Portion size settles the argument, as ever.
How many calories in a caprese salad?
Count 321 kcal for the whole mozzarella ball, next to nothing for the tomatoes and basil, then add the olive oil — a generous drizzle can rival the cheese. A caprese made with half a ball and a light hand on the oil is a 250-ish lunch; the restaurant version is often double.
How many calories in grated mozzarella on pizza?
77 kcal for a typical 30 g handful of fresh mozzarella. Block mozzarella for pizza is drier and closer to 300 kcal per 100 g, so the same handful runs nearer 90. Either way the cheese is only part of a slice's total — the base carries plenty itself.
How much protein is in mozzarella?
18.6 g per 100 g, so a whole 125 g ball provides about 23 g of protein — nearly half the 50 g daily reference intake. Per calorie that's a better protein deal than most cheeses, though Greek yogurt at 133 kcal per 100 g still does it cheaper.
How much salt is in mozzarella?
0.99 g per 100 g — the brine does its work — so a whole ball carries about 1.2 g, a fifth of the NHS 6 g daily maximum. It's still modest next to hard and blue cheeses, but worth counting if the rest of the meal leans salty.
Similar foods
- Honey — 20 kcal a teaspoon
- Hummus — 92 kcal per 30 g
- Couscous — 267 kcal per 150 g cooked side
- Pasta — 304 kcal per cooked portion
- Rice — 236 kcal per cooked portion
- Caster sugar — 16 kcal per level teaspoon
One photo, whole caprese
Ball sizes, oil drizzles, mystery grated handfuls — point your camera at the plate and BodyPal logs the calories and macros without the scales.
