Low fat cottage cheese calories come to 185 for 1 cup (226 g) and 82 per 100 g. Protein is the headline: 54% of those calories come from protein, so one cup delivers 24.9 g, half the daily value. The catch is sodium, at 725 mg per cup, which climbs fast with bigger bowls.
185kcal
1 cup · 226 g, plain, low fat
54%protein
25 gProtein
10 gCarbs
5.2 gFat
How to burn off 185 kcal
—Walking, brisk
—Jogging
—Cycling, moderate
—Swimming
Skip the math. BodyPal counts these calories from your steps and workouts automatically.
Nutrition facts
Plain, low fat · per 226 g
Calories
185 kcal
Protein
25 g
Carbohydrate
9.7 g
Fat
5.2 g
Saturated fat
2.8 g
Cholesterol
27 mg
Sodium
725 mg
Potassium
271 mg
Iron
0.3 mg
Source: USDA FoodData Central
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Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified October 2026. How we verify our data →
Low fat cottage cheese: calories, protein and sodium by serving
Percent of daily value uses the FDA reference of 2,000 kcal a day.
Serving
kcal
Protein
Carbs
Fat
Sodium
% DV kcal
1 cup (226 g)
185
24.9 g
9.7 g
5.2 g
725 mg
9%
1/2 cup (113 g)
93
12.4 g
4.9 g
2.6 g
363 mg
5%
100 g
82
11 g
4.3 g
2.3 g
321 mg
4%
3 × 1 cup (226 g)
556
74.6 g
2,176 mg
5 × 1 cup (226 g)
927
124.3 g
3,627 mg
A 1/2 cup is a 93-calorie snack
Cottage cheese is usually measured by the cup, and the math is simple. A 1/2 cup (113 g) has 93 calories, 12.4 g of protein and 4.9 g of carbs. A full cup (226 g) roughly doubles that to 185 calories and 24.9 g of protein. Per 100 g, the number is 82.
The trouble is that cottage cheese goes down easily straight from the tub. Two cups (452 g) come to 371 calories, and three cups (678 g) reach 556. Eat 5 cups (1,130 g) over a day and you have taken in 927 calories along with 124.3 g of protein. That is still lean food, but it is no longer a snack.
If you track portions, weigh it a few times. A heaped spoonful looks like a 1/2 cup and often isn't, and the gap between 93 and 185 calories is easy to miss by eye. Once you know what a measured cup looks like in your usual bowl, guessing gets far more accurate.
Protein supplies 54% of the calories
Low fat cottage cheese is one of the leanest protein options in the dairy case. Of its calories, 54% come from protein, 25% from fat and 21% from carbs. Per 100 g that works out to 11 g of protein, 2.3 g of fat and 4.3 g of carbs.
The ratio is the reason people buy it. One cup covers 50% of the daily value for protein while using only 9% of a 2000-calorie day. A 1/2 cup gets you 25% of the protein value for 5% of the calories. No cooking, no prep.
The carbs are nearly all sugars: 4.1 g of the 4.3 g per 100 g, with 0 g of fiber. Fat stays low, and saturated fat is 1.3 g per 100 g. Cholesterol is modest at 12 mg per 100 g. In short, the label is mostly protein with a little dairy sugar and fat around it.
Sodium is the row to watch
Sodium is the number that surprises people. A 100 g serving has 321 mg, which is 14% of the daily value. One cup carries 725 mg, or 32%, and a 1/2 cup has 363 mg, or 16%.
Large portions push it up quickly. Two cups (452 g) add up to 1,451 mg of sodium, and three cups (678 g) hit 2,176 mg, close to the full daily value in a single sitting. A protein-focused eater who leans on cottage cheese several times a day can end up with most of the day's sodium from this one food.
If you watch sodium, keep the rest of the plate plain: fresh fruit, unsalted nuts, raw vegetables. Salty add-ons like crackers, deli meat or seasoning blends stack on top of an already salty base. Potassium is modest at 120 mg per 100 g, so the sodium row is the one worth checking on the tub you buy.
It needs a partner for fiber
With 0 g of fiber, cottage cheese works best as the protein half of a meal. Fruit on top turns it into breakfast. Sliced tomato, cucumber and pepper make it a savory lunch. Both add the fiber and volume the cheese lacks.
At 93 calories for a 1/2 cup, it leaves room for a slice of whole-grain toast or a handful of berries without the meal getting heavy. Brands such as Good & Gather, Hood, Prairie Farms and Darigold sell plain low fat versions, and the plain style is what these numbers describe. Flavored cups with fruit stirred in will read differently, so check their own labels.
If you log meals, BodyPal can log a bowl of cottage cheese from a photo, and you can adjust the grams to match what you actually ate.
How does low fat cottage cheese compare?
Here is how low fat cottage cheese stacks up against a near-identical lowfat entry and full-fat yogurt, per 100 g and per usual serving.
Verdict: For the fewest calories per cup pick full-fat yogurt at 149, but for protein and staying full cottage cheese wins easily with 11 g per 100 g against 3.5 g. The lowfat cottage cheese entry is effectively the same food at 183 versus 185 per cup, with slightly less sodium at 308 mg per 100 g.
Most popular low fat cottage cheese brands in the United States
Labels vary with milkfat level, so some read a little lower or higher than the main number. Source: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Low fat cottage cheese FAQs
How many calories are in one cup of low fat cottage cheese?
One cup (226 g) of low fat cottage cheese has 185 calories. A half cup (113 g) has 93.
Is low fat cottage cheese good for weight loss?
One cup has 185 calories with 24.9 g of protein and 5.2 g of fat, so it is high in protein for its calories.
Low fat cottage cheese vs cottage cheese: which has fewer calories?
Low fat cottage cheese has 82 calories per 100 g, compared with 98 for regular cottage cheese.
How much protein is in low fat cottage cheese?
It has 11 g of protein per 100 g, which is 24.9 g per cup and 12.4 g per half cup.
How many calories are in 1/2 cup of low fat cottage cheese?
A 1/2 cup (113 g) of low fat cottage cheese has 93 calories. That serving also gives 12.4 g of protein, 4.9 g of carbs and 2.6 g of fat, about 5% of a 2000-calorie day.
How many calories are in 2 cups of low fat cottage cheese?
Two cups (452 g) of low fat cottage cheese contain 371 calories. You also get 49.7 g of protein and 1,451 mg of sodium, so a double portion is protein-heavy but salty.
How much protein is in 1/2 cup of low fat cottage cheese?
A 1/2 cup has 12.4 g of protein, which is 25% of the daily value. It costs only 93 calories, since protein supplies 54% of the calories in low fat cottage cheese.
How much sodium is in 1/2 cup of low fat cottage cheese?
A 1/2 cup (113 g) has 363 mg of sodium, or 16% of the daily value. A full cup doubles that to 725 mg, which is 32% of the daily value.
How much sugar is in low fat cottage cheese?
One cup of low fat cottage cheese has 9.3 g of sugars, and a 1/2 cup has 4.6 g. Per 100 g it is 4.1 g, with 0 g of fiber.
