Ricotta: Calories, Nutrition & Healthier Swaps

Ricotta is a soft, mild whey cheese — lighter than most cheeses, with protein and calcium.

Ricotta nutrition facts per 100 g and per serving

Values per 100 g as eaten, averaged from food composition tables (USDA FoodData Central and others) and rounded — a specific brand or recipe will differ a little.

Ricotta: nutrition highlights

Nutritionally it's mainly a source of energy: 174 kcal per 100 g, 104 kcal per serving.

On the open Nutri-Score algorithm, ricotta gets a C: the middle of the scale — fine with an eye on portions. The score weighs calories, sugar, saturated fat and salt against protein, fiber and the share of fruit, vegetables, legumes and nuts.

What to watch

• High in saturated fat: 8 g per 100 g, against a daily reference of about 20 g.

How much movement is one serving?

One serving (serving, 60 g) is 104 kcal — roughly 34 min of easy walking or 13 min of cycling for a 70 kg (154 lb) person. In the diary, minutes are worked out for your weight and the activities you actually do.

Healthier swaps for Ricotta

Swaps are picked the same way the app does it: from the same kind of food, with a serving matched to the same calories (±25%), and only when the swap is clearly better — not “salad instead of pizza”.

• Cottage cheese, fat-free — 150 g, 107 kcal: −4.2 g saturated fat, +17 g protein.
• Greek Yogurt — 140 g, 102 kcal: −3 g saturated fat.
• Cottage cheese 2% — 100 g, 103 kcal: −3.5 g saturated fat, +11 g protein.
• Cottage Cheese — 90 g, 109 kcal: −1.9 g saturated fat, +8.7 g protein.