Cottage Cheese Versus Greek Yogurt: Which Has More Protein?

Your body needs protein, and while you can choose the best high protein bar to make sure you're eating enough of it, there are more versatile ways to incorporate protein into your everyday meals. Take cottage cheese and Greek yogurt, for example. There are many different ways to eat cottage cheese for breakfast, including cheesecake parfaits and morning scrambles. Fortunately, the same can be said about Greek yogurt. However, if you're looking to only consume the product that serves as the more high-protein snack, go for cottage cheese.

Even though Greek yogurt and cottage cheese are both considered high in protein, cottage cheese generally has a few more grams per serving. There are approximately 12 grams of protein in ½ cup of whole milk cottage cheese. On the other hand, there are roughly 9 grams of protein in ½ cup of whole milk Greek yogurt. Interestingly, this discrepancy becomes smaller when you consume low-fat alternatives. Even though ½ cup of low-fat cottage cheese still has more protein per serving than low-fat Greek yogurt, the difference amounts to less than 1 gram. Additionally, standard serving sizes of cottage cheese tend to be smaller than recommended servings of Greek yogurt.

In some cases, especially given the variety of brands on the market, the difference in portion size may bridge the gap in protein. Nevertheless, if you determine your selection based on protein alone, cottage cheese generally has more per serving than Greek yogurt. However, both dairy products offer other nutritional benefits worth considering.

While protein is necessary to keep your body happy and thriving, there are other elements of your health that are directly linked to food consumption. For example, if you're someone who worries about high blood pressure, reducing your sodium intake is crucial. A ½ cup of full-fat cottage cheese contains roughly 350 milligrams of sodium, whereas a ½ cup of full-fat Greek yogurt has only 34 milligrams. In this case, with such a significant discrepancy at stake, Greek yogurt is obviously the better choice.

Fortunately, both cottage cheese and Greek yogurt contain various micronutrients such as riboflavin and vitamin A. Yet, Greek yogurt provides more vitamin B12 and vitamin C, and often contains probiotics. Though, to ensure you're consuming a truly fermented variety, look for yogurt brands that showcase a "live" or "active cultures" label on the packaging.

Depending on what your overall health needs are, you may have an inclination to choose cottage cheese over Greek yogurt (or vice versa). Still, whether you prefer to use cottage cheese to make a light Alfredo sauce or turn yogurt into pizza dough, both options are healthy and reliable sources of protein worth adding to your diet. Even though, it's important to remember that the style and brand of each product varies the ingredients greatly.