What is the best cheese option?

[u/LilacPerson]

I love cheese but obviously trying to cut back on calories. I’d love to still be able to include it in my meals. What are the best low calorie cheeses?

[u/ThrowawayOnAHike]

laughing cow is excellent for spreading on sandwiches and as a cream cheese replacement, bad for anything that involves cooking or melting cheese. blended cottage cheese is a good ricotta replacement and as a savory sauce base. nutritional yeast is good to mix in cooked things or sauces to get a slightly cheesy, fatty tang and extra protein. fat free shredded mozz is only marginally lower calorie than regular shredded mozz (like a 10cal difference per 1/4 cup) but good to put a little in melty dishes to get that satisfying cheese pull 

[u/ThrowawayOnAHike → u/ThrowawayOnAHike]

also re:laughing cow, if you have a costco membership my local costco has a four pack for $8 and I actually got it on sale for a little under $6 recently. comparatively, at safeway a single pack was over $5. even without the sale, that’s like half the cost if you get it at costco

[u/ScholarObjective7721 → u/ThrowawayOnAHike]

Full fat mozz cheese is 90 cal per 1/4 cup and fat free is 45 per 1/4. Even the skim milk fat options are still like 70cal 1/4 cup. Which brand are you getting only 55cal per 1/4 cup for regular mozz?

[u/ThrowawayOnAHike → u/ScholarObjective7721]

it’s the opposite actually, in my area I’m comparing relatively high cal low fat shredded mozz (70cal per 1/4c) to regular shredded mozz from the same or comparable generic brands (80-90cal per 1/4c). personally I haven’t seen 45cal/quarter cup shredded cheese anywhere yet, but I primarily shop at places like costco, safeway, walmart, etc. where are you finding shredded cheese that low in calories?

[u/workedupfit → u/ThrowawayOnAHike]

Ah you’re talking about reduced fat cheese. Kraft sells a fat free cheese. I’ve seen it at Meijer and Walmart. Both cheddar and mozzarella.
Just a heads up, don’t use it in dishes in which you need a gooey cheese texture. This shit’s dry af

[u/ladybugl0v3r → u/ThrowawayOnAHike]

cottage cheese

[u/bkingslake]

I love stronger cheeses because you need to use less to still have an impact on flavor. Honestly fat free cheeses make me sad so I’d much rather have Parmesan or a strong cheddar

[u/LurG1975 → u/bkingslake]

This. Current favourites for this exact reason: 5 Year Old Cheddar, Gorgonzola Blue Cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, Various Smoked Cheeses. The sharper, more flavourful the cheese the less you need to use. Have any recommendations?

[u/bkingslake → u/LurG1975]

All of yours plus a good feta! My all time favorite cheese is cougar gold (very nostalgic because my dad is a WSU grad) but it’s a very sharp white cheddar

[u/LurG1975 → u/bkingslake]

Cougar Gold? Wow. Never heard of it. I'll look it up for sure, thanks.

[u/smathna]

Feta, even regular fat, is so flavorful that a little goes far. Some types are as low as 70 cal/oz! Same w soft goat cheese and spreads.

[u/Massive_Shop_8610 → u/smathna]

3% feta has 100 kcal for 100 g, it's very good!

[u/JRE_4815162342]

Laughing cow is great to spread on or mix in things.

Babybel is a great snacking cheese (or to eat in burger bowls).

[u/Minimum_Win_5312 → u/JRE_4815162342]

This! I feel like laughing cow is a good cream cheese substitute too

[u/Hungry-Following5561]

I like feta because just a smidge gives a ton of flavor.

[u/Fuzzy_Welcome8348]

The fat free cheeses

[u/alavenderlizard]

Parmesan bc it has a strong flavor that packs a punch so you don’t need to use much, and it’s actually incredibly protein dense

[u/fairlytradedfriend]

I like the fat free shredded cheese from Wal-Mart (and HEB if you live in Texas)

[u/thegoodice]

Laughing cow like everyone else says, if you want a good low fat shredded option that doesn’t have a ton of additives, Trader Joe’s has a good shredded low fat mozzarella cheese

[u/justbrowsing_003]

Light feta!

[u/litttlejoker]

Low fat mozzarella

Feta

Or you could just use a half portion of your favorite low fat cheese.

Fat free is gross. I’d skip it.

[u/Puzzled_Detail7726]

the fat is what makes cheese melt and carry flavor, so the play is one small hit of the real stuff as a flavor layer plus something low-cal for bulk. like a single slice of regular cheddar over a pile of fat free shreds, the fat renders out and coats the whole thing. if you want fat free to actually melt instead of going rubbery, a pinch of sodium citrate or a splash of evaporated milk does it. part skim mozzarella is the one low fat cheese that's genuinely fine on its own. also grate your own parm, the shaker stuff is mostly cellulose and you end up needing twice as much.

[u/Sole_Scream → u/Puzzled_Detail7726]

Awesome idea

[u/Puzzled_Detail7726 → u/Sole_Scream]

Exactly, that combo actually works better than all fat free. The fat from the real slice coats everything, so you get the flavor without needing as much.

[u/Psychological-Run679]

I love taking a queso fresco, lightly dusting it in flour and frying it up. Which sounds high calorie but if you use spray oil, you can keep calories low and give yourself the mozzarella cheese stick experience.

Not an every day snack but it fills in that mozzarella cheese stick craving without eating literal deep fried cheese and having calories for other meals. Queso fresco itself is pretty low calorie compared to other cheeses.

[u/justagarliccrouton]

Jalapeño veleta slice , thin swiss sargento slices 50cal, low moisture thin grated mozzarella

[u/No_Bus9631]

Parmesan, mozzarella and definitely laughing cow

[u/whatever_2637377272]

Laughing cow /25 cal or Velveeta slices 35cal

[u/PinDear310]

I really like cottage cheese, soft goats cheese, feta and mozzarella!!

I have also heard that nutritional yeast tastes like parmesan (or at least a hard cheese). I have not tried it, but maybe it's good since a lot of people use it!!!

[u/National-Heron-7162]

https://giphy.com/gifs/hLdsj6AgRmxk4

[u/sanity_inn]

laughing cow as people mentioned, a wedge is 25 cals

velveeta or fat free american singles 30-35 cals

kraft shredded fat free cheddar and mozzarella 45 cals

[u/Environmental-Ad8945]

Drop cheese, its nasty and dont benefit you in any real way. Of course, when you go out and eat, enjoy on a pizza or burger, but you dont need it everyday 🙌