Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
cottage cheese
versus
chicken leg
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in cottage cheese and chicken leg:
Chicken leg is high in calories and cottage cheese has 54% less calories than chicken leg - cottage cheese has 98 calories per 100 grams and chicken leg has 214 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, cottage cheese is heavier in protein, heavier in carbs and much lighter in fat compared to chicken leg per calorie. Cottage cheese has a macronutrient ratio of 46:14:40 and for chicken leg, 31:0:69 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Cottage Cheese | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 46% | 31% |
| Carbohydrates | 14% | ~ |
| Fat | 40% | 69% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Both cottage cheese and chicken leg are low in carbohydrates - cottage cheese has 3.4g of total carbs per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.17g of carbohydrates.
Chicken leg has less sugar than cottage cheese - cottage cheese has 2.7g of sugar per 100 grams and chicken leg does not contain significant amounts.
Both cottage cheese and chicken leg are high in protein. Chicken leg has 47% more protein than cottage cheese - cottage cheese has 11.1g of protein per 100 grams and chicken leg has 16.4g of protein.
Cottage cheese has 61% less saturated fat than chicken leg - cottage cheese has 1.7g of saturated fat per 100 grams and chicken leg has 4.4g of saturated fat.
Both chicken leg and cottage cheese are low in trans fat - chicken leg has 0.06g of trans fat per 100 grams and cottage cheese does not contain significant amounts.
Cottage cheese has 4.4 times less cholesterol than chicken leg - cottage cheese has 17mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and chicken leg has 93mg of cholesterol.
Chicken leg and cottage cheese contain similar amounts of Vitamin C - chicken leg has 0.2mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and cottage cheese does not contain significant amounts.
Cottage cheese and chicken leg contain similar amounts of Vitamin A - cottage cheese has 37ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and chicken leg has 28ug of Vitamin A.
Cottage cheese and chicken leg contain similar amounts of Vitamin D - cottage cheese has 3iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and chicken leg has 2iu of Vitamin D.
Cottage cheese and chicken leg contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - cottage cheese has 0.08mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.22mg of Vitamin E.
Chicken leg and cottage cheese contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - chicken leg has 2.3ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and cottage cheese does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg has more thiamin, niacin and Vitamin B6, however, cottage cheese contains more folate. Both cottage cheese and chicken leg contain significant amounts of riboflavin, pantothenic acid and Vitamin B12.
| Cottage Cheese | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.027 MG | 0.073 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.163 MG | 0.141 MG |
| Niacin | 0.099 MG | 4.733 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.557 MG | 0.994 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.046 MG | 0.318 MG |
| Folate | 12 UG | 4 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.43 UG | 0.56 UG |
Cottage cheese is an excellent source of calcium and it has 822% more calcium than chicken leg - cottage cheese has 83mg of calcium per 100 grams and chicken leg has 9mg of calcium.
Chicken leg has 886% more iron than cottage cheese - cottage cheese has 0.07mg of iron per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.69mg of iron.
Chicken leg is a great source of potassium and it has 95% more potassium than cottage cheese - cottage cheese has 104mg of potassium per 100 grams and chicken leg has 203mg of potassium.
Carotenoids are micronutrients commonly found in plants and some animal products. An example is beta-carotene, the notable carotenoid which is a popular source of Vitamin A.[4][5]
For specific types of carotenoids,
| Cottage Cheese | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| beta-carotene | 12 UG | ~ |
| lutein + zeaxanthin | ~ | 91 UG |
For omega-3 fatty acids, chicken leg has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) and DPA than cottage cheese per 100 grams.
| Cottage Cheese | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.017 G | 0.155 G |
| DHA | ~ | 0.01 G |
| EPA | ~ | 0.004 G |
| DPA | ~ | 0.012 G |
| Total | 0.017 G | 0.181 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, chicken leg has more linoleic acid than cottage cheese per 100 grams.
| Cottage Cheese | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.105 G | 2.987 G |
| other omega 6 | ~ | 0.016 G |
| Total | 0.105 G | 3.003 G |
The comparison below is by common portions, e.g. cups, packages. You can also see a more concrete comparison by weight at equal weight (by grams) comparison.
Note: The specific food items compared are: Cottage Cheese (Cheese, cottage, creamed, large or small curd) and Chicken Leg (Chicken, broilers or fryers, leg, meat and skin, raw) .
Cottage Cheese g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Chicken Leg g
()
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KCAL % |
|
5% | calories | 5% |
|
KCAL % | |
| G % |
|
5% | carbohydrates | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G % |
|
5% | dietary fiber | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G | 5% | sugar | 5% | G | |||
| G % |
|
5% | total fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G % |
|
5% | saturated fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G | 5% | monounsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | polyunsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | trans fat | 5% | G | |||
| MG | 5% | cholesterol | 5% | MG | |||
| MG % |
|
5% | sodium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| 5% | Vitamins and Minerals | 5% | |||||
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin A | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin C | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| IU % |
|
5% | Vitamin D | 5% |
|
IU % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | calcium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | iron | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | magnesium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | potassium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | thiamin (Vit B1) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | riboflavin (Vit B2) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | niacin (Vit B3) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B6 | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | pantothenic acid (Vit B5) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | folate (Vit B9) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B12 | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin E | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin K | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| G % |
|
5% | protein | 5% |
|
G % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | biotin (Vit B7) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | choline | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | chlorine | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | chromium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | copper | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | fluoride | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | iodine | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | manganese | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | molybdenum | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | phosphorus | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | selenium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | zinc | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| G | 5% | Water | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Starch | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Alcohol | 5% | G | |||