Nutrition for Ricotta Cheese

Ricotta Cheese Nutrition Summary

One cup of ricotta cheese (246 grams or 0.5 lb) contains 369 calories and 18.5 grams of protein. Ricotta cheese consist of 74% water, 7% carbohydrates, 8% protein, and 10% fat.

Ricotta cheese is an excellent source of many nutrients, including protein, Vitamin A, calcium, potassium, riboflavin and Vitamin B12. It also contains significant amounts of magnesium, Vitamin B6, zinc, selenium, phosphorus and choline.

In one cup of ricotta cheese:

• Calories: 369
• Protein: 18.5 g
• Sugar: 0.7 g
• Fat: 25 g, (Saturated: 15.8 g)
• Cholesterol: 120.5 mg
• Sodium: 270.6 mg

There is no significant amounts of dietary fiber in ricotta cheese.

See the Ricotta Cheese Nutrition Chart for complete recommended daily values.
The specific nutritional values from USDA is for: Cheese, ricotta, whole milk.

Calories in Ricotta Cheese

Ricotta cheese has 369 calories per cup or 150 calories for every 100 grams. Most of its calories are from fat, protein and carbohydrates.

61% of calories in ricotta cheese are from fat, 20% of calories are from protein and 19% of calories are from carbohydrates.

Calories from Carbs

Calories from Fat

Omega-6 in Ricotta Cheese

Calories Similar to Ricotta Cheese

Some other dairy or egg products with similar calories to ricotta cheese by weight:

• Boiled Egg: +12 calories
• Egg: -17 calories
• Half and Half: -47 calories
• Fried Egg: +113 calories

Protein in Ricotta Cheese

An excellent source of protein, a single cup of Ricotta Cheese contains 37% of recommended daily values or 18.5 grams of protein. However, the protein in ricotta cheese is not complete, meaning it does not contain all 9 essential amino acids. Specifically, ricotta cheese is low in tryptophan, threonine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, valine and histidine.

• Protein: 18.55 g

There is no significant amounts of tryptophan, threonine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, valine or histidine in ricotta cheese.

Protein Similar to Ricotta Cheese

Some other dairy or egg products with similar amounts of protein to ricotta cheese by weight:

• Condensed Milk: +0.9 grams
• Cream Cheese: -3.4 grams
• Greek Yogurt: +5.9 grams
• Vanilla Yogurt: -6.6 grams

Vitamins and Minerals in Ricotta Cheese

An good source of many nutrients, ricotta cheese contains abundant amounts of Vitamin A, calcium, potassium, riboflavin and Vitamin B12. In fact, a single cup of ricotta cheese contains 87% of recommended daily values or 2.1 ug of Vitamin B12. Also an excellent source of riboflavin, a single cup of ricotta cheese contains 67% of recommended daily values or 0.7 milligrams of riboflavin.

Vitamins in ricotta cheese (1 cup):

• Vitamin a: 295.2 ug
• Riboflavin: 0.7 mg
• Niacin: 0.3 mg
• Vitamin b6: 0.2 mg
• Vitamin e: 0.3 mg
• Folate: 9.8 ug
• Vitamin b12: 2.1 ug
• Vitamin k: 2.7 ug

Minerals in ricotta cheese (1 cup):

• Calcium: 506.8 mg
• Potassium: 538.7 mg
• Iron: 0.3 mg
• Magnesium: 49.2 mg
• Zinc: 1.3 mg
• Selenium: 14.5 ug
• Phosphorus: 378.8 mg
• Choline: 43.1 mg

There is no significant amounts of copper, manganese, thiamin, pantothenic acid or vitamin c in ricotta cheese.

Similar to Ricotta Cheese for Vitamin B12

Here are some other dairy or egg products with similarly abundant amounts of Vitamin B12 to ricotta cheese:

• Egg: +0.1 UG
• Mozzarella Cheese: -0.3 UG
• Fried Egg: +0.3 UG
• Cheddar Cheese: +0.62 UG

Flavonoids and Carotenoids in Ricotta Cheese ^[3]

Ricotta Cheese Nutrition Chart

Ricotta Cheese in Cooking

Ricotta cheese is in the top 10% of most popular ingredients for recipes. Most recipes call for one or two cups of ricotta cheese.

Friends and Relatives of Ricotta Cheese

Foods commonly cooked with ricotta cheese:

• Pasta

Other similar relatives:

• Mozzarella Cheese
• Cottage Cheese
• Parmesan Cheese