Cottage cheese offers a soft but creamy texture that goes well with main meals and desserts.
But is cottage cheese keto, and more importantly, can you eat cottage cheese without spiking inflammation and blood sugar?
This post will answer all your questions about eating cottage cheese on keto. We’ll look at cottage cheese nutrition while going through the best keto-friendly cottage cheese brands.
Is Cottage Cheese Keto?
You can eat cottage cheese on a ketogenic diet because a half a cup serving only has four grams of carbs.
But not all cottage cheese is healthy. Some companies add MSG and maltodextrin, so their product lasts longer and tastes sweeter. Avoid these brands since they’ll spike inflammation and blood sugar.
Also, check that your cottage cheese is organic and uses whole milk instead of low-fat milk. Low-fat products normally contain extra sugar to replace the flavor lost from the fat, inhibiting ketosis.
What Is Cottage Cheese?
Cottage cheese is a soft and creamy cheese produced by heating whole milk, setting it into a solid curd, and cooking it until soft.
This is why making cottage cheese at home with warm milk and lemon juice is so easy.
All you need to do is pour your milk and lemon juice into a pot on medium heat until the milk starts to curd. Remove this curd, drain it with a clean dishcloth, and you’ll have tasty cottage cheese.
Which Cottage Cheese Is Best for Keto?
Although cottage cheese is keto, you still want to read the label. Many brands add maltodextrin and modified food starch to make their products taste better.
The small quantities may not affect ketosis, but it’ll trigger inflammation. So stick to these healthy cottage cheese brands:
- Traders Point Creamery Cottage Cheese
- Full Circle Organic Cottage Cheese
- Wegmans Cottage Cheese
- Good Culture Double Cream Cottage Cheese
- Kalona Super Natural Cottage Cheese
- Westby Organic Cottage Cheese
- Nancy’s Organic Cottage Cheese
Traders Point Creamery Cottage Cheese
Traders Point Creamery cottage cheese is the best option for keto dieters because half a cup contains three grams of net carbs. This means you can eat as much as you want while burning fat for fuel.
Traders Point stays away from added sugar, maltodextrin, and refined oils. Instead, they add:
- Organic 100 percent grass-fed milk
- Kosher salt
- Lactic cultures
This keeps your blood glucose and insulin levels low while feeding your gut microbiome.
You’ll also be happy to know that multiple studies link a healthy gut microbiome to a longer lifespan and stronger immune function.
Full Circle Organic Cottage Cheese
Full Circle organic cottage cheese is another keto-friendly option as half a cup has 2.7 grams of net carbs. The protein count is also high, clocking in at 12 grams, which is perfect for athletes.
Like Traders Point, Full Circle doesn’t use toxic oils and additives. Full Circle opted for organic milk since it’s high in healthy fats, helping you stay in ketosis. But you still want to diversify your fat intake by getting most of your fat from butter, coconut oil, beef, eggs and fish.
These are the ingredients you’ll find in a tub of Full Circle organic cottage cheese:
- Organic skim milk
- Salt
- Organic whole milk
- Organic cream
- Live active cultures
Wegmans Organic Cottage Cheese
Wegmans produced this heart-healthy, low-carb and gluten-free cottage cheese with all-natural ingredients.
I like that this organic cottage cheese doesn’t have that watery consistency you get with most healthy cottage cheeses. Feel free to spread them on keto sandwiches and burgers without worrying about a runny consistency.
Wegmans uses the following ingredients to manufacture this cottage cheese:
- Organic Grade A skim milk
- Organic cow’s milk
- Organic cream
- Salt
- Live Active Cultures
Good Culture Double Cream Cottage Cheese
Half a cup of Good Culture fresh cheese has three grams of carbs, seven grams of fat, 14 grams of protein and 130 calories.
This makes it a low-calorie option for anyone trying to lose weight because you can use it as a dip to keep you going between meals.
I also like that Good Culture cottage cheese provides your body with 340 mg of sodium, which helps beat keto flu.
Good Culture is super transparent about its manufacturing process. They use pasture-raised cows and organic cream. This gives you peace of mind knowing that you’re buying top-quality cottage cheese as none of the cows are grain-fed.
In this container, you’ll find:
- Skim milk
- Whole milk
- Cream
- Celtic sea salt
- Live and active cultures
Unlike previously mentioned brands, Good Culture uses Celtic sea salt, not regular table salt. This is good news because research shows this form of natural sea salt is some of the healthiest salt in the world. Sea salt protects your body against kidney damage and high blood pressure.
Kalona Super Natural Cottage Cheese
Half a cup of Kalona Super Natural cottage cheese has three grams of carbs, seven grams of fat, 12 grams of protein and 120 calories. It keeps the carb content down by using 100 percent organic whole milk and zero additives.
But what caught my eye about Kalona Super Natural cheese is that a small family produces it using regenerative farming methods. This means farmers aren’t damaging the environment, and the cottage cheese is slightly more nutrient-dense than other brands.
This low-calorie cheese uses the following ingredients:
- Certified organic non-fat milk
- Organic Grade A whole milk
- Organic cream
- Celtic sea salt
- Cultures
You’ll also notice that Kolona opted for low-temp pasteurization, which benefits your health as it retains good enzymes while destroying harmful bacteria.
Westby Organic Cottage Cheese
Westby organic cottage cheese has less than three grams of net carbs per half-cup serving. This fresh keto option is non-GMO and comes in flavors like french onion dip and sour cream. So if you don’t want to snack on plain cream cheese all the time, try Westby’s cream cheese.
Westby also sells grass-fed keto products like butter, snack dips and sour cream. So it’s a convenient way to stock up on keto-friendly dairy products.
Nancy’s Organic Cottage Cheese
The final keto-friendly cottage cheese brand is Nancy’s organic cottage cheese. It has three grams of net carbs per serving and contains zero dangerous additives.
Nancy’s also sells low-fat cottage cheese, but I’m not a big fan of it since it isn’t as tasty as the full-fat version, and it has more carbs.
How Many Carbs Are in Cottage Cheese?
A half a cup serving of cottage cheese has four grams of net carbs, making it a suitable option for keto dieters.
But you still have to read the label. Even though it’s low-carb doesn’t mean it’s healthy. So avoid ingredients like:
- Maltodextrin
- Modified food starch
- Added sugar
- Preservatives and additives
Instead, look for brands that exclusively use whole milk, cream, salt and live cultures. If a product has any additional ingredients, I’d suggest staying away from it.
If your cottage cheese doesn’t contain maltodextrin and modified food starch, you won’t have to worry about blood sugar spikes.
This is why plain cottage cheese is one of my favorite all-around health products. It’s goes well with most keto recipes, you can eat as much of it as you want, and it positively impacts your gut health. Cottage cheese also contains ample amounts of protein, helping you recover from workouts quicker.
Final Thoughts on Cottage Cheese Keto-Friendly
Full-fat cottage cheese on a keto diet because half a cup only contains around three to four grams of carbs. Feel free to whip up some cottage cheese pancakes or smoothies.
But always read the label before buying as some companies add MSG and corn starch, increasing your risk of developing various chronic conditions.
Instead, go for Traders Point, Full Circle and Wegmans cottage cheese since it has zero dangerous ingredients. These brands stick to organic milk, cream, salt and live cultures, so it doesn’t harm your body.
If you are looking for more “is it keto” guides, read our articles about sour cream, ranch, buttermilk, cream cheese, oat milk, mayo, quinoa, and lupin flour.
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