Dairy

Cheddar cheese nutrition, the complete picture.

Weigh out 1 slice of cheddar cheese and you are looking at 69 calories, with 4 g of protein inside them. The source is the USDA entry “Cheese, cheddar”. Set the serving below and the panel works it out, with the full nutrient table following your choice.

By Alen Yaco · Updated 20 September 2026

Numbers come from USDA FoodData Central record 328637 and are worked out locally, with no sign-up.

Calories in cheddar cheese, serving by serving

The short answer is 69 calories for 1 slice of cheddar cheese. By weight that is 408 per 100 g, and the table gives the other common portions.

What cheddar cheese offers in protein

Protein in 1 slice of cheddar cheese comes to 4 g. Against the 50 g Daily Value, that covers 8 percent. About 23 percent of its calories are protein. That is a useful contribution rather than a protein source you would build a meal around.

Looked at as a share of calories: carbohydrate 2 percent, fat 75 percent, protein 23 percent.

What to know before you buy cheddar cheese

Cheddar is a firm, cow milk cheese. It ranges from mild and creamy to sharp and crumbly. Look for traditional cloth-bound truckles for complex, earthy flavours. Block cheddar should be uniform in colour, without dry cracked edges. Avoid processed blocks containing added starches and emulsifiers that alter the authentic texture.

Gentle heat is vital when melting cheddar. High temperatures cause the fat to separate from the curds, leaving a greasy puddle and stringy clumps. Grate the cheese from a cold block before adding it. Stir it into sauces at the very end of cooking, after removing the pan from the heat source.

Mature cheddar pairs naturally with crisp apples and pickled onions on a British ploughman's platter. In Mexican-inspired cooking, its sharpness balances rich black beans in baked dishes. Use mild cheddar for smooth sauces, while saving crumbly, aged varieties for shaving over warm jacket potatoes.

Everything USDA measures in cheddar cheese

Cheddar cheese spreads its micronutrients thinly. Every value USDA reports is listed, tied to your chosen portion.

The catch is salt. 100 g carries 654 mg of sodium, 28 percent of the daily ceiling.

Cheddar cheese against a daily budget

On a 2,000 calorie day, 1 slice of cheddar cheese is 3 percent of the budget and 8 percent of the protein Daily Value. Whether that is a lot depends on your own numbers rather than on 2,000: the TDEE calculator gives you what you burn, and the macro calculator turns a target into grams.

Three recipes built around cheddar cheese

From the Calorie Counter Team: three dishes built around cheddar cheese, with per-serving nutrition calculated from the USDA data for every ingredient that goes in.

Lunch · British

Cheddar and Red Onion Toastie

A toasted sandwich with sharp Cheddar cheese and sliced red onion.

15 min · serves 1

716kcal

30gprotein

44gfat

51gcarbs

Ingredients

• Sourdough bread 100 g
• Cheddar cheese, grated 80 g
• Unsalted butter 15 g
• Red onion, thinly sliced 20 g

Method

1. Spread the butter evenly over one side of each bread slice.
2. Place half of the cheese and all the sliced onion on the unbuttered side of one slice.
3. Top with the remaining cheese and the second slice of bread, keeping the buttered side on the outside.
4. Heat a heavy frying pan over medium heat.
5. Cook the sandwich for three minutes on each side until the bread is brown and the cheese melts.

Built from 4 USDA ingredient records. A cooked dish never matches its raw sum exactly, but it stays close.

Snack · British

Cheddar and Chive Scones

Savoury baked scones flavoured with mature Cheddar cheese and fresh chives.

30 min · serves 6

273kcal

8.4gprotein

13gfat

29gcarbs

Ingredients

• Self-raising flour 225 g
• Unsalted butter, chilled and cubed 50 g
• Cheddar cheese, grated 100 g
• Whole milk 120 g
• Fresh chives, chopped 10 g
• Table salt 2 g

Method

1. Heat the oven to two hundred degrees Celsius and line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Rub the butter into the flour and salt using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Stir in eighty grams of the grated cheese and all of the chopped chives.
4. Pour in the milk and mix quickly with a butter knife to form a soft dough.
5. Roll the dough to a thickness of two centimetres and cut into six rounds.
6. Brush the tops with milk, scatter the remaining cheese, and bake for fifteen minutes.

Built from 6 USDA ingredient records. A cooked dish never matches its raw sum exactly, but it stays close.

Side · British

Baked Cauliflower Cheese

Cauliflower florets baked in a classic Cheddar cheese sauce.

40 min · serves 4

353kcal

16gprotein

25gfat

19gcarbs

Ingredients

• Cauliflower florets 500 g
• Unsalted butter 40 g
• Plain wheat flour 40 g
• Whole milk 400 g
• Cheddar cheese, grated 150 g
• English mustard 5 g

Method

1. Boil the cauliflower florets in salted water for five minutes, then drain thoroughly.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour, and cook for one minute.
3. Gradually whisk in the milk to create a smooth sauce, then simmer for five minutes.
4. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in one hundred grams of the Cheddar and the mustard.
5. Place the cauliflower in an ovenproof dish, pour the sauce over, and scatter the remaining cheese.
6. Bake at one hundred and ninety degrees Celsius for twenty minutes until bubbling and golden.

Per serving, from 6 USDA FoodData Central records. Cooking changes weight and some nutrients; treat these as close rather than exact.

Calorie Counter Team, food critic

One meal, costed: cheddar cheese

A worked example, every line from the same USDA data as the table above. Swap any of it; the arithmetic is the point, not the menu.

How cheddar cheese compares with similar foods

Per 100 g, each in the form its own page leads with; the second column says which.

Common questions on cheddar cheese

How many calories are in 1 slice of cheddar cheese?

Count 69 calories. The source is the USDA record “Cheese, cheddar” (FDC 328637), which lists 408 calories per 100 g.

How much protein is in cheddar cheese?

1 slice of cheddar cheese has 4 g of protein. By weight that is 23 g per 100 g, and the serving covers 8 percent of the Daily Value.

Is cheddar cheese good for weight loss?

No food causes or prevents weight loss on its own. The useful facts are that 1 slice of cheddar cheese is 69 calories with 4 g of protein, which makes 23 percent of its calories protein; which means it needs a protein-rich partner on the plate.

Why does my cheddar sauce look grainy?

The sauce became too hot. High heat breaks the emulsion in cheddar, separating the fat and curd. To prevent this, melt finely grated cheddar into your warm sauce base after taking the pan off the stove.

Can you freeze cheddar cheese?

Freezing alters the texture of cheddar. The ice crystals make the thawed cheese crumbly and difficult to slice. Frozen cheddar remains suitable for melting into cooked dishes, but grate the block before placing it in the freezer.

Sources

• Cheese, cheddar — USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 328637
• Daily Values for nutrition labelling, 21 CFR 101.9