Dairy and eggs
Mozzarella on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 18 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), fresh ball, whole milk, for around 250 calories. Half a ball, about 60 g (2.1 oz), gives roughly 11 g of protein for 150 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from mozzarella alone you would need about 167 g (5.9 oz). On a small appetite that is often more than one sitting allows, which is why we pair it rather than chase the whole target from one food.
How mozzarella sits on a GLP-1
Fresh mozzarella is soft, wet, milky and almost bland, and on a GLP-1 that is the point. It is cold from the fridge, it has no smell, it needs no cooking and it tears rather than needing a knife. At about 18 g per 100 g (3.5 oz) it carries less protein than the firm block sold for pizza, but the block version is the one people tend to overeat on a slice of something, whereas half a fresh ball with tomato is a serve that gets finished.
When your appetite is small
Tear half a ball, about 60 g (2 oz), over sliced tomato with salt, olive oil and basil. That is 11 g of protein, cold, in five minutes, and it looks like a meal from a restaurant rather than a chore. Add three slices of prosciutto and the plate is about 19 g.
Three ways to prepare it
Torn over tomato with salt and oil
The Italian standard, and one of the few cold plates that people on a difficult week describe as appealing. Salt the tomato properly.
Melted into a two-egg omelette
Fresh mozzarella melts soft and stringy in eggs. About 24 g for the omelette, and the cheese keeps the eggs moist.
Bocconcini on a skewer with cherry tomatoes
Small balls threaded with tomato and basil. A finger food serve of about 10 g that needs no plate and no cutlery.
What to eat it with
Tomato, basil, olive oil, prosciutto, peaches, balsamic. It is mild and wet, so it wants salt and acid beside it. Mozzarella on plain bread without either is the version that gets abandoned.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mozzarella | about 18 g | 250 kcal | this page |
| Ricotta | about 10 g | 160 kcal | See the page |
| Cheddar | about 25 g | 400 kcal | See the page |
| Halloumi | about 22 g | 320 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, fresh ball, whole milk, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Fresh mozzarella comes as a ball in water, and the small balls are bocconcini in Australia and the UK and often mozzarella pearls or ciliegine in the US. The firm block is pizza cheese or shredded mozzarella in Australia, low moisture part skim mozzarella in the US, and grated mozzarella in the UK, and it carries about 24 g per 100 g (3.5 oz).
Questions people ask
Is mozzarella high in protein?
Fresh mozzarella is about 18 g per 100 g (3.5 oz), so half a ball is 11 g. The firm block sold for pizza is closer to 24 g because it holds less water. Both are useful, but the fresh ball is the one that gets eaten when appetite is low.
Your number comes first
Knowing what is in a food only helps once you know how much you are aiming for. The target is 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg of your goal weight, not your current weight, which for most people is 90 to 140 g a day.
Work out your protein targetMore on eating well when your appetite is small: high protein foods for a small appetite, how much protein on a GLP-1, and every food we have written up. The whole system in five documents is the Keep Muscle Kit, A$47 / US$29 / £23.
EverStrong provides nutrition and strength coaching and education. It is not medical advice and does not replace your prescribing doctor.