Dairy and eggs
Ricotta on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 10 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), fresh, whole milk, for around 160 calories. Half a cup, about 100 g (3.5 oz), gives roughly 10 g of protein for 160 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from ricotta alone you would need about 300 g (10.6 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 ricotta sits on a GLP-1
Ricotta is the gentlest protein in the dairy cabinet: soft, moist, cool, faintly sweet, and it has no smell and needs no chewing. At about 10 g per 100 g (3.5 oz) it carries a little less than cottage cheese, but on a GLP-1 that gap is paid back by how easily it goes down. It is the food we suggest most often for the two days after a dose step, when almost everything else is being refused.
When your appetite is small
Eat it with a spoon straight from the tub, with a pinch of salt or a drizzle of honey. Half a cup, about 100 g (3.5 oz), is 10 g of protein and takes about a minute. It also hides inside other food: a spoon folded through scrambled eggs, mince or pasta adds protein without adding anything you have to chew.
Three ways to prepare it
Sweet, with honey and cinnamon
Cold from the tub with a teaspoon of honey. It reads as dessert, which on a flat day is the only thing that gets eaten.
Baked ricotta with herbs
Ricotta, an egg, parmesan and thyme in a small dish at 180C, about 355F, for 25 minutes. Firm enough to slice, about 25 g in the whole dish, and it keeps for four days.
Stirred through hot pasta or mince
A spoon of ricotta melted into a small bowl of bolognese makes it creamier and adds 5 g without making the serve any bigger.
What to eat it with
Honey, berries, peaches or a little jam when you want it sweet; tomato, spinach, lemon, parmesan or prosciutto when you want it savoury. It is mild, so it wants something with a bit of edge alongside.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ricotta | about 10 g | 160 kcal | this page |
| Cottage cheese | about 11 g | 100 kcal | See the page |
| Greek yoghurt | about 9 g | 95 kcal | See the page |
| Paneer | about 18 g | 300 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, fresh, whole milk, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Ricotta in all three countries. Australia sells fresh ricotta by weight from the deli and in tubs, the US labels it whole milk or part skim, and in the UK it is mostly a 250 g (8.8 oz) tub of Italian import. Smooth ricotta in Australia is a whipped version that spreads more easily.
Questions people ask
Is ricotta a good source of protein?
Moderate: about 10 g per 100 g (3.5 oz) for whole milk ricotta, a little more for part skim. What makes it valuable on a small appetite is that it is the easiest protein to swallow when nothing else appeals, not the number.
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.