How Much Protein Is In Dairy?

Dairy products are generally good sources of protein, with healthier items like low-fat milk or yogurt providing an average of 8 g of protein per serving. In addition to protein, dairy is also an important source of dietary calcium. However, dairy products can also contain a lot of saturated fat and sugar, so it's important to pick skim or low-fat varieties whenever possible and to eat dairy deserts only in sparing amounts.

Cheese

Cheese can be an excellent source of dietary protein. A 1-oz. serving of Swiss cheese provides 7.63 g of protein, while the same amounts of provolone, cheddar, mozzarella and muenster offer 7.25 g, 7.06 g, 6.29 g and 6.64 g of protein, respectively. An ounce of feta has 4.03 g of protein while the same amount of blue cheese has 6.07 g. While serving sizes are typically smaller than those of other cheeses, grated Parmesan cheese is particularly high in protein, offering almost 2 g of protein per 5-g serving.

Cottage Cheese and Yogurt

Cottage cheese and yogurt represent some of the best protein sources among dairy products. A 1-cup serving of 1 percent milk fat cottage cheese offers up a whopping 28 g of protein -- about the same amount that's in 3 oz. of steak and almost half of daily protein needs for a 160-pound person. Two percent cottage cheese contains about 1.3 g less protein than 1 percent versions. Meanwhile, plain skim milk varieties of yogurt provide about 13 g of protein for every 8 oz. of yogurt. Plain low-fat yogurt includes 12 g of protein per 8-oz. serving, while the same amount of full-fat plain yogurt has 8 g of protein.

Milk

Milk also packs a pretty hefty protein punch, although, as with cottage cheese and yogurt, higher-fat versions contain slightly less protein than their lower-fat counterparts. Single-cup servings of nonfat milk, 1 percent milk, 2 percent milk and whole milk provide the following respective protein counts: 8.3 g, 8.2 g, 8.1 g, and 7.7 g. Buttermilk and 1 percent, or lowfat, chocolate milk both provide about 8.1 g of protein per cup, while the same amount of 2 percent, or reduced fat, chocolate milk has about 7.5 g.

Frozen Dairy and Desserts

Frozen yogurts do not contain as much protein as regular yogurt. Half-cup servings of chocolate or vanilla soft serve fro-yo both provide about 2.9 g of protein. Depending on the variety, ice cream may provide more or less protein than frozen yogurt: a half-cup of french vanilla soft serve ice cream provides 3.5 g of protein, while the same amounts of regular vanilla or chocolate ice cream have 2.3 g and 2.5 g, respectively. Other dairy desserts also provide varying amounts of protein: a piece of cheesecake provides about 4.4 g of protein, while a thick vanilla milkshake offers a significant 12.1 g.