10 Best Low Salt Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese is a fresh cheese with a mild, slightly acidic flavor and small curds. Cottage cheese is part of the family of fresh cheeses that are rindless and not intended to be ripened or aged in order to develop flavor.

What Is Cottage Cheese?

Cottage cheese is essentially curds (which form when an acid curdles milk) and cream. Like ricotta, mozzarella, feta, and goat cheese, cottage cheese is a fresh cheese, meaning it isn’t aged like Parmesan and Cheddar.

While people have eaten something like it for thousands of years, the name cottage cheese only dates back to the mid-1800s. “It’s thought to be the first cheese made in America. It was brought to the U.S. from Europe,” says Jesse Merrill, co-founder and CEO of Good Culture.

“The story is that cottage cheese used to be made in farmhouses or cottages, where they would have an excess of milk from butter making and would use the extra milk to make cottage cheese,” he says. Hence its name.

How Is Cottage Cheese Made?

Cottage cheese is made by acidifying milk, which results in the curds separating from the whey. After the curds are formed, they’re rinsed and some salt may be added.

According to the California Milk Advisory Board, immigrants brought the tradition of fresh cheesemaking to America, and some believe cottage cheese was one of the first cheeses made in America.

How do you remove salt from cottage cheese?

Thankfully, rinsing cottage cheese in a fine-mesh colander under cold water can reduce sodium levels by 60 percent. Tip: If you’d like to serve fruit with cottage cheese, opt for chopping fresh fruit and mixing it in yourself.

Best Low Sodium Cottage Cheese Brands

There is such a wide variety of cottage cheese brands available that sometimes it becomes overwhelming to choose one for your family. Here are our top picks for the 7 best low-sodium cottage cheese brands to help you out!

Rank	Product	Sodium Content	Key Features
1.	Breakstone’s Lowfat Small Curd Cottage Cheese	250mg	Small curd, 2% milkfat, large resealable tub
2.	Prairie Farms Low Fat Cottage Cheese	240mg	Handy snack cups
3.	Hiland Low Fat Cottage Cheese Less Sodium	240mg	Large resealable tub
4.	Nancy’s Probiotic Low Fat Cottage Cheese	300mg	Traditional recipe with probiotics free from artificial growth hormones
5.	Knudsen Lowfat Small Curd Cottage Cheese & Pineapple	320mg	Naturally sweetened with pineapple, small curd
6.	Trader Joe’s Small Curd Cottage Cheese	320mg	4% milkfat, small curd
7.	Kalona Super Natural Organic Reduced Fat 2% Cottage Cheese	360mg	Certified organic, free from artificial additives
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1. Breakstone’s Lowfat Small Curd Cottage Cheese

Our top pick for the best low-sodium cottage cheese brand just had to be Breakstone’s Small Curd 2% Milkfat Lowfat Cottage Cheese with Low Sodium!

This high-quality small curd cottage cheese contains 45% less sodium than other top cottage cheese brands.

It is made with Grade A milk and cream and comes in a large resealable tub for handy storage.

2. Prairie Farms Low Fat Cottage Cheese

This is a super-healthy snack-size pot of cottage cheese, with just 80 calories per serving and 50% less sodium than other cottage cheese brands.

It is made using Grade A pasteurized milk and seasoned with sea salt for a naturally delicious flavor.

3. Hiland Low Fat Cottage Cheese Less Sodium

Hiland Low Fat Cottage Cheese is an excellent source of protein, made with the best quality farm-fresh milk.

It contains 50% less sodium than other top brands and is gently seasoned with sea salt to give great flavor and the perfect texture.

4. Nancys Probiotic Low Fat Cottage Cheese

Although Nancy’s Probiotic Low Fat Cottage Cheese is slightly higher in sodium than our top three picks, it is the first on the list to be free from artificial additives and growth hormones.

This delicious creamy cottage cheese is made using traditional methods and contains billions of live probiotic cultures to help maintain a healthy digestive system. 

5. Knudsen Lowfat Small Curd Cottage Cheese & Pineapple

Finally, a low sodium cottage cheese for those of you with a sweet tooth!

Pineapple and cheese might sound like an odd combination, but these two pair surprisingly well together to bring you a snack that is both delicious and nutritious.

6. Trader Joe’s Small Curd Cottage Cheese

Trader Joe’s Small Curd Cottage Cheese is made from Grade A pasteurized whole milk, giving it a thick and creamy texture and deliciously tangy but sweet flavor.

It is tasty enough to be enjoyed on its own, or paired up with other savory or sweet foods.

7. Kalona Super Natural Organic Reduced Fat 2% Cottage Cheese

The final cottage cheese on our list is not the lowest in sodium here, but it is still far lower than many of the leading brands.

Plus it is the only lower sodium cottage cheese we could find that is made from organic milk, and you really can taste the difference!

This traditionally made cottage cheese is produced using milk from pasture-grazed cows and is free from artificial ingredients.

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