Shredded and crumbled cheese: grams per cup compared

A US cup of shredded cheddar, Monterey Jack or pepper Jack weighs 113 grams, Mexican blend 112 grams, and the drier Alpine cheeses, Swiss and Gruyère, 108 grams. Grated Cotija weighs about 120 grams and crumbled queso fresco 122 grams. Mozzarella, parmesan, feta, blue and goat cheese each span a range, from 80 to 150 grams, because a cup of cheese mostly measures air, and the air depends on the cheese's moisture, the size of the shred and how firmly the cup is filled.

All weights are for a US cup of 236.5882365 ml; a tablespoon is a sixteenth of it. A range means the sources disagree by more than this site’s tolerance for that kind of ingredient, so no single figure is chosen. King Arthur’s figure is shown where this site records one, with the verdict on it. Each ingredient’s own page has every source and the full reasoning.

Cheese itself is about as dense as water. USDA's records show it directly: a cup of melted Swiss weighs 244 grams, about 1.03 grams per millilitre, and a cubic inch of blue cheese 17 grams, about 1.04. Shredded, grated or crumbled, the same cheeses fill a cup at 0.34 to 0.63 grams per millilitre, so a cup holds somewhere between a third and two thirds cheese and the rest air. USDA's diced figures make the same point from the other side: cubes of Monterey Jack, Swiss and Gruyère all weigh 132 grams per cup, because cubes pack the same way whatever the cheese. Only the shredded figures move.

The semi-hard shredded cheeses agree with each other. Cheddar lands at 112-114 grams across USDA, King Arthur and every label checked, and Monterey Jack at 113 grams exactly. Pepper Jack is Monterey Jack with chili flecks, and King Arthur's 113 grams for Jack and USDA's base-cheese measurement both carry over to it. Mexican blend, mostly Jack and cheddar with two Mexican melting cheeses, weighs 112 grams in USDA's record and on every bag. King Arthur gives one figure, 113 grams, for cheddar, Jack, mozzarella and Swiss together: right for cheddar and Jack, close enough for Swiss, but about 30% too heavy for low-moisture part-skim mozzarella, the standard pizza cheese, which USDA measures at 86 grams against 112 for whole-milk mozzarella.

Swiss and Gruyère come in a few grams lighter, at 108 grams each in USDA's measurements. Both are drier Alpine cheeses, about 33-37% water against 41% for Jack, and their stiffer shreds bridge across each other and hold more air.

The bags and tubs are a poor guide. Every shredded and crumbled cheese label that gives a volume prints a quarter cup at 28 grams, on feta at 55% water, on goat cheese at 61% and on parmesan at 25% alike. That is the one-ounce serving written as a volume, not a measurement, so it matches reality only where the real figure happens to be near 112 grams, as it is for cheddar, Jack and Mexican blend.

The hard grating cheeses split by their cut. Parmesan is hard and dry, so its shreds are stiff and bridge across each other: USDA and the brands that label by the tablespoon put shredded parmesan at 80 grams per cup, while quarter-cup labels say 112. Grated parmesan depends on the grater. America's Test Kitchen found one ounce fills a quarter cup grated coarse and half a cup on a rasp, about 113 down to 57 grams per cup, and USDA and King Arthur agree on 100 grams for ordinary grated parmesan. Grated Cotija is moister and softer, and its damp crumbs pack tighter: USDA and Cacique both give 2 teaspoons at 5 grams, about 120 grams per cup.

Crumbled cheeses split by how the cup is filled. Feta is soft and wet, so its crumbles compress: King Arthur and the labels put a loosely spooned cup at 112-114 grams, while USDA's crumbled feta weighs 150 grams. USDA measures blue cheese crumbles, explicitly not packed, at 135 grams against the labels' 112. Goat cheese crumbles follow the same pattern, 112 grams on the tubs and 140 grams in USDA's survey record. Queso fresco, the soft Mexican crumbling cheese, weighs 122 grams in USDA's crumbled cup, and King Arthur's 114 grams agrees within tolerance.

For baking and anything where the cheese matters, weigh it. With only cups to hand, use 113 grams for shredded cheddar, Jack or pepper Jack, 112 for Mexican blend, 108 for Swiss or Gruyère, about 90 for supermarket shredded mozzarella, about 80 for shredded parmesan, about 100 for parmesan from a box grater, 120 for grated Cotija, 122 for crumbled queso fresco, and the low end of the range for loosely spooned feta, blue and goat cheese crumbles.