Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese

One US cup of shredded Mexican blend cheese weighs 112 grams (4 ounces). Going the other way, 100 grams is about 0.89 cups.

Also called Mexican blend cheese, Mexican cheese blend, Mexican four cheese blend, 4 cheese Mexican, Mexican style shredded cheese, taco cheese.

Shredded, grated and crumbled cheese compared: cup weights side by side, the source behind each, and why they differ.

Shredded Mexican blend cheese weighs 112 g per US cup (4 oz), a density of 0.473 g/mL. USDA's record gives a quarter cup at 28 g, its reduced-fat record gives a cup at 113 g, and the Sargento, Tillamook and Land O Lakes bags all label a quarter cup at 28 g.

Mexican blend is a bag of mixed shreds sold for tacos, enchiladas, nachos and quesadillas. The four-cheese versions usually combine Monterey Jack and mild cheddar with two Mexican-style melting cheeses, queso quesadilla and asadero; three-cheese and "taco" blends drop one or add seasoning. USDA's record puts the mix at 40.5% water and 32% fat, between cheddar and Monterey Jack, which is what a blend led by those two cheeses should be.

USDA SR Legacy "Cheese, Mexican blend" (FDC 171288) lists one household portion, 1/4 cup shredded at 28 g, which is 112 g per cup. Its FNDDS survey record for the reduced-fat blend (food code 14120020) lists 1 cup shredded at 113 g. Sargento's traditional-cut and fine-cut bags, Tillamook's farmstyle bag and Land O Lakes all print 1/4 cup at 28 g. Sargento describes its 8-oz fine-cut bag as 2 cups and its 16-oz bag as 4 cups, which is the same quarter-cup arithmetic.

That agreement is weaker evidence than it looks. 28 g per quarter cup is the one-ounce serving that US labels print on every shredded cheese, and USDA's quarter-cup portion for this blend looks like the same convention. Taken alone it would not decide a figure, which is why confidence is medium rather than high.

The physical check comes from the cheeses in the bag. USDA weighed cups of shredded Monterey Jack and shredded cheddar directly, and both came out at 113 g. Those two cheeses make up most of every blend, and the Mexican melting cheeses mixed in are soft, semi-moist cheeses of the same kind, so the blend should land at 112-113 g per cup, which is exactly where every source puts it. King Arthur's chart has no row for blends; its grouped row for cheddar and Jack is 113 g.

Fine cut and traditional cut carry the same label figure, and USDA's reduced-fat cup, from a moister cheese at 48% water, lands at 113 g too, so neither the cut nor the fat level makes a measurable difference in these sources.

Practical guidance: an 8-oz bag is 227 g, 2 cups; a 16-oz bag about 4 cups. For a taco, 2 tablespoons is 14 g; for a pan of enchiladas calling for 2 cups, use 224 g; for nachos, 1 cup is 112 g. When a recipe gives the cheese in ounces, 4 oz of shredded blend fills about 1 cup.

The shredded cheese comparison page shows Mexican blend beside the cheeses it is made from and the other shredded and crumbled cheeses.