Is Cheese Keto-Friendly? Plus 3 Cheesy Recipes for Your Keto Diet


Cheese is one of the most popular foods in the United States, with the average American consuming approximately 40 pounds of cheese per year. With how integral it is to the average American diet, it may be important for you to know whether you can continue consuming it if you’re about to embark on a keto diet

In this post, we take a look at whether cheese is keto friendly and provide some keto-friendly recipes that you can make if you’re looking to cut carbs but still want to enjoy your cheese. 

Is Cheese Keto Friendly?

The short answer to this question is that it depends on the type of cheese. 

The goal or a keto or ketogenic diet is to send the body into a state of ketosis, where it burns stored fats and fats from food instead of carbohydrates for energy. This can help individuals lose weight and reduce their cholesterol and triglyceride levels through burning fat.

To achieve this effect, people on a keto diet often restrict their carbohydrate consumption to extremely low amounts – typically not more than 50g per day. 

Because of this, not all varieties of cheese are keto friendly. While cheese in general contains high levels of fat and low levels of carbohydrates, some varieties like cottage cheese and ricotta cheese are higher in carbohydrate content than others. At the same time, certain cheese like American cheese and spray cheese may not necessarily contain large amounts of carbohydrates, but they tend to be overly processed with stabilizers, fillers and other ingredients that make them unhealthy options.

If you’re on a keto diet and want to continue consuming cheese, it’s important for you to stick to varieties that are low in carbohydrate content. Here are three of the most keto-friendly cheeses that you can incorporate into your keto diet:

Blue Cheese

An ounce of blue cheese contains just 0.7g of carbohydrates, making it one of the most keto-friendly cheeses out there. It also has an incredibly strong flavor profile, making it a great addition to salads and other dishes that provides a flavor boost without increasing the carbohydrate content of the meal.

Cream Cheese

Of course, blue cheese isn’t for everyone, with many people being unable to stand the pungent aroma of it.

For a milder option, opt for cream cheese, which makes for a high-fat addition to any keto-friendly meal. An ounce of cream cheese contains about 1g of carbohydrates, enabling you to keep your carbohydrate consumption low.

Parmesan Cheese

While not normally consumed on its own, many people enjoy parmesan shavings over their salads, soups and other dishes. Parmesan has a rich and nutty flavor with a hint of sweetness that can elevate any dish.

One ounce of parmesan cheese contains 1.15g of carbohydrates, ensuring that you won’t exceed your daily carbohydrate limits. 

Cheesy Keto Friendly Recipes

If you’re on a keto diet, it’s important for you to ensure that your carbohydrate consumption remains low. If you want to do so while still enjoying your favorite cheeses, here are some cheesy, keto-friendly recipes that you can consider incorporating into your diet:

Lasagna

Lasagna doesn’t often come to mind when one thinks of a keto diet because the high carbohydrate content of pasta noodles often means that it’s unsuitable for a keto diet. However, if you replace the pasta noodles with vegetable-based alternatives (like KBosh crusts), you can still achieve a low carb, cheesy result that enables you to satisfy your cheese cravings. 

For a homemade keto lasagna, consider using KBosh’s Mexi Zucchini Crusts. Our pizza crusts are highly versatile and can have a variety of other uses in addition to serving as the base of keto-friendly pizzas.  

Pepperoni and Parmesan Pizza

Traditional pizza doughs contain way too much carbohydrates to even be considered in a keto diet. However, with KBosh’s Cauliflower Pizza Crusts, you don’t need to worry about exceeding your daily carbohydrate limits when you’re craving pizza. Our cauliflower pizza crusts contain just 1g of carbohydrates per serving, making them a great base for you to build your cheesy pepperoni pizza on. 

Garden Fresh Turkey Wrap

Another great keto-friendly recipe that you can consider making using our Zucchini Keto Crust is this awesome garden fresh turkey wrap. It’s an incredibly easy meal to put together and you can easily use our zucchini-based crusts as a replacement for traditional high carb tortilla wraps.

Adding some blue cheese or parmesan cheese to your wrap can also be a great way to add flavor without compromising on your keto diet.