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Milk and milk products · Veg

Protein in paneer

Paneer (cottage cheese) has 18.9 g of protein in every 100 g. Here's what that means for your day, how it compares, and how to count it right.

By Naked Compound Research TeamData: IFCT 2017, ICMR-NINUpdated 21 October 2026

The short answer

100 g of paneer has 18.9 g of protein and 258 kcal.1 That's about 38% of the 50 g of protein ICMR-NIN suggests a day for a 60 kg adult.2

18.9 gprotein per 100 g
258kcal per 100 g
30%of calories from protein
106 gfor 20 g protein

Nutrition in 100 g of paneer

Per 100 gAmount
Energy258 kcal (1079 kJ)
Protein18.9 g ± 0.8
Fat14.8 g
Carbohydrate12.4 g
Fibre0 g
Water52 g
 Edible portion, per 100 g. IFCT 2017 food code L003 (“Paneer”), averaged across 6 regions of India. ± is the spread between samples.

These figures are per 100 g of paneer as sold. A millilitre of milk weighs about 1.03 g, so per 100 ml the numbers are a little higher.

How much paneer for your protein?

The amounts below are worked out from IFCT's figure of 18.9 g per 100 g. To see how paneer fits into a whole day, add it in the day builder.

To getEat aboutCalories
10 g of protein53 g137 kcal
20 g of protein106 g273 kcal
30 g of protein159 g410 kcal

How paneer compares

Paneer has more protein per 100 g than 70% of the 542 foods in IFCT 2017. Here it is beside the other milk and milk products we cover:

Milk and milk productsProtein / 100 gkcalFrom protein
Paneer18.9 g25830%
Khoa16.3 g31621%
Buffalo milk3.7 g10714%
Cow milk3.3 g7318%
 Per 100 g. “From protein” is the share of calories that comes from protein.

Other vegetarian foods with similar protein: moth beans (19.8 g), cashews (18.8 g), kala chana (18.8 g), flaxseeds (18.6 g), almonds (18.4 g). For more protein per 100 g, try soybean (37.8 g), masoor dal (24.4 g), moong dal (23.9 g). See every food on one protein chart.

Protein quality

Milk protein, mostly casein and whey, contains all the essential amino acids in good proportions, and it is easy to digest. That makes milk, curd and paneer the main complete-protein foods for many vegetarians.3

Paneer in Indian languages

Names as listed in IFCT 2017, which records what the food is called in each region it was sampled from.1

Assamese
Paneer
Bengali
Chena
Gujarati
Paneer
Hindi
Chhena
Kannada
Tali
Malayalam
Palkatti
Odia
Chhena
Punjabi
Paneer
Tamil
Paladai
Telugu
Paalavirugudu

Common questions

How much protein is in 100 g of paneer?

18.9 g, according to the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 from ICMR-NIN. That's for paneer, per 100 g of the edible part. 100 g also gives 258 kcal.

How much paneer gives 20 g of protein?

About 106 g. That's roughly 40% of the 50 g a day ICMR-NIN suggests for a 60 kg adult.

Is paneer a good source of protein?

30% of its calories come from protein, and it has more protein per 100 g than 70% of the 542 foods in IFCT 2017. Milk protein, mostly casein and whey, contains all the essential amino acids in good proportions, and it is easy to digest.

References

  1. Longvah T, Ananthan R, Bhaskarachary K, Venkaiah K. Indian Food Composition Tables 2017. National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR), Hyderabad. nin.res.in. Read through the open-data copy by Subhajit Sahu (ifct2017, MIT licence).
  2. ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition. Nutrient Requirements for Indians: Recommended Dietary Allowances and Estimated Average Requirements. 2020. nin.res.in
  3. WHO/FAO/UNU Expert Consultation. Protein and amino acid requirements in human nutrition. WHO Technical Report Series 935, 2007. who.int