Feta cheese is not particularly high in cholesterol. A one-ounce serving contains about 25 milligrams of cholesterol, which is modest compared to many other cheeses and well below the amount in foods typically flagged as cholesterol-heavy, like eggs or organ meats.
How Feta Compares to Other Cheeses
Feta lands on the lower end of the cholesterol and fat spectrum among popular cheeses. At 6 grams of total fat and 4 grams of saturated fat per ounce, it sits alongside mozzarella and soft goat cheese as one of the leaner options. For comparison, cheddar, Swiss, and American cheese all pack 9 grams of fat and 5 grams of saturated fat per ounce. Cream cheese tops the list at 10 grams of fat and 6 grams of saturated fat.
The reason this matters: saturated fat has a stronger influence on your blood cholesterol levels than the cholesterol in food itself does. When your liver processes saturated fat, it produces more LDL cholesterol (the kind that builds up in arteries). So feta’s lower saturated fat content gives it a genuine edge over harder, fattier cheeses if heart health is on your mind.
Why Saturated Fat Matters More Than Dietary Cholesterol
The relationship between the cholesterol you eat and the cholesterol in your blood is less direct than most people assume. Your body produces the vast majority of its own cholesterol, and for most people, dietary cholesterol has a relatively small effect on blood levels. The current Dietary Guidelines for Americans don’t set a specific daily cap on cholesterol. Instead, they recommend keeping it “as low as possible without compromising the nutritional adequacy of the diet.”
Saturated fat is the bigger lever. The guidelines recommend limiting saturated fat to less than 10 percent of your daily calories, which works out to roughly 20 grams on a 2,000-calorie diet. One ounce of feta uses up about 4 of those grams. That’s meaningful but manageable, especially since feta’s strong, salty flavor means you typically use less of it than milder cheeses like cheddar or mozzarella, where it’s easy to pile on two or three ounces without thinking.
What a Typical Serving Looks Like
A standard serving of feta is one ounce, or about 28 grams. That’s roughly a one-inch cube or a small handful of crumbles, the amount you’d scatter across a Greek salad or tuck into an omelet. At 76 calories per serving, feta is also one of the lighter cheeses calorie-wise.
The practical advantage here is that feta delivers a lot of flavor per gram. You rarely need to use as much feta as you would cheddar on a sandwich or mozzarella on a pizza. That built-in portion control keeps the cholesterol, saturated fat, and calorie totals lower in real-world eating, not just on a per-ounce comparison chart.
Sheep and Goat Milk vs. Cow Milk Feta
Traditional Greek feta is made from sheep’s milk or a blend of sheep and goat milk. Many supermarket brands, particularly in the U.S., use cow’s milk instead. The milk source changes the nutritional profile in subtle ways. Goat and sheep milk contain smaller fat globules that are easier to digest and may be less likely to raise cholesterol levels compared to cow milk fat.
Sheep and goat milk feta also tends to be higher in a naturally occurring fat called conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA. Greek cheeses made from sheep and goat milk contain up to 1.9% CLA in their fat, with an average around 0.8%. Research has linked CLA to potential benefits for body composition and cholesterol regulation, though the amounts you’d get from a serving of cheese are small. Still, if you’re choosing between brands, traditional sheep or goat milk feta has a slight nutritional edge.
The Sodium Factor
Cholesterol and saturated fat aren’t the only things worth watching if you’re eating feta for heart health reasons. Feta is a brined cheese, which makes it one of the saltier options in the cheese case. A single ounce can contain 300 to 400 milligrams of sodium, a significant chunk of the 2,300-milligram daily limit most guidelines recommend.
If sodium is a concern, you can rinse feta under water before eating it, which washes away some of the surface salt without dramatically changing the flavor. Soaking it in water or milk for 15 to 30 minutes pulls out even more. This is a common trick in Mediterranean cooking, and it can cut the sodium content noticeably.
Where Feta Fits in a Heart-Healthy Diet
Feta is a reasonable choice if you enjoy cheese and want to keep your cholesterol and saturated fat intake in check. Its 25 milligrams of cholesterol per ounce is low. Its saturated fat content is among the lowest of full-fat cheeses. And its strong flavor encourages smaller portions naturally.
The cheeses that perform best for heart health are the ones lowest in saturated fat: part-skim mozzarella (3 grams per ounce), cottage cheese (1 gram per ounce), and reduced-fat varieties. Feta falls in the next tier, roughly tied with whole-milk mozzarella and soft goat cheese. The worst performers are cream cheese, cheddar, Swiss, and processed American cheese, all of which pack 5 to 6 grams of saturated fat per ounce.
If you’re substituting feta for a harder, fattier cheese in meals you already eat, that’s a straightforward improvement. A salad with an ounce of crumbled feta instead of two ounces of shredded cheddar cuts your saturated fat nearly in half while still giving you the richness and salt that make cheese worth eating in the first place.