Portions and preparation · USDA nutrition

Cheese, Cheddar calories per cup, diced: 220–540 across all 4 named USDA examples

Across all 4 named USDA examples, a cup, diced contains 220–540 calories. Their listed weights span 132–140 g, so each calorie value is calculated from that example's own gram weight and published calories per 100 g.

Portion calculator

Estimate your portion

Choose a source measure or enter the weight you ate.

Preparation and portion

Named measures come from this exact source record.

Estimated for 1 slice · 21 g

86calories

Cheese, Cheddar

Protein
4.9 g
Carbs
0.5 g
Fat
7.1 g

These values scale the selected reference food by weight. Ingredients, preparation, and portion size can change your meal’s estimate.

FoodData Central Survey Foods (FNDDS) · FDC 2705709 Full nutrition profile →

Compare all 4 food records, nutrition tables and USDA sources

The 4 exact records in this guide report 33–86 calories in the records' own listed source servings and 157–409 calories per 100 grams. Those are observations from named database records—not a universal range or an estimate of an unseen plate.

Match my meal

Start with the description closest to what you ate

For Cheese, Cheddar, begin by separating “Cheese, Cheddar” from “Cheese, Cheddar, reduced sodium.” Choosing a card filters this source set; it does not infer the portion or fill in ingredients the chosen description does not name.

Showing all 4 linked records.

Equal-weight view

How cheese, cheddar records compare at 100 grams

All 4 cited records are shown at the same 100-gram weight. The source servings may differ.

  1. 157 kcal
  2. 316 kcal
  3. 398 kcal
  4. Cheese, Cheddar 409 kcal
    409 kcal

Shared basis: 100 g · kilocalories

What this page compares

Named source records, not one universal meal

This guide keeps 4 named USDA records in view: 4 direct matches. All sit within “Cheese.” The exact descriptions remain the unit of comparison; the familiar heading is only the doorway into the evidence.

Why these records appear together: The deterministic grouping rule “normalized first two description segments” placed these 4 records together under the exact grouping key “cheese cheddar.” That rule determines membership before any nutrition result is read.

For Cheese, Cheddar, this page can compare 4 named records from FDC 2705709 through FDC 2705739. It cannot observe which preparation was eaten, recover unnamed additions, or supply the eaten grams.

Read the shared calculation, provenance, and uncertainty method →

Editor’s decision brief

The three facts to carry into the table

Carry the denominator, exact identity, and strongest observed contrast into every number below.

Portion

A shared 21 g comparison anchor

Equal source weights make the selected Cheese, Cheddar serving totals easier to compare, but the eaten portion still has to be measured or estimated.

Composition

252 kcal separates the fixed-weight endpoints

The lower endpoint is “nonfat or fat free”; the higher is “Cheddar.” This isolates density, not ingredient causation.

Discriminator

979 mg sodium gap per 100 g

Of protein, fiber, and sodium, the strongest normalized contrast is between “reduced sodium” (21 mg) and “nonfat or fat free” (1,000 mg).

Observed source examples

Three landmarks inside this source set—not universal endpoints

These 4 records each use a 21 g serving. Their serving calories compare equal weights within this set. They do not define a calorie range for every cheese, cheddar; match the preparation and adjust to your portion.

Important: “Lower” begins with Cheese, Cheddar, nonfat or fat free; “higher” ends with Cheese, Cheddar, using each record’s own source amount. Those labels order this selected set only—they are not endpoints for every cheese, cheddar meal.

Full comparison

Compare every selected FNDDS record

For Cheese, Cheddar, serving columns preserve each record’s own listed amount, while calories per 100 g hold weight constant. A dash means the cited record does not supply that field; it does not mean the nutrient is absent.

On smaller screens, focus the table and scroll horizontally to read every column.

USDA records selected for the Cheese, Cheddar nutrition guide
Exact source record Match Source amount Calories kcal / 100 g Protein Fiber Sodium USDA
Cheese, Cheddar Direct name match 21 gUSDA reference amount 86 kcal 409 4.9 g 0 g 137 mg FDC 2705709 ↗
Cheese, Cheddar, nonfat or fat free Direct name match 21 gUSDA reference amount 33 kcal 157 6.7 g 0 g 210 mg FDC 2705711 ↗
Cheese, Cheddar, reduced fat Direct name match 21 gUSDA reference amount 66 kcal 316 5.8 g 0 g 132 mg FDC 2705710 ↗
Cheese, Cheddar, reduced sodium Direct name match 21 gUSDA reference amount 84 kcal 398 5.1 g 0 g 4 mg FDC 2705739 ↗

Portion analysis

Serving total and calorie density answer different questions

Every selected record uses a 21-gram source amount, so serving-weight differences do not explain the calorie spread inside this set. Their own source servings run from 33 calories for “nonfat or fat free” to 86 for “Cheddar.” At a fixed 100 grams, “nonfat or fat free” is 157 calories and “Cheddar” is 409—a fixed-weight separation of 252 calories. For Cheese, Cheddar, the serving view answers “how much is in the database portion?”; the 100-gram view answers “how concentrated is the matched record?” Neither reveals how many grams were actually eaten.

The scaling rule: multiply a per-100-gram value by eaten grams ÷ 100. The arithmetic is exact; the result is only as defensible as the record match and portion estimate.

Preparation analysis

The long description carries the evidence

The published descriptions distinguish forms such as “Cheddar”, “Cheddar, nonfat or fat free”, “Cheddar, reduced fat”, and “Cheddar, reduced sodium”. The source formulations contain 4 distinct ingredient codes; examples that appear in only part of the set include cheese, cheddar, cheese, cheddar, nonfat or fat free, cheese, cheddar, reduced fat (includes foods for usda's food distribution program), and cheese, low-sodium, cheddar or colby. On this Cheese, Cheddar page, those rows make the records inspectable, but they are not a controlled experiment: they cannot tell us that one named input, by itself, caused a nutrient difference.

Database precision is not meal certainty. Retain the exact description beside the number so later corrections remain possible.

What changes the comparison

Four drivers worth checking before choosing a record

The family label “Cheese, Cheddar” cannot resolve the differences between Cheese, Cheddar and Cheese, Cheddar, reduced sodium. The four checks below identify the record wording, source weight, and formulation evidence that can.

  1. 01

    A shared source weight

    Every selected record uses 21 grams. Inside this set, serving-calorie differences therefore reflect the published composition rather than a change in source weight.

  2. 02

    The words that split the family

    Representative record-level distinctions include “Cheddar”, “Cheddar, nonfat or fat free”, “Cheddar, reduced fat”, and “Cheddar, reduced sodium”. Those phrases are evidence for choosing a record, not decorative subtitle text.

  3. 03

    Formulation evidence, with limits

    4 source-input codes appear across the selected records. Their presence and listed weights describe USDA formulations, not finished plated proportions.

  4. 04

    The unresolved plate

    Even “Cheese, Cheddar” leaves the eaten grams and unnamed oils, sauces, toppings, substitutions, or leftovers unresolved. Preserve those Cheese, Cheddar unknowns for correction instead of converting them into false precision.

Record matching

Match identity first; scale quantity second

Read the source name as a sequence of decisions. First confirm that cheese, cheddar is the right meal family. Then resolve the phrases that actually separate this set—“Cheddar”, “Cheddar, nonfat or fat free”, “Cheddar, reduced fat”, and “Cheddar, reduced sodium”—before comparing gram weight. If a package, menu, or known recipe provides a closer first-party description, prefer it and keep this USDA record as a transparent fallback.

A practical matching checklist

  1. Read the complete Cheese, Cheddar source description, including preparation and additions.
  2. Compare the listed source weight with the amount actually eaten.
  3. Prefer a current package or restaurant source when a specific branded item is known.
  4. Record toppings, sauces, cooking fat, sides, and substitutions that the selected description does not name.

Decision support from the exact records on this page

Turn source data into a better next decision

These conclusions and reading paths are computed from 4 exact records behind Cheese, Cheddar source-record guide. Links are chosen by record identity, controlled contrast, formulation input, nutrient spread, or serving context—not by loose keyword similarity.

Equal-weight result

Cheese, Cheddar is higher in total fat per 100 g

Cheese, Cheddar reports 34 g versus 0 g for Cheese, Cheddar, nonfat or fat free: a 34 g difference when both are normalized to 100 g.

Inspect the underlying evidence

These listed servings have equal weights

4 listed servings each weigh 21 g

The 4 records with a listed serving weight on this page each use 21 g. Their serving totals therefore compare equal weights, even if the household labels differ. Match the preparation and adjust the weight to the amount you eat.

Choose the record before reading the number

Cheese, Cheddar, nonfat or fat free and Cheese, Cheddar, reduced sodium are not interchangeable

The page keeps both records at the same 100 g denominator and makes Sodium wording (No matching controlled term in the source name versus reduced- or low-sodium wording) the explicit record-description contrast. It does not show that the wording difference caused a nutrient difference. Pick the description that matches the food in front of you rather than averaging away the distinction.

Inspect the underlying evidence

Contextual knowledge graph

Follow the relationship that matches your question

For Cheese, Cheddar source-record guide, each path states why the destination belongs here, so you can distinguish a true evidentiary connection from a merely similar label.

Compare two records on this page Cheese, Cheddar, nonfat or fat free vs Cheese, Cheddar, reduced sodium

Both records appear in this page’s evidence set. The explicit record-description contrast is Sodium wording: No matching controlled term in the source name versus reduced- or low-sodium wording; it is a selection cue, not evidence of cause.

Follow this evidence path
Compare two records on this page Cheese, Cheddar, reduced fat vs Cheese, Cheddar, reduced sodium

Both records appear in this page’s evidence set. The explicit record-description contrast is Sodium wording: No matching controlled term in the source name versus reduced- or low-sodium wording; it is a selection cue, not evidence of cause.

Follow this evidence path
A formulation detail that separates records Cheese, cheddar

USDA input 1009 appears in 1 of 4 context records; its summed listed input weight spans 100–100 g across those source formulations. These are source-formulation input weights, not plated or serving weights. Follow the code to inspect every represented occurrence.

Follow this evidence path
A formulation detail that separates records Cheese, cheddar, reduced fat (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program)

USDA input 1260 appears in 1 of 4 context records; its summed listed input weight spans 100–100 g across those source formulations. These are source-formulation input weights, not plated or serving weights. Follow the code to inspect every represented occurrence.

Follow this evidence path
4 context records in this source topic Cheese

Cheese, Cheddar and Cheese, Cheddar, nonfat or fat free belong to this USDA source-category collection. Its displayed ranges and complete exact-record catalog provide the peer set for a manual comparison; the destination does not preselect this page’s record.

Follow this evidence path
Put the observed spread in corpus context Sodium: density and serving context

In this page’s records, sodium runs from 21 mg in Cheese, Cheddar, reduced sodium to 1,000 mg in Cheese, Cheddar, nonfat or fat free, all per 100 g.

Follow this evidence path
Put the observed spread in corpus context Iron: density and serving context

In this page’s records, iron runs from 0 mg in Cheese, Cheddar, nonfat or fat free to 0.7 mg in Cheese, Cheddar, reduced sodium, all per 100 g.

Follow this evidence path