Paneer Protein per 100g: Full-Fat, Low-Fat and Homemade

Regular full-fat paneer has about 18.9 g of protein per 100 g, with about 305 kcal and 25 g of fat, according to ICMR-NIN's IFCT 2017. That works out to about 9.5 g of protein in a 50 g serving and about 38 g in 200 g. Low-fat paneer can be higher in protein per 100 g because less of its weight is fat, so the label matters more than the name.

Paneer is a good protein. It's just a fat-rich one, which is why the number per 100 g only tells half the story.

How much protein is in paneer, per portion?

IFCT 2017 tested paneer samples from six regions of India and lists, per 100 g: 18.86 g protein, 24.78 g fat, 2.41 g carbohydrate, about 52% water and 1,278 kJ (305 kcal). Here's what that means for portions people actually eat.

These are values for paneer as it comes, before cooking. Frying cubes or cooking them in a butter gravy adds fat and calories but no protein. You can log your exact paneer dish, gravy and oil in the Indian food calorie counter.

Full-fat vs low-fat paneer: which has more protein?

Low-fat paneer usually has more protein per 100 g, not less. Take the fat out and the protein makes up a bigger share of what's left.

One example on the shelf: Amul's product page for its High Protein Paneer describes it as low-fat and lists 12.5 g protein, 3 g fat and 85 kcal per 50 g serving. That's 25 g of protein and 170 kcal per 100 g, compared with 18.9 g and 305 kcal for regular paneer in IFCT.

Brands differ, so treat the low-fat row as one example and read the nutrition panel on your own pack. Under the FSSAI labelling regulations, packaged foods have to show energy, protein, total fat and saturated fat per 100 g, so comparing two packs takes a few seconds.

Is homemade paneer from cow or buffalo milk higher in protein?

Buffalo milk gives you more paneer per litre, but each 100 g of it tends to be fattier and slightly lower in protein. Cow milk gives less paneer that is a little leaner.

Here's the working, so you can see where the estimate comes from:

1. Milk: IFCT 2017 lists whole cow milk at 3.26 g protein and 4.48 g fat per 100 g, and whole buffalo milk at 3.68 g protein and 6.58 g fat.
2. What stays in the paneer: a dairy technology text on the UGC's INFLIBNET e-book platform says paneer retains about 90% of the milk's fat and protein.
3. Yield: the same text says paneer with 51–54% moisture gives a yield of about 21–23% from standardised buffalo milk and 17–18% from cow milk.

So 1 kg of cow milk (roughly a litre) has about 32.6 g protein. Keep 90% and you have about 29 g of protein in about 175 g of paneer, which is close to 17 g per 100 g. The same kilo of buffalo milk gives about 33 g of protein spread across about 220 g of paneer, nearer 15 g per 100 g, with more fat.

These are estimates. Your own paneer will vary with how hard you press it (more water means less protein per 100 g) and whether you start from full-cream, toned or double-toned milk. The INFLIBNET text also notes that milk with 4.5–5.0% fat is needed to make paneer that meets FSSAI's standard, so paneer from toned milk at home will be lower in fat than shop paneer.

Paneer vs tofu: which is the better protein?

They're closer on protein than most people expect, and far apart on fat.

Two things stand out. Firm tofu gives about the same protein as paneer for less than half the calories. And "tofu" covers a wide range: the soft kind has less than half the protein of firm tofu, so check the label for the grams per 100 g.

On quality, both are good. A 2020 review of protein quality (Herreman et al.) using the DIAAS score rated milk protein (casein) as excellent at 117 and soy as high quality at 91. Either one will do the job for muscle if your total protein for the day is right.

If you eat meat, the comparison with chicken is in our post on chicken protein per 100 g.

How much paneer a day is sensible?

There's no official paneer limit. The useful question is how much of your daily saturated fat it uses up.

WHO's 2023 guideline says no more than 10% of total energy should come from saturated fat. The FSSAI labelling rules use 22 g of saturated fat a day as the reference for a 2,000 kcal adult diet. ICMR-NIN's Dietary Guidelines for Indians 2024 note that milk products contain saturated fat, that saturated fat raises total and LDL cholesterol, and they count high-fat dairy among the "hidden" sources.

IFCT doesn't give a clean saturated fat figure for paneer, so here's an estimate: in USDA's whole milk entry, about 57% of the fat is saturated. Apply that to paneer's 24.8 g of fat and 100 g of regular paneer carries roughly 14 g of saturated fat.

So a practical range for most healthy adults is 50–100 g of regular paneer a day, as long as the rest of the day isn't heavy on ghee, butter, cream and fried snacks. If you want more protein than that from paneer, switch to a low-fat paneer, or split the protein across dal, curd, soya, eggs or tofu. Our 100 g protein vegetarian diet shows how those foods add up across a day.

If you have high LDL cholesterol, heart disease or diabetes, ask your doctor or a dietitian how much full-fat dairy suits you.

How much paneer gives 20 g of protein?

About 105 g of regular paneer, or 80 g of the low-fat example. Twenty grams is a sensible per-meal target for most people who lift; a 2009 study by Moore et al. in young men found muscle protein synthesis after resistance exercise peaked at about 20 g of high-quality protein.

You don't have to get it from paneer alone. Some combinations, using IFCT for paneer and dal:

• 50 g paneer bhurji + 2 rotis + 1 katori dal: about 9.4 g + 6 g + 7 g, so roughly 22 g
• 75 g paneer tikka + 150 g curd: about 14 g + 5 g (USDA whole-milk yogurt for curd), so roughly 19 g
• 50 g paneer + 50 g firm tofu in one sabzi: about 9.4 g + 8.6 g, so 18 g, for about 225 kcal

For more meal ideas, see these high-protein Indian breakfasts. And to know what your daily total should be, use the protein calculator. ICMR-NIN's RDA for healthy adults is 0.83 g per kg of body weight a day, and people who train usually need more.

The short version

• Regular paneer: about 18.9 g protein and 305 kcal per 100 g (IFCT 2017)
• 50 g gives about 9.5 g protein; 200 g gives about 38 g and 610 kcal
• Low-fat paneer can have more protein per 100 g and roughly half the calories; check the pack
• Homemade cow-milk paneer is a little leaner than buffalo-milk paneer; buffalo milk gives more paneer per litre
• Firm tofu matches paneer on protein with less than half the calories
• 100 g of regular paneer carries roughly 14 g saturated fat, about two-thirds of a day's reference amount
• 50–100 g a day is a sensible range for most healthy adults

Useful links

• IFCT 2017, Indian Food Composition Tables (ICMR-NIN)
• Dietary Guidelines for Indians 2024 (ICMR-NIN)
• USDA FoodData Central: firm tofu, regular tofu, whole milk, chicken breast
• WHO guideline on fats, 2023
• FSSAI Labelling and Display Regulations
• Technology of Paneer (INFLIBNET e-text)

This is general information, not medical advice. If you have kidney disease, high cholesterol, are pregnant or are under 18, check your protein and fat needs with a doctor or registered dietitian.