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Best String Cheese for Kids (2026)
The best string cheeses for kids — all 0g added sugar — are Sargento String Cheese (mozzarella, 6g protein per stick), Frigo Cheese Heads (5g protein), Polly-O Twist-Ums (5g protein), Galbani Mozzarella String Cheese, and the organic options (Horizon Organic Mozzarella String Cheese, Organic Valley Stringles). All deliver real protein and calcium with no added sugar in any variety we track.
TL;DR
The 10 lowest-added-sugar string cheeses in our catalog — every product here has 1g or less added sugar per serving, ranked ascending. Average recorded added sugar in our string cheeses catalog pool is 0.0g. The American Heart Association recommends kids ages 2–18 keep added sugar under 25g per day.
Quick comparison: top 10 by added sugar
Recorded values per serving; portions differ. Missing data is shown as unknown. Open a product for ingredients and source details.
Swipe across to compare sugar and tiers.
| Brand | Product | Serving | Added sugar | Total sugar | Tier | Source & recorded check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sargento | Light String Cheese | Not recorded | 0g | 0g | Sugar free· A | Open Food FactsCheck date not recorded |
| Stonyfield | Low Moisture Whole Milk Mozzarella String Cheese | Not recorded | 0g | 0g | Sugar free· A | Open Food FactsCheck date not recorded |
| Horizon Organic | String Cheese | 1 stick (28g) | 0g | 0g | Sugar free· A | USDA FoodData Central |
| Frigo | Cheese Heads Superstring | 1 Piece | 0g | 0g | Sugar free· A | kroger.com |
| Horizon Organic | Organic Mozzarella Sticks | Not recorded | 0g | 0g | Sugar free· A | Open Food FactsCheck date not recorded |
| Organic Valley | Organic String Cheese | 1 stick (28g) | 0g | Unknown | No added sugar· B | USDA FoodData Central |
| Frigo | Original String | Not recorded | 0g | 0g | Sugar free· A | Open Food FactsCheck date not recorded |
| Sargento | Sargento Natural Colby-Jack Cheese Sticks | 1 PIECE | 0g | 0g | Sugar free· A | USDA FoodData Central |
| Sargento | Sargento Reduced Fat Light Natural Mozzarella String Cheese | 1 PIECE | 0g | 0g | Sugar free· A | USDA FoodData Central |
| Sargento | String Cheese | Not recorded | 0g | 0g | Sugar free· A | Open Food FactsCheck date not recorded |
The List: 10 string cheeses under 1g added sugar
- 1
Sugar free· ASargento
Light String Cheese
0g added sugar
Cheese Snacks - 2
Sugar free· AStonyfield
Low Moisture Whole Milk Mozzarella String Cheese
0g added sugar
Cheese Snacks - 3
Sugar free· AHorizon Organic
String Cheese
0g added sugar
Cheese SnacksOrganic - 4
Sugar free· AFrigo
Cheese Heads Superstring
0g added sugar
Cheese Snacks - 5
Sugar free· AHorizon Organic
Organic Mozzarella Sticks
0g added sugar
Cheese Snacks - 6
No added sugar· BOrganic Valley
Organic String Cheese
0g added sugar
Cheese Snacks - 7
Sugar free· AFrigo
Original String
0g added sugar
Cheese Snacks - 8
Sugar free· ASargento
Sargento Natural Colby-Jack Cheese Sticks
0g added sugar
Cheese Snacks - 9
Sugar free· ASargento
Sargento Reduced Fat Light Natural Mozzarella String Cheese
0g added sugar
Cheese Snacks - 10
Sugar free· ASargento
String Cheese
0g added sugar
Cheese Snacks
Why this list, and how we chose— expand
String cheese is one of the rare kid-snack categories where every SKU on the shelf — across mass-market brands, organic brands, and store brands — is 0g added sugar. It's pure cultured mozzarella (sometimes with mozzarella + cheddar blends or kid-flavored varieties), and there's nowhere for a manufacturer to hide sweetener even if they wanted to. The conversation for parents is not "which one has less sugar" but "which one has better ingredients and the right protein per stick for my kid."
Of the 11 cheese products in our catalog, 9 qualify as sugar-free (Tier A) and 1 as zero-added-sugar (Tier B) — combined, essentially the entire cheese category. We filtered this hub specifically to string-format and stick-format cheese sticks (Sargento String Cheese, Frigo Cheese Heads, Polly-O Twist-Ums, Galbani, Tillamook, Horizon Organic, Organic Valley) — not the rounds-format wax cheeses (Babybel, see our cheese-rounds list) and not the crisp/baked snacks (Whisps, Moon Cheese, see our low-sugar-protein-snacks-for-kids hub).
A few practical differences across the string cheese category. Protein per stick ranges 5–7g — Sargento and Polly-O sit at the high end, Frigo at 5g. Sodium varies 150–220mg per stick — Sargento Original is at the lower end, the part-skim mozzarella lines tend higher. Organic matters for some families: Horizon Organic and Organic Valley Stringles use organic milk and are pasture-raised; conventional brands (Sargento, Frigo, Polly-O, Galbani) use rBST-free conventional milk. Lunchbox practicality is roughly equal: every brand is sealed individually and travels for 4–6 hours at room temperature without spoilage risk (per USDA storage guidance for individually-wrapped pasteurized cheese).
For toddlers (ages 1–3), string cheese is a useful soft-protein option but cut lengthwise into smaller strips for the under-3 age group — the cylinder shape is a choking-hazard match for the airway at toddler-cylinder dimensions. The AAP food-shape guidance recommends slicing string cheese vertically until age 4, then horizontally is fine.
Below is every string cheese SKU in our database, sorted by added sugar then by protein per serving descending. Every product on this list is 0g added sugar — the differences are in protein, sodium, and organic certification.
Frequently asked questions
- Is string cheese healthy for kids?
- Yes — string cheese is one of the cleanest kid-snack categories. Every major brand has 0g of added sugar, 5–7g of real protein per stick, and meaningful calcium (about 15% of a child's daily value per stick). The main parent-level call-out is sodium (150–220mg per stick) — fine in moderation, worth balancing with low-sodium foods elsewhere in the day.
- How much protein is in a string cheese stick?
- Most string cheese sticks deliver 5–7g of complete protein. Sargento Original (mozzarella, 7g), Polly-O Twist-Ums (5g), Frigo Cheese Heads (5g), Galbani Mozzarella (5g), Horizon Organic (6g), Organic Valley Stringles (5g). For comparison, a typical kid-yogurt cup is 4–6g of protein and a glass of milk is 8g.
- Can toddlers eat string cheese?
- Yes from 12 months once dairy is introduced, but slice the stick vertically into thinner strips for kids under age 4 — the original cylinder shape matches the toddler airway diameter and is a choking risk if a piece breaks off whole. Once cut into thin strips or shredded, string cheese is a safe, high-protein toddler snack.
- Is organic string cheese better than conventional?
- Organic certification means the milk came from cows fed certified-organic feed, raised without routine antibiotics or growth hormones, and given outdoor access. The nutrition profile (protein, calcium, sodium) is essentially identical between organic and conventional. If pasture-raised dairy matters to your family, Horizon Organic and Organic Valley are the consistent organic picks; if budget is the main filter, conventional Sargento or Frigo carry the same 0g-added-sugar and 5–7g-protein profile at a lower price per stick.
- What is the difference between string cheese and mozzarella sticks?
- "String cheese" is the U.S. retail term; "mozzarella sticks" can mean either (1) the same individually-wrapped fresh mozzarella product as string cheese, or (2) the breaded-and-fried appetizer (frozen aisle / restaurant), which is a completely different product. The cheese aisle "mozzarella stick" is the kid snack we cover here. Frozen breaded mozzarella sticks are not on this list — they're a deep-fried side dish, not a low-sugar snack.
- How long does string cheese last in a lunchbox without an ice pack?
- USDA guidance: individually-wrapped pasteurized string cheese is safe at room temperature for up to 4 hours. Practically that covers morning-packed-snack-time-eaten-by-noon for a typical school day. For longer windows (full-day camp, road trips), pack an ice pack alongside — and toss the cheese after 6+ hours unrefrigerated regardless of how it looks or smells. The fat profile in mozzarella makes spoilage hard to detect by smell once it's past the safe window.
- Is Babybel string cheese?
- No — Babybel is a wax-coated cheese round (Edam-style or Gouda-style), not a string-format mozzarella. We track Babybel under the rounds-format cheese category — see the Babybel brand page for our full coverage. Both Babybel and string cheese are 0g added sugar and 5–7g protein per portion, so they cover similar nutritional ground — the choice is really about format preference and price (Babybel is typically 20–30% more per gram of protein than mainstream string cheese).
- Is string cheese a good after-school snack?
- Yes — string cheese pairs well with an apple or whole-grain cracker for a balanced after-school snack: protein and fat from the cheese keep kids satiated until dinner, the fruit or whole-grain provides carbs. Total added sugar in the pairing stays under 1g vs the typical 8–15g of added sugar in a granola bar / cookie / fruit-snack pairing. See our low-sugar after-school snacks hub for more combinations.