Cheese Snacks Nutrition Face-off: Laughing Cow vs. Mini Babybel (2023 Update)

Written By: Gloria Tsang, RD

Title: Founding Registered Dietitian

Alumni: University of British Columbia

Last Updated on:

One of the most popular school snacks for kids is cheese, especially cheese in fun shapes! Our nutrition face-off compares two packaged cheese snacks made by the same company (Bel Brands), Babybel and The Laughing Cow.

Laughing Cow versus Babybel Nutrition Comparison

Nutrition Comparison: Laughing Cow Vs Mini Babybel

 Mini Babybel (Original) The Laughing Cow (Original)
Serving Size:1 piece (20 g)1 wedge (19 g)
Calories:70 kcal45 kcal
Fat:5 g3.5 g
Saturated Fat:3.5 g2.5 g
Protein:4 g2 g
Total Carbohydrate:0 g1 g
Sodium:150 mg160 mg
Calcium:10 % DV10% DV
Vitamin A:4 %10 %
Vitamin D:Unknown10%
Ingredient List:Pasteurized cultured microfiltered milk, salt, oil, microbial enzymesCheddar, Semisoft and Swiss Cheese (Pasteurized Milk and Part-Skim Milk, Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Whey, Milk Protein Concentrate, Water, Skim Milk, Sodium Polyphosphate, Less Than 2% of Each: Tricalcium Phosphate, Salt, Citric Acid, Vitamins (Cholecalciferole [Vitamin D] and Vitamin A Acetate).
Table 1. Nutrition Facts of The Laughing Cow and Mini Babybel

Babybel Is Less Processed Than The Laughing Cow

Babybel has a much shorter ingredient list, usually that’s an indicator how processed this cheese snack is. Mini Babybel is what you would expect real cheese to be made of: milk, bacterial culture and enzymes, and salt. The Laughing Cow wedge, on the other hand, is a processed cheese product that contains some cheese, but also other food additives such as protein concentrate and sodium phosphate (emulsifier).

Babybel Has Double The Amount Of Protein Than The Laughing Cow

Each piece of Babybel mini provides 4 g of protein, while each wedge of The Laughing Cow provide 2 g. While both products are at similar wedge, this huge difference in protein usually indicates that Babybel contains more real milk than The Laughing Cow. As you can see on their ingredient list comparison, The Laughing Cow has already added with milk protein concentrate, but it still couldn’t make up the difference in protein content.

The Laughing Cow Has Been Fortified With Extra Minerals

On the ingredient list of The Laughing Cow, we could see the the following minerals have been added to the product:

  • Calcium
  • Vitamin D
  • Vitamin A

Therefore, the amount of Vitamin A and D is higher in The Laughing Cow. However, since Babybel contains more milk, the amount of calcium is the same between two products. Each Babybel Mini provide 140 mg of calcium. However, we couldn’t confirm the exact amount of calcium in The Laughing Cow, as the calcium content is not listed on the product nor their website.

Please note that The Laughing Cow Canadian products are NOT fortified, therefore calcium content is less. In Canada, each wedge of The Laughing Cow is 16.7 g, providing 40 mg of calcium.

Our Pick: Mini Babybel Original

If you want cheese, get the real thing; in our nutrition comparison face-off, Babybel wins, as it contains more real milk.

Tell Us: Which one is your favorite?

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5 thoughts on “Cheese Snacks Nutrition Face-off: Laughing Cow vs. Mini Babybel (2023 Update)”

    • Babybel contains 4G of animal protein per piece AND is only 70 calories per piece. As far as healthy goes, it really is a healthy food (if you don’t have an animal dairy dietary issue) and to make circumstances better for Babybel, its also vegetarian, where Laughing Cow IS not.

      Reply
  1. Good to know! I like both cheeses but, after your analysis, I’ll no longer eat Laughing Cow. Thank you for the information.

    Reply
  2. I keep laughing cow light on hand because one wedge will usually stop diarrhea. If it doesn’t a second wedge will.

    Reply

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