A lower calorie (as best can) cheese sauce without using 'low fat products'

nooboots
nooboots Posts: 480 Member
in Recipes
How low can this go without using low fat cheese or milk.

I also do not want a roux based sauce if possible but will consider this.

My normal method of making a cheese sauce is to use single cream, thinned out a bit by milk, warm it in the pan, grated cheese poured into that and just keep stirring until the cheese is all melted. Lots of English mustard is necessary for me.

Im going to be making up some portions of pasta and cheese sauce, mixed with veg in it too. Im going to freeze these in foil containers. (Im using up my pasta)

I havent got fancy kitchen equipment like blenders but I think I might have a stick blender somewhere.

What would be lower, full fat milk with a little bit of flour but no butter or something like blitzed up cottage cheese mixed with cheese melted in, although I think the cottage cheese wouldnt melt smoothly?

What about full fat greek yoghurt, would that thin down and warm up in the pan without curdling and then I could add cheese to that instead of single cream?

Replies

  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,965 Member
    I use cottage cheese blitzed in the food processor (stick blender) flavoured with grated hard cheese. Thin with milk if needed.
  • sgriska
    sgriska Posts: 109 Member
    I typically use regular milk, mix in a tablespoon or so of flour, let it thicken up a bit as it cooks, then add the cheese and whatever spices. I've never used butter or cream for making cheese sauces -- not how my mom did it, so not how I learned to do it -- and it always came out fine for me.
  • vegan4lyfe2012
    vegan4lyfe2012 Posts: 1,241 Member
    I have an awesome "cheeze" recipe. I typically make it in the blender, but you can do it with the stick blender if you have a bit of patience. I love love love this sauce for nachos and also mixed into rice or on baked potatoes and veggies. This recipe makes a LOT, so you will probably want to halve it the first time you make it. Also, when you refrigerate it, it becomes solid. Don't let that scare you. As soon as you warm it up, it's right back to the wonderful nacho cheese sauce consistency you expect. P.S. Don't knock it till you try it!

    AMAZING CHEEZE SAUCE
    Makes 5 cups total. Serving size 1/4 cup.

    • 4 medium Carrots, cut into 1” pieces
    • 2 lb Yukon Gold Potatoes, cut into 1” pieces
    • 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
    • 1/4 tsp Turmeric
    • 1 tsp Salt
    • 1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast
    • 1 Tsp Stadium Mustard
    • 2 T Lemon juice
    • 1 tsp Onion powder
    • 1 tsp Garlic powder

    In a large pot, put carrots and potatoes in and fill with water to at least 3” above veggies. Bring it to a boil and cook about 22-25 minutes, until completely soft. Before draining, reserve 2 cups of cooking liquid.

    While potatoes and carrots are cooking, add the remaining ingredients into a blender.
    After draining carrots and potatoes into a colander and reserving 2 cups of cooking liquid, add half of the carrots and potatoes and 1 cup cooking liquid to the blender. Blend on high for at least a minute, until everything is creamy. Add this back to the cooking pot and blend up the other half of the veggies and cooking liquid. After blending, add to the pot and stir to make sure seasonings in the first blender batch are incorporated throughout.

    1/4 cup serving provides:
    Calories: 49
    Fat: 0g
    Sodium: 20mg
    Potassium: 232mg
    Carbs: 10g
    Fiber: 2g
    Sugar: 1g
    Protein: 2g
    Vitamin A: 21%
    Vitamin C: 16%
    Calcium: 1%
    Iron: 3%
  • srsteinb
    srsteinb Posts: 5 Member
    My new favorite mac and cheese recipe is from serious eats- it uses evaporated milk and the starchy water from cooking the pasta. My results have all been creamy and delicious. If you like added mustard, I don't see why you couldn't throw that in too.

    Here's the link- https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2017/01/3-ingredient-stovetop-mac-and-cheese-recipe.html
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,965 Member
    srsteinb wrote: »
    My new favorite mac and cheese recipe is from serious eats- it uses evaporated milk and the starchy water from cooking the pasta. My results have all been creamy and delicious. If you like added mustard, I don't see why you couldn't throw that in too.

    Here's the link- https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2017/01/3-ingredient-stovetop-mac-and-cheese-recipe.html

    This technique is very similar to classic cacio e pepe.

    https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2016/nov/03/how-to-make-the-perfect-cacio-e-pepe
  • gallicinvasion
    gallicinvasion Posts: 1,015 Member
    For a Parmesan cheese sauce, you should use this lighter alfredo recipe! It really hits the spot for me when I’m looking for a creamy pasta sauce to pair with spaghetti squash, and I bet it would be great with roasted veggies. https://showmetheyummy.com/healthy-alfredo-sauce-recipe/?m
  • nooboots
    nooboots Posts: 480 Member
    Wow thanks everyone
  • brittanystebbins95
    brittanystebbins95 Posts: 567 Member
    edited June 2019
    Maybe use unsweetened almond milk instead of cream or regular milk? Way less in calories, and adding a slight nutty flavor with cheese sounds REALLY good. At least to me. I think it would bring out the flavor of the cheese even more.

    **Cashew milk might be better. I know vegans use cashews sometimes to make "cheese" so perhaps the taste would be better?

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