Substitutions for heavy whipping cream?

Well, half and half or whole milk but those still have quite a few calories depending on how many calories you are are looking to cut, but they have fat which helps in a thickening process for sauces. I have also found that non fat evaporated milk can be a good substitute for heavy cream in dishes, but the sauce may be a bit thinner but its not super noticeable.

For a dish like that, you could probably substitute a low fat cream cheese in equal amount of the heavy cream. Should cut down a bit of the calories (1 oz heavy cream= 110 cal vs 1 oz low fat cream cheese is = 70 cal).

eatyogarun wrote: »

I just put a recipe in and then almost passed out when I saw the calories. The main culprit seems to be the heavy whipping cream. It's a beef/pasta dish so the cream is part of the sauce. What do you guys think works best as a substitute?

You could cut the amount of heavy cream in half and replace it with more beef stock.

I do this all the time in Thai dishes that have coconut milk (the heavy kind). (Although in this case I use chicken stock instead of beef.)

If I were to have a Thai restaurant dish for a taste test I would notice the difference, but since I don't it works.

kshama2001 wrote: »

eatyogarun wrote: »

I just put a recipe in and then almost passed out when I saw the calories. The main culprit seems to be the heavy whipping cream. It's a beef/pasta dish so the cream is part of the sauce. What do you guys think works best as a substitute?

You could cut the amount of heavy cream in half and replace it with more beef stock.

I do this all the time in Thai dishes that have coconut milk (the heavy kind). (Although in this case I use chicken stock instead of beef.)

If I were to have a Thai restaurant dish for a taste test I would notice the difference, but since I don't it works.

i also do that with recipes that call for cream
or i just use 2% and cook it down it bit more

crazyravr wrote: »

cheryldumais wrote: »

I would probably use fat free Greek yogurt. In other dishes I use evaporated milk but beef is a pretty strong flavour and the yogurt might go better.

It will split in a sauce. Yogurt, even full fat, is weird like that. 90% of the time it will split, the other 10% maybe not.

I used it the other day in beef stroganoff and it didn't split but of course it was added at the end before serving. I never add it in until the dish is just ready to serve.

eatyogarun wrote: »

I just put a recipe in and then almost passed out when I saw the calories. The main culprit seems to be the heavy whipping cream. It's a beef/pasta dish so the cream is part of the sauce. What do you guys think works best as a substitute?

When I am making a cream soup or stew, I use Evaporated Skim Milk. It is in the baking aisle next to the cans of Condensed milk (look at the calories for THAT stuff if you want a shock) and the powdered milk. It isn't quite as thick as cream but still makes up well in a soup. If making a sauce, you could always add a little more of whatever thickener you are using.

It will change the consistency of the food but it doesn’t mean it’s less enjoyable. For savory dishes try subbing light cream cheese, sour cream, 2% Greek yogurt, or puréed cottage cheese for half of the cream. Or, use less cream in general for the dish. A condensed creamed soup might also work, but check those labels for the other ingredients.

eatyogarun wrote: »

I just put a recipe in and then almost passed out when I saw the calories. The main culprit seems to be the heavy whipping cream. It's a beef/pasta dish so the cream is part of the sauce. What do you guys think works best as a substitute?

For a savory dish, greek yogurt often works fairly well to thicken it a bit/make it creamier. Relatively few calories and ups the protein content as well. Sour cream is also an option (lower calorie than heavy cream, but still pretty high calorie from being largely fat).

Crafty_camper123 wrote: »

I usually just use milk. Mostly because it's what I have on hand. What kind of beef/pasta dish? Something where you need a thickened alfredo like sauce, you could make a rouxe and then pour your milk and broth in. It would thicken like a gravy, and give a similar creamy texture. You could also add in fat free cream cheese, fat free sour cream, or fat free greek yogurt, or fat free cottage cheese to add more creaminess for less calories.

ditto on this as well. Homemade gravy is surprisingly low in calories despite being thick and creamy and seemingly high fat.

cheryldumais wrote: »

crazyravr wrote: »

cheryldumais wrote: »

crazyravr wrote: »

cheryldumais wrote: »

I would probably use fat free Greek yogurt. In other dishes I use evaporated milk but beef is a pretty strong flavour and the yogurt might go better.

It will split in a sauce. Yogurt, even full fat, is weird like that. 90% of the time it will split, the other 10% maybe not.

I used it the other day in beef stroganoff and it didn't split but of course it was added at the end before serving. I never add it in until the dish is just ready to serve.

Ohhhh well thats different. Yes, you can add yogurt when the dish is done cooking and it will not split. But if you add it to a hot, still cooking meal, it will.

Yup, I should have been more clear on that. If it has to go in before then the evaporated skim milk is what I use with a bit of cornstarch or flour and water to thicken if needed. I have used condensed soup too but if you are watching sodium that's not always the best and the low fat stuff is not the same. Oh, BTW I have used low fat cream cheese too. It really depends on the recipe. Oops, one more addition... If you can afford the calories sometimes half & half will cut the calories a bit but not as much as the other options.

I've done half & half for Creme Brulee before in place of heavy cream. A bit thinner than preferred, but still quite tasty.

My go to is usually half fat creme fraiche

crazyravr wrote: »

cheryldumais wrote: »

crazyravr wrote: »

cheryldumais wrote: »

I would probably use fat free Greek yogurt. In other dishes I use evaporated milk but beef is a pretty strong flavour and the yogurt might go better.

It will split in a sauce. Yogurt, even full fat, is weird like that. 90% of the time it will split, the other 10% maybe not.

I used it the other day in beef stroganoff and it didn't split but of course it was added at the end before serving. I never add it in until the dish is just ready to serve.

Ohhhh well thats different. Yes, you can add yogurt when the dish is done cooking and it will not split. But if you add it to a hot, still cooking meal, it will.

Have you tried either of these techniques? (Using a stabilizer and/or full fat yogurt.)

https://living.thebump.com/cooking-yogurt-curdling-8453.html

...Stabilizers

Using a stabilizer in a yogurt-based dish to keep it from curdling is one of the most common steps in Indian cooking. Whisk in a small amount of chickpea flour, cornstarch, or plain all-purpose flour to stabilize the yogurt before cooking. Ensure that the stabilizer is completely combined, then add the combination slowly to a low-temperature dish, or heat the stabilizer slowly on its own, again keeping it from boiling, and stirring it in at the end of the preparation.

Yogurt Types

The type of yogurt plays a large part in whether it will curdle. Buffalo-milk yogurt is less prone to curdling overall, and is commonly used by traditional Indian cooks. However, if this is unavailable, substitute full-fat yogurt, or Greek yogurt, where much of the water has been removed; both are less likely to break than low-fat yogurt, because the fat within the yogurt keeps proteins from clumping together and curdling. If you want to use low-fat products, only use a small amount of acid in the recipe, use a stabilizer in the yogurt and cook on low heat to prevent curdling.

It is unlikely that something else will do for this dessert.

I would say low fat evaporated milk. When paired with a dash of coconut essence this is also a decent sub for coconut milk in Thai curries too:
https://www.verybestbaking.com/carnation/products/nestle-carnation-evaporated-lowfat-2-milk-12-oz/

I would use milk and thicken it with cornstarch.