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Substitute for Heavy Cream?

13 years ago

I am trying to make a recipe (pancetta with peas, asparagus, fettucine, parma.) but the sauce calls for heavy whipping cream. I am thinking about doing a lighter sauce maybe with a red sauce of some sort mixed with a cheese, but not quite sure what i can use to substitute the heavy cream (other than the obvious lite whipping cream). Would something like ricotta, cream cheese, sour cream or anything creamy work? I am totally out of my element and trying to be creative and healthy(ier) at the same time.

Thanks for appeasing me in advance!

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Comments (8)

Teresa_MN
13 years ago
Fat free half n half would work in the recipe.
User
13 years ago
Maybe it is just me, but I don't like fat free cream, fat free cream cheese or fat free sour cream. They don't taste like the real thing. Sweet with a chemical taste.

You can substitute sour cream or plain yogurt. The ricotta or mascarpone or cream cheese would also work well in a pasta sauce.

Ann
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Since light cream can be up to 30% fat, I would use 2/3 cream and 1/3 milk. Actually, if I were making it myself, I would decrease the milk even more, since milk upsets me more than cream. I made strawberry ice cream Tuesday using a recipe that called for light cream, and I substituted all heavy cream. I took some to work because I can't eat all of it, and I thought DB didn't want it, but then after he had some yesterday, he decided it was very good. For myself, the most milk I would put it would be about 1/8 portion. I haven't noticed a problem with using all heavy cream, except that it did get very fluffy and I was afraid it would going to climb out of my ice cream machine, and so I ate little bits of it as it was going along. The worst thing that will happen is you will have excess volume, and you might want to make sure your ice cream maker will handle it. Everyone at work loved it. Lars
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I think there's no real proof that dietary fat makes you fat, and I don't think I'd skip the cream--the calories per serving can't be that much. I've linked to a study in the scholarly journal Nutrition, and here's an excerpt from the abstract: "The DGAC Report does not provide sufficient evidence to conclude that increases in whole grain and fiber and decreases in dietary saturated fat, salt, and animal protein will lead to positive health outcomes. Lack of supporting evidence limits the value of the proposed recommendations as guidance for consumers or as the basis for public health policy. It is time to reexamine how US dietary guidelines are created and ask whether the current process is still appropriate for our needs." Here is a link that might be useful: In the face of contradictory evidence: Report of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Committee
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Teresa_MN
13 years ago
Ann - I've never noticed the chemical taste but I'm sure brands vary. But I don't eat a tremendous amount of dairy either. I keep evaporated milk on hand in case I need milk or cream but don't want to leave the house - like tomorrow when the windchill is supposed to be ungodly cold.

Ann - do you use canned evaporated milk? If so - do you detect a chemical taste in it?
Gina_W
13 years ago
I was dumbfounded when I saw that a carton of fat-free half and half I picked up contained high-fructose corn syrup. Teach me to forget to read the label! Anyway, taking the fat out of cream, which, in essence contains fat, doesn't make sense. The fat-free result is a Frankenstinian abomination!

Anyway, I often sub plain yogurt for cream in recipes for soups and sauces. I don't have anything against cream, but if I don't have it on hand, I always have my yogurt in da house.
gillylily
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for all the suggestions.. I don't necessarily want fat free but lower-fat would be great. I am going to experiment with all your suggestions.

I am not a "new" cook, but a "newer" cook that is looking to expand my abilities.This is something I love to eat out of the house (but I don't like the weight I have gained) so trying to imitate everything I love inside just slightly healthier options!

Thanks again! I will let you know how it turns out..
Chi
13 years ago
This isn't really an answer to the OP but I wanted to add that Trader Joe's Soy Creamer is awesome. It tastes like half and half to me, but with no saturated fat and no weird ingredients.

It's slightly sweetened though so it wouldn't work well for cooking but it's great in coffee and tea!
lindac
13 years ago
If I need something creamy for a sauce....I sometimes put skim milk (which always is in my refrig) with some cream cheese....another thing that is always in my refrigerator.
It's amazing how little cream cheese it takes to make skim milk "cream-like'...or perhaps sour cream like.
And I never use the reduced fat stuff, I also think it tastes strange. When I am trying to reduce the fat in a recipe I will just use milk....and if I am looking for some thickness, I will whirr in the blender with a little cooked rice.
I always have evaporated milk but that's only for certain things where that "boiled" taste is necessary...like Grandma's rice pudding and her pumpkin pie.
Linda C
Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
13 years ago
I tend to use several things all at once: half and half for some fat, light sour cream or Greek yogurt for body, crumbled ricotta (left crumbled) for that cheese appeal.

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