FS-1174 | June 2021
Recipe Swaps: Common Substitutions for Making Recipes Healthier
You can change your favorite recipes to make them healthier and still taste good. Simple swaps can reduce calories, sugar, fat and salt and increase fiber. Changing preparation methods can also make recipes healthier.
The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans provide science-based advice on what to eat and drink to consume a healthy diet1. The Guidelines recommend limiting foods and beverages higher in added sugars, saturated fat and sodium. Making these changes can lower your risk of or help you manage diet-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and obesity.
Sugar and Non-Nutritive Sweetners
Sugar contains calories and provides flavor, increases moisture, tenderness, and browning in baked goods. Non-nutritive sweeteners contain few or no calories but can be substituted for sugar in baking and still offer a sweet taste with lower calories. The eight non-nutritive sweeteners currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are: aspartame, acesulfame potassium, monk fruit extract, neotame, saccharin, stevia, sucralose, and advantame². If you want to use these in recipes, visit the manufacturer’s website to view the sweetener conversion charts for sugar.
Fats
Fat also provides flavor and a rich taste to food. However, using less, not eliminating it, can greatly reduce the calories. Swapping out butter and cream for plant-based fats like olive oil, canola oil, and avocados make recipes heart-healthier. Using lower-fat dairy products like milk, yogurt, cheese and sour cream in your recipes can reduce the fat and calories, too.
Salt
Salt flavors food and acts as a preservative in many canned and dried foods used in recipes. Buy lower-sodium versions of these foods to reduce the salt in your recipes. Be creative in your kitchen and swap out the salt for fresh or dried herbs. These new additions will add a punch of flavor to your recipe.
Fiber
Fiber adds bulk to our diet and helps maintain healthy bowels. You can swap out white flour, pastas, and rice in recipes for whole grain options. Whole wheat flour and pastas or brown rice increase the fiber in your recipes and can add a burst of flavor.
Let's Swap!
| SUGAR Instead of this: | Swap this: |
|---|---|
| Sugar | Reduce sugar by 1/3 to 1/2 in cookie, pie filling, sweetbread and cake recipes |
| Sugar | Non-nutritive sweeteners: 1 cup sucralose for 1 cup of sugar³ |
| Sugar | Applesauce and other fruit purees |
| Sugar | Spices such as cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg or flavorings like vanilla or almond extract or flavoring to enhance the sweetness |
| Regular jam or jelly | Sugar-free or reduced sugar jam or jelly |
| FAT Instead of this: | Swap this: |
|---|---|
| Margarine, oil, or butter | Low-fat or fat-free margarine, vegetable oil spray, use nonstick pans |
| 80% ground beef | 90% ground beef, ground turkey or chicken breast |
| Whole egg | Two egg whites, ¼ cup egg substitute |
| Whole milk or heavy cream | Canned evaporated fat-free milk |
| Sour cream | Plain, nonfat Greek yogurt, or low-fat sour cream, (nonfat sour cream may be too watery) |
| Regular cheese | Fat-free or low-fat cheese (less than two grams of fat per ounce) |
| SALT Instead of this: | Swap this: |
|---|---|
| Salt | Reduce the amount of salt in the recipe by one half |
| Salt substitutes (may contain potassium). *If you need to limit potassium, check with your healthcare provider before using them | |
| Flavoring packets with salt | Fresh or dried herbs and spices (garlic powder, red pepper flakes, curry powder, oregano) |
| Regular soups & sauces | Low-sodium soups, sauces and gravies |
| Regular canned or frozen vegetables | Low-sodium or no-salt-added canned or frozen vegetables |
| FIBER Instead of this: | Swap this: |
|---|---|
| White flour | Whole wheat flour (swap full amount, or ½ the amount in the recipe) |
| Regular pasta | Whole wheat pasta |
| Sugary cereal | Oatmeal, whole grain dry cereals, bran flakes |
| White rice | Brown rice |
| Regular pasta & rice | Quinoa (high-protein grain) |
Sample Recipe Modifications
Check out these recipe modifications to reduce fat, sodium, and calories and add fiber. Try some of these swaps in your favorite recipes too!
Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese
| Original Recipe 6- 1 cup servings |
Modification⁴ | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 lb. elbow macaroni (cooked) | 1 lb. whole grain elbow macaroni (cooked) |
|
| ½ cup margarine | ½ cup alternative light butter spread | |
| 2 eggs, beaten | ¼ cup liquid egg substitute | |
| 12 oz. can evaporated milk | 12 oz. can fat-free evaporated milk | |
| 10.5 oz. can cheddar cheese soup | 10.75 oz. low-fat, low-sodium cheddar cheese soup | |
| 1 cup whole milk | 1 cup skim milk | |
| 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese (reserve 1 cup for topping) | 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese + 1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese (reserve ½ cup for topping) | |
|
Nutrition Facts Calories....................857 per serving Saturated Fat...........24g |
Nutrition Facts Calories....................550 per serving Saturated Fat.............9g |
Aunt Cathy’s Crock Pot® Macaroni & Cheese 2013 University of Delaware 4-H Favorite Foods Contest Blue ribbon winner, Tyler Melson
Hamburger Casserole
| Original Recipe 8- 1 cup servings |
Modification⁴ | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 lb. ground beef 70% lean | 1 lb. ground turkey |
|
| 10 oz. can condensed tomato soup | 6 oz. can tomato paste and 14 oz. can diced tomatoes (no salt) | |
| ½ lb. fresh mushrooms | ½ lb. fresh mushrooms | |
| ¾ cup light cream | 3/4 cup fat-free evaporated milk | |
| 8 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded | 8 oz. low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded | |
| 1 small onion, chopped | 1 small onion, chopped | |
| 1 tsp. garlic salt | 1 tsp. garlic powder | |
| 1 lb. macaroni, small shells, cooked | 1 lb. macaroni, small whole wheat shells or elbows, cooked | |
|
Nutrition Facts Calories....................528 per serving Saturated Fat...........12g |
Nutrition Facts Calories....................402 per serving Saturated Fat.............3g |
⁴Low-fat milk and cheese (1% or 2%) can also be substituted for regular milk and cheese; however, the amount of fat you consume will be somewhat higher than fat-free items.
Preparation
Try these tips.
- Instead of frying in oil or butter, try baking, broiling, poaching, grilling or steaming. Your food can still be flavorful without adding extra calories.
- Instead of basting in oil or drippings, swap out wine, fruit juice, vegetable juice, or fat-free vegetable broth.
- Trim visible fat from red meats.
- Remove poultry skin before cooking. Use non-stick cookware to reduce the amount of oil needed for cooking.
References
- US Department of Agriculture (2021). 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/resources/2020-2025-dietary-guidelines-online-materials/top-10-things-you-need-know-about-dietary
- Additional information about high-intensity sweeteners permitted for use in food in the United States. 02/08/2018. https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/additional-information-about-high-intensity-sweeteners-permitted-use-food-united-states?platform=hootsuite
- Splenda.com (nd). Splenda® original sweeteners. https://www.splenda.com/products/original-sweeteners/
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019.fdc.nal.usda.gov.
BEVERLY JACKEY, MS, RDN
bjackey@umd.edu
CHERYL BUSH, MS, RDN
cherb@umd.edu
This publication, Recipe Swaps: Common Substitutions for Making Recipes Healthier (FS-1174), is a part of a collection produced by the University of Maryland Extension within the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
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When citing this publication, please use the suggested format below:
Jackey, B., & Bush, C. (2021). Recipe Swaps: Common Substitutions for Making Recipes Healthier (FS-1174). University of Maryland Extension. go.umd.edu/FS-1174.