Modifying Recipes to Reduce Fat and
Calories
There are four ways to modify recipes without cutting taste:
 Reduce an ingredient
 Eliminate an ingredient
 Change preparation method
 Substitute a more suitable ingredient
Reduce an ingredient
Fats and sugars can be reduced by 1/4 to 1/3 of the amount called for in recipes except when sugar is used as
a preservative (jams, jellies).
Eliminate an ingredient
To cut calories, eliminate fat in recipes where it is present for taste and not for structure. For example, gravy
can be made from broth and flour; meats can be browned in their own juices rather than in added fat.
Change Preparation Method
You can bake, broil, stir-fry, steam, simmer, roast or sauté in broth or juice, instead of frying foods. Use nonstick cookware and vegetable oil spray instead of added fat.
Substitute More Suitable Ingredients
The chart below and on the following pages note in detail many ways that you can substitute more suitable
ingredients to cut calories and fat.
Recipe Calls For:
Dairy
 Whole milk cheese
Use Instead:

Cottage cheese
• Low-fat cottage cheese
• Low-fat ricotta cheese

Cream cheese
• Whipped cream cheese
• 1 cup, low-fat cottage cheese, mixed with 4 tablespoons
softened margarine and 1 tablespoon skim milk. Whirl in
blender until smooth.
• Farmer cheese
• Low-fat or fat-free cream cheese
• Low-fat ricotta cheese
• Part-skim cheese, such as mozzarella, farmer cheese, and
Camembert
• Reduced-fat cheese
• Fat-free cheese
-over-
Recipe Calls For:
Use Instead:

Cream, light, 1 cup
• Evaporated skim milk, 1 cup undiluted
• Whole milk, 1 cup

Whipped cream, 1 cup
• 1/2 cup cold fruit juice or water, 1/2 cup non-fat dry milk
powder and 1 tablespoon lemon juice placed in chilled bowl.
Whip with beater until stiff.
• 1/4 cup egg substitute beaten until stiff. Add 2 medium sliced
bananas and beat again until bananas are completely dissolved.
Serve immediately.
• Reduced-fat whipped topping
• 1/3 cup evaporated skim milk, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and
2 to 4 tablespoons sugar. Chill evaporated milk for 12 hours;
whip in chilled bowl with cold beaters until stiff peaks form.
Add lemon juice and sweeten with sugar.

Sour cream, 1 cup
• Low-fat or non-fat plain yogurt
• Fat-free sour cream
• 3/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese, 3 tablespoons skim milk, and 1
tablespoon lemon juice, blended together. Use as spread or
dip.
• 1 tablespoon plain low-fat yogurt and 1 tablespoon cornstarch,
blended together. Add 1 cup low-fat or non-fat yogurt. Use in
dishes that require heat.

Coffee creamer
•
•
•
•

Evaporated whole milk
• Evaporated skim milk

Whole milk
• 1%, 1/2% or skim milk
• 1/3 cup non-fat dairy dry milk and water mixed to make 1 cup

Ice Cream
• Ice milk
• Sherbet or low-fat free frozen yogurt
• Low-fat or fat-free frozen desserts

Fruits and Vegetables
Vegetables with sauce or butter
Evaporated skim milk, undiluted
Fat-free creamer
1 cup non-fat dry milk in 1 cup water
1% milk
• Vegetables sautéed in wine, cooking long enough to allow the
alcohol to evaporate.
• Plain frozen or fresh vegetables, seasoned with herbs and
lemon juice
• Steamed, grilled or roasted vegetables (for better flavor)
-over-
Recipe Calls For:
 Fruits and Vegetables
Vegetables with sauce or butter
Use Instead:

French Fries
• Strips of raw potatoes coated with cooking spray, baked at 450
degrees for 30 minutes.

Salad dressing
• Fat-free or reduced-fat salad dressings

Baked Potato/sour cream
• Fat-free sour cream
• Fat-free dressings such as ranch
Protein
 Poultry
• Vegetables cooked in bouillon or defatted broth
• Vegetables seasoned with a few drops of sesame oil or grated
grated cheese
• Vegetables with fat-free margarine
• Remove skin after baking to retain moisture
• Skinned poultry, unless making soup
• In this instance, use the skin to flavor broth but skim fat off
broth before serving
• Poultry basted with orange, white, grape or apple jelly with a
splash of soy sauce and baked in aluminum foil to hold in
moisture

Gravy or Sauce
• Cold milk, broth or juice slowly added to flour or cornstarch.
Blend and stir over medium heat until mixture come to a boil.
Add herbs and spices.

Beef
• Well-trimmed lean cuts (sirloin tip, eye of the round, round
steak, and chuck with round bone, flank steak, tenderloin, lean
stew meat and lean ground beef)

Beef
• Broil, bake and roast meats, using rack to drain off fats.

Hamburger
• Rinsed and drained cooked hamburger, using a sieve or
colander. Add to casserole or soup.

Pork, well marbled
• Pork loin or tenderloin, center-cut ham and Canadian bacon

Processed meats
• Fresh meats and poultry
• Boiled ham, baked Virginia ham, roast beef, sliced turkey or
chicken
• 95% fat-free lunch meats, hotdogs

1 egg
• 2 egg whites
• 2 tablespoons of flour, 1-1/2 teaspoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon
baking powder (for baking purposes)
-over-
Recipe Calls For:
 Fish, oil-packed
Use Instead:
• Fish, water packed

• Reduced-calorie stock made by using a gravy separator
• Reduced-calorie stock made by refrigerating stock until fat rises
to top and solidifies. Lift off and discard.
• Fat-free canned broth
Meat stocks
Breads/Desserts
 Baking Chocolate
• 1-3 tablespoons cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons of water,
skim milk or low-fat milk

Cakes, cookies, muffins, breads
• 1/4 to 1/3 less oil, margarine or shortening, replacing the fat
with applesauce
• 1/4 to 1/3 less sugar; while doubling the amount of extract and
increasing spices

Cracker Crumbs
• Crushed dry bread crumbs, 1-1/3 cups

2-crust pies/pastries
• 1-crust pies OR, crumb crusts (graham cracker, cereal,
Gingersnaps) made with 1/3 less oil

Stuffing
• Cook separately from turkey. Moisten with the broth rather
than margarine.

Croutons
• Slice bread and spray with butter-flavored vegetable oil spray.
Sprinkle with garlic powder or herbs, cut in cubes and toast in
oven.
Fat
 Shortening
• Oil (Canola is best)

Stick butter or margarine
• Squeeze margarine (reduce volume by 1/4 or 1/3). Reducedfat tub margarine if product will not be baked.

Lard
• Oil
Cholesterol Concerns
Reducing the total fat, especially saturated fat, in your diet is an effective way to reduce blood cholesterol
levels. Saturated fat tends to be hard at room temperature (animal shortening, for example). Always try to
substitute liquid oils for saturated fat and reduce the total amount you use.
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