Making Mayo's Recipes: A guide to ingredient substitutions

Featured News

Making Mayo’s Recipes: A guide to ingredient substitutions

By
Dana Sparks

October 17, 2019

a young woman in a kitchen, leaning over an open soup pot, smelling the aroma and preparing to take a taste from a wooden spoon

Whipping up healthy meals may be easier than you think. Use this guide to make simple ingredient substitutions to reduce salt and saturated fat — and boost fiber — in your favorite recipes.

If a recipe calls for these ingredients, try these substitutes:

Bread crumbs, dry = Rolled oats or crushed bran cereal

Butter, margarine, shortening or oil in baked goods = Applesauce or prune puree for half of the called-for butter, shortening or oil; trans-free spreads or shortenings formulated for baking

Butter, margarine or shortening to prevent sticking = Cooking spray

Canned meat, fish, vegetables and soups = Low-sodium or reduced-sodium versions

Cream = Fat-free half-and-half or evaporated skim milk

Cream cheese, full fat = Fat-free or low-fat cream cheese, Neufchatel cheese, or pureed low-fat cottage cheese

Eggs = Two egg whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute for each whole egg

Flour, all-purpose (plain) = Whole-wheat flour for half of the flour called for in baked goods

Ground beef = Extra-lean or lean ground beef, ground chicken breast or ground turkey breast

Mayonnaise = Reduced-calorie, reduced-fat mayonnaise

Meat = Vegetables for half of the meat called for in casseroles, soups and stews

Milk, evaporated = Evaporated skim milk

Pasta, enriched (white) = Whole-wheat pasta

Rice, white = Brown rice, wild rice, bulgur wheat or pearl barley

Seasoning salt, such as garlic salt, celery salt or onion salt = Herb-only seasonings, such as garlic powder, celery seed or onion flakes, or finely chopped fresh herbs, garlic, celery or onions

Sour cream, full fat = Fat-free or low-fat sour cream, or plain fat-free or low-fat yogurt