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Recipe Swaps: Common Substitutions for
Making Recipes Healthier
You can change your favorite recipes to make them fats like olive oil, canola oil, and avocados make recipes
healthier and still taste good. Simple swaps can reduce heart-healthier. Using lower-fat dairy products like milk,
calories, sugar, fat and salt and increase fiber. Changing yogurt, cheese and sour cream in your recipes can reduce
preparation methods can also make recipes healthier. the fat and calories, too.
The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans provide SALT
science-based advice on what to eat and drink to consume
a healthy diet1. The Guidelines recommend limiting foods Salt flavors food and acts as a preservative in many
and beverages higher in added sugars, saturated fat and canned and dried foods used in recipes. Buy lower-
sodium. Making these changes can lower your risk of or sodium versions of these foods to reduce the salt in your
help you manage diet-related diseases such as diabetes, recipes. Be creative in your kitchen and swap out the salt
heart disease, stroke, and obesity. for fresh or dried herbs. These new additions will add a
punch of flavor to your recipe.
SUGAR and NON-NUTRITIVE
SWEETENERS FIBER
Sugar contains calories and provides flavor, increases Fiber adds bulk to our diet and helps maintain healthy
moisture, tenderness, and browning in baked goods. Non- bowels. You can swap out white flour, pastas, and rice in
nutritive sweeteners contain few or no calories but can be recipes for whole grain options. Whole wheat flour and
substituted for sugar in baking and still offer a sweet taste pastas or brown rice increase the fiber in your recipes and
with lower calories. The eight non-nutritive sweeteners can add a burst of flavor.
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
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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
FATS 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 Canned evaporated fat-free milk
cream
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 Fresh or dried herbs and spices (garlic powder, red pepper flakes, curry
salt powder, oregano)
Regular soups & sauces Low-sodium soups, sauces and gravies
Regular canned or Low-sodium or no-salt-added canned or frozen vegetables
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)
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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
Aunt Cathy’s Crock Pot® Macaroni & Cheese
2013 University of Delaware
4-H Favorite Foods Contest
Blue ribbon winner, Tyler Melson
Original Recipe Modification4 Photo credit: C. Bush
6- 1 cup servings
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 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese +
(reserve 1 cup for topping) 1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese
(reserve ½ cup for topping)
Nutrition Facts Nutrition Facts
Calories 857 per serving Calories 550 per serving
Protein 34g Protein 23g
Carbohydrates 69g Carbohydrates 66g
Added Sugars 12g Added Sugars 9g
Fat 49g Fat 32g
Saturated Fat 24g Saturated Fat 9g
Fiber 3g Fiber 8g
Sodium 1,056mg Sodium 606mg
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Hamburger Casserole
Original Recipe Modification4
8- 1 cup servings
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
Photo credit: B. Jackey
¾ cup light cream ¾ cup fat-free evaporated milk
8 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded 8 oz. low-fat cheddar cheese, shred-
ded
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 Nutrition Facts
Calories 528 per serving Calories 402 per serving
Protein 29g Protein 35g
Carbohydrates 52g Carb 50g
Added Sugars 3g Added Sugars 0g
Fat 22g Fat 9g
Sat. Fat 12g Sat. Fat 3g
Fiber 3g Fiber 7g
Sodium 597mg Sodium 344mg
4
Low-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.
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References Beverly Jackey, MS, RDN
1. US Department of Agriculture (2021). 2020-2025
[email protected] Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/resources/2020-2025-
dietary-guidelines-online-materials/top-10-things-you- Cheryl Bush, MS, RDN
need-know-about-dietary
[email protected]
2. 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-
This publication, Recipe Swaps: Common Substitutions
petitions/additional-information-about-high-intensity-
for Making Recipes Healthier (FS-1174), is a series of
sweeteners-permitted-use-food-united-states?
publications of the University of Maryland Extension and
platform=hootsuite
the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences.
3. Splenda.com (nd). Splenda® original sweeteners.
The information presented has met UME peer review
https://www.splenda.com/products/original-sweeteners/
standards, including internal and external technical
review. For help accessing this or any UME publication
contact:
4. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research
[email protected] Service. FoodData Central, 2019.fdc.nal.usda.gov.
For more information on this and other topics, visit the
University of Maryland Extension website at
extension.umd.edu
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