Healthy Substitutes

Looking to save on fat, calories, or sodium in your favorite recipes? Use this list of popular healthy ingredient substitutes.

Get our free healthy cooking substitutions chart!

Bacon: turkey bacon, reduced-sodium and reduced-fat bacon, Canadian-style bacon

Reduced-sodium bacon reduces sodium by 40 percent, calories by half, and fat by about 60 percent.
Canadian bacon reduces calories by 60 percent, fat by about 80 percent, sodium by about 30 percent, and omits nearly all saturated fat.

Baking powder: See our substitute for baking powder.

Beef ribeye steak: See our substitute for ribeye steak.

Bread: whole wheat or whole grain instead of white; spinach, Swiss chard, napa cabbage instead of wraps; low-carb spinach or tomato tortillas

Whole wheat bread has about 40 percent more protein, less carbohydrates, and almost twice the amount of fiber than white bread.
Using spinach, Swiss chard, or napa cabbage omits added carbohydrates, lowers calories, and omits fat.

Bread crumbs, dry: See our substitute for bread crumbs.

Brown sugar: See our substitute for brown sugar.

Butter: See our substitute for butter.

Canned beans: dried beans, cooked; no-salt-added canned beans

The above options omit any added salt from processing. Salt-free products have less than 5 mg sodium per serving, very-low-sodium products have less than 35 mg sodium per serving, and low-sodium products have less than 140 mg sodium per serving.

Canned vegetables: no-salt-added, salt-free, or low-sodium canned vegetables; frozen or fresh vegetables

Using no-salt-added, salt-free, or low-sodium canned vegetables reduces or omits added salt during the canning process.

Cheese: See our substitute for cheese.

Chicken thighs: See our substitute for chicken thighs.

Chocolate: See our substitute for chocolate.

Cream cheese: See our substitute for cream cheese.

Eggs: See our substitute for eggs.

Flour: See our substitute for flour.

Flour tortillas: corn tortillas

When compared to a 6-inch flour tortilla, 6-inch corn tortillas have about half the calories, 75 percent less carbohydrates and fat, and 95 percent less sodium.

French-fried onions: whole wheat panko bread crumbs in casseroles

Whole wheat panko has double the carbs but almost 98 percent less fat and about 80 percent less sodium than french-fried onions. Per cup, whole wheat panko also has 12 grams protein and 8 grams fiber, whereas french-fried onions have none.

Frosting: See our substitute for frosting.

Fruit canned in heavy syrup: fruit canned in its own juice or in water; fresh fruit

The above options reduce calories, carbohydrates, and added sugar.

Ground beef: See our substitute for ground beef.

Ground turkey: See our substitute for ground turkey.

Hamburger patty: See our substitute for hamburger patties.

Heavy cream: See our substitute for heavy cream.

Jam/jelly: mashed berries instead of jam in baked goods and on sandwiches

Using mashed berries reduces calories and carbohydrates, and omits added processed sugar and salt.

Lettuce, iceberg: arugula, chicory, collard greens, dandelion greens, kale, mustard greens, spinach, watercress

The above options increase vitamins, minerals, and fibers. Dark leafy greens tend to be higher in vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron, and folate.

Margarine: See our substitute for margarine.

Marinades, oil-based: wine, balsamic vinegar, fruit juice, fat-free broth

The above options reduce calories, fat, saturated fat, and sodium. Wine adds alcohol, which may or may not be present in some marinades.

Mayonnaise: hummus, pesto, mashed avocado, mustard on sandwiches; plain Greek yogurt in dressings, casseroles, and salads

Hummus has about one-third the calories, six times the protein, and less fat and saturated fat than mayo. It also has about 10 grams fiber per cup.
Mashed avocado has less calories, fat, saturated fat, and sodium than mayo. It has double the protein and 15 grams fiber per cup.
Yellow mustard has less calories and fat than mayo but has nearly double the amount of sodium. It has five times as much protein as mayo.
Plain Greek yogurt has less calories, fat, saturated fat, and sodium than mayo. It also has 10 times the amount of protein.

Milk, whole: skim milk

Skim milk has less calories, cholesterol, fat, and saturated fat. However, using skim milk instead of whole milk can change the richness of sauces and dressings.

Oil: See our substitute for oil.

Oil-packed foods: water-packed foods like tuna and sun-dried tomatoes

Using water-packed foods will omit any added fat and reduce calories by about half.

Pasta: See our substitute for pasta.

Rice, white: See our substitute for rice.

Salad dressing: fat-free or reduced-calorie dressing; flavored vinegars

Fat-free or reduced-calorie dressings reduce calories, fat, and saturated fat but tend to increase sodium and added sugars.
Flavored vinegars typically do not have any calories, fat, or sodium.

Salt, table: See our substitute for salt.

Seasoning salt: See our substitute for seasoning salt.

Soups, 10-3/4-ounce can condensed cream-based: See our substitute for cream-based soup.

Sour cream: See our substitute for sour cream.

Soy sauce: sweet-and-sour sauce, hot mustard sauce, low-sodium soy sauce

Sweet-and-sour sauce has 66 percent less calories and 95 percent less sodium than soy sauce. However, it has three times the amount of carbohydrates and double the added sugar.
Hot mustard sauce has 80 percent less calories and 90 percent less sodium than soy sauce. However, it has four times the amount of carbohydrates and added sugar.
Low-sodium soy sauce has about 40 percent less calories and half the sodium of regular soy sauce.

Spice blends: See our substitute for spice blends.

Sugar: See our substitute for sugar.

Yogurt, fruit-flavor: plain low-fat yogurt with fresh fruit slices

More ingredient substitutions

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