Light cream is a relatively healthy option for everyone looking to add a creamy and rich element to their tasty creations – especially if you don’t wish to make it too fat-filled and heavy.
While light cream doesn’t completely remove the fat from the equation (it has around 20% fat content), it still provides a considerably small amount of pure fat as opposed to whipping cream (30% fat), heavy cream (38% fat) and double cream (which has a whopping 48% pure fat content).
You’ll find light cream in most homes, as it is a delicious ingredient with a great texture. It is a healthy alternative for dishes that rely on cream to bring the rich flavor.
Nowadays, though, light cream isn’t just a substitute for heavier creams – it’s an essential ingredient and a must-have for many different dishes. Airy desserts like chiffon rolls are incomplete without the light cream filling.
Chicken cream soups and cream of mushroom soups need light cream too. Pasta dishes like shrimp scampi also need light cream for the silky texture of the sauce. While light cream may be an essential part of certain dishes most of the time, that doesn’t mean it is completely irreplaceable.
There are quite a few different alternatives to light cream out there that can be used in place of it, and we’re here to tell readers all about them.
If you’re looking to prepare a dish that uses light cream but can’t use it for whatever reason, given below are some of the best alternatives that you can try out instead.
A Few Great Light Cream Substitutes
- Whole Milk Solution
Surprisingly, whole milk is one of the best alternatives available for light cream itself. It’s perfect for when you’re making a dish but suddenly remember you don’t have any light cream to finish it. You can simply add whole milk as a substitute for your main ingredient.
Milk is, of course, a household pantry staple for most people, meaning you can use it as a substitute whenever you want without having to go to a grocery store.
However, know that whole milk on its own is not enough, and you’ll need to do a bit of work before it can be used as an alternative for light cream. The butterfat content in whole milk is much less than in light cream, which can ruin your sauce or soup.
You’ll need to make a whole milk solution with butter to fix this. Get some butter and melt it up. Beat the melted butter and gradually add some milk, letting the mixture cool down for a while. Using the mixture hot and adding it to more milk can lead to the butter and milk separating.
Using a separate solution can throw off the flavor and textures of your food. Add the butter to more milk and mix well. Make sure the milk you’re adding to heated butter is also room temperature or slightly warm.
For an exact substitute, you should add precisely 3 tablespoons of the butter solution to 7/8 cup of whole milk and then mix it properly. The resulting solution will be your alternative for light cream.
- Pureed Tofu
Using tofu that has been pureed is another solid light cream alternative. If you have some tofu in your home, this will be super easy to prepare, making it a convenient substitute for light cream for vegetarians and vegans.
To make this substitute, you’ll need a little bit of tofu, which you’ll then have to chop up and place on a cutting board. Use a kitchen towel to get excess water out of the tofu, then throw it in a food processor or blender to make a puree.
This can be used in dishes that require light cream. Just add the same amount of pureed tofu as you would light cream in any dish you’re preparing.
One of the best parts about this tofu alternative is that strict vegetarians can enjoy dishes that traditionally require a creamy element. It’s perfect for lactose-intolerant foodies too. People that are on dairy-free diets can also try this substitute out.
- Half and Half
Out of butter and can’t make a whole milk solution to use as a light cream alternative? Try half and half! This solution is basically a mixture of whole cream and heavy cream.
As its name suggests, it uses exactly half of both of these, meaning that it is 50% whole milk and 50% heavy cream.
While heavy cream usually isn’t that great a substitute for light cream, mixing it with whole milk can make it lighter and more appropriate for soups and airy fillings and sauces.
Much like the previously listed pureed tofu, you can use the same amount of half and half compared to light cream. For example, you can use 1 cup if the recipe in question calls for 1 cup of light cream.
One thing that needs to be kept in mind is that half and a half have less butterfat, so it won’t be great for gravies and will make them lighter. However, it is still an excellent substitute for light cream when you’re baking.
If you don’t have half and half or have heavy cream lying around that you want to put to good use, you can make a mixture yourself. Grab your measuring cup and add equal whole milk and heavy cream parts. Whisk well, then add to any dish you like.
- Full-Fat Coconut Cream
Full-fat coconut cream is available at most supermarkets, which is why it’s a popular replacement for light cream. While this isn’t something most people have lying around in their pantry, full-fat coconut cream is still an excellent light cream substitute.
For starters, it’s vegan-friendly and preferable for all those who have problems eating dairy, whether due to personal choice or health-related reasons. You can use coconut as a substitute for light cream in just about any dish, but it’s important to keep the flavor aspect in mind.
This ingredient will likely leave a coconut taste in whatever you use it to prepare, meaning that it’s not going to be a great substitute for some light-cream dishes. The coconut taste is mild, though, so it doesn’t affect foods with many flavorful ingredients.
The subtle coconut taste is refreshing and delicious, great for biscuit filling and cupcake frosting. Additionally, you can use full-fat coconut cream to replace light cream in deserts.
Last but not least is evaporated milk (also called unsweetened condensed milk). You may have it in your pantry if you enjoy baking. Evaporated milk has a long shelf-life, so even if you have some lying around from months ago, you can add it as a light cream substitute.
Just be sure to get the unsweetened evaporated milk if you’re making a savory dish. Another benefit of using evaporated milk is that it packs a good amount of nutrients and has a high calcium percentage.
It has around 50% more calories than regular whole milk but around the same as milk and butter solution or half and half. Keep the amount you use in check, though — most dishes need less evaporated milk than they would light cream.