Low-fat 'creamy' sauce- is there such a thing?

Is there such a thing as a low fat 'creamy' sauce- I'm not overly keen on tomato based ones but it'd be great if there was one that I could use with noodles or rice? 

Yes there is... you can make a basic white sauce from low-fat or fat-free milk and cornstarch. The amount of thickener you add determines the consistency of the end result.

- Heat your milk in a saucepan, stirring it frequently to make sure it doesn't burn on the bottom.

- Mix your cornstarch with some cold milk in a measuring cup, making sure there aren't any lumps. A couple of tablespoons will usually do it if you're making a sauce rather than a custard.

- When the milk is heated, gradually pour in the cornstarch mix, stirring all the time. Keep stirring over the heat until the sauce is thickened. If it's still too runny, add some more cornstarch. If it's too thick take it off the heat and whisk in some more cold milk to thin it.

- Add any seasonings and flavourings you want to use - grated cheese (cheese sauce is YUMMY!), onion/garlic powders etc.

- Stir in your pasta or whatever you want to use the sauce with, and enjoy.

Wow- thanks! That sounds like something even me (who can burn boiled eggs! LOL!) can manage! Thanks so much. Xx

I make my alfredo sauce with fat-free sourcream instead of half and half...when you heat it up it gets liquidy but is still creamy and once you add garlic and cheese and whatever other stuff, it doesn't taste at all like sourcream.

I know that sounds weird, but it's good. PLUS you get all the calcium and protein of a milk prodcut!

This can be made with or without cheese

http://caloriecount.about.com/recipe/129105.h tml

You can get a lot of variation by adding spices and herbs. 

clairlaine, what's wondra flour?  i've never heard of it.

i think it's a particular brand of flour... Wondra (tm) flour, maybe?

Do y'all think it'd be possible to make a yogurt-based sauce?  Sour cream is all right, but I don't go in for "specialty" products (i'd rather eat less regular sour cream than a normal amount of fat free stuff, and this way I don't have to buy six versions of the same product for everyone in the house), and regular milk mostly disagrees with me.  If you heat up yoghurt, does it go all icky and curdly?

I think plain yogurt would work....I make dips out of plain yogurt and spices all the time, instead of full-fat sourcream and mayo (like most recipes suggest).

I'm not so sure how yogurt would react to the heat, though...I probably wouldn't let it boil.

Original Post by pgeorgian:

clairlaine, what's wondra flour?  i've never heard of it.

 Wondra, made by General Mills, is a very finely granulated flour that is ideal for thickening sauces because it doesn't clump.  It can be found in supermarkets in the flour section and comes in a blue, cylindrical shaker.  I'm not sure if it's available outside the United States.

You can make my white sauce with regular flour or cornstarch, but it needs to be beaten into the cold milk before heating.

 

If i'm making pasta and fancy a creamy sauce, I simply stir in a low fat cheese (I love Garlic & Herb Philadelphia!)  to the hot pasta, maybe with some cherry tomatoes and fresh spinach.  It melts into a lovely sauce. Simple, creamy & quick!

I remember seeing a hungry girl recipe where the cream sauce was made out of a lowcal laughing cow cheese wedge and 2tbls of low fat  sour cream. I've never tried it, but it sounds like it would taste good.

If you're just doing a single serve, laughing cow makes a nice creamy sauce, but there's not a lot of it so you'd want to add some liquid to make it go further. I put it with some frozen mixed veggies the other day - I microwaved the veggies for 2 minutes then added the laughing cow and gave it another minute, then stirred it all up. It was YUMMY!

I make the white sauce (same as cornstarch recipe) except instead of milk, I use a can of evaporated skim milk.  Add garlic powder or garlic salt and just before serving, add grated parmesan cheese to make a yummy lowfat version of alfredo sauce. 

Try some light sour cream. I don't know why it's not better known in English speaking countries (or maybe I'm wrong about that?) because it's one of the tastier thing to make sauces with. And it's not really sour, it just has an edge in taste over other forms of cream.

Original Post by kajikit:

 I put it with some frozen mixed veggies the other day - I microwaved the veggies for 2 minutes then added the laughing cow and gave it another minute, then stirred it all up. It was YUMMY!

 Thats exactly the sort of meal I was thinking of! And throw in some noodles or a little chicken....mmmm...

 

Clusterz, I do LOVE sour cream, but can't find it in the UK/Ireland! I always get it if I'm in the US (especially mexican restaurants- which they also don't have here..no, sorry... theres a great one in Galway! LOL!) so it'd be great if I could find it (or an alternative) here?

Thanks for all the replies folks!

I don't have a recipe, but this restaurant I go to uses nutritional yeast. It's delicious!!!! I'm not exactly sure how low fat it is, but it's pretty high protein, people also use cashews and different liquids in a food processor to get a creamy sauce. I had a gnocchi where the sauce was creamy carrot cashew and it was also delicious. I also eat a salad dressing that has cashews and balsamic. It's amazing.

I love this recipe from the New Dieter's Cookbook. It uses fat-free evaporated milk to make a creamy sauce. soooo delish!

Original Post by thermal:

I think plain yogurt would work....I make dips out of plain yogurt and spices all the time, instead of full-fat sourcream and mayo (like most recipes suggest).

I'm not so sure how yogurt would react to the heat, though...I probably wouldn't let it boil.

 you can totally cook with yoghurt.  lots of middle-eastern recipes use it.

I like noodles with a bit of canned cream of chicken or cream of mushroom on it.

Original Post by irishmum:

Original Post by kajikit:

I put it with some frozen mixed veggies the other day - I microwaved the veggies for 2 minutes then added the laughing cow and gave it another minute, then stirred it all up. It was YUMMY!

Thats exactly the sort of meal I was thinking of! And throw in some noodles or a little chicken....mmmm...

Clusterz, I do LOVE sour cream, but can't find it in the UK/Ireland! I always get it if I'm in the US (especially mexican restaurants- which they also don't have here..no, sorry... theres a great one in Galway! LOL!) so it'd be great if I could find it (or an alternative) here?

Thanks for all the replies folks!

?? tesco has sour cream AND healthy living sour cream.

The nearest Tesco to me is 1 1/2hrs away- sorry! there is a sainsburys closer- they'd probably have it, right? Can/could you freeze it in portion size pieces to use as you go? I take it its much better for you than low-fat mayo?