Heavy Cream Substitute: 7 Swaps for Cooking, Baking and Whipping

For sauces, soups and baking, the best heavy cream substitute is ¾ cup (180 ml) whole milk plus ¼ cup (55 g) melted butter for each cup of cream. If you need to whip it, use chilled coconut cream instead.

7 heavy cream substitutes (for 1 cup / 240 ml)

Substitute	Amount	Sauces & soups	Baking	Whipping
Milk + butter	¾ cup milk + ¼ cup melted butter	Yes	Yes	No
Half-and-half + butter	⅞ cup half-and-half + 2 tbsp butter	Yes	Yes	No
Coconut cream	1 cup, chilled	Yes	Yes	Yes
Evaporated milk	1 cup	Yes	Yes	No
Greek yogurt + milk	½ cup yogurt + ½ cup milk	Off the heat	Yes	No
Cream cheese	½ cup softened + ½ cup milk	Yes	Yes	No
Silken tofu	1 cup blended smooth	Yes	Partly	No

Tips

• Thicken a light substitute with 1 tsp flour or cornstarch per cup, simmered for 2 minutes.
• Yogurt and cream cheese can split if boiled. Stir them in at the end, off the heat.
• Coconut cream adds a mild coconut flavor, great in curries like our chickpea curry.

Our creamy tomato pasta works with any of these. More swaps in the substitution chart.