4 Heavy Cream Substitutes You Probably Have Right Now
We've all experienced it: You're in the middle of cooking a recipe only to realize you're out of a key ingredient. The salad is prepped, the noodles are boiled, and the Alfredo sauce is...not possible because you don't have any heavy cream. But wait! Even though heavy cream is a key ingredient in many Delish recipes (like our OG Marry Me Chicken), you've got options if you forgot to add the item to your grocery list. Yes—there are other acceptable ways to achieve the rich, glorious texture you're after when you reach for heavy cream in the first place.
Oh, and if you haven't checked out our comprehensive guide to baking ingredient substitutions, make sure to bookmark it.
If you always have a block of cream cheese in your fridge, you're in luck. Cream cheese is an easy substitution for heavy cream because you can use a 1:1 ratio.
"It'll even give your food a little bit of that tangy cream cheese flavor," says Delish food editor Brooke Caison.
Sounds like a win-win!
Two other kitchen staples you probably have in your fridge are milk and butter. Caison recommends using two parts whole milk to one part melted butter. Just make sure to whisk it together before adding to whatever you're cooking.
Need to use up that container of yogurt? You can also use one part full-fat Greek yogurt and one part whole milk. The milk will help thin out the thick consistency of the yogurt.
"The best part about that swap is you get a little bit extra protein in there," Caison adds.
Whether you're vegan or avoid dairy, we have an option to replace heavy cream: unsweetened coconut cream. You can substitute coconut cream 1:1.
As a Contributing Writer, and former Associate Editor, at Delish, Allie is a writer, reporter, and producer of features at the intersection of food and culture. Before Delish, Allie worked for publications including Apartment Therapy and Insider. She even spent time working in restaurants and breweries. Allie has dumpster-dived in NYC to expose food waste, reported on the invasive lionfish you can eat, and wrote about the growing trend of weed weddings. Her health and nutrition stories on hydration culture, bananas, and coffee have generated nearly 2M combined views. She loves traveling, running, and eating her way through new places and even has a thorough Google Maps ranking system for her favorite restaurants and bars! When not writing about food, she's planning her next trip, lifting weights, or training for a race. food & culture (Sustainability, Health, Travel) M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University, B.S. in Information Science (User Experience Design) from the University of Michigan
