How to Use Canned Pumpkin As a Replacement for High-Calorie Items

Pumpkin complements baked goods that include spices, chocolate and nuts.

You can easily use canned pumpkin as a substitute for high-calorie items when cooking and baking. The idea is to replace the fat in the item with a healthier alternative that still leaves the finished product moist and delicious. Learning to balance the flavor of the canned pumpkin with recipes can be slightly challenging, as the pumpkin flavor should complement the dish and not overwhelm the palette. Other healthy substitutes in cooking include applesauce, avocado and fruit juice.

Instructions

1. Use 1/4 cup canned pumpkin to replace one egg when baking dishes such as cakes and pies. Make sure that the pumpkin flavor will be compatible with the recipe. For example, replacing one egg with canned pumpkin in a spice cake would work well, but not in lemon meringue pie.

2. Add pumpkin to recipes that include oil to replace some or all of the oil. The canned pumpkin helps to keep the recipe moist without the added fat. This works well in foods such as oatmeal cookies, chocolate fudge and muffins. Use the same measurement of canned pumpkin as the recipe calls for in oil. For example, a recipe with 1/2 cup of canola oil would need 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin.

3. Replace solid fats such as butter and margarine with canned pumpkin. The ratio is to use 3/4 the amount of canned pumpkin compared to the amount of fat called for in the recipe. This works well for biscuits, breads and muffins.

4. Add 1 cup canned pumpkin to a pot of vegetarian chili to thicken it without using meat and to add creaminess without adding cheese or sour cream. This also adds a subtle, southwestern flair to the dish.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember that the recipes that you alter will taste slightly like pumpkin, so make sure that pumpkin goes well with the other ingredients before using it in a dish.

References

• PETA: Egg Replacements
• Good Housekeeping: Healthy Pick --- Canned Pumpkin