Low-carb sauces can be made with alternative thickeners and reduced sugar. White sauces can use vegetable purees, while red sauces can use plant-based ingredients and sweeteners. Homemade sauces are preferable to store-bought options, and thickeners like guar gum and xanthan gum are commonly used.
The different types of low-carb sauces include white sauces made with alternative thickening ingredients and red sauces made with reduced amounts of sugar. Various recipes for syrups and marinades can also be made with some specific ingredient substitutes. Although some brands of low-carb dips are available in stores, many nutritionists advise that some of these dips may have higher concentrations of chemical preservatives. Making low-carb sauces from scratch isn’t typically as challenging as some cooks might think, and the key to a good result is usually a basic understanding of how standard sauce thickeners work.
White sauces made from low-carb ingredients can include white clam and vegetable-based sauces that can be served over pasta, meat, or rice dishes such as risotto. Instead of high-carb cornstarch, recipes for white clam sauce typically call for pureed vegetables as a healthy thickening option. Some cooks report good results from pureeing cauliflower or zucchini and mixing this puree with the rest of the ingredients. Clams and similar types of seafood contain zero carbohydrates and relatively low amounts of sodium even when canned. Other salsa ingredients that are good choices for a low-carb diet include mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, and extra virgin olive oil.
Other low-carb sauces may also include sugar-free barbecue sauce, low-carb ketchup, and low-carb tomato sauce. Many manufactured versions of these sauces are notorious for their high amounts of sugar, disqualifying them from a low-carb meal plan. The recipes for these red sauces have plant-like ingredients and artificial sweeteners as sugar substitutes. Cooks generally have several options for these types of sugar substitute products. Some recipes for low-carb ketchup and tomato sauce also include fresh natural ingredients, such as tomato and eggplant puree.
Cooks interested in preparing foods that are low in sugar can also try recipes for sweet and savory sauces. Maple syrup, sweet and sour sauce, and cranberry sauce can all be made as low-carb dips. They typically contain ingredients such as flavor extracts, artificial sweeteners, and some thickening agents mixed together to have the correct texture.
Commonly used thickeners in low-carb sauces are guar gum, xanthan gum, and egg yolk. Both guar gum and xanthan gum are fiber-based plant products that contain none of the complex carbohydrates found in starch-based thickeners. Many cooks prefer these thickeners because usually only a small amount is needed to make a carbohydrate-rich sauce.
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