Sauces and condiments can make a big difference in how enjoyable and satisfying your meals are when trying to lose weight. The right sauces add lots of flavor without too many extra calories. The wrong sauces can pack on calories and fat, sabotaging your weight loss efforts. So choosing low calorie sauces is an important part of any healthy weight loss plan.
In this blog post, I will share 10 of the best low calorie sauce options to help enhance your meals and support your weight loss goals. For each sauce, I have included the nutrition information per serving and tips on how to use them. Read on to discover tasty sauces that can help you cut calories without sacrificing flavor!
Salsa
Salsa made with fresh chopped tomatoes, onions, chilies, and cilantro is one of the lowest calorie sauces you can find. A 1/4 cup serving of fresh tomato salsa contains around 20 calories, no fat, and lots of flavor from the vegetables and spices. Salsa goes great with tacos, burritos, eggs, chicken, fish, and more. Look for fresh salsas without added oils or sugars.
Mustard
Mustard is practically calorie-free, with just 5-10 calories per teaspoon. It comes in different flavor varieties like yellow, spicy brown, honey, and Dijon. Mustard adds a tangy flavor to sandwiches, burgers, chicken, fish, salads, and various dips and dressings. Opt for mustards without added sugars or oils.
Vinegar
Vinegars like balsamic, red wine, rice wine, apple cider, and white wine vinegars have about 5-15 calories per tablespoon. They provide a bright acidic flavor that brings out the best in veggies, salads, marinades, and more without adding almost any calories. Balsamic glazes do have added sugar and are higher in calories.
Lemon/Lime Juice
Lemon and lime juice contain very minimal calories, about 6 calories per teaspoon. The bright, citrusy flavor adds lots of flavor for barely any calories. Use lemon or lime juice over fish, chicken, roasted veggies, grains, salads, and more. Avoid the bottled juices with added sugars.
Hot Sauce
Add some heat without the calories with hot sauces like Tabasco, Cholula, and Frank’s Red Hot. A teaspoon of hot sauce has around 5-15 calories. It’s great for spicing up eggs, soups, chili, taco meat, chicken, fish, and more to make it more flavorful and satisfying.
Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
A little bit of regular soy sauce goes a long way in adding salty, savory flavor. However, it does contain some calories and lots of sodium. Swapping to a low-sodium soy sauce lets you get the flavor for fewer calories and less sodium. Use just a teaspoon per serving with stir-fries, chicken, fish, and Asian-style dishes.
Salsa Verde
This flavorful green salsa is made with tomatillos, cilantro, chilies, lime, and other herbs and spices. It has minimal calories for a quarter cup, around 25 calories. Enjoy it with tacos, enchiladas, chicken, or eggs for extra flavor and texture. Refrigerated varieties tend to have less calories than the jarred kinds.
Tzatziki Sauce
Tzatziki is a creamy Greek yogurt-based sauce made with cucumbers, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and fresh herbs like dill and mint. A 2 tablespoon serving comes out to around 20 calories. It’s delicious paired with grilled meats, gyros, falafel, vegetables, and more. The Greek yogurt gives it a nice creaminess for few calories.
Low-Fat Salad
Low-Fat Salad Dressings Opting for low-fat salad dressings is an easy way to save on calories. Look for fat-free and low-fat vinaigrette and Italian dressings with around 20-50 calories per 2 tablespoon serving. Balsamic vinaigrettes, lemony vinaigrettes, and herby Italian dressings are tasty choices. Use them on salads and also as marinades and dips.
Homemade Sauce Options
Making your own sauces at home lets you control exactly what goes in them. You can create flavorful low calorie sauces by pureeing veggies like tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, garlic, and carrots with fresh herbs and spices. You can also blend up plain Greek yogurt with lemon juice and herbs for creamy sauces with a fraction of the calories of heavy cream or butter-based sauces.
Conclusion
Enjoying flavorful foods is important for sticking to any weight loss plan, and the right sauces make all the difference. Salsas, mustards, vinegars, citrus juices, hot sauces, low-sodium soy sauce, salsa verde, tzatziki, low-fat dressings, and homemade sauces are all excellent low calorie ways to add lots of flavor for few calories.
Pair these sauces with healthy proteins, veggies, whole grains, beans, lentils, and other nutritious foods as part of an overall healthy diet. Choosing the best low calorie sauces can definitely help enhance your meals and support your weight loss success!
Bhawesh Gupta is the lead writer behind NineCalories.com, bringing 4+ years of expertise in nutrition. With B.Sc and M.Sc degrees in Nutrition and membership in the Indian Dietetics Association (IDA), Bhawesh offers valuable insights into dietary science. His work focuses on promoting local foods and clearing up nutrition myths. Connect with Bhawesh on Instagram, where he shares his knowledge with over 371K followers.
