How Many Syns in Colmans Sauce Mixes?

Colmans sauce mixes are one of those store-cupboard rescue packets that turn a plain chicken breast or pile of mince into something resembling a proper dinner, and the good news for Slimming World members is that, per person, they slot in at a very manageable syn cost. The little 25-40g sachets — think Chicken Chasseur, Beef Stroganoff, Shepherd's Pie, Cheese Sauce or Parsley Sauce — are essentially seasoned flour blends, so the syns come from the starch and any added fats or dried dairy rather than from anything you would call indulgent.

Made up to the packet instructions, a typical sachet serves four, which brings each portion in around the 1.5 to 2 syn mark. That is a small price for transforming a Speed-veg-and-lean-protein plate into a Sunday-lunch-style meal.

A clever workaround that long-standing members swear by is making the sauce with skimmed milk taken from your Healthy Extra A allowance, then stretching the finished sauce with extra steamed vegetables — cauliflower, leeks or mushrooms drink up parsley or cheese sauce beautifully and pad the dish without adding syns. Mince-based sachets like Shepherd's Pie and Chilli Con Carne are particularly forgiving because you can bulk the pan with chopped carrots, peppers, courgette and tinned tomatoes, dropping the syn-per-spoonful even further.

Worth flagging: Colmans English mustard, French mustard and the squeezy yellow mustard are completely free on Slimming World, so do not confuse the syn-bearing sauce sachets with the condiments. Where members occasionally come unstuck is with the cheese-heavy sachets — Cauliflower Cheese and Macaroni Cheese mixes need real cheese added, so the finished dish carries the syns of that cheese on top of the packet itself.

Read the back of the sachet, weigh the milk and cheese honestly, and these mixes remain a cheap, low-syn route to comfort food.