A skinny take on Alfredo Sauce that tastes just as rich and creamy as the original. Super easy to make, and gluten free!
To me, there are few dishes that are as comforting as Fettuccine Alfredo. As a kid, I would order it just about any time my family went to a restaurant. If I’m being real, I would order it for most of my adult life, too. But once I started back on WW and thought more about my health, I realized that I couldn’t justify eating it as much anymore. One serving clocks in at around 35-50 SmartPoints, depending on the restaurant, and has over 2,000 calories. That’s just INSANE.
I even tried bottled sauces. Although some are okay, most of them don’t really have much flavor to me. I would need to doctor them up with other things, like I do with my Shrimp and Penne in Pink Sauce. Plus, the ingredient list on those bottles can be pretty scary.
Then, I tried making my own sauce. I’m pretty sure I’ve tried every “Light” or “Skinny” version of Alfredo sauce that the internet has to offer. None of them did it for me.
Well, my friends, I’m so pleased to share with you my own version that is pretty much years in the making. I finally got it right! This sauce is EVERYTHING.
How to make the best skinny alfredo
My Skinny Alfredo Sauce only takes about 10 minutes total and is super easy once you get the hang of it. The technique is really important to get the right consistency, so you may need to try it out once or twice before you really get it perfected. I’ll try my best to give you detailed instructions, though.
Why Almond Milk?
Almond milk is one of my favorite ingredients to use when making creamy dishes. It’s very low in points/cals and has a mild flavor. If you have a nut allergy, you could try to use coconut milk instead. Not the kind on the can–the kind that you find refrigerated near the almond milk. Skim milk could work, too, but it might increase the points/cals.
Some important tips
I’m sure I’m making this more complicated than it needs to be; the recipe really is incredibly easy. But, just in case:
First of all, buy grated cheese, not shredded. I find that it melts better. And make sure it’s the kind that you buy in a container in the refrigerated cheese section. The shelf-stable, green-container stuff won’t have nearly as much flavor.
Make sure you add the cheese in slowly, whisking until melted. Don’t be tempted to dump everything in all at once, otherwise it might clump up.
The first time I made it, I was tempted to keep thickening it because it seemed a bit too thin. When I added pasta, it looked like this:
I mean, that still looks amazing, but I like an alfredo that really coats the pasta. Just be a little patient. Let the pasta cook in the sauce a bit on low heat, and it will all come together. Like this:
Or, if you want to use the sauce for something else, like as a pizza sauce or to top some cooked veggies, let it cool for about 5 minutes. The sauce will thicken quite a bit when it sits off heat for a little while.
My favorite ways to Use the sauce for a low-ish point Meal
- Chicken and Broccoli Fettuccine Alfredo. Combine 1 cup cooked whole wheat or high protein fettuccine (5 SP) with 1/3 cup of sauce (3 SP), 1/2 cup cooked chicken breast (0 SP), and 1/2 cup cooked broccoli (0 SP).
- White Pizza. Use it as a sauce to top my Lightened-Up Pizza Crust.
- Casseroles. Use this as as a substitute for canned condensed soup in your favorite creamy casserole recipe.
- Steak or Salmon sauce. Top your protein with some of the Alfredo for a decadent meal.
- Dip. Sounds weird, I know! But even cold Alfredo is delicious. Use it as a dip for veggies or pretzels.
I’d love to hear from you if you make this recipe! It makes my day when you share your pics on Instagram and tag me (@litecravings). Don’t forget to use #litecravingsrecipes to make sure I see it. If I don’t get a chance to scroll through my tags quickly enough, I won’t see your post. I always make a point to look through the hashtags, though, so I’ll see it there!
Skinny Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsweetened, plain almond milk
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 4 tbsp 1/3 less fat (light) cream cheese
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese use the kind in the refrigerated section rather than the green-bottle stuff.
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, whisk together almond milk , cornstarch, garlic powder, and kosher salt. Turn heat to high and bring to a slow boil, whisking frequently so cornstarch doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Turn heat to low and continue to cook until slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Whisk in cream cheese, one tablespoon at a time, until melted.
- Sprinkle parmesan cheese in slowly, whisking as you go. If you try to add all the cheese in at one time, it might clump together. Once all cheese is added, finish with cracked pepper.
- If serving with pasta, add sauce to pasta and cook together for about a minute, to thicken the sauce. Otherwise, take sauce off heat and let cool for about 5-10 minutes to thicken up.
I made this for my parents’ anniversary dinner and it was a hit! Felt like we were in a restaurant, despite the pandemic!
I made this using cashew milk because that’s what I had, and it was so so good! Highly recommend making it even if you are not on WW!
Thank you for the review!
Can I use pink Himalayan salt instead of kosher salt?
I’ve never tried that, but I think it would work.
How long can you keep this?
Mine keeps in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Just shake it in the container if it starts to separate.
Do you think this could be frozen like for meal prep?
I’ve never tried that, but I have a feeling it wouldn’t work. The almond milk and cornstarch might separate.
This Alfredo sauce was so delicious, the possibilities with this sauce is endless, first thing I thought of Mac and cheese. Thank you for your talents. I’ll be sure to make your other recipes.
This is truly the best alfredo sauce!!! I put chicken and broccoli in mine for a complete meal as you suggested and its so good. It doesn’t taste light at all. My daughter is always requesting this meal so I’ve made it quite a few times. My picky husband even likes it! Thank you for all your hard work in making this dish perfect.
Easy, delicious and used ingredients I typically have on hand. Thanks for yet another great recipe!
You’re so welcome!
I made a mistake and added 4 oz of cream cheese instead of 4 Tbsp. And this recipe is so good it still tasted pretty amazing. I looked it up and it looks like 4 Tbsp is 2 oz. of cream cheese, which makes it much easier to measure for next time. If I may make a suggestion – it might be helpful to add this to the recipe for others. It will be much easier to measure since the cream cheese comes marked by ounces on the silver wrapper.
I added fresh garlic instead of the powder because we always have a jar on hand. We boiled our pasta and added a little bit of broccoli and a jar of mushrooms at the end. I paired this with the skinnyish dish’s easy oven baked chicken and it was delicious. This is a meal that will be on repeat in our home.
Thank you!!
Love that you were able to make it work! And I love Star’s recipes. 🙂
Made this tonight with broccoli and blackened chicken. It was amazing.
That sounds so good!
This recipe is the best! It doesn’t taste like a low fat sauce. Thank you. Second time I’m making it and it always be the Alfredo sauce it make!
I definitely want to try this, I only have fat free cream cheese right now. Do you think that would work, or should I wait until I can get the cream cheese you used?
I haven’t used fat free cream cheese, so I’m not sure how it would melt. Let me know how it goes!
Made this tonight with whole wheat pasta and grilled chicken cutlets. WOW…so flavorful. My whole family loved it, thank you!
Yay!! Love hearing this.
My husband and I absolutely LOVE this recipe!! We have not made another alfredo recipe or bought a jar at the store since you released this recipe. We always have the ingredients on hand to make this. We make it at least once a week. I no longer need to look at the recipe as it’s committed to memory. Have you every made this and left on warm in the crockpot? Having a pasta bar at my son’s baptism meal and was thinking of making this ahead of time & keeping warm in the crockpot.
This makes me so happy! I haven’t tried that crockpot method. Let me know how it turns out if you do it!
Do yourself a favor and mix this with 8 slices of center it bacon cooked and chopped, chop up a bag of 8-10oz of steamed broccoli. (I use the frozen bag that heats in 5 mins in the microwave) and whole wheat pasta. I forgot to buy fresh shredded parm so I used 1/4 of grated parm and 1/4 of TJ light mozzarella and everything came out PERFECT!
Omg this sounds incredible! Thanks for the tip.