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Skinny Fettuccine Alfredo

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Skinny Fettuccine Alfredo -- lightened up with a few simple tweaks, and so delicious and creamy! | gimmesomeoven.com

Mmmmm, fettuccine alfredo.

I don’t know about you, but this rich and creamy and oh-so-decadent pasta is pretty much the ultimate comfort food in my book. It has long been a favorite dish of mine, and one that I always looked forward to ordering out at some of my favorite Italian restaurants on special occasions. But I made the mistake of peeking at the nutrition facts for fettuccine alfredo a few years ago. And after seeing just how much (hint: so much) extra butter and heavy cream restaurants usually toss into this dish, I felt like it was probably time to swear it off for good.

But let’s be real — a girl needs her favorite fettuccine alfredo every now an then.

So I set to work a few years ago experimenting and tweaking with ways to lighten up this classic dish. I stuck with the traditional ingredients (no cauliflower sauce here), although I completely nixed the heavy cream in place of low-fat milk with a roux. And lo and behold, it actually worked!!! Turns out you can have rich and creamy and oh-so-decadent fettuccine alfredo made at home — bonus, in just 20 minutes! — with this lightened-up easy recipe. And I’m obsessed with it.

And today I thought I would bump it back to the top of the blog to re-share it with those of you who might have missed it and need some healthier fettuccine alfredo in your lives. :)  I went ahead and updated the pictures from the original post that I shared about 3 years ago, but the recipe is the same and just as good as ever. So put on some water to boil, and let’s make some pasta!

Skinny Fettuccine Alfredo Recipe | 1-Minute Video

Skinny Fettucine Alfredo 4

This recipe, of course, centers around its two namesake ingredients — fettuccine and alfredo sauce.

You’re welcome to use any kind of pasta you’d like for this recipe — traditional semolina, whole-wheat pasta, gluten-free pasta (if so, check out my gluten-free alfredo sauce recipe), totally up to you! My one tip as always is just to be sure that you generously salt the water before adding the pasta. This is your one opportunity to kick up the flavor in the actual pasta itself, so don’t skimp!

But the sauce — this magical sauce — is the rockstar of the recipe. As I said, no heavy cream or cream cheese is used in this recipe. All you need are:

  • olive oil (a healthier fat, or you’re welcome to use butter for the flavor)
  • fresh garlic (a must!!)
  • flour (to thicken)
  • chicken broth (more flavorful than milk; you can also sub in veggie stock)
  • low-fat milk (you can use any milk, even soy)
  • Parmesan cheese (if you freshly grate it, it will be more flavorful)

Both the sauce and pasta cook quickly. So when you’re ready, drain your pasta and then add in the alfredo sauce.
Skinny Fettuccine Alfredo Recipe | gimmesomeoven.com

Then toss them together until everything is nice and creamy and evenly coated.

Skinny Fettuccine Alfredo -- lightened up with a few simple tweaks, and so delicious and creamy! | gimmesomeoven.com

Then a delicious pan of fettuccine alfredo is yours to enjoy! You’re welcome to just serve it plain…

Skinny Fettuccine Alfredo -- lightened up with a few simple tweaks, and so delicious and creamy! | gimmesomeoven.com

…or you can top it with a little extra Parmesan, some fresh parsley or basil, or whatever sounds good. :)

Skinny Fettucine Alfredo 5

But the best news? As opposed to the fettuccine alfredo recipe from Olive Garden, which clocks in at a whopping 1220 calories a serving, one serving of this alfredo sauce clocks in at 141 calories, and when combined with the fettuccine it is 450 calories a serving. Not too shabby for a thick and creamy pasta. Perfect when served with a light salad like this one.

Enjoy!

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Skinny Fettuccine Alfredo

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 95 reviews
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x

Description

This easy fettuccine alfredo recipe is made “skinny” with a lighter alfredo sauce recipe — but it’s as delicious and creamy and flavorful as ever!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 12 ounces fettuccine (or any pasta shape)
  • 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or butter
  • 4 cloves garlic, pressed or finely-minced
  • 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1 cup low-fat milk (I used 1%)
  • 3/4 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • (optional toppings: chopped fresh parsley, extra Parmesan)

Instructions

  1. Cook pasta al dente according to package directions, in generously-salted water.
  2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil (or melt butter) in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute one minute, stirring occasionally, until fragrant. Sprinkle with flour, and stir to combine. Saute for an additional minute to cook the flour, stirring occasionally.
  3. Slowly add chicken broth, whisking to combine until smooth. Whisk in milk, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Let cook for an additional minute until thickened, then stir in Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper until the cheese melted. Reduce heat to medium-low until pasta is cooked.
  4. Drain pasta, then immediately add pasta to the saute pan with alfredo sauce. Toss to combine. Serve topped with chopped fresh parsley if desired.

*Nutrition facts calculated with My Fitness Pal.

Skinny Fettuccine Alfredo -- lightened up with a few simple tweaks, and so delicious and creamy! | gimmesomeoven.com

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632 comments on “Skinny Fettuccine Alfredo”

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  1. Thanks Ali, finally a lighter version of such a great taste! My husband and I love seafood and chicken alfredo dishes, but I am trying to make healthier foods, and have avoided this until now!

  2. It looks so incredibly creamy, Ali! I would have never of guessed it is skinny! I can’t wait to try this out, I love a good fettuccine!

  3. Mmm this skinny version looks great!

  4. I want to dive head first into this!

  5. Ali, this looks amazing! Can’t wait to try this lighter version. Pasta in cream sauce is a huge weakness of mine!

  6. Definitely would have never guessed this was skinny! Love how you made yours with a roux–basically a bechamel :) And that action shot of placing the pasta into the sauce is fabulous.

  7. LOVE Alfredo! I cannot wait to try your lightened up version. Looks SO good!

  8. Its gorgeous..fettuccine alfredo used to be my go-to meal when ordering out.. I haven’t had it in forever because of how heavy and bad-for-you it is! Can’t wait to try this lighter version, it sounds excellent! Thanks!

  9. Am I craving pasta for breakfast? Oh yes, yes I am.

  10. My kids are obsessed with Fettuccine Alfredo…I must make this for them!!

  11. This looks so good I feel like I can almost taste it. I love fettuccine alfredo, but not all the extra calories. Can’t wait to give this a try : )

  12. Nice work! I’m sure my kiddo’s would love this!!

  13. Oh goodness, I looooove fettuccine alfredo! I’ll have to give this a try sometime, though I do have an aversion to garlic.

  14. What timing! My brother had a craving for fettuccine alfredo the other night, and it hurt my arteries to watch him dump an entire stick of butter AND cream cheese in a saucepan… I can’t wait to go home and blow his mind with this recipe :)

  15. I have to say alfredo sauce has always kind of grossed me out but this looks perfect for me – creamy but not too rich and full of flavour!

  16. Where are the nutrition facts?????

  17. Love, love, love this! The chicken broth is brilliant. Now I’m craving alfredo!!

  18. Fettuccine <3 My love! You have stolen my heart <3

  19. This looks delicious. I never thought about using broth in alfredo before. I am certainly trying this recipe out this week!

  20. My husband and I are doing the AdvoCare 24 day challenge and we are trying to eat as clean as possible. I’ve been CRAVING fettuccini alfredo! You are the best for posting this! Can’t wait to try!

  21. Love it! I use veggie broth in mine! Gorgeous shots and delicious recipe, girlie! <3

  22. Love this! And so perfect for the holidays when we try to eat lighter when possible!

  23. I love this skinny alfredo, brilliant!

  24. Oh my goodness, these photos are stunning. And this looks soooo tasty!

  25. Looks really lovely and comforting! Great that I can eat it without feeling too guilty as well!

  26. This looks so amazing, I never make Alfredo because of guilt! I can’t wait to make this!

  27. Fantastic, also cut the carb value even greater by using Dreamfield’s Pasta, great for diabetic’s and anyone watching weight. I’m trying tonight with a big salad.

  28. I made this tonight & it was great! I used whole milk since that’s what I had, but it was still so much lighter than alfredo, which is nice because I always feel gross after eating alfredo! I like the garlic in it, too. Thanks for the recipe!

  29. I just made this tonight for Dinner and WOW!! This is my new favorite :) Sooo good thanks!!!

  30. Made this for dinner last week and oh my goodness was it yummy (and easy)! The hubs and kids had no idea it was “skinny” either. It was even better when I reheated the leftovers for a quick lunch on Saturday. Thanks for the recipe – will definitely make this again!

  31. Im going to try making it with spaghetti squash to cut the carbs even more. sounds good cant wait to try it

  32. This looks amazing!! I’ll always be an alfredo lover, can’t wait to try out this recipe :)

  33. this is almost the same recipe i’ve been using for years. super satisfying. As Ali mentioned use the freshest cheese possible! If you try to make this with the “sprinkle cheese” (the canisters of pre grated parm that’s not even refrigerated ) it may be ok tasting but not near as yummy as this recipe. it pays to splurge a little sometimes. ;-) I also add veggies lightly sauteed at times. My family likes scallions, asparagus, yellow sqaush combo the best. or ham and peas. LOVE you site , Ali. My daughters visit often also and ACTUALLY have been inspired to make your creations.

  34. This is amazing! It was SOO easy and delicious!! I added a rotisserie chicken to mine because my boys think you have to have meat in a meal! Thank you for making it “skinny”!!

  35. Just finished eating this for dinner! It was amazing!
    I totally forgot to add the salt and pepper until it was already in our bowls but no harm done. I also added a head of steamed broccoli cut into tiny florets and it was such an easy and extremely tasty recipe. This one is going to be making more appearances in our house. Thank you!

  36. Finally made this for the first time tonight! AMAZING!!! Seriously our new favorite! Can’t believe its healthy! Love!

  37. Did anyone calculate the weight watchers points for this? If so I would greatly appreciate knowing.
    Thanks

  38. My sister and I just made this. We love it! It was super easy to make and delicious. Thank you! :)

  39. Has anyone used shiratake noodles? Only 20 calories per serving but it takes a while to get used to the consistency of them. The flavor is very neutral.

    • I was wondering that too. Have you tried it yet? The tofu shiratki are my fave and I bet it would be pretty darn good.

  40. This was delicious! I couldn’t get the sauce to a smooth consistency though. The flour clumped up with the garlic and after a LONG time of whisking with the chicken broth I just gave up and added the milk and cheese. Any idea how to fix this for next time? It still tasted wonderful but I’m sure it would have been even richer if the flour hadn’t clumped.

    • I use to have that problem all the time when I made pasta sauces. I find it best to either make your rue (the mixture of fat (in this case olive oil) and flour), more of a thin paste so it will melt into the sauce easier. And also, when putting in the chicken broth to do it a little at a time to let the rue melt into the broth easier, or else you’ll be stuck with a clumpy sauce.

    • Kristen, I had this same problem with the flour so I started over. I put the flour in a bowl and added some of the chicken stock to it and stirred to make a runny paste. I added the rest of the stock to the flour paste, then slowly added all of the mixture to the pan with the hot oil and garlic. I don’t know why I didn’t do this from the start. I know when making gravy it is always easier to make a paste with the flour first. Hope this helps! Sandra

    • Kristen,

      Mine clumped too – I took a fork and kept smashing the clumps until I couldn’t get them any smaller. Still seemed lumpy after using the fork, but when I added the rest of the ingredients it smoothed out perfectly. Hope that helps for you.

      Also, I added about 1/4 teaspoonful of nutmeg.

      This recipe is amazing! Can’t wait to add it again!!

    • I mean, can’t wait to “make” it again, not “add” it again. Typo! Sorry!!

    • I used a very large non-stick sauce pan and a whisk making wide sweep across the pan. I’m no cook and this is the first time I’ve made a rouge that didn’t clump.

    • Before adding the liquid turn the heat down a little. The rouge shouldn’t clump if you’re adding cool or cold liquid (warm/hot liquids will cause clumps). I add the liquid slowly whisking as I go. Hint if you end up with clumps you can always use a immersion blender.

  41. Thank you so much! Made it tonight and you honestly can’t tell its a skinny recipe! And for the lady having trouble with the flour clumping… I just added the flour after the chicken stock and whisked it in.

  42. Could you use almond milk for this recipe?

  43. Made this tonight! Very good.

    I was excited to come across this recipe. It will make a great base for a lot of dishes that are hard to make lower cal.

    Thank you so so so much for sharing! :)

  44. Maybe a silly question, but are the nutrition facts calculated with 12 oz of cooked pasta? or 12 oz of uncooked pasta?

  45. Made this for my husband and I last night, and it was DELICIOUS!! He is a huge fettucine alfredo fan, but we needed a more calorie conscious option. So thank you! :) We will be having this many more times to come!

  46. You have to make this!! I added one minced shallot and a little extra olive oil. One of the best dishes I’ve ever had and so easy to make.

  47. Ummmm, YUMM!!! Made the sauce tonight w/ cheese tortelloni and sauteed vegetables and I was actually running my finger on the plate to get every last drop! Thanks so much! PS – has anyone tried this w/ whole wheat flour?!?!

  48. I just made this delicious recipe! I was so happy that I actually had all the ingredients right at home! Turned out delicious. Who would have ever thought making fettucini Alfredo is easy?? Thanks for sharing this (I feel like a pro chef) :)

  49. This was one of the best skinny Alfredo sauces that I have made! I used zoodles instead to make it even more low cal! I will definitely make this again!