This week’s Light and Tasty Alfredo sauce recipe comes by way of a request from a friend who wants a
lighter version of the Italian classic. This one’s for you, Christine!
Origin:
According to several internet sources, the classic Fettuccine all’Alfredo was created in
1914 by Alfredo Di Lelio, a restaurant owner in Rome, Italy. The original recipe simply called
for fresh fettuccine tossed with butter and Parmesan cheese.
Fun fact: Di Lelio made a ceremony of preparing the dish tableside for his patrons.
The dish took off and eventually reached the States where heavy cream and additional cheeses
were added to provide the creaminess. Read this as tons of extra heaviness and calories.
I don’t know about you but the modern gut-bomb version is so heavy and leaden that it’s almost
unenjoyable and personally, I think food should be enjoyable.
Light Aldfredo sauce, can it still taste as rich and creamy?
Of course it can! We are lightening this Alfredo version using only 2% milk (I’ve even done this
recipe with 1% milk and it also works). I added chicken broth which gives it a deeper flavor
under the milk and Parmesan cheese.
To give it that rich taste without a ton of calories, I use only 2 Tbsp Mascarpone cheese which
has the texture of cream cheese and tastes like solid heavy cream. If you can’t get mascarpone cheese, then cream cheese will do as a substitute.
The light Alfredo sauce is thickened in a roux with 2 Tbsp flour and butter. I also use the delicate
flavor of shallots and of course some garlic to pop the flavor even more.
Light Alfredo by the numbers:
Regular, full fat Alfredo sauce is about 350-450 cal with 25-35 grams of fat per serving depending on the recipe.
This version is 169 cal with 12 g fat per serving. As you can see, a much lighter version
nutritionally speaking and much easier on the digestive system.
Despite the number of ingredients, this light Alfredo recipe takes only about 10 minutes to cook
with minimal prep of chopping shallots and garlic.
For variety, you can use also use this sauce over chicken or shrimp or simply add them to your
Fettuccine or any other fun pasta of your choice. Add lemon zest to brighten it up or add pepper flakes to add some heat. You can even mix in some pesto and turn it into a creamy pesto. It’s all delicious and the recipe is easily modified to make it how you like it!
Let me know what you think!
Try homemade, be happy and dance a happy food dance!
Tracy
Light and Tasty Alfredo Sauce
Equipment
- Medium sized saute pan
- whisk
- Large pot to make pasta
- Box grater to grate cheese on the fine holes
- Wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter unsalted
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium shallot, chopped fine
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 cup 2% milk warmed (1% can be used as well)
- 1 cup chicken broth warmed
- 3/4 cup parmesan cheese finely grated
- 2 tbsp mascarpone cheese or cream cheese can also be used
- ground black pepper to taste
- fresh chopped parsley or basil leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Melt butter in a medium saute pan over medium heat.
- Add chopped shallots and saute for 2-3 minutes until translucent.
- Add minced garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the flour and immediately stir with a wooden spoon in a figure-eight motion until all the flour has completely absorbed all of the butter, 30 seconds to 1 minute. There should be no raw flour left in the mixture.
- Continue cooking under medium-low heat for another 1-2 minutes until the flour mixture starts to smell a little nutty and very slightly brown. This is called a blond roux.
- Add just a bit of warm milk to the hot roux and whisk to loosen up the butter-flour mixture. This also helps prevent lumps in the finished sauce. Add the rest of the warm milk and chicken broth. Whisk to combine until smooth. Continue to cook the mixture on medium heat until thick and creamy, about 6 minutes.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low and add 2 tbsps of mascarpone cheese to the sauce and stir it in until melted and combined.
- Add the parmesan cheese and stir in until combined.
- Add fresh ground pepper to taste.
- Remove from heat and it will thicken up more. This is enough sauce for approximately 12 ounces of pasta.
- If you're making this for a pasta sauce, when you cook your pasta retain some of the pasta water to help loosen up the sauce if need be. You can add a tablespoon or 2 of the pasta water if it thickens too much. This sauce can become quite thick and some people like the sauce a little "thinner".
