Light Fettuccine Alfredo

Published December 21, 2012. Updated January 5, 2019

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Fettuccine Alfredo made with Light Alfredo Sauce! Now you can indulge without all the guilt. This is still perfectly comforting, deliciously hearty and oh so creamy.

light fettucine alfredo

Lighter Alfredo

So we all know the holidays can be pretty unforgiving when it comes to diet friendliness. I know for me it’s easy to say, well the holidays come just once a year, so I deserve to celebrate and indulge a little. I’ve earned it. Personally, I think we should indulge a little during the holidays, it gives us more reason to look forward to them.

I’m also a believer in balance when it comes to eating. I like my healthy foods and I love my indulgent foods.

The healthy ones keep me, well healthy, and the indulgent ones keep me happy. Does that make me an emotional eater :)? I’m a woman what can I say?

Anyway, I love love love Fettuccine Alfredo, but with it’s heavy packing of calories and fats I don’t like to make it more than once a month. Yet, I do want it more than that so I decided to create a healthier sister recipe, a more figure friendly Light Fettuccine Alfredo.

No this is not a fat free recipe. I think it would be impossible to make a fat free version because that would require the use of absolutely no Parmesan cheese,  and we couldn’t considered that Fettuccine Alfredo now could we?

When creating this recipe, I decided I couldn’t omit the cream entirely. Rather, I replaced the majority of the cream used in your average Alfredo sauce with low-fat milk and just a few tablespoons of cream.

I also reduced the amount of Parmesan compared to your average Alfredo sauce then added 1 tsp lemon juice to mimic the tang from the lack of additional Parmesan.

The Neufchatel cheese was added to give the sauce a smooth, rich and creamy texture without upping the calorie and fat count significantly.

Then to finish I garnished the coated pasta with fresh parsley to add some freshness and light sprinkling of Romano cheese to add one more layer of flavor (and I love the flavor pairing of Romano and Parmesan together so I couldn’t resist).

The final calorie count of this dish is a fair and balanced 370 calories with 14 grams of fat which is so much less than it’s unhealthier competitor, yet it was seemingly just as creamy. Granted you may likely want more than 1 serving (I went with the serving size according to pasta serving size listed on the package) but even then, you are far better off than a full fat Alfredo. Enjoy!

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5 from 2 votes

Light Fettuccine Alfredo

Now you can indulge in alfredo without all the guilt. This is still perfectly comforting, deliciously hearty and oh so creamy.
Servings: 4
Prep10 minutes
Cook20 minutes
Ready in: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 8 oz fettuccine pasta , uncooked
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp butter
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp flour
  • 1 1/4 cups milk
  • 2 Tbsp heavy cream
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp salt , or to taste
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder , to taste
  • 1 1/2 oz finely shredded Parmesan (1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp slightly packed)
  • 2 oz Neufchatel cheese (aka 1/3 less fat cream cheese), diced into cubes
  • freshly ground white or black pepper , to taste
  • chopped fresh parsley for garnish , optional
  • finely shredded Romano cheese or more Parmesan for serving , optional (not added to calorie count)

Instructions

  • Directions:
  • Cook pasta according to directions listed on package. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Once fully melted mix in flour and cook, whisking constantly for 2 minutes. Gradually add in a little milk at time, whisking vigorously until smooth after each addition. Stir in cream, lemon juice, salt and garlic powder. While stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming, cook sauce until mixture thickens and begins to gently bubble.
  • Reduce heat to low, add in Parmesan cheese and Neufchatel cheese and stir until cheese has melted. Stir in a few tbsp pasta water to thin sauce if desired. Drain cooked pasta well (DO NOT rinse pasta with water or the pasta sauce wont stick) then pour drained pasta into sauce and toss to evenly coat. Serve immediately garnished with ground pepper, optional parsley and Romano cheese.
Nutrition Facts
Light Fettuccine Alfredo
Amount Per Serving
Calories 370 Calories from Fat 135
% Daily Value*
Fat 15g23%
Saturated Fat 10g63%
Cholesterol 93mg31%
Sodium 596mg26%
Potassium 273mg8%
Carbohydrates 47g16%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 5g6%
Protein 16g32%
Vitamin A 556IU11%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 256mg26%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.

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36 Comments

  • Theresa

    This looks absolutely delicious! I love creamy sauces but I’m also disturbed by the amount of fat it contains so am also modifying recipes to use more milk than cream. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

  • radhika25

    Dear Jaclyn,

    I really love your blog and all your photographs. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

  • Kristy @ Sweet Treats & More

    Oh I need some lightening up in my life right now:) But I’m with you, I eat healthy to stay healthy and eat the naughty stuff to be happy!!

  • angela @ another bite please

    alfredo is a fav in our house…and love how you kept a touch of the cream…it just seems like a must….perfect start for the new year healthier eating from the huge indulgence of Christmas treats!

  • Julie @ Table for Two

    I must’ve missed the post about your redesign because I just clicked on this post in my reader and I thought I was on the wrong blog! I LOOOOVE it. It’s so simple and clean and gorgeous! I love the recipe card design! So glad you’re on WordPress now :)

    The pasta looks DELICIOUS and I love the perfectly twirled portion on the plate! How did you do it? I can’t ever get mine to look that good!

  • Trish

    Hi Jaclyn, I just wanted to tell you that the new site looks GREAT!!!!! I’ve been a fan of your site for awhile now. You always have good looking recipes that I want to try, and I find myself looking forward to your site not just for recipes, but just to see whats going on. I love the colors!! it is extremely pretty and again looks great! Congratulations on a job well done! I also want to wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      Thanks so much Trish you are so nice =)! Thank you for your sweet compliments! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year!