Alfredo sauce that's light on calories but LOADED with taste

sounds super yummy gonna give it a try here soon!

Sounds so good!

Bump to check out later

Sooo...no one is going to comment on how 2oz of sauce is pathetically next to nothing for sauce?!? My poor pasta (or spaghetti squash) would be almost naked!!

I agree. 2oz of sauce is 1/4 cup. I guess, to me, 130 calories for 1/4 cup of sauce is not really light on the calories. For others, this may be a good recipe. But I think I'll steer clear. Sounds yummy, though!

bump

wow, this sounds tasty! can't wait to try!

Sounds pretty good...I will have to give this a try. Thank you!

ooh, bump for later!

BBUUMMPP! What's weird is that I was just getting ready to look up recipes for low cal Alfredo sauce :P

FYI: Alfredo only has 2 ingredients; butter and parm. Pretty hard to find where to lighten that

I always thought it was butter, parm, and heavy cream. (I usually get it in the jar.)

Just butter + parm, no cream. Over the years, Americans added cream to it. Actually, alfredo sauce is an American thing, really. Butter & parm is an Italian thing. Italians are confused when you ask for alfredo sauce.

Oh, ok! I did not know that. Interesting.

According to Cooking The Roman Way by David Downie, Fettucine Alfredo is a traditional Roman recipe called "pasta del cornuti" (cuckold's pasta). What either Alfredo Di Lelio III, or Mario Mozzetti, depending on whom you believe, invented in 1914, was the dramatic tableside preparation of Fettuccine Alfredo, which is what made the dish a hit with visiting Americans in the 20's and 30's.

The tableside preparation is really what makes Fettuccine Alfredo what it is: the hot pasta is tossed with the butter and cheese in front of the diner, and then served to them immediately.

Again, according to Downie, the only ingredients of Fettuccine Alfredo are egg fettuccine, lots of butter, lots of Parmegiano-Reggiano, and (if necessary) a little salt.

Recipes which add cream or milk are Americanized recipes designed to allow restaurants to hold orders of Alfredo for a long time under heat lamps (and turn it into a gooey pasty mess). Italians, from my experience visiting Italy, rarely put cream or milk on pasta (a real Italian could speak up here).

Downie has a fun 3-page digression about the ongoing lawsuits between the Roman families who claim to own the name. It's worth a read.

Alan Davidson, predictably, says nothing about Fettuccine Alfredo. The Glorious Pasta of Italy likewise does not cover the dish.

Wikipedia supports Downie's story, except only attributing Di Lelio, and adding the tidbit that Di Lelio apparently called it "Fettuccine al burro" (fettuccine with butter), and the Alfredo name was appended later when it was copied in the USA. Wikipedia also says butter and cheese only, on fettuccine pasta.

So, to answer your question and the questions asked in the comments:

1.Fettuccine Alfredo is an Italian dish, if more popular in the USA than in Italy.
2.It is a variation of a traditional Italian dish.
3.In its traditional form, it has only egg pasta, butter, and cheese.
4.The pasta for Alfredo is egg fettuccine.

The only thing that sounds light is the exchange of milk for cream.

FYI: Alfredo only has 2 ingredients; butter and parm. Pretty hard to find where to lighten that

I always thought it was butter, parm, and heavy cream. (I usually get it in the jar.)

Just butter + parm, no cream. Over the years, Americans added cream to it. Actually, alfredo sauce is an American thing, really. Butter & parm is an Italian thing. Italians are confused when you ask for alfredo sauce.

Oh, ok! I did not know that. Interesting.

According to Cooking The Roman Way by David Downie, Fettucine Alfredo is a traditional Roman recipe called "pasta del cornuti" (cuckold's pasta). What either Alfredo Di Lelio III, or Mario Mozzetti, depending on whom you believe, invented in 1914, was the dramatic tableside preparation of Fettuccine Alfredo, which is what made the dish a hit with visiting Americans in the 20's and 30's.

The tableside preparation is really what makes Fettuccine Alfredo what it is: the hot pasta is tossed with the butter and cheese in front of the diner, and then served to them immediately.

Again, according to Downie, the only ingredients of Fettuccine Alfredo are egg fettuccine, lots of butter, lots of Parmegiano-Reggiano, and (if necessary) a little salt.

Recipes which add cream or milk are Americanized recipes designed to allow restaurants to hold orders of Alfredo for a long time under heat lamps (and turn it into a gooey pasty mess). Italians, from my experience visiting Italy, rarely put cream or milk on pasta (a real Italian could speak up here).

Downie has a fun 3-page digression about the ongoing lawsuits between the Roman families who claim to own the name. It's worth a read.

Alan Davidson, predictably, says nothing about Fettuccine Alfredo. The Glorious Pasta of Italy likewise does not cover the dish.

Wikipedia supports Downie's story, except only attributing Di Lelio, and adding the tidbit that Di Lelio apparently called it "Fettuccine al burro" (fettuccine with butter), and the Alfredo name was appended later when it was copied in the USA. Wikipedia also says butter and cheese only, on fettuccine pasta.

So, to answer your question and the questions asked in the comments:

1.Fettuccine Alfredo is an Italian dish, if more popular in the USA than in Italy.
2.It is a variation of a traditional Italian dish.
3.In its traditional form, it has only egg pasta, butter, and cheese.
4.The pasta for Alfredo is egg fettuccine.

Fascinating! Thanks for posting.

Thanks OP! I got around to making this tonight and it was DECADENT! I followed the recipe except I did not add any extra salt and I used 2% milk because that's what was in my fridge. IT IS AWESOME! I served over tri-color tortellini and I could have only used 1 ounce but I already had the 2 ounces built into my diary so I ate the 2 ounce serving. When you consider how much protein is in it it's not as bad on the calories as some are making it to be. Filled me up quite nicely.

I saved it in my recipes and my nutrition stats were close to yours:

Calories: 123
Carbohydrates: 3
Fat: 10
Protein: 6
Sodium: 196

Regardless of the comments indicating otherwise I would like to try this recipe. Thank you for sharing.

If you're looking for a low cal alfredo sauce, give this one a try. The key is finding the Green Moutain Farms Greek Cream Cheese. It's a relatively new product but is rapidly gaining traction in the marketplace. I know it can be found in Wegmans and some Walmarts at the moment. My 13 yr old thought it was one of the best alfredo sauces she's ever had.

Greek Cream Cheese Alfredo Sauce

8 oz Green Mountain Farms Greek Cream Cheese
1/2 C (120 ml) Swanson Low Sodium Chicken Broth
41 g Belgioso Parmesan, freshly shredded from block
90 ml Upstate Farms Fat Free Half & Half
Garlic Powder to taste (a few dashes)


Mix cream cheese and chicken broth in sauce pan, stirring until cheese melts. Add in parmesan, half & half and garlic powder. Heat until warm.

*I included the Swanson, Belgioso & Upstate Farms brands because those are what I used when coming up with the recipe and figuring out the nutritional values.

Nutrition per gram:

Calories = 1.6
Fat = .09
Cholesterol = .22
Sodium = 3.3
Carb = .07
Protein = .11

Per 2 oz: (Values are rounded up or down to nearest whole number)

Calories = 91
Fat = 5
Cholesterol = 13
Sodium = 188
Carb = 4
Protein = 6


Compared to the OP's 2 oz recipe:

Nutritional info
Calories- 129
Fat- 10.9 grams
Poly- 1.4
Mono- .1

Sodium- 230 mg
Carbs- 2.6
Fiber- .3
Sugars- 1
Protein- 6.3