Fettuccine Alfredo

I decided to give this recipe a try last night, and we were quite impressed. Of course, I made a few minor adjustments. I absolutely love Fettuccine Alfredo, but I'm also trying to make sure we eat better. I was a bit unsure about trying a low-fat version of this creamy dish, but it turned out really amazing. We'll definitely be making this again soon.

Fettuccine Alfredo

Adapted from Cook's Country (found here)

Standard recipes contain 1½ cups of heavy cream, a stick of butter, and 2 cups of cheese. Many low-fat Alfredo recipes cut calories by switching out the cream for lower-fat dairy products such as half-and-half, whole milk, or evaporated milk. Instead, this recipe called for just 1 Tbsp of butter and 2 tsp flour) to thicken the sauce, without heavy cream. 

*** Make the sauce while the pasta water is heating up. Once the sauce is done, you should be ready to cook the pasta.

Low-Fat Fettuccine Alfredo

Ingredients:

Pasta

1 (9 oz) package fettuccine noodles

Alfredo Sauce

1 Tbsp unsalted butter 

2 tsp all-purpose flour
¾ cup heavy whipping cream (the original recipe called for ¾ cup whole milk and ¼ cup half-and-half)

¼ cup 2% milk
1 to 2 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed
1/2 tsp salt

1/4-1/2 tsp pepper
Pinch nutmeg (a pinch is 1/16 tsp)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Pasta

1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot over high heat.
2. Stir salt and pasta into boiling water and cook, stirring constantly, until al dente, 10-12 minutes.
3. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water, then drain pasta.

Alfredo Sauce

1. Heat butter over medium heat in large saucepan until foaming.
2. Whisk in flour into foaming butter until mixture is smooth and golden, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Whisk in milk, half-and- half, garlic, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and bring to simmer.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Stir in Parmesan, and remove from heat.

After reserving some pasta cooking water and draining pasta...

1. Return sauce to low heat, add ⅓ cup pasta water and cooked pasta; toss until evenly coated.
2. Cook until sauce has thickened slightly, about 1 minute. Add more cooking water as needed to thin sauce to proper consistency and adjust seasonings.
3. Serve hot.

The original recipe (using whole milk and half-and-half) ends up being much better for you than Traditional Fettuccine Alfredo... the above, adapted recipe would differ, but it's still healthier than the traditional.

Traditional Fettuccine Alfredo
Calories: 580
Fat: 43g
Saturated Fat: 27g

Cook's Country Low-Fat Fettuccine Alfredo
Calories: 320
Fat: 12g
Saturated Fat: 6g