Traditional Alfredo sauce is insanely delicious and sometimes considered a splurge with its indulgent amounts of butter, cream, and cheese. This version still gives you a creamy luxurious experience but lowers fat and calories significantly, and all comes together in 10 minutes, so it’s perfect for last minute meals. This isn’t a recipe whose purpose is copycat the original with different ingredients. This recipe still uses real cheese, and real butter, just way less of it and some clever additions to make up the difference. This healthy, low-fat Alfredo sauce is one of the most popular recipes on our site. Originally shared in August 2008, this recipe has been a family staple in millions of households all over!
Ingredients Needed
- low-fat milk – anything from nonfat to whole milk works, I really like 1-2%. If you’re not tracking your calories, go ahead and make it with whole milk. It’s still going to be waaay lighter than using cream, and it tastes extra delicious.
- low fat cream cheese – adds creaminess and also adds body to the sauce.
- all purpose flour
- salt
- butter
- garlic
- parmesan cheese – you can make this recipe with fresh grated parmesan or even the crumbled kind in the bottle. They turn out just a bit different in texture, but honestly either one works. I almost always have both on hand so I tend to do half and half. Just experiment and see what you like.
How to Make Guiltless Alfredo
This is a simple overview of the recipe, you’ll find a full printable recipe below!
- Blend milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt until smooth.
- Sauté garlic in butter over medium heat until fragrant.
- Stir in the milk mixture and cook until thickened and creamy.
- Reduce heat, add cheese, and stir until melted.
- Let stand a few minutes to thicken before serving. Adjust seasoning as needed.
Storage & Other Tips
- Thickening: this sauce thickens a lot as it cools, so don’t panic if it seems too thin when it’s done.
- Refrigerate: let cool slightly, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 5 days. It will thicken a lot when it cools, so you’ll definitely want to add a splash of milk to thin it back out.
- Freezing: probably possible, but will definitely affect texture. We’ve never tried it this way so we can’t guarantee results. If you try it, let us know how it goes in the comments!
- Ways to Use It: this recipe is so versatile! Of course this is fantastic on pasta, but it’s also really great as a sauce on pizza, or a dip for breadsticks, or even drizzled over vegetables.
Frequently Asked Questions
1 – 2% work well, and whole milk is also delicious! We did have a reader in the comments said she had good success using soy milk, so maybe give that a try if you are sensitive.
Blending these together helps make the mixture smooth and avoids lumps when cooking.
If it’s too thin, it might need a bit more time to simmer or cool. This sauce thickens a lot upon cooling, so give it a bit of patience and it should work out just fine!
Freshly grated does give a nice texture, but pre-grated works great too. Sometimes I like to do half fresh and half grated, and I’ve noticed that works out really well.
Reheat it gently, in a thick-bottomed sauce pan with a splash of milk while stirring. This is the best way to get that nice, smooth consistency back.
Guiltless Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups low-fat milk
- 3 ounces low fat cream cheese
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1 cup parmesan cheese, fresh grated
Instructions
- Place milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth.
- In a non-stick sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter and add garlic. Let the garlic saute for about 30 seconds.
- Add the milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for about 3 or 4 minutes or until it just comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more. It should be much thicker now.
- When it's nice and thickened turn heat to low. Add the cheese, stir it up to melt and then remove pan from heat and cover.
- Let stand for 5-10 minutes before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing. Season with additional salt if needed.
Questions & Reviews
This is honestly my default alfreado recipe, found it when I was in high school and cooking meals so my mother wouldn’t have too. Best tasting alfreado sauce I have ever had! Thank you so much for posting
I use skim milk, low w fat or fat free cheer me cheese and light butter from Land o Lakes…tastes awesome with even less fat then the original version. Even using full fat items,this recipes is far healthier then the traditional version. I’m thankful for this recipe as is my husband, I make it every 2-3 months. My next go around with it, I may try unsweetened almond milk.
Can I use cornstarch to make this gluten free in place of flour?
I have a lot of people as that. I’ve never tried so you’ll just have to experiment but I think it should work!
Has anyone tried making this recipe with lowfat (Neufchâtel) or nonfat cream cheese?
Yes, I only use low-fat or Neufchael, but I avoid fat free.
Love, love, LOVE this recipe!!!!! So stinkin’ YUM!!!!
Have you ever froZe this sauce? Want to take it for a house boat trip
Yep. When you defrost it, you can add a little milk to thin if the consistency is off.
This was wonderful over zucchini and summer squash zoodles, with chicken breast on the side. My husband said a number of times how good it was. Very light and tasty summer dinner. Thanks!
I know this is an older post but I wanted to say this recipe is a great use for powdered milk! Delicious!
I have made this sauce for years. And looking at the date, probably within a year of you posting it. It’s a family favorite so thank you!! I was wondering if you (or anyone?) has ever frozen it with success?? It’s quick and easy enough to just make on demand, but I’m doing some streamlining to my kitchen processes and finding what foods I can batch prepare. Read, I am fed up with washing so many dishes night after night. HAHA! Thanks!
I’ve read through the comments and don’t find anybody questioning the salt. I made a double batch of this today to make an alfredo lasagna and had to come online to research how to save this sauce. It is so horribly salty (and I love salty things normally). Since it has such good thickness to it I just kept dousing with extra milk until the salt was slightly eased. Definitely making this again but will completely omit the salt until the sauce is nearly finished and then just add a quarter teaspoon at a time.
Hmmmm…it’s never been a problem for me. Are you sure it was measured correctly?