Pasta and Pizza

Skinny Alfredo Sauce

by Holly
4.81 from 36 votes
May 9, 2022 · 75 Comments

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Looking for a healthy alfredo sauce recipe you can enjoy guilt-free? Look no further than this delicious Skinny Chicken Alfredo!

What is not to love about any alfredo recipe? – creamy, smooth, and full of flavor (and this one is a bit lighter than a traditional recipe). Toss some chicken, fried mushrooms or other veggies into this creamy noodle dish and it will get rave reviews every time.

plated Skinny Chicken Alfredo

A Healthier Alfredo Pasta Recipe

When I’m craving comfort, alfredo is a go-to for me and I sure did eat a lot of it in Italy! I love that such simple ingredients can create such delicious decadence however, I wanted to create a version I could enjoy a little more often.

FACT: A chicken alfredo at the average restaurant has a whopping 1200 – 1547 calories and up to 97 grams of fat! CRAZY huh? This healthy chicken alfredo recipe cuts the calories and fat weighing in at under 400 calories and 10 grams of fat.

  • Enjoy alfredo without the guilt! This is a recipe worth repeating.
  • This homemade sauce has all the flavor without the extra fat!
  • Easy, tasty, and quick. Perfect for a weeknight dinner!
  • For an even lighter dish, serve with zucchini noodles (made with a spiralizer) or even over roasted cauliflower.

ingredients to make Skinny Chicken Alfredo with labels

Ingredients & Variations

NOODLES Fettuccine are long flat noodles, generally made with flour and eggs. Purchase fresh noodles, make homemade noodles, or buy the typical dried pasta in a box. Linguine noodles can also be used with this recipe. I use 12 oz fresh noodles which is about 8 oz dried pasta.

THE SAUCE A homemade alfredo sauce is almost as easy as buying a jar of alfredo, this sauce has fewer calories and is so quick to make. Unlike a traditional fettuccine alfredo sauce, this sauce is thickened with a bit of flour and some cream cheese (instead of heavy cream and cheese).

PROTEIN We love to add cooked chicken to this recipe. Use shredded chicken, poached chicken, or even grilled. Short on time? Then use a store-bought rotisserie chicken.

VARIATIONS Add in steamed broccoli, asparagus, or mushrooms to get some extra veggies in. Use whole-wheat noodles or replace the chicken with some shrimp, to make a lighter shrimp alfredo.

 

process of adding ingredients together to make Skinny Chicken Alfredo sauce

How to Make Healthy  Alfredo

We love a true alfredo with butter, cheese and cream but sometimes something a bit lighter fits the bill. This healthy alfredo is a great way to enjoy a decadent flavor with fewer calories and fat.

  1. Prep the quick sauce on the stove (as per the recipe below).
  2. Cook the pasta.
  3. Toss the pasta and cooked chicken with the sauce.

Tips for the Sauce

  • Whisk the flour into cold milk for the best results (it doesn’t mix as smoothly into warm liquids), ensure there are no lumps.
  • Some brands of cream cheese don’t melt as smoothly. If the cream cheese isn’t smooth, you can use a hand blender to mix the sauce for a few seconds.
  • Spreadable or light cream cheeses do work in this recipe (and flavored cream cheese like herb and garlic are great too).
  • Save a little bit of pasta water, it can help to get the right consistency but pasta water is starchy and will also help the sauce stick to the pasta.

jar full of Skinny Chicken Alfredo sauce with pasta and chicken in the background

 

5 Star Favorite Pasta Dishes

Did you make this Skinny Chicken Alfredo? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below! 

plated Skinny Chicken Alfredo
4.81 from 36 votes
Review Recipe

Skinny Alfredo Sauce

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Author Holly Nilsson
This Skinny Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo recipe has fewer calories than the classic dish but isn't short on flavor. It cuts the calories by about 65% yet gets rave reviews every time!
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Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1 cup cold milk
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 3 tablespoons light cream cheese not fat free
  • salt to taste
  • 1 pinch nutmeg
  • ½ cup fresh parmesan cheese shredded
  • 12 ounces fresh fettuccine or 8 oz dried fettuccine
  • 2 cups cooked chicken optional
  • fresh parsley to taste chopped

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Instructions

  • Whisk flour into cold milk until dissolved, set aside.
  • Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  • Add the milk/flour to the saucepan and cook while whisking constantly until thickened and bubbly, about 5 minutes.
  • Once thickened turn the heat to low and stir in cream cheese, salt, & nutmeg whisking until the cream cheese is melted.
  • Remove from the heat and stir in parmesan cheese. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper.
  • Meanwhile, cook pasta according to the package direction, reserving ½ cup of pasta water.
  • Toss pasta and warmed chicken with the sauce, adding pasta water a spoonful at a time if needed. Garnish with parsley and additional cheese if desired.

Recipe Notes

Note:  This recipe makes 6 generous side dish portions, for larger portions or to serve as an entree, the recipe can be doubled.
  • Whisk the flour into cold milk for the best results (it doesn't mix into warm liquids as smoothly), ensure there are no lumps.
  • Some brands of cream cheese don't melt as smoothly. If the cream cheese isn't smooth, you can use a hand blender to mix the sauce for a few seconds.
  • Spreadable or light cream cheeses do work in this recipe (and flavored cream cheese like herb and garlic are great too).
  • Save a little bit of pasta water, it can help to get the right consistency but pasta water is starchy and will also help the sauce stick to the pasta.
Nutrition information does not include optional additions or garnishes.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 302, Carbohydrates: 44g, Protein: 13g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 62mg, Sodium: 188mg, Potassium: 229mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 208IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 181mg, Iron: 1mg

(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)

Course Dinner, Entree, Pasta
Cuisine American
© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
plated Skinny Chicken Alfredo with a title
close up of Skinny Chicken Alfredo on a plate with a title
plated Skinny Chicken Alfredo with writing
Skinny Chicken Alfredo on a plate and close up with writing

Note: The actual nutritional information on this recipe will vary based on the ingredients used. With 2% milk, this recipe using the brands I used made 6 servings at approximately 388 (or 302 without chicken) calories and 8-10g fat per serving. You can enter your information in an online nutritional calculator to calculate your nutrition based on the ingredients and brands you’ve used. Information provided on this page is for informational purposes only.

Adapted from
Food Network Magazine

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About the author

Holly

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Holly is a wine and cheese lover, recipe creator, shopping enthusiast and self appointed foodie. Her greatest passion is creating in the kitchen and making deliciously comforting recipes for the everyday home cook!

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Comments

  1. Made this a bunch of times.  My 12 year old daughter is picky eater and she asks me to make it all the time.  Very tasty.  I like adding a bunch of fresh spinach towards the end of cooking.  Very good . 

    Reply

    1. I have only tried this as written. I’m sure you could use cornstarch. As a general rule, you’ll need half the amount of cornstarch as you would flour. Please let us know how it works out for you.

      Reply

    1. I haven’t tried it but I think it would work just fine. Of course it will change the flavor slightly but I’m sure it would still be delicious.

      Reply

  5. Sounds so good. Will definitely try it. Would like to have a portable induction cooker. Really could use one. Any suggestions?

    Reply

    1. I haven’t tried it but I’m sure it will work just fine. It has a slightly thicker consistency so you may need to add a little bit extra.

      Reply

  9. I love this recipe! Could I use shrimp instead of chicken for a different meal and would the ingredients be the same other than of course substituting shrimp for chicken? Thank you for the yummy recipe!

    Reply

    1. Absolutely, that would be delicious!! Everything else would remain the same. I would suggest pre-cooking your shrimp just before you add it.

      Reply

  11. Thanks for the recipe..started my diet a for this year and need such recipes that my husband can have too,without feeling like he is being deprived. He doesn’t have a weight problem.. Looks very good too.. Thanks

    Reply

  14. Could Greek plain yogurt be subbed for the cream cheese? I’m not a cooked cream cheese fan…and would the measurement with the yogurt be the same as the cream cheese?

    Reply

  15. Hi,

    Thanks for a great recipe! My son is allergic to dairy so I had to sub some things:
    Soy Milky (still 1 cup)
    Nutritional Yeast (only 1/4 cup)
    Tufutti cream cheese (4tbs)

    It still turned out awesome and he is loving it, as are we. Haven’t had a creamy sauce in forever.

    Thanks again, did I say it was delicious and yummy and delicious ;)

    Reply

  16. I was wondering if I could make this without the nutmeg? What does nutmeg do for this recipe? Thank you for the “Skinny” recipes!!!

    Reply

    1. You can leave out the nutmeg. Nutmeg is commonly added to cream sauces to add flavor. It’s a very small amount but I think it makes a big difference in flavor.

      Reply

  17. I’m a fan and have printed/tried a few of your recipes and follow you on FB. I saved some of your recipes you shared on FB and just reviewed what I have saved. I love, love, love chicken fettiuccine alfredo and jumped at the chance to make a “skinnier” version of this favorite. However, I’m hoping you can answer a question I’ve asked of people I know who are good and very experienced cooks but could not get an answer that helped me. It’s just me and my hubby and he does not like garlic. I can’t use garlic powder because it triggers a nasty bout of GERD. I can eat garlic from cloves or minced and sold in jars as long as a recipe doesn’t require a lot of it and doesn’t overpower the recipe as a whole. Because of my hubby’s dislike of garlic, if I buy a garlic bulb most of it goes to waste. Since discovering minced garlic, I don’t have that problem any more. Okay, now that I have given you all that background info here’s my question: Your recipe for this type fettiucinne calls for 1 garlic clove. Is there any way to convert a clove of garlic to a measured amount of pre-minced? Hope you can help!

    Reply

    1. Depending on the brand it can be anywhere from ¼ tsp to 1/2 tsp of jarred garlic to equal 1 clove of fresh garlic. There is often a conversion written on the jar so you might like to check there. I would suggest starting with ¼ teaspoon for your first time trying the recipe and you can adjust after that. I’d love to hear how it works out for you!

      Reply

  18. I made this for dinner tonight, and it was fantastic! Honestly, I wasn’t expecting it to be good, because I am a huge alfredo fan. From now on, this is the way I’ll fix it! No guilt, and it really is delicious! Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply