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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.
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 & 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.
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.
- Prep the quick sauce on the stove (as per the recipe below).
- Cook the pasta.
- 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.
5 Star Favorite Pasta Dishes
- Crock Pot Chicken Alfredo – easy weeknight meal
- Crock Pot Mac and Cheese – a crowd favorite
- Easy Shrimp Scampi Recipe – ready in 20 minutes!
- Chicken Tetrazzini – easy yet elegant
- Easy Homemade Lasagna – the best comfort food
- Easy Baked Ziti – so cheesy & flavorful!
Did you make this Skinny Chicken Alfredo? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Skinny Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 cup cold milk
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons light cream cheese not fat free
- salt to taste
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 12 ounces fresh fettuccine or 8 oz dried fettuccine
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken optional
- chopped fresh parsley to taste
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.
Notes
- 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
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.
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
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 .
Can I substitute something else beside flour, like Veloutine, or corn starch?
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.
Sounds yummy!! Do you think this recipe would work well with almond milk substituted for regular milk?
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.
My wife is lactose intolerant, would this recipe still work with lactose free milk?
Yes, this should work just fine with lactose free milk.
Sounds so good. Will definitely try it. Would like to have a portable induction cooker. Really could use one. Any suggestions?
This is the induction burner I use and I love it!
Can you use canned milk. I often use this to make gravy.
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.
I really like the recipes. Please give us more.
Can the skinny chicken Alfredo be frozen?
I would not recommend freezing this recipe.
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!
Absolutely, that would be delicious!! Everything else would remain the same. I would suggest pre-cooking your shrimp just before you add it.
I printed out some of the recipes! Can’t wait to try them!
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
Enjoy Sue!
Sounds so good. Can’t wait to try. Thanks for sharing. Happy New Year to you and yours.
Great diet recipes thanks
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?
I haven’t tried it without the cream cheese. This recipe just adds a few tablespoons to give it a creamy texture.
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 ;)
I’m so glad you loved it! Thank you for sharing your substitutions!
I was wondering if I could make this without the nutmeg? What does nutmeg do for this recipe? Thank you for the “Skinny” recipes!!!
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.
Hi I’m allergic to nutmeg what else can I use in place of the nutmeg
You can leave the nutmeg out.
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!
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!
I use McCormick minced garlic and 1/4 teas is equal to 1 garlic clove in the directions
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!
Oh yay! I’m so glad you loved it, I love this one too!!
Haven’t yet found a recipe of yours that I didn’t love!
<3 Aww, thank you so much, you made my day!
Any idea how many WW points this is?
I’m not sure how many points this is. You could add it to your WW recipe builder to get the points.
Thank you for the nice recipes and have a good weekend.