• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Recipe Diaries
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Press
  • About
  • Shop
  • Foodie Styling
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Press
    • About
    • Shop
    • Foodie Styling
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
  • ×

    Home » Weight Watcher Recipes

    Skinny Fettuccine Alfredo Sauce

    Published: Dec 5, 2012 · Modified: Oct 7, 2022 by Jenna · This post may contain affiliate links · 12 Comments

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

    skinny fettucine alfredo 003

    Skinny Fettucine Alfredo - easy and lightened up Alfredo sauce which comes together in less than 20 minutes!

    Let's face it. Nothing quite compares to heavy cream which is used as the main ingredient in Alfredo. Heavy cream can make anything bad taste good, not to mention butter and bacon. I think that Alfredo sauce is probably one of the hardest dishes to make lighter but this recipe does a pretty good job with recreating it. Instead of heavy cream milk and reduced fat cream cheese is used. Parmesan is another main ingredient in Alfredo sauce which is also a must for a dish. No substitutions for that!

    Ingredients for Fettuccine Alfredo 

    • Unsalted butter
    • Garlic, minced
    • Lemon zest
    • All-purpose flour
    • 1 cup low-fat (1%) milk - can sub almond milk if you're allergic to milk
    • Kosher salt
    • Neufchtel or low-fat cream cheese
    • Parmesan cheese
    • Fresh parsley
    • Fettuccine - any pasta shape will work with this

    How to make Lighter Fettucine Alfredo Sauce 

    1. Make the sauce: Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and lemon zest and cook until the garlic is slightly soft about 1 minute. Add in the flour and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon,1 minute. Whisk in the milk and ¾ teaspoon salt and cook, whisking constantly until just thickened about 3 minutes. Add the Neufchatel and parmesan cheese; whisk until melted, about 1 minute. Stir in the chopped parsley.
    2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook until al dente, 2 to 3 minutes. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain the pasta and return to the pot.
    3. Add the sauce and ½ cup of the reserved cooking water to the pasta and gently toss to combine, adding more cooking water as needed to loosen. Season with salt. Divide among bowls and top with parmesan and pepper.
    skinny fettucine alfredo 005
    skinny fettucine alfredo 020

    Pictures re-taken on 7/9/15 Look below at the one that's grey. Yuck.

    If any of you are experiencing blank pages, I'm sorry. Try loading it again in the next few moments. I have to upgrade my ram on this website and hopefully, that should take care of the problem!

    Recipe from Food Network Magazine

    Print

    Lighter Fettuccine Alfredo Sauce


    ★★★★★

    5 from 3 reviews

    • Author: Jenna
    • Cook Time: 20min
    • Total Time: 20min
    • Yield: 6 1x
    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    Description

    Skinny Fettucine Alfredo - easy and lightened up Alfredo sauce which comes together in less than 20 minutes!


    Scale

    Ingredients

    • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
    • 1 clove garlic, minced
    • 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
    • 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
    • 1 cup low-fat (1%) milk
    • Kosher salt
    • 2 tablespoons Neufchtel or low-fat cream cheese
    • ¾ cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
    • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
    • 12 ounces fresh fettuccine
    • Freshly ground pepper

    Instructions

    1. Make the sauce: Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and lemon zest and cook until the garlic is slightly soft about 1 minute. Add in the flour and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon,1 minute. Whisk in the milk and ¾ teaspoon salt and cook, whisking constantly until just thickened about 3 minutes. Add the Neufchatel and parmesan cheese; whisk until melted, about 1 minute. Stir in the chopped parsley.
    2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook until al dente, 2 to 3 minutes. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain the pasta and return to the pot.
    3. Add the sauce and ½ cup of the reserved cooking water to the pasta and gently toss to combine, adding more cooking water as needed to loosen. Season with salt. Divide among bowls and top with parmesan and pepper.
    4. Makes 6 servings, per serving: 1 cup

    Notes

    myWW points Blue  11; Green 11;  Purple 11

    My WW Personal Points: 10 Click here to see in recipe builder (will have to log in)

    • Category: Dinner
    • Method: Boil
    • Cuisine: Italian

    Nutrition

    • Calories: 312
    • Sugar: 4g
    • Sodium: 453mg
    • Fat: 9g
    • Saturated Fat: 4g
    • Carbohydrates: 49g
    • Fiber: 3g
    • Protein: 13g

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @recipediariesww on Instagram

    More Weight Watcher Recipes

    • Healthy Greek Yogurt Egg Salad
    • Mixed Lemon Berry Muffins
    • Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits
    • Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs Casserole

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jenna says

      March 14, 2022 at 7:16 am

      I updated the recipe to include the flour and parsley. I don't add salt and pepper to a recipe in the builder because those two ingredients never change the points. You can also save it and edit it yourself. FYI.

    2. Miranda says

      March 13, 2022 at 11:43 pm

      When I click the link to see this in my WW recipe builder, it’s missing ingredients! The salt, pepper, parsley, and flour don’t appear in my recipe builder. Broken. Thank you.

    3. Christine says

      June 29, 2020 at 6:41 pm

      This is a great recipe and we all loved it. I may have added more cheese but so worth it.

      ★★★★★

    4. Jeffrey Castle says

      June 15, 2020 at 6:59 am

      Excellent recipe and I was able to make the sauce with much lower calories and fat content. I began with two tbsps of yogurt butter spread (Brummel and Brown) which is more than the recipe calls. Anyone with knowledge of creating a roux knows to begin with equal amounts of fat and flour. Instead of milk, I used fat free evaporated milk and fat free cream cheese. I followed the recipe from that point forward to the letter and go a flavorful, low calorie, creamy sauce that I put over brown rice spaghetti, topped with roasted squash, carrots, and onions, and topped with a grilled chicken breast. SO FULFILLING...

      ★★★★★

    5. Lisa says

      October 20, 2019 at 8:25 pm

      Delicious.

      ★★★★★

    6. Jenna says

      July 01, 2019 at 11:57 am

      1 serving.

    7. Sharon says

      July 01, 2019 at 10:49 am

      I see 10 points but is that for the whole recipe or for each serving?

    8. Patricia says

      April 13, 2017 at 2:45 pm

      How many points is the recipe?

    9. Cassie says

      April 05, 2017 at 12:18 pm

      Hello, I dont see anywhere where it shows how many pts this recipe is, or do we just calculate it ourself.

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

    Primary Sidebar

    Hey, I'm Jenna! I'm a graphic designer, photographer, and home cook from From Fargo ND. My air fryer is my favorite kitchen appliance to cook with. I created this blog to share recipe tips and tricks with everyone, enjoy!

    More about me →

    Seasonal Recipes

    • Paula Deen's Baked Acorn Squash
    • 5 Easy Recipes with Cake Mix and Canned Pumpkin
    • Weight Watchers Pumpkin Muffins with Chocolate Chips
    • Weight Watchers Pumpkin Fluff Dip Recipe

    Popular Recipes

    • Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs
    • Oven Roasted Smoked Sausage and Potatoes
    • Paula Deen's Crockpot Mac and Cheese
    • Tiktok Ramen

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy

    My Other Site!

    • My other blog is Foodie Styling and it's all about my favorite grocery store Aldi!

    Contact

    • Press
    • FAQ
    • Drop me a message!

    Copyright © 2022 Recipe Diaries