Healthy Alfredo Sauce Recipe (gluten-free, keto options)
This healthy alfredo sauce recipe skips on the cream but not on the taste! It’s creamy and cheesy with a little lemon zest for extra flavor. With grain-free, gluten-free and keto options.
There’s something I love even more than sweets, and that’s cheese and carbs. Nothing beats a big pot of melty, gooey carb-laden goodness.
This isn’t exactly melty or gooey, but it still does the job! Instead of using a cup of heavy cream, this alfredo sauce recipe uses a cup of milk. And if you want to make it a little more nutritious, toss in some cooked chicken and veggies!
This recipe should probably be called healthier fettuccine alfredo instead of healthy alfredo, but to be honest, nobody searches for that. And I want people to find this delicious recipe!
It’s just as “healthy” as the other “healthy” alfredo recipes I found so… ????♀️
Something else I love about this recipe is the lemon in it. I’m all about lemony things right now and have been since December 26th. The lemons keep me happy until summertime.
It’s also amazingly quick and easy to put together. Whenever I have people over to bake and we need something savory after gorging on sweets, this recipe is one of my favorites. So is this pecan-crusted salmon.
You can make this dish with regular, whole wheat, gluten-free or grain-free pasta. Spaghetti squash is also great for a keto version! Here’s How To Cook Spaghetti Squash.
If using spaghetti squash, make sure to have it hot before adding the hot alfredo sauce. If you warm up the squash with the sauce, it quickly goes from creamy to soupy. I know this because I was eating a bowl of spaghetti squash alfredo “soup” when I started writing this post.
Then I realized I could probably let it simmer (while stirring) for a few minutes to take care of the liquid. It worked!
For the flour, you’ve got a few different options. Regular flour or white whole wheat works if you can have wheat. A gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour works for gluten-free, and cassava flour is great for grain-free.
Cassava flour is far from low-carb, but there’s only 1 tablespoon in the whole recipe. With that in combination with spaghetti squash, I was doubtful that this would be considered keto. So I talked to a few keto bloggers, and they thought it qualified, as long as it’s a side dish and not the entire meal.
If you try out this healthy alfredo sauce recipe, I’d love to hear how you like it!
Healthy Alfredo Sauce Recipe (gluten-free, keto options)
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (225 grams) dry fettuccine see notes
- 1 tablespoon (14 grams) butter
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest grated
- 1 tablespoon flour see notes
- 1 1/2 cups (355 ml) milk plus a little more for thinning the sauce, if desired
- 1/4 teaspoon salt I like things salty and use 1/2 teaspoon
- 3 tablespoons cream cheese
- 1 cup (85 grams) Parmesan grated, plus more for sprinkling on top; Pecorino or Romano cheese work as well
- fresh parsley chopped, optional
- black pepper freshly ground, optional
Instructions
- Prepare the pasta according to the pasta directions. When it’s finished, drain it but do not rinse. Return to the pot.8 ounces (225 grams) dry fettuccine
- Meanwhile, in a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter.1 tablespoon (14 grams) butter
- Add the minced garlic and lemon zest and cook until the garlic is soft – about 1-2 minutes.2 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.1 tablespoon flour
- Whisk in the milk and salt and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce has thickened – about 3 minutes.1 1/2 cups (355 ml) milk, 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Add the cream cheese and Parmesan, whisk until completely melted.3 tablespoons cream cheese, 1 cup (85 grams) Parmesan
- Add the sauce to the prepared pasta and mix until combined. If it’s too thick for you, add a little more milk.
- Top with more cheese, parsley and pepper if desired.
- Serve immediately and refrigerate any leftovers for up to 4 days.
Notes
- If keto, this would make an appropriate side dish.
- You can use any type of pasta for this recipe; gluten-free, grain-free or whole grain, if desired. For keto, use cooked spaghetti squash.
- For the flour, you can use white whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour; or for gluten-free, use a gluten-free 1-to-1 flour (like this one) or cassava flour for grain-free / keto (I used Bob’s Red Mill).
- The nutrition information provided is calculated as a courtesy and is only an estimate. I am not a licensed nutritionist or dietitian. For the most accurate nutritional data, consult a professional or use your preferred calculator. This recipe yields 2 servings as a main, or 4 servings as a keto side dish. The nutrition calculations were made assuming there were 2 large servings and do not include any of the optional ingredients.
This is our family’s go to recipe for alfredo. It TASTES like normal alfredo but it’s not as heavy on your stomach. Thank you for the delicious recipe!
I’m so glad to hear that! It’s our favorite, too. Thanks a bunch for your feedback. :)
Just made this – delish! Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for your feedback! :)
Great ideas. Love the lemon addition too.
Can’t wait to make this one!
I hope you’ll enjoy it! :)
We are a creamy white sauce loving family so a healthier version is definitely welcomed!
I hope you’ll get to try it out! :)
My family is going to LOVE this, and it looks so easy! win-win!
I hope they will! :)
Well I’m drooling so I guess I have to try this. Thanks for the GF options!
I think you do! :)
Love this sauce! So creamy and delicious!
Thanks! :)
Thank you! :)
Oooh, that looks delicious. Alfredo is one of my favorites and love that this has a grain-free version!
Thank you! :) Hope you’ll get to try it!
I love alfredo sauce.
Hope you’ll give this one a try! :)
This looks great. I love Alfredo over spaghetti squash and I will definitely be trying this in the next week or so.! I love how great Alfredo taste and how easy it is to put together. I’ll let you know how it goes!
I hope that you’ll enjoy it! We also like it over spaghetti squash. No carb coma that way. :D
And I just realized your comment is from 2 weeks ago, sorry! My kid has been sick and I’m super behind. :/
No problem! I have 3 kids. I totally understand that.
I can see my whole family enjoying this recipe. So easy yet yum! Pinned for later reference
I hope they’ll enjoy it! Thanks for pinning. :)
this sauce looks so delicious, must try it!
I hope you will! :)
This alfredo sauce looks so creamy and delicious! I can’t wait to try it out on spaghetti squash!!!
I hope that you’ll enjoy it!
Hi Erin, this looks so classic and delicious! I didn’t see in the ingredients, is there a keto flour you suggest? Sorry if I missed it. :)
We’ve already talked but for the others wondering, please check out the post about the keto version (the second to last paragraph). :)