Skinny Alfredo Sauce | Lite Cravings | WW Recipes (2024)

FAQs

How to make Alfredo thinner? ›

Heat cream and cheese in small saucepan below the boil and then over low heat until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. If you think its too thick, add a few drops of milk. Stir often. Shut off heat and cover.

Milk, heavy cream, or sour cream.

You will get a creamier texture and a bolder flavor. If you want, you can also add some romano cheese to balance the nutty taste of the other dairy ingredients. Chicken broth: another way to improve a jar of Alfredo sauce and give it a rich flavor.

You could just add garlic powder, sure, but quickly sautéeing fresh garlic while your pasta cooks is a great way to layer flavor. Resnick likes to add spinach as a way to cut the richness of the sauce. Add a tablespoon or so of olive oil and a few cloves of minced garlic in a sautée pan over medium heat.

If the sauce seems too thick, whisk in a splash of milk, broth, or water until the sauce is as thinned as you like. Use reheated sauce immediately: Toss with cooked pasta or pour over cooked vegetables, chicken, or fish.

Add Cheese

This first method is not only the easiest, but also arguably the most delicious. The key ingredient in Alfredo sauce is cheese—generally Parmigiano Reggiano—and lots of it. To thicken Alfredo sauce, simply add more cheese than the amount called for in a recipe until you achieve the consistency you want.

After 12 ounces of fettuccine pasta noodles are finished cooking, reserve 2 cups of the pasta water to include in your sauce. The starchy water is essential to creating a thick, creamy sauce consistency.

This is an easy one, because the fat content of heavy cream is so high that you can heat it, boil it, and even reduce it to your heart's content. It won't break, or separate. But do be aware that high acid additions — like citrus, wine, or tomatoes for example — might curdle it a bit.

Dress up a dull jar of Alfredo with a drizzle of infused oil. Infused oils are olive oils that have been mixed with fresh ingredients and allowed to marinate together to create an aromatic oil. Fresh herbs are commonly infused in olive oil, and garlic and spicy chilies also work well.

Is it cheaper to make or buy alfredo sauce? ›

This recipe for homemade alfredo sauce uses $4.33 worth of ingredients and makes 9.5 ounces, which is also roughly 46 cents per ounce. This means homemade alfredo sauce costs about the same as high quality jarred sauces, but tastes even better.

Add a few dashes of garlic powder to your simmering sauce, or a clove or two of fresh sauteed garlic, to brighten up the Alfredo and make its flavor pop. You can also sprinkle in some fresh or dried herbs, like oregano, thyme, or basil, to add complexity to the sauce.

Stir in big handfuls of spinach, Kale mushrooms, zucchini, onions, broccoli, spinach, squash, or grape tomatoes after the pasta is cooked. You can also substitute zucchini (zoodles) for the pasta.

Heat the sauce over medium heat.

Stir it occasionally using a spatula or spoon to keep it from scorching on the bottom. It should take about five minutes to heat. Taste the sauce to see if it's hot before going to the next step.

Thin out thick sauces with extra cream or broth

Many store-bought sauces thin out a bit when simmering, but cooking also leads to more moisture evaporating. Fortunately, you can just add a touch of heavy cream to create the perfect consistency for any dish you're making.

For a thinner sauce, add 1 tablespoon of milk or heavy cream. For a thicker, more creamy sauce, reduce the amount of heavy cream/milk used and add either sour cream or cream cheese 1 ounce at a time. To add spice, include red pepper flakes, white pepper or cayenne pepper. Top with fresh parsley just before serving.

There are solutions for oily leftover Alfredo

One of the simplest ways to avoid greasy, separated Alfredo sauce is to heat it slowly over the stove instead in the microwave. Microwaves heat up food much faster than a stove does, and the faster you reheat your leftover sauce, the more likely it is to separate.