Guest post from Brooke of Skinny Mom
Who doesn’t love Fettuccine Alfredo?
It’s a favorite with my family. My little man, E, loves to slurp up the creamy noodles one at a time and his little fettuccine-covered face creates an Instagram moment every time we have it for dinner.
This used to be a meal that we splurged on when eating out at our favorite Italian restaurant but I was determined to create a more affordable, and more waist-line friendly, version that I could prepare at home.
The most economical aspect of this recipe is that you likely have most of the ingredients needed already (butter, garlic, flour, milk, etc.). The few items you may have to add to your shopping list are the whole wheat fettuccine, which can also be substituted for spinach fettuccine depending on which one might be on sale or you have a coupon for.
In addition to the cheese, the recipe calls for fresh parsley, but if you don’t have this on hand, you can opt for the dried seasoning in your spice cabinet to save a few dollars.
Preparing homemade sauces, dressings, and other condiments can usually be surprisingly less expensive than you might expect when you realize the foundation ingredients are already in your pantry and refrigerator. This is a great way to control the amount of artificial ingredients, added sodium, calories, and fat that can be hidden in the canned and jarred ready-to-use options.
Don’t be afraid to make more of this recipe than you need for one meal. I promise, your family will love it and it’s just as scrumptious served as leftovers the next day. You can even jazz it up with some of your pantry staples by adding tomatoes (canned or fresh) and/or some spinach (frozen or fresh) when you serve it for lunch or dinner the next day to mix up the presentation.
Enjoy!
Recipe for Healthy Fettuccine Alfredo:
Ingredients:
- 8 oz. whole wheat fettuccine
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 ½ Tablespoons flour
- 1 ½ cups low fat milk
- 1 cup fresh Parmesan-Reggiano cheese, grated
- 2 Tablespoons ⅓ less fat cream cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
Directions:
- Cook and drain pasta according to package directions.
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add minced garlic, cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring often.
- Stir in flour and gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk.
- Cook 5-6 minutes until mixture starts to thicken, making sure to stir constantly. Add Parmigiano-Reggiano, cream cheese, salt, and black pepper, stir with a whisk until cheese melts and sauce becomes creamy and thick.
- Toss sauce with pasta.
- Sprinkle pasta with additional Parmesan cheese and parsley. Serve immediately!
Nutrition Facts:
Per Serving: ½ cup Calories: 323, Fat: 8g, Carbohydrates: 50g, Fiber: 3g, Net Carbs: 47g, Protein: 16g, Sugars: 11g, Sodium: 477mg, Vitamin A: 19%, Vitamin C: 2%, Iron: 11%
What are your favorite frugal dinner recipes?
Brooke is the founder and CEO of Skinny Mom, the digital lifestyle brand that gives moms the skinny on healthy living. Brooke is also a certified personal trainer and fitness enthusiast, however Brooke’s most important job is being a single mom to her 3 year old son. In her spare time Brooke loves cooking skinny meals and running outdoors
This looks like a great recipe! Something I learned from my mom growing up is putting cabbage into fettuccine. It is so delicious. You slice a head of cabbage (or half a head) into skinny strips… So they resemble the fettuccine noodles. Then sauté them in some butter with salt and pepper. Then just pull out and make your pasta and sauce as usual. (if you are sneaky you could use the same pot for all of it!) then at the end, mix in the cabbage with the noodles and sauce. It makes it a lot healthier, more filling, and really tasty! I am not a huge cabbage eater but really like it prepared this way. You can use green or purple cabbage, but the purple will give it a little bit of an odd color, so I would do green if you have a choice. 🙂
P.s. obviously you would need to decrease the noodles or increase the sauce to accomodate the increased volume with the cabbage added, or else the Alfredo won’t be enough to cover it all!
It looks delish! I’m getting hungry just reading it. 🙂
I’ve been making fettuccine alfredo like this for years, and we LOVE it! I have never missed having cream instead of milk or loads and loads of cheese. In fact, when we go to restaurants now the fettuccine alfredo tastes WAY too rich for my taste and makes my stomach hurt. I prefer our at home version! Thanks for sharing!
This sounds so delicious! This is a favorite of mine and my husbands. This solves my dilemma on what to make for dinner tonight. Thanks for the recipe!
Does this recipe make 2 half cup servings? I am trying to determine if I need to double for my family.
Thanks!
Oooh this sounds really good! Fettuccine alfredo is one of my favorite foods, but I don’t eat it much since I try to stay away from pastas and heavy sauces. This sounds like a much healthier version.