Healthy Fettuccine Alfredo

Create a healthier version of the classic fettuccine Alfredo dish with a few adjustments to the key ingredients. Impress guests at your next dinner party with this pasta dish that they won't have to feel guilty about enjoying. This healthy fettuccine will have them guessing how you were able to make it taste so good.

Cream

Transform this decadent traditional dish into a healthy pasta meal by replacing the heavy cream in the recipe with low-fat milk. To prevent sauce from becoming watery, thicken the low-fat milk by creating a roux. Add a dusting of flour to heated oil and allow it to cook to a golden brown before pouring in low-fat milk and bringing the whole pot to a simmer.

Butter

Replace the butter in your Alfredo sauce with a lower fat margarine or canola oil. This switch will immediately cut down the amount of fat in the Alfredo sauce. The subtle flavor profile of butter is often covered up by a pungent hard cheese like Parmesan. Taste your sauce while it is still cooking to determine if the flavors taste well balanced. Try adding a dash more granulated garlic, salt and freshly ground black pepper to the pan if you are still able to taste the absence of butter in the final sauce.

Cheese

Don't mess around with the cheese component to this creamy dish. Grated Parmesan cheese is the major flavor profile of the sauce and does not add enough fat for it to be substituted by a less flavorful ingredient. Find the best tasting Parmesan cheese you are able to afford and grind it to a fine powder to expose maximum surface area. Do this fresh right before you make the sauce to get maximum flavor from minimum cheese. Then use it sparingly in the sauce and grate it finely over the pasta for aroma and presentation.

Pasta

Choose a high-fiber whole-grain fettuccine noodle for your healthy dish. There are many alternatives to the processed-flour pasta, including brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat and others. Find an alternative pasta variety that is tender without clumping or sticking to the pan.

Customize your version of this pasta dish by serving your guests much more than just noodles and sauce. Add lean meats and steamed vegetables to your dish to reduce the ratio of pasta and introduce other nutrients. Shrimp, crab, chicken breast, green beans, spinach or squash all pair well with creamy Alfredo sauce.

Tags: Alfredo sauce, low-fat milk, flavor profile, Parmesan cheese, pasta dish, this pasta, this pasta dish