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This classic alfredo sauce without heavy cream is delicious with your favorite pasta! Made with parmesan cheese, black pepper, skim milk, and garlic powder, you will want to prepare this creamy sauce the next time you make fettuccine alfredo. I promise, this is the best homemade alfredo sauce recipe you’ll ever try – it’s total comfort food, is gluten free, and can easily be made vegan too!
Made without wheat flour, with no butter or a roux, this easy alfredo sauce recipe without cream is a lighter version of authentic Italian alfredo sauce since it is made with low-fat milk.
Just like the real thing, you will not be able to get enough of this sauce. Savory and perfectly seasoned, this sauce has a creamy texture you will love paired with silky fettuccine noodles – all thanks to the cream cheese and milk.
One of our favorite vegetarian Italian dinner recipes, we like to keep this healthy alfredo sauce recipe in rotation because it is such a crowd-pleaser and so simple to make. With just a handful of steps, you will have a simple sauce ready to be drizzled over your favorite pasta dish!
This is a great recipe for anyone looking to switch things up in the kitchen or experiment with something new. This cream cheese alfredo sauce is ready in under 30 minutes and perfect for busy weeknights. The best part about this recipe is how versatile and easy it is!
If you love creamy white pasta sauce with your favorite noodles, then this is the best alfredo sauce to make any pasta dish shine! This alfredo sauce without cream is way better than what you’ll find at Olive Garden or any Italian restaurant, it’s tastier and healthier too!
👩🏽🍳 Why This Recipe Works
- Great recipe for the whole family
- Homemade alfredo sauce without butter and cream tastes just like traditional alfredo sauce
- Super easy recipe
- Packed with flavor
- Rich & thick cream sauce
- simple ingredients
- Low carb, lower in calories, and lower in fat than most store bought cheese sauces
- Best alfredo sauce without cream ever!
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🥘 Ingredients
You don’t need a lot of ingredients for this easy homemade alfredo sauce with milk instead of cream! With just some pantry items and a couple items from the refrigerator, you will have a flavorful sauce ready in no time. If you do not have these ingredients, then you easily find them at your local grocery store.
- Cornstarch: Also known as corn flour, cornstarch is a great gluten-free substitute for wheat flour. Cornflour mixed with water allows this sauce to be a thicker sauce. It also allows you to make alfredo sauce with milk and no flour, keeping it gluten free.
- Garlic Powder, Salt And Black Pepper: Just a little bit of these three spices is all that is needed to add flavor to this creamy alfredo sauce recipe. You can use fresh garlic if you don’t have garlic powder, but garlic powder blends better into this creamy white sauce than fresh garlic does (you’ll end up with small garlic pieces in the sauce).
- Milk: We made this light alfredo sauce with regular milk instead of cream, and chose low-fat organic milk for this recipe, but you can use any type of milk!
- Water: Cold water is needed to mix with the cornstarch. Be use to use filtered water.
- Freshly Chopped Parsley: Brings fresh and bright flavors to this dish.
- Cheese: Both cream and parmesan cheeses are needed to make this sauce rich and thick.
🔪 Instructions
See the complete list of ingredients and detailed instructions in the recipe card below for how to make classic alfredo sauce without cream.
Heat Milk On The Stove Top: First, heat the milk in a medium saucepan or large pot over medium heat until it simmers.
Combine Corn Starch And Water: Meanwhile, combine the cold water and corn flour in a bowl until mixed.
Thicken Sauce: Once the milk has just started to simmer, pour the cornflour mixture into the milk while whisking to make sure no lumps form. Reduce to low heat and continue to stir until sauce is smooth and thickened.
Add Cheese And Seasoning: Next, add the cream cheese, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Whisk until it’s smooth and has reached your desired consistency.
Season And Serve: Adjust the seasoning to taste, then stir through the chopped parsley and serve immediately with your favorite pasta.
We chose fettuccine pasta to make the classic dish: fettuccine alfredo without heavy cream!
💭 Expert Tips
- To make the sauce a little thicker, add more of the cornstarch mixture.
- Don’t let your milk boil! Ensure the milk doesn’t come to a boil otherwise the corn starch mixture, when added, will form large lumps very quickly.
- To make sure the sauce doesn’t separate, use a whisk when stirring vs. a wooden spoon or spatula.
- For best results, always use cold water to mix with cornstarch before adding to the heated milk.
📖 Variations
- Vegan Alfredo Sauce Recipe Without Heavy Cream: Use soy or unsweetened almond milk in place of the dairy milk. Substitute the cheese for ½ cup a vegan parmesan cheese and six tablespoons of nutritional yeast. You may need to add more corn starch to make sure the sauce is thick enough and the best quality.
- Add Herbs And Spices: To give this recipe a little more flavor, feel free to add white pepper, a dash of paprika, fresh coriander, oregano, rosemary or Italian seasoning.
- Extra Creamy Consistency: Add sour cream or mozzarella cheese to give this recipe more decadence.
- Thickener: Instead of using corn starch, feel free to use arrowroot powder, regular wheat flour, or tapioca flour. Keep in mind, the way this recipe is written it doesn’t need butter or a roux. If you use wheat flour, you’ll need to add butter and make a roux, and this recipe will no longer be gluten free.
- Alternative Milks: Use any kind of milk you like such as unsweetened flax, cashew, coconut, or oat.
- Chicken Alfredo: If you are serving meat eaters, feel free to add in some shredded chicken breast to the pasta and sauce! You can also make vegan chicken alfredo by using tofu or meatless chicken tenders with pasta.
❓Recipe FAQs
You can totally make a cream sauce without heavy cream! One of the easiest ways to substitute heavy cream in alfredo sauce is to use a thickener + milk.
We chose corn starch + milk because it gives that same creamy texture without the fattiness that heavy cream brings. The cornstarch also allows you to thicken your pasta sauce without heavy cream. You can use any type of milk instead of heavy cream to pair with the corn starch. Whole milk, skim milk, low-fat milk, and different types of unsweetened dairy-free milk will all work.
Other heavy cream substitutes include: silken tofu and soy milk, cottage cheese and milk, or flour and milk.
No, evaporated milk is not the same texture and will not yield the same results. You can use any type of other unsweetened milk in place of heavy cream. You may need to adjust the amount of corn starch if you use a plant based milk versus regular milk though.
Heavy cream has a little more fat content than heavy whipping cream, but they are both similar dairy products. Both are traditionally used when making alfredo sauce, and helps to give the sauce that thick creamy texture.
To Store In The Fridge: Allow the sauce to completely cool prior to storing in an airtight container. Once the sauce has cooled, transfer it to an airtight container and place in the refrigerator for up to four days. You can reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop.
To Freeze Alfredo Sauce, transfer it to a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze for up to six months. To reheat, thaw in the fridge, then warm on the stovetop, whisking until heated through.
The easiest way to tell if your cream sauce is bad is to smell it. If it’s still good, it will have a clean, fresh smell – similar to what milk smells like when it’s good. If it’s bad, it will have a very sour, acidic and pungent smell.
👨👩👧 How To Serve
- Serve this homemade alfredo sauce without heavy cream with your favorite type of pasta, or make your own homemade vegan pasta! To create a fettuccine alfredo recipe, just toss this tasty sauce through cooked fettuccine pasta!
- Use it instead of pasta sauce in dishes like this vegan mushroom pasta, or instead of pizza sauce in this rustic pizza recipe or florentine pizza!
- For a low carb option, you can also pair this cream free alfredo sauce with palmini noodles, heart of palm noodles, shirataki noodles, zoodles, etc.
- Serve with this vegan air fryer garlic bread, gluten free focaccia, or these biscuits without baking powder. For a bigger spread, add some roasted green beans and potatoes and this tomato avocado cucumber salad or this roasted cauliflower salad.
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📋Recipe Card
Alfredo Sauce Without Heavy Cream
This recipe for alfredo sauce without heavy cream is delicious with your favorite pasta! Made with parmesan cheese, black pepper, skim milk, and garlic powder, you will want to prepare this creamy sauce for your next fettuccine alfredo recipe. This comfort food recipe is the best and family-friendly!
Services: 4 people
calories: 137calories
- If you want the sauce to be a little thicker, add more of the cornstarch mixture.
- Toss this tasty sauce through cooked fettuccine pasta to create the perfect dinner option.
- Ensure the milk doesn’t come to a boil otherwise the corn starch mixture, when added, will form large lumps very quickly.
- Always use cold water to mix with cornflour before adding to the heated milk.
- Serve with your favorite pasta.
- For a vegan version: Use soy milk or unsweetened almond milk instead of low fat milk and substitute the cheese in this recipe for ½ cup vegan parmesan cheese and 6 tbsp nutritional yeast. You may need to add some additional corn starch to ensure the sauce is at the desired thickness.
calories: 137calories | Carbohydrates: 11g | protein: 9g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 306mg | Potassium: 219mg | fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g