Try this roasted garlic alfredo sauce made with and almond milk, without any heavy cream to keep it weight watchers friendly.
Alfredo is one of my biggest weaknesses. Who doesn't love a rich and creamy sauce one top of a big bowl of pasta? I lightened up the classic sauce to bring you a lighter alfredo pasta. Perfectly paired with shrimp, sausage or chicken.
Serve this dish with some added protein to keep you full and satisfied. Try this out with my honey butter chicken, which brings in a sweeter flavor, the grab the recipe here. Or with my buttery lemon pepper chicken. That would compliment these flavors very well and that recipe is here. There are great low point, pre-cooked sausages that would be easy for this. Or, my husbands favorite, spicy grilled shrimp.
If you an instant pot, you have to try out my instant pot chicken Alfredo as well!
What You Need for a Weight Watchers Friendly Alfredo Sauce
This is a two-pot kind of dish. You will just need a medium sized pot, for the pasta, and a large pan, for the sauce. You can certainly cook the sauce in the pot after the pasta is finished, but I don't wait for that.
Then the ingredients, remember, this is an Alfredo sauce without any heavy cream!
- Pasta
- Minced garlic
- â…“ less fat cream cheese
- Plain, unsweetened almond milk
- Chicken broth
- Reduced fat, part skim shredded mozzarella cheese
- Seasonings
- Cooking spray
And that is all you need. How easy is this!
I always keep cream cheese, almond milk, chicken broth and mozzarella cheese in my fridge. These are some of my top essential WW items. I definitely use one of these every single day. However, we can also go over some suggestions and substitutions.
Pasta
I typically prefer a penne pasta with this; however, you can also do a fettuccine Alfredo as well. Really any type of pasta works great; however, you can also try this on spaghetti squash or grilled chicken to keep it low carb.
Minced Garlic
Some roasted garlic Alfredo sauce calls for some garlic! I love mincing my own fresh garlic with this mini food processor. However, you can use pre-minced garlic. I also love putting some finely diced onion into this mixture as well. It provides an elevated flavor; however, I know not everyone loves onion.
This is a more weight watchers friendly Alfredo sauce, made without heavy cream and substituted with some almond milk and lower fat cheeses.
Cream Cheese
Like I said, this is a lightened up sauce. Therefore, â…“ less fat cream cheese it is! You can use regular cream cheese, if that is what you have and like. It will turn out the same. If I remember, which I usually do not, I like to leave my cream cheese on the counter for a little, to soften, as it is easier to melt into the sauce.
Plain Unsweetened Almond Milk
Now, this is where things get a little crazy, HAHA! Almond milk is a staple in my Weight Watchers journey. It is the lowest point milk and I use it in tons of recipes and as a creamer.
I believe it has more of a neutral taste and you cannot taste the almond. However, you can substitute a different type of milk, or a heavy cream / half and half.
Chicken Broth
The chicken broth thins out the sauce a little while providing a delicious flavoring.
Typically, I have chicken broth on hand. It just has a very nice neutral, yet slightly meaty, taste to it. I usually make this dish with chicken broth; however, you can use another type of broth. Alternatively, use a vegetable broth if you are vegetarian.
Additionally, you can do a water and broth concentrate mixture. Any one of these options will work well. Just be mindful that I use low sodium broth and if you are using regular broth, you will have to adjust the salt content.
You can also substitute pasta water in here too! This will make it a bit thicker than the broth though.
Seasonings
You should have most, if not all, of the seasonings in your cabinet as well. These are pretty simple, nothing too fancy.
- Oregano
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Italian seasonings
- Salt
- Black pepper
If you want an herby taste too, I highly recommend adding fresh basil and parsley on top. I love those added flavors.
And of course, butter flavored cooking spray adds the best flavoring. Especially in this dish, I love the butter flavor.
How to Make a Weight Watchers Friendly Alfredo Sauce
First step is to cook the pasta. Measure out 6 ounces of dry pasta. I always measure dry, it is way easier. Just place a bowl on the scale, zero it out and pour out some pasta until it reaches 6.0 ounces. A little tip is that a box of pasta has 1 pound of pasta, therefore, you will need ⅜ of the box of pasta.
When I open a new box of pasta, I always measure and bag the portions out right then. They are ready to use when I need them. I split them into 6 ounces, 6 ounces and 4 ounces.
Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, drain well then set the pasta aside.
Begin on the sauce when the pasta is halfway done.
Sauce
Let's start on the sauce now. Heat a large pan over medium/high heat, greased with cooking spray. Again, love the butter flavor. Add the minced garlic and sauté for about a minute or two, until fragrant.
Add in the cream cheese and start breaking it up while it melts. When it is about halfway melted, add in the milk and broth. Little by little as you continue to melt the cream cheese.
After adding the broth and milk in, bring the mixture to a slight simmer and continue melting the cream cheese, stirring occasionally. Add in the seasonings and continue melting the cream cheese until it is completely melted.
Add in the shredded mozzarella and bring the mixture to a low simmer while the cheese melts. Simmer the mixture until desired thickness, about 2-3 minutes.
Once the sauce is done, add the pasta noodles in and toss to coat. For added flavor, top with basil and parsley.
Weight Watchers Alfredo Sauce
Try this roasted garlic alfredo sauce made with and almond milk, without any heavy cream to keep it weight watchers friendly.
Weight Watchers Alfredo Sauce
Equipment
- Stovetop
Ingredients
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 2 ounces â…“ less fat cream cheese
- ⅜ cup plain, unsweetened almond milk
- ½ cup chicken broth low sodium
- ½ cup reduced fat, part skim shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasonings
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- â…› teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, drain well then set the pasta aside.
- Heat a large pan over medium/high heat, greased with cooking spray. Sauté the garlic for about a minute or two, until fragrant. Add in the cream cheese and start breaking it up while it melts.
- When the cream cheese is about half way melted, pour in the milk and broth. Pour in the liquids little by little as you continue melting the cream cheese.
- Bring the mixture to a slight simmer and continue melting the cream cheese, stirring occasionally. Add in the seasonings and continue melting the cream cheese until it is completely melted.
- Sprinkle in the shredded mozzarella and bring the mixture to a low simmer while the cheese melts. Simmer the mixture until desired thickness, about 2-3 minutes.
- Once the sauce is done, add the pasta noodles in and toss to coat.
- For added flavor, top with basil and parsley.
You can also try a similar recipe: cream cheese gravy.
If you are on Weight watchers and looking for a points value, click on this link and your points will automatically calculate for you.
Allyson B says
Is there a way to add your recipes in the ww app?
alliecarte says
Build your own recipe in the app and save it
stephanie retzloff says
How much does this make? Or how much sauce per serving?
alliecarte says
about 1/4 to 1/3 cup