How to make alfredo sauce without heavy cream or milk

No Cream Fettuccine Alfredo is an Italian pasta dish made in a real authentic way!

This pasta dish has silky smooth, rich, and buttery sauce. This sauce is an amalgamation of starchy pasta cooking water, grated parmesan cheese, and some butter. 

How to make alfredo sauce without heavy cream or milk

This easiest homemade alfredo recipe makes thick and creamy Alfredo sauce without any cream, cream cheese, or milk.

Yes, it has no cream, no milk, no added flavorings — because real Italian alfredo doesn’t contain any cream! And the great thing is that you won’t notice the absence of any of these in this sauce.

This simple and easy to make No Cream Fettuccine Alfredo is a recipe to keep in a repertoire as your essential weeknight recipes. 

It is ready in no time. Just pasta boiling time, plus 7-8 more minutes is all you need to make this super satisfying and super delicious no cream fettuccine alfredo.

This easy peasy yet super exotic pasta dish comes in handy when you have nothing in the refrigerator and you still want to enjoy a gourmet meal.

The great thing about this no cream alfredo pasta is that you can make it anytime, and this is the only recipe you will ever need to make your best tasting no cream fettuccine alfredo. Because this page has all the tips, tricks, and variations to make your best homemade Fettuccine Alfredo without any cream! 

Just try this No Cream Fettuccine Alfredo once and it will become your new favourite fettuccine Alfredo.

How to make alfredo sauce without heavy cream or milk

What is Fettuccine Alfredo?

Fettuccine Alfredo is an authentic Italian pasta dish. In Italian language, Fettuccine Alfredo is known as fettuccine with butter (fettuccine al burro). 

Here cooked fettuccine is tossed with starchy pasta cooking liquid, butter, and grated parmesan cheese. The emulsion of melted Parmigiano cheese (parmesan), butter, and salted pasta water create a velvety smooth and rich coating for the pasta.

The Italian pasta dish is also known as ‘Pasta al Urro e Parmigiano’, or ‘Alfredo di Lelio’.

What are the features of this No Cream Fettuccine Alfredo?

This No Cream Fettuccine Alfredo:

✓ is ready in under 15 minutes

✓ tastes rich, smooth, and gratifying

✓ has a silky glossy and velvety texture

✓ is straightforward and simple to make

✓ excellent for weeknight dinner and also great for parties

✓ can easily be customized

✓ is made with minimal ingredients

What is Alfredo Sauce made of?

Authentic Italian Alfredo sauce is made with just 4 ingredients — parmesan cheese, butter, pasta water, and salt. 

How do you make Alfredo sauce from scratch?

Making Alfredo sauce from scratch is fairly easy. It requires only 15 minutes of your time and some simple kitchen ingredients. 

To make Alfredo sauce, you toast the garlic in butter, then cook it with heavy cream, and parmesan cheese. Finally season it, and your Alfredo sauce is ready in no time. You can check out the easy Homemade Alfredo Sauce recipe.

How to make alfredo sauce without heavy cream or milk

What are the ingredients needed to make No Cream Fettuccine Alfredo?

This No Cream Fettuccine Alfredo is made with very simple and handy kitchen ingredients. 

These ingredients are:

  1. Fettuccine or any other long pasta

  2. Water

  3. Salt and pepper

  4. Parmesan Reggiano

  5. Butter

What can you add to Alfredo Pasta?

Alfredo pasta tastes good on its own. But you can surely add more textures and flavors to this fettuccine alfredo by adding any of these below:

Meat: Chicken, bacon, shrimp, or smoked sausages.

Veggies: Broccoli, mushrooms, Roasted Red Pepper, zucchini, cauliflower, asparagus, corn kernels, or green beans.

What seasoning goes well with Alfredo?

In a traditional Alfredo sauce, you only need some salt and freshly ground black pepper seasoning. You need nothing else. However, if you want to flavorize it more, then you can add garlic, garlic powder, lemon juice or lemon zest, parsley, basil, white pepper, or Italian seasonings.

How to make alfredo sauce without heavy cream or milk

What kind of wine goes with No Cream Fettuccine Alfredo?

To get the best Italian food experience, you can pair this No Cream Fettuccine Alfredo with Chardonnay or Pinot Noir.

How to make alfredo sauce without heavy cream or milk

What are the tips, tricks, and variations to make the best No Cream Fettuccine Alfredo?

  1. You can add chicken or any other meat to this no cream fettuccine alfredo.

  2. If you want to adjust the consistency of pasta, then add some reserved pasta water to it. This would help in getting the right type of pasta consistency. 

  3. If you want herby pasta, then add chopped parsley or basil leaves.

  4. You can also add some corn kernels or broccoli to make it veggie.

  5. I made an authentic recipe which only has salt and pepper seasoning, but you can also add some white peppercorns, red pepper flakes, or Italian seasonings.

  6. You can add some mushrooms to make Mushroom Fettuccine with alfredo Sauce. Or you can also add zucchini, or broccoli to this no cream fettuccine alfredo. 

  7. Instead of dried fettuccine, you can also use fresh pasta for making No Cream Fettuccine Alfredo.

  8. Fettuccine can be swapped with the same amount of spaghetti of your choice.

  9. Parmesan cheese is one of the essential ingredients in this No Cream Fettuccine Alfredo recipe. So make sure that you use the best quality parmesan, preferably real Parmigiano Reggiano. Using freshly grated aged or block parmesan cheese will ensure that your sauce would have a smooth and velvety texture. For this recipe, I would not suggest using pre-grated cheese.

  10. If your pasta thickens up a bit after cooling, then add you can thin it out by adding hot pasta cooking water (the water you used for boiling pasta).

  11. To make it creamier, you can also add some milk to this pasta .dish

  12. When making No Cream Fettuccine Alfredo, keep in mind to add less salt. This is because Parmesan cheese is pretty salty. You can surely add some salt along with freshly ground pepper if needed.

How to make alfredo sauce without heavy cream or milk


No Cream Fettuccine Alfredo (Step-by-step photo instructions)



No Cream Fettuccine Alfredo [Recipe]

How to make alfredo sauce without heavy cream or milk

No Cream Fettuccine Alfredo is an Italian pasta dish made in a real authentic way. This pasta dish has silky smooth, and buttery sauce.


★★★★✰
(Rating: 4.1 from 118 reviews)


Prep time 🕐Cook time 🕐Total time 🕐
02 mins 20 mins 22 mins
Category ☶Cuisine ♨Serves ☺
Italian Main 4
Nutrition Info ⊛Serving size ⊚
210 calories 1

INGREDIENTS

For No Cream Fettuccine Alfredo Pasta:
  • 12 ounces/340 grams fettuccine (or any other long pasta)
  • Salt
  • 8 cups of water
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (feel free to add more butter)
  • 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
For Serving:
  • Grated Parmesan cheese
  • Freshly ground black pepper


INSTRUCTIONS:

How to Cook No Cream Fettuccine Alfredo Pasta:
  1. Add water and salt to a large pot or pan and stir it well. Let it come to a boil.
  2. Add fettuccine to this salted boiling water, and cook until al dente or cook the fettuccine according to package directions. Keep stirring occasionally.
  3. Once the pasta is cooked, drain, reserving about 2 cups of pasta cooking liquid.
  4. Add 1 cup hot pasta cooking liquid to a skillet. Now add butter to it and whisk well. Simmer until it boils.
  5. Gradually add grated parmesan cheese, whisking constantly, and let it completely melt.
  6. Once the cheese is incorporated well, add the cooked pasta and toss well to combine. At this point, add more pasta cooking liquid as required. The idea is that the sauce should coat noodles entirely.
  7. Season with some black pepper and toss again.
  8. Divide pasta into 4 serving dishes. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and ground black pepper.
  9. Pair No Cream Fettuccine Alfredo with a glass of white/red wine, and your gourmet dinner is ready.


WATCH RECIPE VIDEO: Click the play button and video will load ...


NOTES:

  1. If you want to adjust the consistency of pasta, then add some reserved pasta water to it. This would help in getting the right type of pasta consistency.
  2. If you want herby pasta, then add chopped parsley or basil leaves.
  3. You can also add some corn kernels or broccoli to make it veggie.
  4. I made an authentic recipe which only has salt and pepper seasoning, but you can also add some white peppercorns, red pepper flakes, or Italian seasonings.
  5. You can add some mushrooms to make Mushroom Fettuccine with alfredo Sauce. Or you can also add zucchini, or broccoli to this no cream fettuccine alfredo.
  6. Instead of dried fettuccine, you can also use fresh pasta for making No Cream Fettuccine Alfredo.
  7. Fettuccine can be swapped with the same amount of spaghetti of your choice.
  8. Parmesan cheese is one of the essential ingredients in this No Cream Fettuccine Alfredo recipe. So make sure that you use the best quality parmesan, preferably real Parmigiano Reggiano. Using freshly grated aged or block parmesan cheese will ensure that your sauce would have a smooth and velvety texture. For this recipe, I would not suggest using pre-grated cheese.

• • • • • • • • • •

What can you substitute for milk in Alfredo?

What can you substitute for milk in Alfredo sauce? For this recipe, I've used my favorite combination of dairy free milks: cashew cream and canned coconut milk. Normally I find the coconut milk to sweet, and the cashew cream a little nutty, but paired together, they mask each others non-dairy flavor.

What can I use instead of heavy cream for alfredo sauce?

The two best substitutes for heavy cream in alfredo sauce are: Milk + Flour + Butter: Whisk together 1 cup of whole milk (make sure it's COLD), 2 tablespoons of flour, and 2-3 tablespoons of melted butter (cooled). Whisk until smooth. Once you heat this mixture it will begin to thicken like heavy cream.

How do you make alfredo sauce thicker without milk?

To make a cornstarch slurry, whisk together equal parts of cornstarch and water—about two tablespoons of each; from there, add a teaspoon or two at a time. Start by whisking just two teaspoons of the slurry into the sauce, let it come to a boil, which will activate the starch, and then add more if needed.

How can I thicken alfredo sauce without whipping cream?

Mix together a little cornstarch in a small bowl with some cold water (or other liquid) until the mixture is smooth to form a slurry. Slowly, whisk the slurry into the simmering sauce in a pan over medium to medium-high heat. Whisk the slurry slowly into the hot sauce until you get the desired thickness.