Skinny Alfredo Sauce | Lite Cravings | WW Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What can I add to Alfredo sauce to thin it out? ›

Luckily, there's a simple fix that will have your creamy sauce back to its perfect, delicious self in no time. The key is to add a little bit of liquid. The most common thinner for any creamy sauce is milk, however, you can also use other liquids like water, broth, or cream.

Heartier herbs like thyme or oregano can be added in to simmer with the sauce. Add delicate herbs like parsley, basil, or chervil at the end to maintain their delicate, aromatic flavor. Quick tip: Swirl in a bit of leftover pesto to add another herbaceous twist to your Alfredo sauce.

Flours can be used to make a bit of a slurry and add to the sauce to make it thicker. 1 part flour to 2 parts liquid and then adding it to your sauce should thicken it nicely. Just make sure that when you make the slurry, there are no lumps in your mixture.

Once melted, pour in your jar of sauce. Pour the milk into the jar and give a good shake. Start with 1/4 cup of milk and if more is desired, add another 1/4 cup. Pour the jar into the pan, add in the spices and let simmer on low.

If you find that your sauce is too thick, this is where you can add some of the reserved pasta water, little dribbles at a time. If you over-water and the sauce becomes too thin, just let some of the liquid cook off and you'll see the sauce thicken up again. It's pretty resilient to fumbles at this stage.

Use Cornstarch

From there, add 1 to 2 teaspoons at a time. Start by whisking just 2 teaspoons of the slurry into the sauce, let it come to a boil, which will activate the starch, and then add more if needed.

Arrowroot. This powder comes from rhizomes of the Marantaceae family of tubers. It's a great natural substitute for those needing a gluten-free gravy thickener. As with using cornstarch or flour to thicken gravy, make a slurry with your arrowroot powder by mixing 2 to 3 tablespoons with an equal amount of water.

Milk, heavy cream, or sour cream.

You will get a creamier texture and a bolder flavor. If you want, you can also add some romano cheese to balance the nutty taste of the other dairy ingredients. Chicken broth: another way to improve a jar of Alfredo sauce and give it a rich flavor.

What flavors compliment Alfredo sauce? ›

Add basil, parsley, oregano, or rosemary to add life to the sauce. The first three herbs are classic for many Italian dishes, and rosemary is a common addition to creamy potato dishes, so adding them to a jarred Alfredo sauce makes sense.

Garnish– A squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley are both optional additions, but I like to finish this dish off with them for a little extra flavor and brightness! I also like to top the finished pasta with extra freshly grated Parmesan.

In the simplest terms possible, a roux is a mixture of equal parts flour and fat, cooked together over low to medium heat, to create a uniform thickening agent that's deployed in saucy recipes like this extra-creamy Lasagna Bolognese, Chicken-Andouille Gumbo, and béchamel-soaked Croque Monsieur.

Add starchy pasta water to thin the sauce, if needed. The starch in the water also helps the sauce coat the pasta instead of clumping up or pooling on the plate.

Add starchy pasta water to thin the sauce, if needed. The starch in the water also helps the sauce coat the pasta instead of clumping up or pooling on the plate. I use the pasta cooking water as the base of my alfredo sauce, as done in the recipe below. Pasta water, butter and Parmesan cheese form the sauce.

For a thinner sauce, add 1 tablespoon of milk or heavy cream. For a thicker, more creamy sauce, reduce the amount of heavy cream/milk used and add either sour cream or cream cheese 1 ounce at a time. To add spice, include red pepper flakes, white pepper or cayenne pepper. Top with fresh parsley just before serving.

Cornstarch: Make a slurry of half water, half cornstarch and whisk until smooth. Cornstarch is a powerful thickener, so start by whisking in no more than 1 tablespoon of the mixture per 2 cups of simmering sauce; stir and simmer for 2 minutes, check the thickness, and repeat with more slurry as needed.

The Fix Is Simple—Add Water Back.

While it may seem counterintuitive to add liquid to an oily sauce, whisking in more water replaces what was evaporated and helps re-suspend that fat, emulsifying your sauce once more. A generous splash of water is all it takes.