Alfredo Sauce with Cream Cheese
Easy, cream cheese based Alfredo with a lemon twist. Will be your go-to Alfredo sauce! Makes approximately 6, entree-sized servings. Freezable and makes excellent leftovers! Try this sauce on pasta, veggies, or as a dip for bread. Vegetarian.
Servings 6 servings
Calories 501kcal
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon Black pepper or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt or to taste
- 8 ounces cream cheese, cubed
- 1/2 cup Parmesan or Italian cheese blend, shredded shelf stable cheeses not recommended
- 2 cups milk
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges *do not add if freezing
- 16 ounces pasta of choice (Fettuccine, Penne, Cavatappi, etc.)
Instructions
- Boil water for pasta and cook according to package directions. Meanwhile, gather ingredients prepare sauce as pasta cooks.
- Melt butter in a large, deep sided skillet or pan on medium heat. Add minced garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Heat through for 1 minute, or until fragrant.
- Add in the cubed cream cheese, Parmesan or other cheeses and stir until mostly melted.
- Add the milk and whisk continuously until smooth, approximately 3-5 minutes.
- Turn heat to low and simmer sauce while pasta cooks, stirring occasionally. If sauce is too thick, add a little milk until thinned as desired. Or, if necessary, let simmer to thicken if sauce is too thin---it should coat a spoon upon finish.
- Serve over cooked pasta with a drizzle of lemon juice*, salt and pepper, if desired.*Lemon needs to be added just before serving. If putting sauce up to freeze, do not add lemon.
For Leftovers:
- Heat leftover sauce with a little milk on the stovetop until warmed through. Leftover sauce can be kept refrigerated for 4 days.
Notes
To freeze sauce (without pasta):
Simply add to a freezer safe container (I recommend glass) and leave 1/2 inch headspace. Freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat on low heat on stove top until completely melted (approximately 5-7 minutes). If needed, add a little milk to thin. Plate with pasta and add a dash of fresh lemon and a grind of pepper to taste.
*Calories calculated with regular pasta, regular milk and cream cheese.
Adapted from http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/fettuccine-alfredo-57628.aspx
Nutrition
Calories: 501kcal