Cheeseless Alfredo sauce?
My roomie wants to stay away from cheese as much as possible (his cardiologist has advised it) but doesn't mind smallish amounts of cream and butter. Does anybody know how to make an approximation of Alfredo sauce without any cheese in it? Is it even possible?
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4 Comments:
I made almond alfredo sauce on my blog, using almond butter. It wasn't the same as cheese alfredo, but it was thick and fatty, so it hit the right buttons. Cashew butter also works.
Search for "vegan alfredo sauce" and you'll get some dairy-free hits.
Here's a recipe (untested by myself) for pasta "alfreda" -
http://www.theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/index.php?RecipeID=109
KarynMC at 8:15PM on 02/22/08
Without the cheese, an Alfredo sauce is nothing more than a very rich bechamel sauce (or just cream and butter), which is tasty, but typically used as the base for something else. There's definitely no way to make an Alfredo sauce with "smallish amounts" of any of these ingredients.
Also, you should tell your friend that that cream and butter are basically the same nutritionally as cheese, minus the cheesy flavor. If his doctor told him to stay away from cheese, I think that butter and cream were probably implied as well. There's nothing wrong with a little cheese, butter, or cream once in a while (even if you're on a diet), as long as you don't go overboard.
ChristineB at 8:20PM on 02/22/08
this may sound weird, but those little laughing cow light wedges make a pretty decent addition to sauces, they replicate the taste of cream and cheese with very little fat or calories
jpmcd at 11:22PM on 02/22/08
Thanks for the suggestions, guys!
I made fettuccine Alfredo tonight for the first time in my life, and just cut back the cheese to 1/4 of what the recipe called for. I made my own noodles, as well, using my new stand mixer attachments.
IT WAS TOTALLY GREAT!!!!
I'm sold on making my own pasta now. And I'm not scared of Alfredo anymore. I'm one happy cook now, and my roomie is one happy eater!
minstrel at 11:51PM on 02/22/08