So, this isn’t really alfredo, it’s more of a (not) alfredo recipe… I’ve made too many alterations for it to truly be alfredo, but it’s still creamy and delicious!
I mean, I love alfredo with all of its buttery, creamy, parmesan-y goodness, but I also know that I can’t afford to eat a 2,000 calorie meal. So, I made a few switches to lighten it up a smidge and added some broccoli florets to get in some green. If you like to live dangerously, go all out and use cream in place of the milk.
This pasta comes together super quick and uses staple ingredients so it’s a nice standby for those nights that you just really don’t feel like cooking. If you want to up the protein, you can quickly grill up some chicken breast on a countertop grill, slice it up, and then serve it on top. This is a super versatile recipe!
Oh, also, this recipe is super easy to cut in half… I just wanted to use the entire package of pasta and broccoli so I made a large batch.
Broccoli Fettuccine Alfredo
Broccoli Fettuccine Alfredo
Servings 8Ingredients
- 16 oz. dry fettuccine ($1.63)
- 16 oz. frozen broccoli florets ($1.29)
- 1 clove garlic ($0.08)
- 4 Tbsp butter ($0.45)
- 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.06)
- 3 cups milk ($0.94)
- 1 cup grated parmesan ($0.96)
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg ($0.02)
- to taste salt & pepper ($0.05)
Instructions
- Begin to boil a large pot of water to cook the pasta. When it reaches a full boil, add the pasta and cook for 7-10 minutes or until al dente. When the pasta is finished cooking, reserve 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water and then drain the pasta in a colander.
- While the pasta is cooking, thaw the broccoli in the microwave and begin to make the parmesan sauce. Mince the garlic and cook it over medium heat in a medium sauce pot with the butter until the garlic has softened slightly (3-5 minutes). Add the flour, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes more. This is the “roux” that will thicken the sauce.
- Whisk in the milk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk the milk mixture until it comes up to a light simmer. As soon as it reaches a simmer it will thicken and should be able to coat a wooden spoon (see photos below). Turn the heat off and whisk in the parmesan cheese. Add freshly cracked black pepper, nutmeg, and salt to taste. Make the sauce slightly saltier than you’d prefer if you were eating the sauce alone. Once it’s spread out over the pasta and broccoli it will taste more mild.
- Return the cooked pasta to the large pot that it was boiled in (with the burner turned off). Add the reserved pasta cooking water and toss the pasta to loosen it up. Add the thawed broccoli and then pour the parmesan sauce over top. Stir to coat everything in the sauce and then serve!
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Nutrition
Step By Step Photos
Begin by boiling the water for the pasta. Once it reaches a full boil, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve about a 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water before draining it in a colander.
Meanwhile, cook the minced garlic and butter in a medium pot over medium heat until the garlic is softened (3-5 minutes).
Stir in the flour and continue to cook and stir this mixture for 2-3 minutes. It’s important to cook this for a few minutes to slightly toast the flour. This prevents a “floury” flavor in the final sauce. Make sure to continually stir while it’s cooking.
Next, whisk in the milk and increase the heat slightly (to medium-high). Allow the sauce to come up to a light simmer, whisking occasionally.
When the liquid reaches a simmer, the starch granules in the flour will swell and thicken the sauce. It should be thick enough to coat a wooden spoon as shown.
Turn the heat off as soon as it has thickened. Add the parmesan cheese and whisk until it melts in.
The cheese will further thicken the sauce. It should now coat a wooden spoon even more.
Season the sauce with salt, freshly cracked pepper, and a pinch (1/8th tsp or so) of nutmeg. Make the sauce slightly saltier than you’d think because once it’s spread out over the pasta and broccoli, it will taste more mild.
Add the drained pasta back to the large pot that it was boiled in. Make sure the burner is turned off. Add the reserved pasta water and toss to loosen the pasta. Add the broccoli (thawed), and pour the parmesan sauce over top.
Toss the pasta and broccoli in the sauce until everything is well coated. Serve warm!
Easy-peasy! Ooh, peas would be nice in this instead of broccoli, too!
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loved it very good :)
Hi! My friends and I made this recipe and it came out great! So thank you :)
We also tripled the recipe which seemed like a good idea but right now, we can’t get up.
Highly recommend this recipe!
can the left overs be put in a freezer?
I made this today and it was excellent. I’ve always been a fan of alfredo sauce, but I never wanted to use cream to make it because of the high fat content, so I really appreciate this recipe. Because I’m a garlic lover, I added 6 cloves of garlic instead of one to the recipe, and it still came out lovely! Thanks for a great recipe Beth!
This was so good! I used shallots instead of garlic because that is what I had and I might have been a little generous on the nutmeg, but my two non-vegetarian family members loved it as well.
I had 2 hungry kids screaming at my feet, still managed to pull off this simple recipe, and best yet, the kids ate it up. I added some previously cooked chicken sausage and added 2 tablespoons of cream cheese to compensate for the addition and viola! Dinner was served in 15 short minutes! Thanks, Beth! Another keeper!
Amazing sauce! At first, I thought it was pretty bland, even after adding salt. But after waiting a little bit for it to thicken up, it was mind blowingly awesome.
I loved this recipe. 5 stars!!!
I used low fat milk and less butter and I calculated out how many calories this dish had per serving. I also added some chicken to mine. I divided it into 7 servings and each had about 290 calories. A perfect amount for a delicious dinner! Thanks so much!
This came out pretty good but there are a few things I probably could improve next time. The sauce came out too thick so the pasta was a little on the sticky side. I used half light cream and half milk, I think I will add more milk next time. Or maybe I screwed up the cooking process when making the roux. I used dried parmesan cheese instaed of fresh parmesan, but the cheese still had good flavor in the sauce.
This recipe was great. I have never tried broccoli in fettuccine alfredo but I loved it! Made me feel better about eating such a heavy pasta dish :P I used half heavy cream and half milk because I had some to use up but next time I’ll try it with just the milk to keep it a bit lighter. Thanks for another keeper :)
It turns out that this recipe is not just easy to halve, it’s easy to quarter :). I made it tonight and it was delicious. Thank you as always, Beth!
So I tried this tonight with almond milk and it worked fine. Just put a bit of corn starch in it to thicken it up a bit more. Also used fresh mushrooms when sautéing the garlic at the beginning. This came out delicious, used peas as well. Creamy and didn’t feel too heavy. Great recipe, thank you as always.
We had this tonight, and it was super yummy, and super easy. We’re big garlic eaters, so I used 3 cloves, and I used fresh grated parmesan cheese. I also had some leftover chicken breast that I cubed in at the end when I mixed in the broccoli. My almost 7 year old had 2 servings :)
I thought this was spot on! The sauce was delish and didn’t contain anything weird that comes in canned sauces. It also made soo much food! I think this recipe will feed my boyfriend and I at least twice. Plus I had left over sauce that I’ll be keeping for the week.
Beth, your recipes never disappoint! Thanks!
Beth, love this website, this is my go-to site for so many recipes! You’re doing a great job. Thank you.
So I’ve been dying for this for a while, but always feel guilty making it, so thank you for the *lighter* version. I made this last night and used Lactaid milk and it came out delicious!
I added mushrooms and tried out the nutmeg, which came out sweeter than we expected. My hubs and I are enjoy more savory meals than sweet, so we might skip that next time. But was great to try none the less.
Thank you Beth!