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Skinny Low-Fat Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
All of the flavor of Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo without all of the fat and calories! Lean grilled chicken on top of low-fat alfredo sauce tossed with fettuccine noodles.
This is the recipe you need if you love chicken fettuccine alfredo but not all of the calories and fat that comes with it! I worked for months on this recipe with many taste testers to get it just right. This is the creamiest, richest low-fat chicken fettuccine alfredo recipe!
My kids love chicken fettuccine alfredo but when I calculated the nutritional information, I was floored. I wondered if I could make some small tweaks that could make big differences in the fat and calories. I created so many variations and you can find all of the details in this Skinny Low-Fat Fettuccine Alfredo Recipe
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This Low-Fat Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo is made with grilled chicken with a skinny low-fat alfredo sauce made with a touch of butter, garlic, 1% milk, chicken broth, a touch of flour, and real parmesan cheese. No heavy cream needed to make a rich, creamy sauce!
The chicken broth adds a depth of flavor to the sauce while the flour helps to thicken it without the fat! Parmesan cheese is a game changer because you get “a lot of bang for your buck.” Since it is a sharp cheese, it packs the flavor punch.
How to make the Best Low-Fat Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo:
- Start by melting the butter in a saucepan or skillet. Add the minced garlic and cook for only 1 minute. Garlic can burn easily and become bitter so have the flour and chicken broth handy.
- Stir in the flour to make a paste. You don’t want this to burn easily so you will stir the flour and butter together for only about 5-10 seconds before adding the chicken broth.
- Use 1% or 2% milk. You can use whatever you have in the refrigerator. Heavy cream runs about 800+ calories and 86 grams of fat per one cup. If you compare that to the 2 grams of fat in 1% milk, you are saving a lot of fat and calories just by switching out the milk for the heavy cream.
- Use real parmesan cheese. You want the good stuff. I usually just buy the shredded parmesan cheese in the cheese section. Slowly add it to the sauce to avoid clumping.
- Grill the chicken until fully cooked and slice on the diagonal and serve on top of the alfredo sauce and fettuccine noodles.
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Skinny Low-Fat Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
Ingredients
Grilled Chicken:
- 2 to 3 Chicken Breasts
- Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
Low-Fat Alfredo Sauce:
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
- 1 to 2 Garlic Clove (minced)
- 2 Tablespoons Flour
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
- 1 cup 1% or 2% Milk
- 3/4 cup High-Quality Parmesan Cheese (grated or shaved)
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Pepper
- 8 to 9 ounces Fettuccine Noodles
Instructions
- Place chicken in a large Ziploc bag or place on a baking sheet. Pierce the chicken all over with a fork. Drizzle with oil, garlic salt, and pepper. Let marinate. If you have the time, let the chicken marinate for at least 30 minutes (4-8 hours is ideal).
- Preheat grill* to medium heat. Brush grill with oil to prevent sticking. Place chicken on the grill. Cook for approximately 5 - 6 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of chicken. The internal temperature of the chicken should reach 165 degrees. Remove chicken from grill and let rest for 5 minutes.
- In skillet, over medium heat, add butter and let it begin to melt. Stir in diced garlic and let simmer for 1 minute. Stir in flour and stir quickly to form a paste. Quickly stir in chicken broth and use whisk to remove any lumps.
- Stir in 1% milk. Let simmer for 6-8 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Turn heat to medium-low and add parmesan cheese (a little at a time, stirring after each addition). Add more salt and pepper, to taste. Remove from heat and let thicken.
- Meanwhile, place water in large pot and bring to boil. Generously salt boiling water. Add fettuccine and cook according to package instructions. Toss fettuccine with alfredo sauce and top with extra parmesan cheese, if so desired.
- Slice the grilled chicken on the diagonal and place on the fettuccine alfredo.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe is delicious and I can eat it with so much less guilt! Thank you MH!
LOVE THIS RECIPE
This recipe was easy and tasted great for a lighter option…however I don’t think the calories per portion are remotely correct, even if you’re following the suggested serving size of 4.
Obviously brands are different, but assuming you use the normal brands of all of the following: 3/4 cup of parmesan, 1 lb of chicken breast, 1 Tbsp butter, 1 cup of 1% milk, and 8 oz of fettucine you’re looking at an average total of 1900 calories for the whole meal, which works out to 475 calories+ per person for the suggested number of servings. Obviously you can make more substitutions by reducing the protein, but it’d have to be a really skimpy meal to come under 300 calories even when split 4 ways.
Hope this helps anyone looking to calorie count!
I’ve been looking for some lower fat recipes for tracking macros and this is PERFECT! We love to up the protein with tons of chicken. Definitely one of our new favorite go to recipes.
This was absolutely delicious, and definitely does not taste like it’s ” skinny “….haha!! I highly recommend spending the extra money on the Parmesan Cheese, I used Boars Head!!
Recipe was good but it’s definitely not 22 carbs. 2 oz of fettucini is 44 carbs. The calories and macros are all wrong
What’s the nutritional value of this?
Hi Hannah! I just added the nutritional information to the recipe card. I hope that helps!
This recipe is fantastic. I used the leftover sauce on my steamed broccoli and it was also very tasty. My husband loved it and he normally doesn’t eat creamed sauces.
Can this sauce be frozen and for how long?
The Food Network has a good article on freezing sauces and for how long. So yes, it can be. I can’t wait to make this sauce 😀 Thanks for giving a review.