Homemade Alfredo Sauce (Without Heavy Cream!)

A delicious homemade Alfredo sauce recipe without heavy cream! This sauce is everything Alfredo sauce should be: rich, creamy, super cheesy, full of flavor, and a cinch to make!

Making Alfredo sauce at home is so easy. Once you try this, you’ll never buy the jarred stuff again! And the best part is you don’t need to use heavy cream to make a luscious, creamy Alfredo. Why add the extra calories when it’s just as good without, right? Right. So let’s make it!

Disclaimer: this post may contain affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase any of the items linked in this post, I should earn a small commission. This creates no additional cost to you and helps support the work that goes into running The Fig Jar. Thank you! -Becky 

Ingredients for homemade Alfredo sauce without heavy cream

• Butter
• Flour
• Garlic
• Milk (affiliate link)
• Parmesan cheese
• Romano cheese (affiliate link)
• Dried Basil
• Dried Oregano (affiliate link)
• Salt and Pepper

As you can see, the ingredients for making Alfredo are pretty basic. Instead of the typical heavy cream-laden Alfredo sauce recipes you are likely to find, I just use regular milk in mine and I do not miss the cream one bit. It’s still very creamy and rich tasting, but I like knowing I saved a few grams of fat. These are all ingredients you can get in any large chain grocery store which I also love about this recipe. And not only are the ingredients super simple, but the process is also very, very simple.

How to make Alfredo sauce without heavy cream

Make the roux

As with most cream sauces, we start this alfredo by making a roux with flour and butter. What is a roux? It’s equal parts flour and melted fat that is used as a base to thicken sauces and soups. This, along with parmesan and romano cheese will help thicken the sauce yielding a drool-worthy alfredo sauce.

The butter gets melted first, then add the garlic and let that cook for just a minute. Then add the flour and cook again for another minute but whisk frequently. We let the flour cook like this for a minute to get rid of the raw flour taste. It’s a thing, I promise.

Add the milk

Pour in the milk slowly, whisking continuously to get rid of any lumps. Now the sauce needs to simmer over medium-low heat until it’s gently bubbling.

Add the parmesan, romano, basil, oregano, salt and pepper

Once the milk mixture is bubbling, it should start to thicken. Turn off the heat and whisk in the dried herbs, cheese, salt and pepper. You’re homemade Alfredo sauce is ready! Can you believe how easy that was?

Do I really need to use parmesan and romano cheese?

While you certainly don’t have to, if all you have is parmesan cheese and you can’t get to the store, you can just use double the amount of parmesan in place of the romano. However, I highly recommend using both cheeses. Romano adds a pungent cheesiness that really makes this sauce mouthwatering.

Where to use alfredo sauce

There is of course the classic– alfredo over some fettuccini pasta or linguini. I topped mine with some fresh basil (which I grew in my Aerogarden), extra parmesan and a little crushed red pepper flakes. Man, wa ares that good. But there’s lots of other places to use alfredo!

One of my favorites is on this pizza. Creamy alfredo, provolone, roasted eggplant and green olives make an amazing flavor combination you will not forget.

I also use this alfredo recipe in my butternut squash lasagna that I make everything Thanksgiving.

Tried this recipe?

If you’re looking for a recipe for alfredo sauce made without heavy cream, I hope you give this recipe a try! It’s so delicious and easy to make. If you try this recipe, please consider leaving a comment/rating below and let me know how it went. I’d love to hear from you! You can also connect with me on Instagram and Pinterest.

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Homemade Alfredo Sauce without Heavy Cream

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5 from 6 reviews

The only Alfredo sauce recipe you will ever need. Rich, creamy, so easy to make and it’s made with just milk instead of heavy cream.

• Author: Becky Schmieg
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 2 cups sauce 1x
• Category: Condiment, Sauce
• Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 cups 2 % milk
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
• 1/3 cup Romano cheese (grated)
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

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Instructions

1. In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter over medium low heat. Once melted, add the garlic and cook about 1 minute. Then add the flour and whisk constantly and cook about 1 more minute.
2. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly. Once all the liquid is added, increase heat just a touch and whisk occasionally while allowing to cook until gently simmering and bubbling around the edges of the pan.
3. Once bubbling and thickened, turn off the heat, add the herbs, salt, pepper and both cheese. Whisk to combine.
4. Enjoy!