Easy, No-Heavy Cream, Cottage Cheese Alfredo Sauce Recipe

Are you looking for a simple, heavy cream-free recipe for real alfredo sauce? You are at the right place! This rich pasta sauce is made with butter, garlic, cottage cheese, and a ton of Parmesan cheese. For the ideal Italian evening, serve this less than 30-minute recipe, which only calls for a couple of basic ingredients, with freshly prepared pasta of your choice!

There’s little doubt that this recipe for homemade Alfredo sauce is the perfect choice for lunch today. It has a silky texture that is tempting, rich, and delicious. It takes only a few minutes to prepare and can improve even the most basic pasta dish.

Why You’ll Love This Alfredo Sauce

• Super easy & quick to make
• No heavy cream
• It’s buttery and rich with an irresistibly creamy texture.
• It tastes even better when cold!

Ingredients You Need

The essential ingredients needed to prepare this recipe for Classic Alfredo Sauce are listed below. As usual, the printed recipe card below has the whole list of ingredients.

• Pasta – Use any pasta of your choice. I used whole wheat pasta.
• Garlic: Fresh garlic is preferable, but if you want, you may use garlic powder instead.
• Cottage cheese: Once more, choose a high-quality brand of cream cheese. This will guarantee a creamy sauce. You can also use some similar types of cheese, like cream cheese and even Feta.
• Milk: Basically, you can use any milk, dairy or dairy-free. I used my own homemade oat milk (blending oats with water).
• Parmesan cheese: Using freshly shredded parmesan cheese instead of pre-shredded from the supermarket will get the BEST results.
• Butter/Oil – for sauteeing garlic.
• Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add ground oregano, if you desire.

How To Make Alfredo Sauce

Making homemade Alfredo sauce from scratch is simple and quick! It’ll take you 10 minutes to cook the pasta, and 5-10 minutes to make the sauce! It’s definitely worth it!

Step 1: Boil a salted pot of water to prepare your pasta. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. (mine was 7 minutes for middle soft, and 9 minutes for extra soft). When ready, leave aside.

Step 2: Blend the milk, grated parmesan, and cottage cheese in the food processor or a blender. Don’t worry if the sauce is too liquid, we’ll be adding cornstarch to thicken it later.

Step 3: Add the butter/oil and minced garlic to a large skillet or medium saucepan and place over low to medium heat. Sauté the garlic for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the cheese sauce you blended, and stir on the low heat, making sure it doesn’t burn.

Step 4: In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and cold water, and stir to break the thickness of cornstarch. Add that cornstarch mixture to the cheese sauce, and stir constantly until the sauce thickens. Add cooked pasta, and stir it all together again.

Step 5: Serve immediately or let it cool for a while. Enjoy!

Tips And Tricks

• Use fresh parmesan! Make sure you grate your Parmesan right before preparing the Alfredo sauce. Avoid the pre-grated ones from the stores.
• Don’t skip the cornstarch. When you blend the ingredients, the sauce will be extremely liquid, especially when heated. Adding cornstarch to it will help it get thicker and creamier.
• Don’t overheat. Keep the heat low and constant to avoid burning the butter or garlic and clumping the cheese.
• Use a whisk. Use a whisk and swirl the sauce often to prevent it from separating. This will prevent the scorching or separation of your Alfredo sauce.

Ideas & Variations

• Lemon: Add freshly squeezed lemon juice to the cream when making a lemon Alfredo sauce. Add the juice of half a lemon for a hint of lemon flavor. Add the juice of a full lemon for a very lemony Alfredo.
• Garlic Powder: If fresh garlic isn’t readily available, you may always substitute one teaspoon of powdered garlic.
• Cream Cheese: You can use cream cheese or even Feta as a good substitution for cottage cheese. It’ll all be blended with other ingredients, so don’t worry about its thickness.
• Green onion: I absolutely love adding chopped green onion to the alfredo sauce (in the end, not while preparing) – as a topping! It gives a fresh vibe to the sauce, and it’s especially delicious when the sauce is cooled.
• Oregano/Italian seasoning/Dried ground herbs/parsley