Creamy, Lightened Up Sun-dried Tomato Fettuccine Alfredo smothered in a flavor bursting velvety sauce with a fraction of the calories, and on your table in 20 minutes! A delectable, customizable go-to dinner!
One of my favorite comfort foods in the world is creamy pasta. No vegetables, no chicken, no meat just pasta so I can shovel the trail of silky noodles into my mouth at lightening speed like my Million Dollar Mac and Cheese and Lightened up Fettuccine Alfredo.
Enter comfortlicious Lightened Up Sun-Dried Tomato Fettuccine Alfredo! Don’t get me wrong, you can totally add vegetables and chicken, shrimp, etc., there are a zillion variations to customize this pasta just the way you like it – that’s part of its charm – but the star is the luscious sauce – lightened up luscious sauce. The simple sauce is made with pantry friendly ingredients and is one of those dinners you can just throw together last minute but is so crave worthy you will be craving it for days, weeks months.
I was craving this creamy sun-dried tomato goodness so badly last week that I whipped it up on Saturday which was a bonus so Patrick could actually eat it fresh (as opposed to 99% of the time, I cook and photograph during the day so Patrick hardly ever gets straight-off-the-stove-food). But as the velvety pasta glided down his throat, my lived-in-Italy-for-2-years pasta critic couldn’t stop gushing its praises. And it took me less than 20 minutes. And its lightened up!
The base of the flavorful sauce is sauteed sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and a dash of red pepper flakes. The aroma alone will make you drool.
Sprinkle in some flour, whisk in some chicken broth and milk and the perfect rainbow of Italian spices, then stir in your freshly grated Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese…
And finally bathe your fettuccine in the creamy comforting goodness…
And prepare for your eyes to roll back in your head as you slurp the velvety noodles.
And prepare to crave this Lightened Up Sun-Dried Tomato Fettuccine Alfredo long after your last twirled forkful.
Hello comfortlicoius…
Looking for more easy Italian pasta recipes?
- Cheesy Bolognese Pasta Bake
- Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Chicken
- Million Dollar Baked Penne
- Baked Italian Meatballs (and Spaghetti)
- One Skillet Cheesy Meaty Penne
- Parmesan Meatballs and Orzo
- Spaghetti Bolognese
| Prep Time | 5 minutes |
| Cook Time | 12 minutes |
| Servings |
- 16 oz fettuccine noodles
- 2 tablespoons oil from sundried tomatoes in oil jar
- 1/2 cup sundried tomato halves , drained and finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/8-1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or more to taste
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups milk (I use lowfat)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp EACH dried basil, dried parsley, onion pwdr, salt
- 1/4 tsp EACH dried oregano, pepper
- 2 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese, cubed
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 1/3 cups shredded mozzarella
- freshly grated Parmesan
- fresh basil
Ingredients
Garnish (optional)
| Rate this recipe! |
- Cook fettuccine in salted water according to package directions. Strain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons sundried tomato oil over medium heat in a large pan. Add sundried tomatoes, garlic and red pepper flakes and saute for one minute. Sprinkle in flour and continue to cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Turn heat to low and stir in chicken broth. Whisk cornstarch with milk and add to pan along with tomato paste, basil, parsley, onion powder, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring sauce to a simmer and continue to cook and stir until sauce is thickened (but not overly thick), approximately 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low and stir in cream cheese until melted, followed by Parmesan cheese until melted. Keep heat on low until fettuccine is done cooking, then stir in mozzarella cheese until melted then fettuccine until evenly coated.
- Taste and season with additional salt, pepper and/or red pepper flakes to taste. Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan Cheese, and fresh basil if desired (optional).
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20 Minute Sun-dried Tomato Basil Shrimp Pasta
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Julie @ Julie's Eats & Treats says
Ahhh LOVE Sun Dried Tomatoes. Need this in my life stat!
Jen says
Thanks Julie! If you love Sun Dried Tomatoes then I think you will LOVE this!!
Dorothy Dunton says
Hi Jen! This sounds wonderful! Nagi introduced me to sun dried tomatoes a while ago and I’m hooked! 🙂
Jay @ IndustryEats says
Hi Jen!
Now this is something I can get into. I LOVE fettuccine. Add sundried tomatoes to it and I’m good to go. I also like the sauce in this recipe. I’ve still got some nice Parmesan left over from your Spinach Dip & French Bread recipe, so I may give this a go.
Thanks!
Jay
Jen says
Hi Jay! If you still have Parmesan left, then this is just begging for you to make it – I don’t think you will be disappointed 🙂
Susan says
Such a pretty dish!
Jen says
Thank you so much Susan! I hope you can try it soon 🙂
Teri Giese says
Hi Jen!! Have NOT had a chance to reply on your blog in ages! Get so many and having been on Pinterest a few months now, working on that too. Most bloggers do not even reply back anyway. You always do, and makes me more apt to try and give thanks for your recipes and work!! Coincidentally, went to the store with the hubs(I rarely do), and picked up some sun dried tomatoes.Sowill absolutely be making this recipe soon! Thanks again!
Jen says
Hi Teri, it is so good to hear from you and I totally understand recipe/pinterest overload! I am excited for you to try this recipe soon – it is super quick and easy, I hope you love it!
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says
Love all of the delicious ingredients — especially the sun dried tomatoes. I also love roasted grape tomatoes — the flavor becomes so intense!! This is one recipe I’m making this weekend.
Lisa @ The Cooking Bride says
Perfect timing! I have a jar of sun dried tomatoes in my cabinet and I was just thinking they needed to become pasta sauce.
Jen says
So happy to help you use up your sun-dried tomatoes 🙂 I hope you love this pasta! Thanks Lisa!
Lori says
This is my new favorite go to pasta! Its so creamy, the flavor is incredible and my whole family loves it! I often add spinach or whatever veggies I have on hand. I highly recommend this recipe!
Jen says
Thank you so much for the recommendation Lori and the ultimate compliment of being your new “go-to” pasta! I love that is customizable too!
Robin Garrett says
This was so good!!! Hubby was skeptical, but he devoured it. Thanks for a new go-to recipe,
Jen says
Awesome Robin! So happy it was delicious enough to beat his skepticism! Thank you!!
Rachel says
So what would happen if I used half & half instead of milk? Wondering perhaps if I needed to omit anything or add less because of it.
It looks super delicious though, and I have every intention of making it today! Thanks for posting it!
Jen says
Hi Rachel, half and half would be delicious! I would use just 1 teaspoon cornstarch instead of 1 tablespoon Hope that helps!