This is a simple yet flavorful Skinny Fettuccine Pesto Alfredo recipe that is lightened up with cashew milk, but it is still just as creamy and delicious! The cashew milk adds another depth of nutty, buttery flavor. You would never know this recipe is a low calorie alternative!

Hiiiii! It’s Thursday! And this weekend is Easter so naturally, it already feels like the weekend! YAYYY!

I’m sure we are all getting ready to boil more eggs than we know what to do with. I am actually having my family over for Easter this year! I am super excited to have them and hope I can pull it off. Believe it or not, I haven’t really cooked Easter dinner for a full on group yet. This morning I started nailing out different to do lists that I’ve got to get done over the next few days.

I’m most excited about my ‘backyard’ to do list. We recently built some herb garden planters and I went and got a few more batches of flowers to plant around. We also took some really fun photos at the nursery, so stay tuned for those! This week I am on a hunt for some fun lawn games to put out as well. I am thinking giant jenga and corn hole?! If you have any other great outdoor family games, let me know!

Before we go full on Easter mode for the next few days, I wanted to share a new healthier pasta recipe for skinny fettuccine pesto alfredo with you! If you didn’t know, Jared and I started working out at a new gym like 5-6 times a week! Which was a total flip-flop for us because we used to work out very little!

This skinny fettuccine pesto Alfredo is one of my favorite healthy weeknight dinners! I recently tried this new pasta called ‘Banza’ which is entirely made from chickpeas and it didn’t disappoint. There is like 3 times more protein and way less carbs than regular pasta. That healthy pasta paired with this skinny pesto Alfredo sauce is a mad match in heaven! A lot of the times, I get asked, can I use milk instead of heavy cream in Alfredo sauce? Well, most Alfredo sauces are made with copious amounts of butter and heavy cream. Don’t get me wrong now, I really love the real thing. I can never turn down a rich and creamy sauce, but on regular weeknights it isn’t our ‘standard’ go to.

Hello, Cashew Milk!

The skinny sauce version is still just as thick, creamy, and flavorful! I swapped out butter and cream for veggie broth and cashew milk! The veggie broth keeps the sauce very savory and flavorful, and the cashew milk thickens everything up! Be sure to use an unflavored/unsweetened cashew milk for this!

Make Sure to Salt Your Pasta Water

Another way to make this skinny fettuccine super flavorful is to liberally salt your pasta water. I say 3 Tablespoons of salt for a large stockpot, but your pot could be larger than mine, so you want to make sure you are seasoning your water enough. A good way to know you have salted your water enough – taste it! It should taste just as salty as the ocean!

And Save the Pasta Water, Too!

Instead of draining your pasta, remove it with a slotted spoon and place in right in the same saute pan with the sauce. Mix it all together for about a minute so that the sauce evenly coats each strand of pasta. And if the sauce thickens up too much, no worries! This is where the pasta water comes in to save the day. Add a few tablespoons of the pasta water to the sauce to loosen it up to the consistency you want. Perfect ‘skinny’ fettuccine pesto alfredo every time!

The whole sauce should come together in less than 10 minutes! I hate giving you guys weeknight dinner recipes that take forever, so believe me when I tell you that you’ll be eating dinner in less than 30 minutes with this meal. Weeknight time is so valuable and making dinner shouldn’t take up all of the time!

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday weekend and I’ll be back on Sunday for The Sunday Slate!

Skinny Fettuccine Pesto Alfredo

Recipe By Elizabeth Van Lierde

Servings:

ingredients

8 oz 1 Standard box Banza Spaghetti Chickpea Pasta
3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Garlic Cloves minced
3 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
1 cup of Vegetable Broth
1 cup Cashew Milk unflavored & unsweetened
3 Tablespoons Pesto optional
1 cup Grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

instructions

Bring a large stock or regular pot of salted water (3 Tablespoons of salt or so) to a rolling boil.
While water is boiling for noodles, prepare your sauce. When water comes up to a boil, add pasta and cook for 8-9 minutes, or according to your package directions.
In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. After about 30 seconds, add in garlic cloves and cook for an additional 30 seconds.
Stir in flour and cook for 60 seconds, stirring constantly. Mixture will be clumped together.
Add in vegetable broth and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until mixture has thickened. Be sure to whisk veggie broth and flour mixture continuously so sauce smooths out. Whisk in cashew milk to broth mixture for 1-2 minutes.
At this point, stir in pesto, if desired! Add in Parmesan cheese and a few turns of freshly ground black pepper and stir for one final mix!
Reserve pasta water and drain noodles with a slotted spoon! Add pasta into sauce and mix well.
If sauce begins to thicken, add in a few tablespoons of pasta water at a time!
Garnish with more Parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves!