Out Of Heavy Cream? Use This Convenient Swap To Make Alfredo Sauce

When you're in search of a quick and easy meal, pasta with Alfredo sauce always hits the spot. Alfredo sauce is flavorful, silky smooth, and pairs well with a wide range of ingredients. You can toss in anything from some leftover chicken to greens like spinach and broccoli to add a bit more nutrition. (If you're looking for inspiration, we have several Alfredo recipes the whole family will love.) Made with heavy cream, butter, and cheese, it has so few ingredients that you may have everything on hand. However, if you happen to be out of heavy cream, don't fret — you can swap in regular dairy milk and still have a creamy, delicious sauce.

Since you're swapping out one of the main ingredients, though, you'll want to ensure you're sticking closely to the rest of the recipe you're following. In most cases, that means using Parmigiano Reggiano and real butter in the sauce for best results (and don't skimp on the latter — our copycat Olive Garden Alfredo sauce recipe incorporates a generous ¾ stick of it). You can use anything from skim to whole milk in your sauce, but be aware that the fat percentage does affect the flavor and texture a bit. The lower the milk's fat content, the more watery and thin your sauce will be. Luckily, there are a few tricks to thicken up your sauce if you only have low-fat milk available.

One of the easiest ways to thicken any sauce is simply to reduce it. So, when your Alfredo sauce isn't as thick as when you make it with heavy cream, you may just need to simmer it a bit longer and allow some of the water in the milk to evaporate. Alternatively, if you know your low fat milk will likely not yield a thick Alfredo sauce, consider starting things off by making a roux (a blend of butter and flour, heated until light brown). Whatever kind of milk you add to a roux, ​​you'll end up with a sauce so thick you'll never guess it wasn't made with heavy cream. The reduction or roux approaches don't require anything but a bit of extra time, so they're great if you have limited ingredients on hand.

For a quicker solution, incorporate an additional dash of dairy such as cream cheese (which is what we use for our 3-ingredient Alfredo sauce recipe). A small amount of a thickening agent can also do the trick. You don't want anything with too strong a flavor, as it'll change the overall flavor profile of your sauce. For a neutral option that's easy to incorporate, consider using cornstarch — it thickens mixtures more effectively than flour. However, to avoid clumps, you'll want to make a slurry with the cornstarch and some of the milk you're using prior to adding it into your sauce and watching it work it's magic.