Keto alfredo sauce with 4g net carbs is the best when made from scratch, it’s always creamy and rich flavored. Add it to your favorite fettuccine, chicken or shrimp dish for a tasty keto recipe!
It’s a Saturday night and you are thinking pasta! Yet, you just started keto and wonder what your options are. Then you realize you forgot the garnish!
Having a go to option for a homemade keto alfredo sauce is a must.
The store-bought options can’t compare to the real thing. They are processed jars of disappointment.
Luckily, making an keto alfredo sauce recipe is easier than you realize. Keep reading for the secrets!
Typically, cornstarch or flour is used. These are things people on the keto diet try to avoid.
However, cream cheese is the key here. It works very similar to tomato paste in recipes to help thicken sauces on keto and it doesn’t leave any flavor when used in small amounts.
Let’s dive in on how to use it.
How To Make Keto Alfredo Sauce
Check you have these ingredients first
- Parmesan Cheese
- Full Fat Cream Cheese
- Butter
- Fresh Parsley
- Garlic (minced or garlic cloves)
- Heavy Cream
Avoid mistakes with these quick tips
- Gather all ingredients before you begin cooking the sauce. If you stop to do something as simple as chop your parsley or grate the parmesan the sauce could burn at the bottom. So keep ingredients close by and ready to go.
- Not too hot, if you boil heavy cream it will curdle. Keep the heat to medium and if it begins to simmer drop the heat down. A full boil is entirely too hot.
- Fresh parmesan cheese, using anything packaged will have a coating that prevents sticking. Parmesan is a hard cheese which means it already doesn’t melt as well. The shelf parmesan cheese used for pizza is a big “no” as well.
- Stop it from separating, xanthan gum is key to keeping the sauce together when reheating. If you aren’t using flour or cornstarch you will need something.
Making the keto alfredo sauce recipe
- Start by melting butter in a medium hot skillet or pot.
- While butter is melting add a tablespoon of minced garlic or chop about 4-5 cloves of fresh garlic.
- Next, once you have sautéed the garlic lower the heat and add in the cream cheese and parmesan cheese.
- Then, continue cooking until the cream cheese and parmesan cheese have formed into a melted ball of cheese. While you stir, make sure the parmesan has melted into the cream cheese. This will take about 5 minutes, the cream cheese will melt first since it’s a soft cheese. See notes above.
- Now, slowly pour in the heavy cream a little at a time while mixing. You will see the cheese start to thin out and the creaminess of the sauce will start to form. Make sure the heat is still medium low. It will not need to simmer, everything is already done at this point. Remove from heat.
- Next, lets’s season the keto alfredo sauce. Add in freshly chopped parsley. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Finally, add a touch of freshly grated nutmeg to taste. If you only have ground that is fine as well. See notes on how to add xanthan gum in the recipe card below.
This is the best way to store leftovers from the recipe
The recipe for this Keto Alfredo sauce is fresh. This means it won’t last forever. I recommend you do not freeze it. Certain dairy does not freeze well and heavy cream is one.
Place the alfredo sauce in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. For reheating, see my notes on Nathan gum below. This sauce should reheat perfectly without any seperation.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is classic alfredo sauce keto friendly?
Traditionally, made from scratch alfredo sauce using milk and flour. Things things are typically avoided on a keto diet unless you’re doing dirty keto. However, this keto alfredo sauce recipe doesn’t use either and comes out to less than 1g net carbs per serving.
Is Olive Garden alfredo sauce keto?
A large serving of Alfredo sauce at Olive Garden* is about 11g net carbs per serving. Technically that makes it keto friendly staying in the 20-50g net carb daily range.
What are the best noodles for keto pasta?
- Zucchini Noodles (Zoodles)
- Spaghetti Squash
- Palmini
- Liviva
- Miracle Noodles
How many carbs in keto alfredo sauce?
In this recipe is only 4g net carbs per serving. This will vary greatly with a store-bought alfredo sauce. Making it from home is always a safer option.
Why did my sauce separate?
In the recipe I strongly suggest using a stabilizer. Beginner cooks time and time again don’t realize little things like this make a difference. I was once that person as well. In the notes I explain how and why to use xanthan gum in this recipe if you don’t use cornstarch or flour. Xanthan gum doesn’t add any flavor but it does stabilize the recipe if you plan to reheat the leftovers.
What can I use this alfredo sauce with?
- Fettuccine Alfredo
- Keto Chicken Alfredo
- Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
- Keto Shrimp Alfredo
- Sausage & Cabbage Alfredo
- Keto Chicken Alfredo Casserole
Keto Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 ounce cream cheese
- 5 ounces Pamesan Cheese
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum (see notes below)
- nutmeg to taste
Instructions
- Set pan to medium high heat
- Add butter then minced garlic. Once garlic has browned lower the heat to medium low and add in cream cheese and parmesan cheese
- Continue to stir cream cheese and parmesan until they have both melted evenly. The cream cheese will melt quickly but the parmesan will take longer. It will look like a thick pool of cheese.
- Once melted slowly pour in heavy cream while stirring while pouring and making sure it's coming together with the cheese. The thick pool will begin to thin out and resemble an actual sauce.
- Remove from heat, add in chopped parsley. In a small bowl to the side add in salt, black pepper and xanthan gum. Mix them together. With the bowl in one hand and a whisk in the other pour in the seasoning and quickly whisk it in. Whisk for about 5 seconds. See notes below.
- Lastly, taste for salt and pepper. Grate fresh nutmeg to taste or slowly add in ground nutmeg until desired flavor is reached.