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Easy Skinny Broccoli Alfredo Recipe

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An easy skinny broccoli alfredo recipe that your whole family will love.

This is one of those go-to dishes that we’ve been making for our family for 20 years.

Just like all of the other recipes I’ve shared, like our clam chowder recipe and my famous green stuff recipe, it’s not only delicious but so easy to make.

skinny broccoli alfredo on white plate with large graphic

I’m sharing this yummy pasta dish along with the rest of The Cooking Housewives.

Make sure you check out the other 12 Italian style recipes for ideas for your next family dinner.


I’ve been cooking most of my life but after I hurt my back in 1998, I had to hand the reigns over to the mister.

I loved cooking for my family. We’d sit down at the dinner table together every night to eat and talk about our day.

Giving up that daily routine was really tough for me. Luckily I have a great husband who stepped right up to the plate (pun intended).

Right after I had my first, and second, back surgery it was pretty evident that I wouldn’t be cooking for a while.

I wanted to help my husband out, who rarely cooked before my injury, so I set out to find some quick and easy recipes for him to try.

mincing garlic clove in garlic press

He made a lot of our old favorites but I found a few new ones for him to try, like this skinny broccoli alfredo recipe.

It seemed easy to make and it was perfect for a budding chef, so he gave it a shot.

We all loved it so he tweaked it a bit to suit our tastes and we’ve been making it ever since.

cutting fresh broccoli and adding it to steamer pot

One of the big tweaks he made was in the preparation of the broccoli.

The original recipe calls for the broccoli to be cooked in the same pan as the onions and garlic.

We prefer our broccoli to be cooked a little more so we always steam it separately and then add it in.

pouring steamed broccoli on to cooked noodles in pot

We also did a switcheroo and substituted vegetable broth for the chicken broth.

You could totally do chicken broth, and even add some chicken for that matter.

We like to go meatless with this though, so we stick with the veggie broth.

stirring saucepan on stove with garlic and onions

The hubs still cooks this so I defer to him and take orders. I’m usually manning the stove watching the onions and making sure the noodles are al dente.

That’s one kitchen talent he hasn’t been able to master yet so I still contribute, in my own small way.

We usually serve this with crusty bread and a nice green salad, with my fave homemade salad dressing.

It’s my kind of Italian dinner…easy and delish.

cheesy skinny broccoli alfredo on white plate with a blue checked napkin

Don’t forget to check out the rest of The Cooking Housewives. This month they’re cooking up their fave Italian style dishes. Bon appétit!

Yield: 6 servings

Skinny Broccoli Alfredo

Skinny Broccoli Alfredo

An easy to make skinny broccoli alfredo recipe that uses skim milk and parmesan cheese instead of cream.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 small onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 tsp olive oil, extra virgin
  • 16 oz broccoli (frozen), about 3 heads (fresh)
  • 1 lb Rigatoni pasta
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper, course
  • 2 cups milk, skim or 2%
  • 3 tbsp flour
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan

Instructions

  1. Dice onion and garlic
  2. In saucepan, cook onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until golden.
  3. Cut up fresh broccoli 
  4. In separate pot, steam broccoli until tender
  5. In another pot cook pasta, al dente
  6. Once onion and garlic mixture has cooked down, add 1 cup vegetable broth, salt and pepper.
  7. Bring onion/garlic mixture to boil
  8. Simmer until onions are translucent
  9. Add milk to mixture.
  10. Let milk heat to just before boiling. Add flour and whisk until it thickens (about 15 minutes).
  11. After mixture thickens, add parmesan cheese.
  12. Stir until mixed well.
  13. Drain pasta
  14. Add pasta and steamed broccoli to flour mixture
  15. Stir until broccoli and noodles are well coated.
  16. Serve hot!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6 servings

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 277Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 522mgCarbohydrates: 45gFiber: 5gSugar: 6gProtein: 13g

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collage with easy Italian dinners including skinny broccoli alfredo

10 Comments

  1. This has some of my very favorite ingredients! It looks so tasty.

  2. This sounds so good and I’m definitely making it for dinner very soon. I love pasta dishes and appreciate that the alfredo sauce is a skinny version. I make a similar dish with fettuccine and crab but the sauce uses less flour and no broth along with skim milk. I’m getting so many recipes to try from this collection!

    1. Thanks Paula! Ah, fettuccine with crab sounds amazing. This lighter sauce can probably be used for that too.

  3. This looks absolutely delicious! I even think that my husband could pull this off!

    1. It is so good, Jane! If my hubs can, I bet your could do it. 😉

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