Broccoli & Mushroom Alfredo Pasta
No heavy cream. The alfredo sauce here comes from cream cheese and Parmesan melted into vegetable broth with a hit of thyme.
Whole wheat spaghetti, sautéed mushrooms, and broccoli. 550 calories and 28 grams of protein in 15 minutes.
Ingredients
- spaghetti, whole wheat 2 ounces
- garlic 1 clove
- onion 0.25
- broccoli florets, frozen 5.5 ounces
- mushrooms 3 ounces
- olive oil 0.5 tablespoon
- water 0.5 cup
- vegetable bouillon 0.5 cube
- cream cheese, reduced fat 3 tablespoons
- Parmesan cheese 1 ounce
- thyme, dried 0.5 teaspoon
Method
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Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package.
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Finely chop the garlic and slice the onion, broccoli florets, and mushrooms.
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Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté until soft.
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Add the broccoli florets and mushrooms and cook for 5-7 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.
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Add the water, bouillon cube, cream cheese, and thyme to the pan. Let it simmer until it thickens into a creamy sauce, then stir in the cheese until it is fully incorporated into the sauce and turn off the heat.
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Mix the pasta with the sauce and vegetables.
Give the mushrooms their full time in dry heat before adding liquid to the pan. Research found that boiling mushrooms caused roughly 74% loss of ergothioneine, a natural antioxidant compound, because it leaches into cooking water. The dry sauté preserves most of it, and since you reduce the sauce rather than drain it, whatever does dissolve stays in the meal.
Behind this recipe
Is frozen broccoli as nutritious as fresh?
For most nutrients, yes. Frozen broccoli retains its vitamins, minerals, and fiber through the freezing process. The one exception is sulforaphane. Frozen broccoli is blanched before packaging, which destroys the enzyme (myrosinase) needed to produce it. A pinch of mustard powder sprinkled on after cooking can supply that enzyme from an outside source.
Can I use regular pasta instead of whole wheat?
Yes. Regular spaghetti works and cooks the same way. Whole wheat adds roughly 3 to 4 extra grams of fiber per serving and brings a slightly earthier grain flavor that holds up well against the Parmesan. The total macros shift slightly but the recipe works with either.
What makes this alfredo lighter than traditional alfredo?
Traditional alfredo relies on heavy cream and butter. This version gets its texture from reduced-fat cream cheese melted into vegetable broth with Parmesan stirred in at the end. The result is 26 grams of fat per serving instead of the 40 to 50 grams typical in cream-based alfredo.
