Nutritional Value Of Fettucine Alfredo

An epicurean delight, classic American-style fettuccine Alfredo is a rich pasta dish featuring flat egg noodles in a heavy garlic and cream sauce. Restaurateur Alfredo di Lileo supposedly designed a dish he named "Alfredo all'Augusteo" in 1915, which originally featured thin egg noodles, butter and Parmesan cheese, to stimulate the appetite of his pregnant wife. Later versions of the recipe, which became known as fettuccine Alfredo after its "inventor," included a tasty cream sauce. Because of the enormous amount of fat and calories in fettuccine Alfredo, it's probably best to enjoy this dish only occasionally.

Original

The original recipe for fettuccini Alfredo was a simple combination of egg noodles, unsalted butter and freshly-grated Parmesan cheese. One 199 g serving of original recipe fettuccine Alfredo made at home contains 920.5 calories, 461 of which are derived from fat. One serving has 82.7 g of carbohydrate and 32.7 g of protein. There are also 51.2 g total fat with 30.6 g saturated fat, 218 mg of cholesterol and 755.4 mg of sodium. Mayo Clinic advises limiting your saturated fat intake to no more than 22 g daily to reduce your risk of heart disease.

Classic American-Style

You are probably more familiar with the classic American-style recipe for fettuccine Alfredo, which consists of fettuccine egg noodles in a cream sauce made from butter, heavy cream, egg, crushed garlic and freshly-grated Parmesan cheese. One serving of classic homemade fettuccine Alfredo has 682 calories with 48 g total fat, 197 mg of cholesterol and 54.3 g of carbohydrate. Protein and sodium content in this recipe is lower than the original recipe, with 11.9 g of protein and 266 mg of sodium per serving.

Restaurant-Style

Fettuccine Alfredo served in restaurants tends to be higher in calories, fat and sodium than many homemade recipes. For example, one serving of fettuccine Alfredo from Romano's Macaroni Grill contains 940 calories, 33 g of saturated fat, 1 g trans fat, 73 g of carbohydrates and 39 g of protein. One serving also has a whopping 1,500 mg of sodium, your entire daily sodium requirement as recommended by the American Heart Association. Treat yourself to this dish on a special occasion and choose healthier pasta and vegetable dishes as your Italian restaurant fare.

Healthy Substitutions

Make a healthier lower-calorie, lower-fat version of fettuccine Alfredo at home, substituting several ingredients. Use whole-wheat fettuccine noodles instead of egg noodles. Reduce the butter from 1/2 cup to 1 tbs. and the Parmesan cheese from 2 cups to 3/4 cup. Whisk together plain Greek yogurt, cornstarch and low-fat, low-sodium chicken broth as a substitute for the heavy cream. One serving of this fettuccine Alfredo recipe has 366 calories, 10.4 g total fat, 27 mg of cholesterol, 47 g carbohydrates, 18 g protein and 745 mg of sodium.