Healthier Fettuccine Alfredo with Fiddleheads
Kris Mullen
If you have never had a fiddlehead, you haven’t lived! Unripened fiddlehead ferns taste similar to asparagus.
Ingredients
- Sauce1 garlic clove minced
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 1 16oz tub fat-free cottage cheese
- 1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
- 1 Tbs fat-free cream cheese
- 1/4 cup Parmesan or Asiago cheese
- 3 Tbs skim milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 Tbs freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- Pasta8 oz whole wheat fettuccine
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 red pepper
- 1/2 green pepper
- 1/2 yellow pepper
- 1/4 cup fiddleheads or asparagus
Directions
- Fill a bowl with cold water and place the fiddleheads inside. Allow them to soak for 5 minutes.
- In the meantime, fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Place cleaned fiddleheads inside and boil for 15 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water, set aside.
- In a food processor pulse cottage cheese until smooth.
- Fill the large pot with more water and bring to a boil. Cook 1-inch diameter of fettuccine pasta according to package directions; about 10 to 12 minutes.
- In the meantime, heat olive oil in a skillet and sauté onions until translucent. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add bell peppers and fiddleheads and continue to sauté for 5 minutes. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, sauté minced garlic in olive oil over medium heat for 1 minute. Pour in cottage cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, Parmesan, lemon juice, and milk; stir to combine. Sprinkle sauce with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and sugar. Lower heat and let simmer.
- Combine cooked fettuccine with sautéed vegetables and Alfredo sauce. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts
Calories 456
Calories from Fat 96 (21%)
(17%)Total Fat 11g
(12%)Saturated Fat 2g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 6g
(5%)Cholesterol 16mg
(32%)Sodium 759mg
(15%)Potassium 541mg
Total Carbohydrate 56g
(27%)Dietary Fiber 7g
Sugars 8g
Sugar Alcohols 0g
(65%)Protein 33g
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Nutrition facts are calculated by a food expert using nutritional values provided by the USDA for common products used as recipe ingredients. Actual nutritional values may differ depending on the amounts or products used and can be affected by cooking methods.
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The information presented here is for informational purposes only and was created by a team of US–registered dietitians and food experts. Consult your doctor, practitioner, and/or pharmacist for any health problem and before using any supplements, making dietary changes, or before making any changes in prescribed medications. Information expires December 2026.