Alfredo Sauce used to be my favorite growing up but it often gave me a stomach-ache. I learned that was caused by a dairy intolerance and so I stopped eating it for many years. Now that I’ve healed my gut using the GAPS Protocol, I can freely enjoy dairy and alfredo sauce again!
Alfredo is a beautiful food because it is full of nourishing fats. It’s a food that gets a bad rap precisely because of this. Read more about the importance of fat here. Use alfredo sauce on whatever, like chicken, zoodles, pasta (I prefer Jovial as an ethically real food made option), or add extra stock and eat your alfredo as a nourishing, fat filled soup! Because it is so thick, you can also dip veggies or sourdough crackers in it.
I prefer a chunky sauce to a smooth sauce. However, if you want a pure smooth alfredo, you can add this sauce to a blender or use an immersion blender to really smooth it out.
Adding cheese to the sauce when it is too warm will cause it to curdle and ruin your dish. Keep the temperature low but not cool when you are ready to add the cheese. I made sure I could leave my finger in the sauce for a second or two before adding the cheese.
Below are two recipes to make alfredo sauce. If you’re following the GAPS Protocol, the bottom “Early Stage” recipe is for you and can be eaten from GAPS Stage 3 on as long as you are gently frying the mushrooms and onions in plenty of fat and do not burn. On the early stages of GAPS, top boiled chicken pieces with the alfredo sauce. On later stages, fry your pieces in fat! This recipe is a great way to get a lot of fat in your diet!
This recipe makes for a very cheesy and thick sauce. If you’d like a less dense sauce similar to more commercial canned varieties, simply add less cheese.
If you’re topping chicken, remember chicken cooks best high and quick so have your pan hot before adding your meat. I prefer small slices and pieces of chicken. Cook over high heat, turning every minute or so, until cooked through.
Traditional Alfredo Sauce Ingredients:
4 oz Mushrooms
½ Onions
3 Cloves of Garlic
2-3 tbsp of butter
½ tsp Salt, to taste. Depending on the saltiness of the cheese that you add, you may want to add less salt.
1 tbsp Gelatin
2 cups of Whole Cream
8 ounces of Freshly Grated Cheese (I used Havarit and Montery Jack but you can use any white cheese that you like)
Directions:
Roughly chop onion and slice mushrooms. Dice garlic.
Add at least 2 tbsp butter to a flat, large skillet. Once melted, add onions. Allow to cook for several minutes then add the mushrooms. If needed, add additional butter to give the mushrooms more fat to cook in.
In a small stock pot, add ¼ cup of filtered water and gelatin. Whisk mixture and allow to warm to blood temperature, about 100 degrees. Stir constantly to avoid burning.
Reduce mushroom and onion mixture to a simmer. Add in the cream and heat to blood temperature. If gelatin is heated before the cream is heated, remove from heat.
Once cream is heated, add gelatin mixture and mix until smooth. Add ½ tsp of salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. You can also use white pepper if you’d like to keep the sauce white. Remove the sauce from the heat.
Grate your cheese fresh. Pre-grated cheese has additives in it that are no good!
Add your cheese into the slightly cooled sauce mixture and allow to melt. Whisk fully to melt and blend the cheese. Takes about 4-5 minutes to fully melt the cheese.
Pour over and enjoy!
When reheating this sauce, bring it to temperature slowly.
Traditional Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 oz Mushrooms
- ½ Onions
- 3 Cloves of Garlic
- 3 tbsp of butter
- ½ tsp Salt, to taste. Depending on the saltiness of the cheese that you add, you may want to add less salt.
- 1 tbsp Gelatin
- 2 cups of Whole Cream
- 8 ounces of Freshly Grated Cheese (I used Havarit and Montery Jack but you can use any white cheese that you like)
Instructions
- Roughly chop onion and slice mushrooms. Dice garlic.
- Add at least 2 tbsp butter to a flat, large skillet. Once melted, add onions. Allow to cook for several minutes then add the mushrooms. If needed, add additional butter to give the mushrooms more fat to cook in.
- In a small stock pot, add ¼ cup of filtered water and gelatin. Whisk mixture and allow to warm to blood temperature, about 100 degrees. Stir constantly to avoid burning.
- Reduce mushroom and onion mixture to a simmer. Add in the cream and heat to blood temperature. If gelatin is heated before the cream is heated, remove from heat.
- Once cream is heated, add gelatin mixture and mix until smooth. Add ½ tsp of salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. You can also use white pepper if you’d like to keep the sauce white. Remove the sauce from the heat.
- Grate your cheese fresh. Pre-grated cheese has additives in it that are no good!
- Add your cheese into the slightly cooled sauce mixture and allow to melt. Whisk fully to melt and blend the cheese. Takes about 4-5 minutes to fully melt the cheese.
- Pour over and enjoy!
- When reheating this sauce, bring it to temperature slowly.
Early Stage Gaps Alfredo Sauce:
4 oz Mushrooms
½ Onion
3 Large Cloves of Garlic
16 oz. Sour Cream
Directions:
Roughly chop onion and slice mushrooms. Dice garlic.
Add at least 2 tbsp butter to a flat, large skillet. Once melted, add onions. Allow to cook for several minutes then add the mushrooms. If needed, add additional butter to give the mushrooms more fat to cook in.
Once onions and mushrooms, turn off the heat. Add in the sour cream. Return to very low heat to allow the sour cream to warm and melt.
Add over boiled chicken or eat on it’s own.
Early Stage GAPS Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 oz Mushrooms
- ½ Onion
- 3 Large Cloves of Garlic
- 16 oz. Sour Cream
Instructions
- Roughly chop onion and slice mushrooms. Dice garlic.
- Add at least 2 tbsp butter to a flat, large skillet. Once melted, add onions. Allow to cook for several minutes then add the mushrooms. If needed, add additional butter to give the mushrooms more fat to cook in.
- Once onions and mushrooms, turn off the heat. Add in the sour cream. Return to very low heat to allow the sour cream to warm and melt.
- Add over boiled chicken or eat on it’s own.
