Brown Butter Sweet Potato Alfredo

Brown butter sweet potato alfredo is a great way to still get the creaminess of the classic alfredo sauce but with a lighter and more flavorful sauce approach. The brown butter gives it a nice, nutty flavor without overpowering the dish.

I finally found a new tv series to get hooked on. Besides my undying love for Friday Night Lights and Scandal (which this whole winter hiatus is not cool right now!), I have fallen in love with Nashville. It’s weird seeing Connie Britton/Tami Taylor as Rayna on Nashville but man, I love that lady (can I please have her hair?). She is always so dazzling.

Nashville. I can’t stop watching it. I wish it were [free] streaming on Amazon Prime or Netflix but it’s not so I’ve been getting the discs in the mail from Netflix which is still great but I’m always left in suspense disc after disc waiting for the next disc to arrive! I’m on disc 2 and there is so much drama! I love it! I also watched the pilot episode of One Tree Hill and I must say, I can see myself getting hooked on that, too.

I need to give Downton Abbey a second shot. I watched the first couple episodes and I just couldn’t get into it. They were so boring and dragged on and on. I know it’s for character and plot development but I couldn’t force myself to sit through it. I really want to, though, because I want to feel the excitement that everyone else is feeling. It is free streaming on Amazon Prime so there’s no reason for me not to watch, right? Oh, and I just added Homeland to my DVD Queue – I hear that show is addicting too.

This pasta was made ages ago. Like 3 months ago. Oops. I’ve held out on you for too long and I hope you enjoy it nonetheless! I think this is a fairly lightened up dish to the alternative alfredo cream sauce considering that the creaminess of this pasta comes from the sweet potato and roux. I decided to amp up the flavor by adding brown butter – you can’t ever go wrong with that and it’s only 2 tablespoons so it’s not like you’re killing your entire days’ worth of calories over this dish – that is, unless, you eat like 7 bowls of this, but we all know you won’t do that, right?

In case you aren’t sure what brown butter really is, it’s really butter that has been browned in a skillet to create a nutty and unbelievable flavor! Just don’t burn it!

**How to brown butter: place butter in a skillet on medium heat. Immediately begin whisking it. It’ll start to foam and within 2-3 minutes, brown bits will start showing up at the bottom. At this point in time, I usually will take the skillet off the heat and start swirling the butter around in the pan in the air so it doesn’t quickly go from brown to burned. Once you see a nice brown color in the butter (and start smelling the amazingness), you’ve achieved brown butter awesomeness!

Brown Butter Sweet Potato Alfredo

Brown butter sweet potato alfredo is a great way to still get the creaminess of the classic alfredo sauce but with a lighter and more flavorful sauce approach!

4.80 from 5 votes

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Author: Julie Chiou

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Ingredients 

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• ▢ 2 tablespoon (28 g) unsalted butter, browned
• ▢ 1 medium sweet potato, cubed into 2-inch cubes
• ▢ 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 cup (237 ml) whole milk
• ▢ 1 ¾ cup (414 ml) water, divided
• ▢ 1 cup (100 g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• ▢ 1 pound (454 g) dried spaghetti pasta, cooked according to the directions on the box
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, more or less depending on heat preference
• ▢ Salt and pepper, to taste

The default measuring system for this website is US Customary. Unit conversions are provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. While we strive to provide accurate unit conversions, please be aware that there may be some discrepancies.

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Instructions

• Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the cubed sweet potatoes and cook until fork tender. Carefully place sweet potatoes into a blender and puree until smooth.
• In a large pot over medium heat, add the brown butter and whisk together with flour for 30 seconds. Turn the heat up to medium-high and carefully add the milk and continue whisking until mixture thickens, about 3-4 minutes. At this time, add the pureed sweet potatoes and 1 1/2 cup of water. Let the mixture simmer for 5-7 minutes until thickened then add the Parmesan cheese, cayenne, salt, pepper, and turn off the heat. If the mixture seems too thick, you can add the remaining 1/4 cup of water to thin it out.
• Add the cooked pasta to the pot and toss until well-coated.

Recipe Notes

How to brown butter: place butter in a skillet on medium heat. Immediately begin whisking it. It'll start to foam and within 2-3 minutes, brown bits will start showing up at the bottom. At this point in time, I usually will take the skillet off the heat and start swirling the butter around in the pan in the air so it doesn't quickly go from brown to burned. Once you see a nice brown color in the butter (and start smelling the amazingness), you've achieved brown butter awesomeness!

NUTRITION FACTS

Serving: 0.25 of recipe | Calories: 676 kcal | Carbohydrates: 31 g | Protein: 38 g | Fat: 40 g | Fiber: 3 g | Sugar: 5 g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator based on the actual ingredients you used in the recipe.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pasta