Roy’s Light 4-Cheese Marinara Sauce

4 servings       1 Better Balance Bites/Blue Points

Calories 74     Fat 2.5g   Sat. Fat 1.2g   Protein 5.6g   Carbs 7.8g   Fiber 0.9g   Sugars 2.3g

Ingredients

· Cooking spray

· 1/2 medium onion, diced

· 1 Tbsp minced garlic

· 1/2 tsp dried oregano

· 1/2 tsp dried basil

· 2 cups crushed tomatoes

· 3/4 cup Classico Light Alfredo Sauce (see notes)

· 1/3 cup fat-free cottage cheese, blended smooth, OR fat-free ricotta (see notes)

· 1/4 cup (28g) shredded fat-free mozzarella cheese (see notes)

· 2 Tbsp (14g) shredded fat-free cheddar (see notes)

· 2 Tbsp (10g) grated Parmesan cheese

· salt, to taste

· ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and set over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, add the onion and sauté until soft and translucent, 3-4 minutes. Stir in the garlic, oregano, and basil. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

2. Pour in crushed tomatoes and alfredo sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Turn off the heat and immediately add the cottage cheese/ricotta, mozzarella, cheddar, and parmesan. and stir well until melted. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. Serve as desired.

Notes

· I find Classico’s Alfredo sauces to be the lowest in bites/points. If you can’t find the light version, the regular is fine but will bump up the bites/points to 3.

· Fat-free cottage cheese tends to be slightly lower in bites/points than fat-free ricotta and (for me) easier to find, but either one works here, just be sure to puree the cottage cheese to a smooth ricotta texture.

· If you can’t find the cheddar, you can substitute more mozzarella, but the flavor will change slightly.

· Cheeses other than fat-free may slightly alter the bites/points.

· This recipe was created at the request of a subscriber (Beth) who asked for a lighter version of Olive Garden’s 5-Cheese Marinara. I researched the recipe but have never tried the original so I’m not sure how close this is to approximating the flavor. That’s why I changed the name to Cheesy Marinara. Also, Alfredo sauce is chiefly parmesan, so I technically only used 4 cheeses here.