Fettuccine Alfredo
This Fettuccine Alfredo Recipe has the most delicious, creamy, and flavorful sauce. The sauce is filled with parmesan, cream, and cream cheese for a delicious sauce that you’ll make over and over again!
The History of Alfredo Sauce
Guys, I did a little reading up on the history of fettuccine alfredo, and it’s kinda a sweet story! An Italian chef, named Alfredo, made a simple pasta dish with white sauce and parmesan cheese for his pregnant wife who couldn’t keep much food down. She ate it so often that Alfredo added it to his restaurant menu. Two American actors visited the restaurant and ordered the pasta dish and loved it so much that they asked for the recipe and mailed Alfredo a special engraved silverware and a photo of them at the restaurant. Reporters documented the exchange and that sent many more people to Alfredo’s restaurant to try his famous dish! That’s obviously the watered-down version, and you can read more about it at HuffPost.com. I think it’s fun (and important) to know some of the history behind the recipes we make and I hope you enjoy it too.
I’ve usually defaulted to using the store-bought alfredo sauce, for ease mostly. But I’ve seriously been missing out! So, if you’ve been using the store-bought sauce, you are missing out too. This alfredo sauce recipe is really flavorful and creamy. I love the addition of the cream cheese. It adds a nice, thick consistency.
Ingredients
- Pasta — Naturally, you’ll need fettuccine noodles to make it a “true” fettuccine recipe, but you’re welcome to use any pasta or noodle variety. I found that 12 oz of pasta was the perfect amount.
Alfredo Sauce
- Butter
- Heavy cream (can use half & half for lighter sauce)
- Cream cheese — makes the sauce extra creamy.
- Garlic clove — minced. If you don’t have real garlic, substitute with a little more garlic powder.
- Garlic powder — adds more garlic flavor.
- Italian seasoning — this adds some great flavor to the sauce.
- Salt & pepper
- Parmesan cheese — make sure the cheese is freshly grated. If you want a sharper taste you can also substitute asiago cheese or Romano.
How to Make Fettuccine Alfredo
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt generously. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain the pasta.
- While the pasta is cooking, make the alfredo sauce. In a saucepan over medium heat, whisk the butter, cream, and cream cheese until melted.
- Whisk in the minced garlic, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Whisk until smooth.
- Whisk in the parmesan cheese.
- Bring to a low simmer and cook for 3-5 minutes or until the sauce starts to thicken.
- Remove from the heat and toss with 12 oz. of your favorite pasta. If making chicken fettuccine alfredo, stir in the chopped chicken at this point.
- Garnish with fresh parsley. Enjoy!
Tools Used for This Recipe
Recipe Tips
You can use this alfredo sauce in more ways than just with pasta! Use it on a pizza crust for a chicken alfredo pizza. Or use it as a dipping sauce for pretzels or chips.
Be sure you don’t cook the sauce over too high of heat. The cheese can separate.
Add 2 cups of diced, cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken for a chicken fettuccini alfredo. You can also use shrimp if you’re looking for a creamy, shrimp scampi-type pasta dish.
To lighten up the sauce, I like to add 1 cup heavy cream and 1 cup of half and half. Naturally, if you use all heavy cream, you’ll have a creamier and richer alfredo sauce.
Be sure to use freshly grated parmesan cheese. The crumbled kind is more processed and will affect the taste and texture.
A fun recipe tip for this would be to make my homemade ravioli noodles, fill them with cheese, then use this alfredo sauce and shredded or grilled chicken for a delicious homemade chicken ravioli alfredo!
FAQs
Can you make alfredo sauce with milk?
You can. Just keep in mind the sauce won’t be as thick. To thicken the sauce, you can add 1-2 teaspoons of flour.
Is alfredo sauce gluten free?
Yes. If you don’t add the flour (noted above)
Is fettuccine alfredo healthy?
There are sure to be healthier versions of fettuccine alfredo out there. But I love this one because the flavor is amazing and the creaminess is just out of this world! The heavy cream and cream cheese can be swapped out for healthier options (milk instead of cream, fat free or less fat cream cheese options). But just remember the consistency will change, and most likely the flavor will too.
Can you freeze alfredo sauce?
I probably wouldn’t. Dairy products don’t freeze well, since they experience separation once they are thawed.
More Delicious Recipes
If you make this recipe and love it, I would be so grateful if you come back to leave a rating and review. Thank you! ❤️
Fettuccine Alfredo
Ingredients
- 12 oz fettuccine pasta
Alfredo Sauce
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 cups heavy cream – (can use half & half for a lighter sauce)
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1 garlic clove – minced
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup parmesan cheese – freshly grated (can also substitute some asiago ro Romano for a sharper taste)
Equipment
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt generously. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain the pasta.
- While the pasta is cooking make the alfredo sauce: In a saucepan over medium heat whisk the butter, cream, and cream cheese until melted.
- Whisk in the minced garlic, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Whisk until smooth.
- Whisk in the parmesan cheese.
- Bring to a low simmer and cook for 3-5 minutes or until the sauce starts to thicken.
- Remove from the heat and toss with the cooked fettuccine noodles. Garnish with fresh parsley. Enjoy!
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