The Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe - Real Life Dinner (2024)

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The Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe - Real Life Dinner (1)I am so excited to share The Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe with you! Creamy and perfectly flavored with a hint of your favorite Italian herbs. It has just the right amount of garlic and Parmesan cheese. It tastes like it’s from your favorite Italian restaurant. A true gem of a recipe you’ll find yourself craving! Not in the mood for Alfredo? Try this Amazing Spaghetti Sauce.

I love to eat this delicious alfredo sauce plain over fettuccini noodles, but of course, it’s delicious served with chicken or shrimp too. We also love the way broccoli goes with this sauce. So good!

With butter, heavy cream, and parmesan cheese being the main ingredients, it’s not exactly diet food….but boy or boy is it worth the splurge from time to time. I hope you try it soon, it’s FANTASTIC!

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Step by Step Pictures for How to Make the Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe

The Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe - Real Life Dinner (3)The Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe - Real Life Dinner (4)Frequently Asked Questions about making The Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe

Is it okay to use half and half instead of cream?

With a calorie-heavy recipe like this, it is tempting to want to cut out some of the fat, but with this dish, the creaminess and the thickness of the sauce will be drastically affected if you replace the cream with half and half. Okay, that might have been a bit dramatic. How about this: if you sub half and half for cream, only sub 1/2 a cup to 3/4 cup of it and be prepared for the sauce to be a little runnier.

Should I use Fresh grated Parmesan or is The kraft kind in the green bottle okay?

Fresh grated is best in this recipe, but the Kraft kind works well too. The type I buy here in Germany is in a bag and comes in rough shards. I usually run it through my food processor before adding it to the sauce.

Can I use bottled Garlic or does it need to be fresh?

Again, I’m going to say fresh is best here as well, but the bottled garlic will work fine. You will want to use 2-2 1/2 tsp.

The Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe - Real Life Dinner (5)Can I make this Alfredo Sauce in advance?

This sauce is super fast to mix up and can be a little tricky to reheat without having the fats separate. If at all possible, I would suggest making other things in advance and saving this to prepare right before serving. The other option is to make it a few hours before it is needed and keep it warm in a slow cooker.

What is the best way to reheat the sauce if I need to reheat it?

Slowly over very low heat. High temperatures will cause the fats from the cream and cheese to separate and it won’t have the same creaminess.

How Many People does this recipe serve?

This amount of sauce is usually enough for 6 adults as the main dish or 8-9 adults if it is being used as a side dish.

The Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe - Real Life Dinner (6)

Pairs Well With

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The Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe

The Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe - Real Life Dinner (10)

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Creamy delicious alfredo sauce seasoned to perfection with garlic, parmesan cheese, and Italian herbs. A simple recipe that tastes like it came from your favorite Italian restaurant.

Author: Maria

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup salted butter
  • 2 tsp crushed garlic, approx. 2-3 small cloves
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • ¼ tsp + a pinch of salt
  • ¼ tsp Italian seasoning
  • ⅛ tsp ground black pepper
  • 1½ cups freshly grated parmesan (approx. 5-6 ounces)
  • 1 pkg fettuccini noodles cooked according to package directions (don't forget to salt the water)

Instructions

  1. Boil your water and cook your Fettuccini noodles while you make the sauce.
  2. To make the sauce, in a medium-sized sauté pan, sauté the garlic and butter over medium-high heat for 1 minute or until it is softened and fragrant.
  3. Add the heavy cream, salt, Italian Seasoning, and ground pepper. Bring to a boil, turn heat down a little and allow to simmer/boil for 2-3 minutes.
  4. Reduce heat to low and whisk in the parmesan cheese. Keep whisking/stirring as it simmers for 3-5 more minutes. It will thicken slightly.
  5. That's it. It's ready to serve. YUM!
  6. You can either ladle it over noodles or toss it into the entire pot of noodles once they have been drained. Don't forget you can add chicken or shrimp to make this a main dish!
  7. Enjoy!

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The Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe - Real Life Dinner (14)

The Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe - Real Life Dinner (2024)

FAQs

How to make Alfredo sauce more flavorful? ›

Heartier herbs like thyme or oregano can be added in to simmer with the sauce. Add delicate herbs like parsley, basil, or chervil at the end to maintain their delicate, aromatic flavor. Quick tip: Swirl in a bit of leftover pesto to add another herbaceous twist to your Alfredo sauce.

What is the secret to smooth Alfredo sauce? ›

Fresh parmesan cheese grated off the block is one of those key ingredients. This will create a smooth textured sauce rather than a grainy one. Butter: Both unsalted or salted work for this alfredo sauce recipe. If using salted butter, then just adjust the extra salt you use or omit it entirely.

Do real Italians use Alfredo sauce? ›

Italians have been eating Fettuccine Alfredo for over a century… They just didn't know that's what it was called! Every story that has turned into legend has different versions and variations. But in this case, all threads begin in the heart of Rome at the same place: the restaurant Alfredo on Via della Scrofa.

What is the difference between American alfredo and Italian alfredo? ›

The alfredo sauce, which now catered to American tastes rather than Italian, evolved to include ingredients like flour, cream, milk, and shrimp or chicken. To this day, di Lelio's original recipe only contains three ingredients: fettuccine, young Parmesan cheese, and butter.

What can I add to fettuccine alfredo to make it taste better? ›

Nutmeg: A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg can elevate the flavors in your Alfredo sauce. However, use it sparingly; a little goes a long way. White Wine: A splash of a good-quality white wine can add depth and complexity. Make sure to cook off the alcohol by simmering the sauce for a few extra minutes.

How do you make great value Alfredo sauce taste better? ›

Your best bet would be to add some contrasting flavors like: roasted garlic, some chopped steamed broccoli, a pinch of nutmeg, shrimp, herbs or a purée of sundried tomatoes. Alfredo Sauce is kind of a blank canvas. You can add almost anything you like and end up with something good.

Why is fettuccine Alfredo not popular in Italy? ›

Moreover, Italians are not thrilled that this recipe is so strongly associated with Italy, as it is not a traditional dish and there are recipes much more authentic, more representative and more identifying of the Bel Paese. Indeed, no real Italian restaurant has this pasta on the menu.

What is the Italian equivalent of alfredo sauce? ›

Fettuccine Alfredo, minus the spectacle, has now become ubiquitous in Italian-style restaurants outside Italy, although despite its worldwide renown, in Italy this dish is usually still called simply fettuccine al burro.

What makes Alfredo taste like Alfredo? ›

What Makes Alfredo Taste Alfredo? The key to Alfredo sauce's unique flavour is the combination of butter, cream, and Parmesan cheese. The butter and cream create a rich, velvety base, while the Parmesan cheese adds a tangy, salty flavour.

What is the fancy name for Alfredo sauce? ›

Also known as a white sauce or “pasta in blanco”, alfredo blends simple ingredients and turns them into a rich, indulgent delight.

What is the difference between Alfredo and Carbonara? ›

Cooking process: Thick, creamy Alfredo sauce involves cooking down butter and heavy cream in a sauté pan or saucepan to make a thick, rich cream sauce. On the other hand, carbonara involves combining pasta and a bit of pasta water with rendered guanciale, raw eggs, and grated cheese.

How do you make Alfredo sauce less bland? ›

Extra seasonings and spices will go a long way in adding flavor to a boring jar of sauce. Some of my personal favorites include salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, dried basil, oregano, onion powder or seasoned salt. Start with small amounts (1/2 teaspoon at a time) and add as needed, in order to avoid over-spicing.

What seasoning taste good in Alfredo? ›

Seasonings: The fettuccine Alfredo is simply seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Cheese: You'll need Romano and Parmesan cheeses.

Why add flour to Alfredo sauce? ›

Flours can be used to make a bit of a slurry and add to the sauce to make it thicker. 1 part flour to 2 parts liquid and then adding it to your sauce should thicken it nicely. Just make sure that when you make the slurry, there are no lumps in your mixture.

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