Why You’ll Love This Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Incredible flavor thanks to a few not-so-authentic but truly tasty additions. Uses heavy cream for the perfect creamy consistency. While authentic Italian Alfredo recipes use high quality parmesan to achieve this, it’s quite hard to find in the US. A splash of cream does the trick instead, and it also helps prevent the sauce from breaking. Doubles easily. This recipe makes enough to coat 8 oz of pasta, but it can certainly be doubled without issue. I include notes for cooking and including the pasta in the recipe notes below. Includes the option to add cream cheese, if you want to make it even richer.
I shared this Alfredo sauce in my fettuccine Alfredo post last year, and it was a smash hit. Here’s one five-star review: “OMG so, so yummy and easy too! I’m no cook, and believe it or not, it tastes better than an Italian restaurant!” — Brigitte C. And another… “Another home run from Sam! Creamy, parmesany, rich (but easy to eat a lot), and, best of all, SO QUICK AND EASY TO MAKE.” — Bruce Today I’m sharing that same sauce but in a standalone recipe, just in case you don’t feel like serving it over pasta. We’ve used it as a white sauce on a pizza, in a white lasagna, and served over it baked chicken (with a side of steamed broccoli — one of my favorite weeknight dinners!), just to name a few ideas. It’s easy, creamy, velvety smooth, and even though it’s not truly authentic, this Alfredo is nothing short of amazing. I can’t wait to hear what YOU think about it!
Ingredients
Some of the ingredients in my recipe may surprise you–be sure to read through this next section before beginning.
Heavy cream. This is a non-negotiable for me, and if you want to make an alfredo sauce without cream, you’ll have to find a different recipe. I know cream is not a traditional Italian alfredo ingredient, but since this is an Americanized recipe, it’s a completely acceptable and tasty addition. Parmesan cheese. Ideally you should freshly grate your parmesan cheese, since pre-shredded or pre-grated cheese won’t always melt nicely. We want the cheese to melt smoothly into the sauce! Shallot. Rather than use garlic or onion I prefer to use a shallot (which has flavor notes from both). Alternatively you could use a teaspoon or two of minced garlic or half of a finely chopped yellow onion (or both) instead. Either will be delicious, but I just personally like to use a shallot (and there’s something about shallots that just feels fancy). Nutmeg. You might think this spice only belongs in spice cake or gingerbread, but just a pinch keeps the sauce from being too rich and really rounds out the flavor (I also use it in my meatballs). Cream cheese. This is optional and I don’t use it every time (which is why it isn’t pictured above!) but if you want to make your sauce even richer, you can stir in 2 oz of full-fat, brick-style cream cheese when you add the parmesan cheese.
SAM’S TIP: Minced fresh parsley and freshly cracked black pepper are excellent toppings for Alfredo sauce. An extra sprinkle of parmesan cheese is always a good idea too! Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Alfredo Sauce
SAM’S TIP: If you plan to serve your Alfredo sauce over pasta, make sure to save some of the pasta water (about ½ cup). This will help the sauce and noodles combine beautifully when you stir them together. Enjoy! Let’s bake together! Subscribe to my newsletter to be notified of all the newest recipes, and find my free recipe tutorials on YouTube 💜
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