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One of my favorite indulgences is super rich and creamy fettuccineAlfredo. Since I don’t often eat pasta, this is truly a treat whenever I do make it.
This Alfredo sauce is so easy to whip together. Cook some noodles (or, if you’re grain free like me, you can use veggies or kelp noodles), while you’re whisking together this sauce, and you’ll quickly have a dinner that tastes like you’re dining in a nice restaurant.
While I do love just noodles and sauce, sometimes it needs a little something more, so feel free to add fresh, steamed veggies and/or grilled chicken, fish, or shrimp for an even heartier meal.
You can adjust the garlic to suit your tastes. For those of you who have been reading my site for any amount of time, you know that I’m a garliholic, so I use a lot!
Oh, and before I forget. For a spicy Southwestern twist on a classic fettuccineAlfredo, sprinkle some of my homemade Cajun spice on top of your pasta right before serving. It is SO good!
Shout out to my friendSuzanne from Strands of My Lifefor shooting the photo for this recipe!
Yield: 3
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
This Alfredo sauce is so easy to whip together. Cook some noodles (or, if you’re grain-free like me, you can use veggies or kelp noodles), while you’re whisking together this sauce, and you’ll quickly have a dinner that tastes like you’re dining in a nice restaurant.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup grass-fed butter
- 1-2 tbsp. garlic, minced
- 1-2 tbsp. flour of your choice (coconut flour, almond flour, etc.)
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
- Sea salt
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter.
- Add the fresh garlic and saute until the garlic is lightly browned.
- Add a dash of salt and fresh ground pepper and stir.
- Sprinkle the flour over the butter/garlic mixture and stir around. You want to use enough flour to soak up the butter, but not so much that you end up with a super heavy dough. The goal here is to create roux.
- Cook this mixture for about 4 minutes, stirring consistently to keep it from burning. This will help remove that "raw" taste that the flour will have. You want the flour to be very lightly browned.
- After you've cooked the flour, pour the cream and milk in and use a whisk vigorously until all the clumps of flour are gone and the mixture starts to thicken.
- Slowly start adding the shredded Parmesan, while continuing to whisk. Don't stop whisking or else you'll end up with clumpy sauce. This is the slowest part of the making this sauce. Add the cheese little by little until it's all incorporated.
- Remove from heat and taste for salt and pepper. Adjust as needed.
- This sauce can be refrigerated and reheated. I have never frozen it and reheated it, but I think it would probably do fine. To reheat, slowly heat over low heat while whisking. You may need to add a little milk or cream in order to get it to the right consistency. Careful not to heat it too fast, or else it will break and you'll be left with a separated mess of goop in the pot. Trust me, I speak from experience. 😉
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 3Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 569Total Fat: 50gSaturated Fat: 32gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 143mgSodium: 1037mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 0gSugar: 5gProtein: 20g
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FAQs
Milk, heavy cream, or sour cream.
You will get a creamier texture and a bolder flavor. If you want, you can also add some romano cheese to balance the nutty taste of the other dairy ingredients. Chicken broth: another way to improve a jar of Alfredo sauce and give it a rich flavor.
How do you make Alfredo sauce taste better? ›
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 thick Alfredo sauce? ›
Add Cheese
The key ingredient in Alfredo sauce is cheese—generally Parmigiano Reggiano—and lots of it. To thicken Alfredo sauce, simply add more cheese than the amount called for in a recipe until you achieve the consistency you want.
How to make Alfredo sauce creamy and not gritty? ›
Things that I've learned are:
- don't use low fat milk -- the higher the fat content the smoother your cheese will melt/incorporate.
- once the base is made (the flour, butter, milk "sauce" -- bechamel?) take the pot OFF the heat.The more your heat your cheese sauce, the more it will get gritty.
Add more cheese
At its core, the original Italian Alfredo sauce really only needs two ingredients: butter and cheese. If you're trying to keep your Alfredo sauce simple but want to obtain an extra-creamy consistency, you can add more cheese than the recipe dictates.
Why doesn't my Alfredo sauce stay creamy? ›
Why is my Alfredo Sauce clumpy/gritty? If your sauce is not silky smooth it could be because your ingredients don't have as high of fat content to them. Make sure you're using quality ingredients and whisking until smooth. Can I make Alfredo Sauce in advance?
How to spruce up alfredo sauce? ›
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.
What is authentic Alfredo made of? ›
Real alfredo sauce is made with 3 simple ingredients: butter, Parmesan cheese and fresh fettuccine pasta. There is absolutely no cream in this dish (cream is common in most American-style alfredo sauce recipes). Make this dish with my fresh homemade pasta, fresh sourdough pasta or store-bought fresh pasta.
Why do they put nutmeg in alfredo sauce? ›
The reason behind this is simple; cream sauces tend to lack flavor and feel a bit heavy due to the fat content. Nutmeg is a simple way to warm up the sauce with a subtle, spice flavor that won't overpower it. Like with béchamel, you only need a pinch of nutmeg in your alfredo to improve its flavor.
Should I add pasta water to Alfredo sauce? ›
Alfredo should never have anything but pasta water, butter, and cheese in it. Make sure the cooking water has salt in it but remember part is salty.
How to Thicken Alfredo Sauce
- Cream Cheese. Cube softened cream cheese and whisk into the Alfredo Sauce into a pot over heat until the cheese is smooth. ...
- Parmesan Cheese. Add some freshly grated good quality Parmesan cheese into the sauce. ...
- Shredded Cheese. ...
- Heavy Cream. ...
- Cornstarch (or Arrowroot) ...
- Flour. ...
- Egg Yolks. ...
- Vegetables.
The Fix Is Simple—Add Water Back.
Here's how fix a broken sauce: Add about ¼ cup of water to the pan and reheat the sauce to a vigorous simmer, whisking constantly. The bubbling action will help re-emulsify the butter and bring back that thick, glossy sauce.
Is shredded or grated parmesan better for Alfredo? ›
To make the perfect, luscious, creamy sauce I like to shred by parmesan cheese with a microplane grater, which takes less time for the parmesan cheese to melt, but any ole grater will work.
Why did my homemade Alfredo sauce curdle? ›
This happens when there's too much fat or liquid in the mixture. This can happen when there are not enough emulsifiers (which help keep your ingredients together). Sauces are usually made from multiple ingredients that include both oil and water. Oils and water will naturally separate.
Why does my butter separate when making Alfredo sauce? ›
Pan sauces and cream sauces will become broken and curdle if simmered or boiled for too long. In both cases, the emulsifying ingredient is often butter or cream, and if subjected to high heat for too long, the balance of fat and water is thrown off, which causes the split.
How to keep Alfredo sauce creamy the next day? ›
There are few things to remember to keep your Alfredo sauce from breaking while reheating. ADD LIQUID. Add a small amount of water, milk, or cream, to the sauce when necessary to keep it from drying out.
How do you keep Alfredo sauce from getting greasy? ›
One of the simplest ways to avoid greasy, separated Alfredo sauce is to heat it slowly over the stove instead in the microwave. Microwaves heat up food much faster than a stove does, and the faster you reheat your leftover sauce, the more likely it is to separate.
How to keep Alfredo sauce from hardening? ›
The Alfredo sauce will harden into a thick paste once it cools in the fridge, but give it a few minutes of gentle heat on the stovetop or in the microwave, and it will once again become silky and creamy. If you see a few little beads of fat starting to form, just whisk vigorously to blend them back in.
How to keep Alfredo sauce from drying out? ›
Let me show you how you could avoid that from happening. Just add a little bit of heavy cream to that, then place it in the microwave. for about three to five minutes, stirring occasionally every 30 seconds.
