The Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce (Easy Recipe)

The Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce (Easy Recipe)

Easy Homemade Alfredo Sauce – Here’s a creamy pasta recipe made with simple ingredients that your whole family will love. This tasty recipe is an easy recipe that is ready in under 30 minutes. It’s so good!

Here’s What You Need

You’ll only need a handful of ingredients to make this delicious Alfredo sauce.

• butter – Use high quality salted butter for this buttery sauce.
• heavy whipping cream (heavy cream) – Be sure to shake the container before opening to make sure the cream is smooth when used.
• Parmigiano-Reggiano (fresh parmesan cheese) – Parmigiano-Reggiano, is the star ingredient in Alfredo. Fresh parmesan cheese will provide the best parmesan flavor. See the section below on how to choose the best parmesan.
• nutmeg – Use a few shavings of fresh nutmeg for the best flavor. A few sprinkles from a spice jar is a good second option.
• pasta – Creamy Alfredo sauce is great with any shape of noodle like: Gemelli, Rotini, Tortellini, Linguini, or Spaghetti. The most popular way to serve it is as classic fettuccine Alfredo with fettuccine noodles.

How To Choose The Best Parmesan for Alfredo

One of the most important lessons to learn in cooking is the value of choosing the finest, fresh ingredients available for your recipe. 

It’s important to choose a piece that has “Parmigiano-Reggiano” imprinted on the rind; the verification of its authenticity. Fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano is the real deal and will have a very pleasing aroma. Avoid pieces that have only a faint scent and that appear to be dry in texture.

Substitutions

Grated Parmesan Cheese – This recipe won’t taste nearly as good as intended, if the only parmesan you have is the common variety in the shaker from your fridge. But it will still be a thousand times better than store-bought jar of Alfredo.

Note of Caution. Using a lesser quality parmesan cheese could make this sauce grainy and not smooth and creamy.

Variations

One variation we love to make is Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli. Grilled chicken Breast or Rotisser chicken are tasty options to use here.

Other additions like salmon and asparagus or steak are also great variations. Or try one of our grilled ribeye  or filet mignon recipes. They’re both so great with this creamy dish.

Garlic is a popular flavor addition to this delicious dish. Add some fresh garlic cloves to the butter and cream as it’s simmering, or some add roasted or minced garlic, or even some garlic powder.

Spice it up with some Italian seasoning.

Or elevate it with a few shavings of fresh white truffle or some truffle oil.

How to Make Homemade Alfredo Sauce

This delicious homemade sauce is fast and easy to make. The cooking process is fast. By the time you finish boiling the pasta, this creamy sauce will be ready. So get your water boiling and ready to go as soon as possible.

Step By Step Instructions

1. Boil Water. Get the water boiling. Put 4 quarts of cold water into a large pot and set it on high heat to boil. While you are waiting for the water to come to a boil, start making the sauce.
2. Start the Sauce. Put the butter and heavy whipping cream into a pan and turn the heat on high heat. Bring the cream and butter up to a boil, stirring continuously with a wisk until it thickens. This should take about 1 minute. When it is thick and creamy, turn off the heat. Then, check to see if the pot of water is boiling yet.
3. Back to the Pasta. Wait until the water begins to boil and then add 1 ½ tablespoons of salt to the boiling water. Add a pound of pasta to the boiling water and stir occasionally to make sure the noodles don’t stick together. You want it to loose and freely moving around in the water. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package. It should only take between 8-10 minutes.
4. Transfer Pasta to Sauce. When the cooked pasta is just about al denté, turn the sauce back on low heat and transfer it directly from the boiling water into the sauce pan taking with it a little pasta water. Quickly toss it all together, making sure that all of the pasta is coated with the cream and butter.
5. Finishing the Dish. Finally, add all of the Parmigiano-Reggiano, a little salt and pepper, a few gratings of fresh nutmeg, and toss the pasta continuously creating a beautifully creamy sauce.
6. Serve Immediately. Dish out each serving into a warmed bowls and serve immediately garnished with more freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and some fresh parsley.

Helpful Tips

Note on the salt. It is very important to add enough salt to the water.

As general rule of thumb is 1-½ tablespoons of salt per pound of pasta.

Salt adds necessary flavor to the pasta. Without it, the pasta will taste bland and nothing will be able to fix the mistake. So, even though it seems like a lot of salt, fill your palm with it and toss it in the water. You will be happy you did.

Note on the pasta water. The starchy, salty water that is created then you boil pasta is the secret ingredient to Italian pasta dishes. So, don’t drain it into the sink without saving a cup or two. It can be used to loosen up a sauce that has become too thick or just for a flavor boost.

For this recipe, use a pair of kitchen tongs and just transfer the cooked pasta directly into the butter and cream. That way, some of that starchy, salty flavor is transferred with it, enhancing the flavor of the finished dish.

There you have it. Easy Homemade Alfredo Sauce is a quick dinner idea that you can have on the table in under 30 minutes. It’s as easy as that! We hope you enjoy this recipe. Try it and let us know how you like it. We’d love to hear from you!