Fettuccine Alfredo
Fettuccine pasta topped with a homemade rich decadent alfredo sauce
There are certain recipes that are essential to have in your recipe box and one of them has to be a phenomenal Fettuccine alfredo recipe. Years ago, when I was teaching kids' cooking classes, this was one of the first things I taught them. Almost every single kid around goes crazy for alfredo sauce! It is so easy to make a homemade alfredo sauce that you will never buy the jarred variety again!
This homemade alfredo sauce is made with simple ingredients -- butter, parmesan cheese, garlic, heavy cream, and salt. It's a 5-ingredient alfredo sauce that is beyond easy!
If you are looking for a lighter version, I created a low-fat fettuccine alfredo version called Skinny Fettuccine Alfredo. You can find the recipe HERE.
This homemade alfredo sauce can be tossed with the pasta so the pasta soaks up all of the sauce or it can be spooned over hot, fresh pasta. I love to use fresh refrigerated fettuccine noodles because it tastes that much better. If you want the fettuccine alfredo to be a little more "saucy" toss the sauce with less than one pound of pasta (you may start with 12 ounces of fettuccine).
Tips for making PERFECT FETTUCCINE ALFREDO:
- Start by bringing water to a boil in a large pot. Add salt to the water to season the pasta. Once it is boiling, add pasta and cook according to package instructions.
- Saute the garlic and butter together until softened -- about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add heavy cream and let simmer over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes to thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add half of the parmesan cheese to the mixture and whisk well until smooth.
- Save some pasta water. The pasta water is full of flavor and can be used to thin out the sauce.
- Toss alfredo sauce with fettuccine pasta and add half of the parmesan cheese. Once it is tossed, garnish with the remaining parmesan cheese. Add a little pasta water if it needs to be thinned out.
- Garnish with Italian parsley, if so desired.
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Fettuccine Alfredo
Ingredients
- 1 lb Fettuccine Pasta
- 6 Tablespoons Butter
- 1 Garlic Clove (minced)
- 1 ½ cups Heavy Cream
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 ¼ cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Italian Parsley (optional)
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat water over high heat until boiling. Add salt to season the water. Once it is boiling, add fettuccine and cook according to package instructions.
- In a large skillet or pan, heat butter over medium heat. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in heavy cream.
- Let heavy cream reduce and cook for 5 to 8 minutes. Add half of the parmesan cheese to the mixture and whisk well until smooth. Keep over heat and whisk well until cheese is melted.
- Save some pasta water. The pasta water is full of flavor and can be used to thin out the sauce.
- Toss alfredo sauce with fettuccine pasta and add half of the parmesan cheese. Once it is tossed, garnish with the remaining parmesan cheese. Add a little pasta water if it needs to be thinned out.
- Garnish with Italian parsley, if so desired.
Video
Notes
- Use real parmesan cheese, which is refrigerated.
- If you like it to be more "saucy", you may use less than 1 lb. of fettuccine pasta.
- Leftover pasta water may be used to thin out pasta sauce.
I hope you love this fettuccine pasta with homemade alfredo sauce. Happy Cooking, my friends!
TH
I am sure this is a great recipe but I am a purest when it comes to Alfredo sauce. Garlic is not an ingredient in Alfredo it is cheese, butter, cream and pepper clean and simple just the way I like it.
Kris
Cream is not an ingredient in authentic alfredo sauce either.
Ryan
I honestly was not aware cream wasn't part of an authentic Alfredo sauce. If not cream, what should I be using instead?
Danielle
Butter and Parmesan tossed with the pasta.
Marian Heine
Love it with garlic added shrimp delicious!
Kris
Search up Vincenzo's Plate Fettucine Alfredo for an authentic recipe. It's fabulous. But, I am partial to this recipe though. I love the creaminess.
Abigail
That’s right!
Mik
Then f*** off Kris and make “authentic Alfredo”. I thought your personal recipe for Alfredo was fantastic! Thanks for sharing.
Beth
This was so good! I did 5 tablespoons of butter instead of 6 and used half and half. It was perfectly creamy and thickened up quickly- foolproof. I topped it with toasted Panko breadcrumbs and some broccoli for some crunch and color. I prefer this recipe to other Alfredo sauce recipes which always seem way too rich or not rich enough.
Sherry
The directions say to add the first half of the parmasan cheese in step 3 and step 5, I think, the way I'm understanding it?
Nikki
If you're looking for that restaurant quality Alfredo recipe, this is it! I have tried many different recipes and they never quite got the flavor I wanted. This is so yummy!
Lupe
I’m such a pasta lover and I had recently tried this so i had to learn how to make it, 10/10 for sure!
Alayna
Delicious! Will definitely make it again. Thanks!
Ashley
Is the butter salted or unsalted?
Thank you so much, I am going to make this dish this week.
Kris
My 15 year old and I just made this for her friend's birthday party/Italian-themed potluck. It is DELICIOUS! I used 2 boxes of fettuccine and tripled the sauce. And of course added an obscene amount of garlic. 😂 We will definitely make this again.
Modern Honey
I love that your 15-year old made this for a party! That's seriously amazing. I am so happy that it turned out so well and you loved it.
Kris
It was a huge hit. It was the first and only dish to to be absolutely demolished. Everyone loved it. Several parents asked for the recipe.
Geo Bev
So delicious, thank you! When I tried to reheat the next day on the stove it was
Just basically oily noodles. All the creamy goodness was gone. How do you reheat to maintain the creaminess?
Cheryl
It does break down when reheating, I just add more cheese and a bit of cream..still tasty
Robin
So tasty and super easy. Easily forgivable if, like me, you hate to measure ingredients!
Modern Honey
I can completely relate! Before Modern Honey, I wouldn't measure and would just go by "feel." I bet you are a great cook! Thank you so much for trying my alfredo recipe.
Krystle
I was a little sceptical but it was perfect! I also ate with with shrimp to give it more color, its flavorful and tastes like its from a restaurant (ONLY ADD 3-5 TABLE SPOONS OF BUTTER!) it doesn't need all six and trust me on this because I only used 3 and it came out delicious!
Kathy
I've made this sauce two times in the last 3 days. The 1st time I made with fettuccine as directed and served with broccoli Rabe as a side. Tonight I used the leftover broccoli Rabe and halved the alfredo to make a white pizza with spicy Italian sausage. Perfect! Pinned to my pinterest! Thank you!
M
How much does this recipe make?
Modern Honey
The fettuccine alfredo could serve 4 as a meal and 6 as a side dish, depending on how much everyone eats. I hope this helps!
Christina Tuccillo
Hello! I made the Alfredo sauce tonight, and my family loved it. I'm not sure I did all the steps correctly though. Is the quarter teaspoon of salt what you put in the water to cook the pasta, or is that separate and you add salt to the mixture later? When do you add the pepper? Also I'm not sure I understood the several steps of adding parmesan cheese...half of the total amount goes into the cream mixture, then half of the remaining (one-quarter of the total amount) gets mixed into the pasta, and then the last one-quarter is for garnish? Thanks for any clarifications you can offer!
Modern Honey
Hi Christina! Thank you so much for trying my alfredo sauce recipe. Let me see if I can help! The salt is to be added to the sauce. I like to generously salt my pasta water (much like ocean water) so the salt water flavors the pasta as it cooks. You can add the pepper as you are finishing the alfredo sauce and taste for flavor. It is important to add the parmesan cheese a little at a time to the sauce to avoid clumping. I like to stir a little in at a time. I hope this helps!
Ashley
This was super easy to make and very delicious! I ended up kind of going off on my own instinct and changed/added a few things. 1. I cooked up chicken, mushrooms and peas in white wine and dry Italian salad dressing seasoning 2. I added some red pepper and onion powder to the sauce 3. I used a cavatappi pasta 4. Used freshly grated reggiano parmigiano cheese. Will keep this in rotation for the future!
Modern Honey
Hi Ashley! I love your creativity -- this sounds amazing! I bet it was so full of flavor. Thank you so much for trying my recipe!
Terri M.
I NEVER leave feedback for any recipes BUT this recipe was so unbelievably amazing that I had to say thank you. My daughter has Celiac Disease and we have been looking for an amazing gluten free fettuccine alfredo recipe and this is the one! I bought gluten free fettuccine from Trader Joe's mixed with this sauce and honestly this is probably the best pasta I've ever eaten. My daughter went nuts over it. This is her favorite meal hands down. Give it a try.. you won't be disappointed! It's honestly addicting it's that good!