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!
Heather e
Cancer is an awful thing and a friend asked me to cook something for a friend who was in her later stages. I wanted an easy taste yet a comfort food. I used only half a clove to keep it mild for her. I used an additional one cup of the pasta water to smooth it out so keep 1.5 cup of pasta water in case you add extra pasta like me. It turned out perfectly. I will put some in freezer containers which is nice if their fridge is full or for a later time. Oh I always forgot the pasta water so I took it out of the pot BEFORE I drained it.
Dean
I am not normally a person who orders fettuccine alfredo when going to a restaurant. I am more of a "red sauce" kind of guy. This has become a staple for me and now gets mixed in with my traditional red sauce Italian dishes. Great job Modern Honey!
Sierra
The PERFECT alfredo recipe! I love making this for dinner in the winter when i'm in need of comfort food!
LW
Most of the instructions were fine but pepper was mentioned although it was one of the ingredients. I assume it’s used in the last step for seasoning. In addition, for cheese, you had said “add half” twice and then “garnish with remaining cheese” did you mean add half cup? Cuz two halves means no remaining cheese.
Tanica
Grate the parmesan cheese until you have 1.25 cups and half it, then use the halves according to the cooking instructions.
Olivia
Absolutely delicious! I added about 2 extra cloves of garlic and it came out just how I wanted. It’s creamy, full of flavor, and was easy to make!
Joy
This recipe was amazing. I made it a one pan meal by adding seasoned and sauteed chicken chunks, spinach and shaved Brussels Sprouts.
Gabby
This is the best alfredo recipe I've ever tried. So easy to make and so yummy
Jill
What an awesome recipe. I’ve never made Alfredo but this just made it to our favorite go-to recipes. I served with Scallops and Crunchy Asian Cabbage Ramen Salad. Perfect! Thank you for sharing!
Meagan
This recipe can be easily be made vegan! I’ve been vegan for 7 years and I’ve never had fettuccine Alfredo that tasted more realistic! I just used Silk Whipping Cream and Earth Island Parmesan.
Cliff
Can I put it in a casserole dish
Marissa
I’d never made an Alfredo sauce before and this recipe was a great place to start! The recipe is simple and easy to follow. First time I made it I followed the recipe pretty exact, except doubled because my family likes a lot of sauce. It came out pretty good, good enough that I wanted to make it again. The second time I diverted from the recipe and experimented a little. I started by pan searing some chicken with Italian seasonings and butter. Then used the same pan for the sauce. This time I added more garlic, more garlic, and even more garlic! Mixed the fettuccine in with the sauce then added the chicken (sliced) and a bag of baby spinach. It was so good! Very rich and flavorful! Next time I’m thinking of adding some sun dried tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes.
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.
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?