Craving restaurant-quality pasta but don’t want to leave home? This authentic Alfredo sauce recipe transforms simple ingredients into a silky, rich sauce in just minutes. While your pasta boils, you’ll create a sauce so delicious you’ll wonder why you ever bought the jarred version. This simple recipe dates back to 1920s Rome, where restaurateur Alfredo di Lelio created it to tempt his pregnant wife’s appetite. Today, it remains a testament to how just a few quality ingredients can create culinary magic.
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Why This Recipe Works
The secret to perfect Alfredo sauce lies in the science of emulsion. When fat from butter combines with proteins in cream and cheese, they create a smooth, velvety texture that clings beautifully to pasta. Using freshly grated Parmesan allows these proteins to incorporate evenly without the anti-caking agents found in pre-packaged cheese, resulting in a silky-smooth sauce every time.
Ingredients
- Butter – Creates the rich base and helps emulsify the sauce
- Heavy cream – Provides the luxurious texture and body
- Parmesan cheese – Delivers the distinctive savory flavor and thickens the sauce
- Salt – Enhances all flavors (optional)
- White pepper – Adds subtle warmth without visible specks (optional)
- Dried pasta – Serves as the perfect vehicle for the creamy sauce
Ingredient Notes
Quality ingredients make all the difference in this simple sauce:
- Storage tip – Purchase ingredients close to when you’ll use them, as butter and cream readily absorb refrigerator odors.
- Heavy cream – Also labeled as whipping cream (36-40% fat). Never substitute with half-and-half or milk, as the sauce won’t thicken properly.
- Butter – Use real, unsalted butter. Margarine contains water and oils that prevent proper emulsification.
- Parmesan cheese – Purchase a block and grate it yourself just before using. Pre-shredded cheese contains anti-caking agents that make the sauce grainy instead of smooth. The green can variety will not work for this recipe.
How to Make Alfredo Sauce
- Melt the butter and heavy cream in a medium saucepan, stirring constantly.
- Add half of the Parmesan cheese and cook the sauce over low to medium heat until the cheese melts, stirring constantly.
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
- Drain the pasta and pour it into a bowl. You do not need to rinse your pasta.
- Add Alfredo sauce to the pasta.
- Stir to combine the sauce and pasta.
- Season it with salt and white pepper if desired.
- Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.
Mixing the sauce with the pasta is an Italian way to serve this particular dish. It coats the pasta well and gives you a delicious sauce in every bite.
You can make delicious Alfredo sauce at home following these directions.
Storage and reheating instructions
- Refrigerate: Store leftover sauce separately from pasta in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
- Reheat: Warm gently over low heat, adding a splash of cream to restore smoothness.
Homemade Creamy Alfredo Sauce (Better Than Restaurant)
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried pasta
- 3/4 pound butter
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and ground white pepper optional
Instructions
- Prepare the pasta according to the package directions.
- While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter and heavy cream in a medium saucepan. Stir constantly to prevent the sauce from burning.
- Add 1 cup of the Parmesan and cook over low to medium heat until the cheese melts, stirring constantly.
- When the pasta is done, drain it and place it into a bowl.
- Add the Alfredo sauce to the pasta.
- Stir or toss to combine the sauce and pasta.
- If you like, you can season it with salt and white pepper.
- Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese when serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
More Alfredo Recipes
- Crab Fettuccine Alfredo
- Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce
- Pasta House Fettuccine Alfredo
- Seafood Alfredo Recipe
- Steak Alfredo Pasta
Favorite Italian Recipes
- Chicken Margherita
- Olive Garden Lasagna
- Olive Garden Shrimp Scampi
- Italian Rice Balls
- Italian Sausage
- Shrimp Carbonara
- Tuscany Soup
Check out my easy sauce recipes and the best Italian recipes here on CopyKat!
well done Stephanie…I know my family is going to love this when they get home. I just hope it keeps well in a casserole dish until then
amazing, family said it tasted just like restaurant…if not better….easy too. I spray pam to keep noodles from sticking (a drop of veg oil works too) and add a little salt to flavor noodles while cooking
Thanks got home and needed something quick
For dinner and this recepi hits the spot added a little twist of
My owen other than that yummmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Can you freeze left over sauce?
I wouldn’t, but you can make smaller batches of the sauce.
the music is freaking irritating. TURN IT OFF.
what size pan do I need for the alfredo sauce?
I would use a medium sized pan.
Just so you know olive garden uses a white powder and water to make their Alfredo sauce Oo
I work at Olive garden and that’s not true. This is almost exactly how they make it only real garlic and other spices
I add garlic and a dash of nutmeg but please folks follow stephs recipe !!!
I like garlic in most everything!
This is like eating poop
You only have ten fingers, Stephanie.
yuummmmmmmmmmmmy
can we had olive spread instead of butter?
I would not try it,
I’ve used coconut oil — tasted great, way better for you.
I wouldn’t use it, your sauce won’t thicken well. Using a spread will mean if you want thick sauce you need to compensate for that in another way. I would suggest if you do that you need to add a little cream cheese to the recipe to get it to thicken.
this is my first time making alfredo sauce, im hoping it will turn out good i added cream cheese to this reciepe.. idont know i figured it would taste good!!!
It will help make it creamy.
PING!!!
I cheat with this recipe. I use light sour cream instead of tje heavy cream.. So much lighter & taste great.
Mary
Good to know. Thanks!
Thank you Stephanie! I’ll give this a try and hope. Your the best!
This has been my favorite recipe for decades, thanks STEPH! I have learned to cook this fast lol because it is a big demand of family and friends. I use this sauce on alot of meals….The best results come from cooking it in a crock pot! Melt Butter first, then pour in Heavy Whipping Cream and Cream Cheese and Parmesan Cheese…whip this as you would in making, whipping cream and sugar fluff lol. Remember this will thickin fast the longer you whip! Add garlic powder at the end 😉 Also I add Chopped Tomatoes, Cilantro, and Onions in this recipe on occasions especially when cooking fish, this is amazing tasting and a favorite at the Laiche Home!
I think you have an amazing suggestion, I want to give this one a try soon. I think I should try it for a big pasta night!
i like to add a little nutmeg and a few dashes of hot sauce to my alfredo it gives it a little kick
I love a little freshly grated nutmeg in my Alfredo sauce too!
what makes alfredo sauce really good is using cream cheese instead of the heavy cream and then adding some milk to thin it out a little
The only problem with using the cream cheese is that it doesn’t work well for leftovers. Tastes wonderful the night of, though!
This is one dish, that I never try to have left overs for. It is never as good the second day.
steph i dig the song in the background… what song is that?
Try substituting the fresh grated Parmesan cheese with a 5 or 6 cheese Italian blend (Mozzarella, Provolone, Asiago, Parmesan, Romano and Fontina). This really enhances the flavor even more.
That is a great way to make the sauce too. It can add a lot more depth to the flavor.
Alfredo sauce is delicious and easy to make. I like to add pesto to mine, with a bit of Worcestershire sauce and a dash of Tabasco.