Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce is rich, creamy, and packed with garlic parmesan flavor! This Alfredo Sauce is easy to make and perfect with your favorite pasta!
Alfredo Sauce:
Alfredo sauce is one of my favorite things to have with a big bowl of pasta! It's a very rich and indulgent treat for dinner. I also love that it only takes about 5-10 minutes to whip up a batch! This recipe will yield about two cups of sauce total. It can easily be doubled if you are feeding a crowd or want extra for later. The bottled Alfredo just doesn't compare to this delicious homemade version! If you love cooking from scratch, make some of this Homemade Pasta to go along with your sauce!
What is Alfredo Sauce?
Traditional Alfredo is a simple white/cream sauce. It is made from butter, heavy cream, and parmesan cheese. While the original style is great, I simply like to add garlic, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to make Alfredo sauce taste even better!
How to Make Alfredo Sauce:
- The first step to making Alfredo is to warm your butter and cream in a large saucepan over low heat. You will let it simmer (but not boil) for about 2 minutes.
- Next, you will whisk in your garlic and seasonings. Whisking constantly for about one minute just to let the garlic cook.
- Lastly, you will add your parmesan cheese and stir just until the cheese has melted and your sauce is smooth.
Note that it is best to use freshly grated parmesan cheese right off of the block so that your sauce isn't grainy. I do not recommend using the "shaker" style container grated cheese for this recipe.
The Parmesan will thicken this sauce up. If it isn't quite thick enough, allow the sauce to stand for 2-3 minutes before serving.
If you love making your own pasta sauce at home, be sure to try out my Easy Homemade Pesto as well!
Enjoy!
~Nichole
Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ Cup Butter
- 1 ½ Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
- 2 Teaspoons Garlic Minced
- ½ Teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- ¼ Teaspoon Pepper
- 2 Cups Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
- Add the butter and cream to a large skillet.
- Simmer over low heat for 2 minutes.
- Whisk in the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper for one minute.
- Whisk in the parmesan cheese until melted.
- Serve immediately.
Mine ended up tasting super salty, what did I do? Guess I shouldn’t use salted butter???
Hi! I always use salted butter, and this doesn't turn out too salty for our tastes. However, salt tolerance is definitely different for everyone....so, yes I would say use unsalted butter next time 🙂
This recipe is delicious. I needed a quick Alfredo sauce for some leftover pasta I put in my daughter’s lunch for school. The only thing I did different was that I used a small bag of Sargento 6 Cheese Italian cheese instead of Parmesan only (Parmesan was included in the cheese blend). My daughter loved it, as did I. I especially liked how the combination of Italian herbs and garlic made it so flavorful. I’ll be making this Alfredo again!
This recipe was delicious!
Can the Cream be substituted with coconut cream? Can't have milk or cream but will the coconut cream change the flavour too much?
That's a good question. I haven't tried it with coconut cream so it's hard for me to say. I think the flavor would be slightly different for sure but all of the cheese/garlic flavor would probably mask the coconut flavor a bit. If you try it, let me know 🙂
Hi Maggie, I would suggest making a cashew cream Alfredo. I think coconut cream would really be too sweet.
To make cashew cream you can find a recipe online. Just make sure to soak the raw cashews overnight so you get an extra creamy sauce!
I tried with bith coconut and unsweetened almond milk, changed the consistency, and flavor was total awfully. However, I did use lactose free milk and it was ok, I just thickend with a little corn startch.
We use coconut cream as a substitute for a lot of dairy quite often at my house - I would NOT recommend it in an Alfredo sauce if you’re looking for a typical Alfredo flavor because coconut cream is too sweet.
Simple, quick & delicious for a hearty meal, 5*s
Can you can this sauce?
as a college student, this is honestly the easiest and best alfredo sauce I've made and tasted. I love it so much!
My first time ever making Alfredo sauce and this was amazing!! I think I’ll try the tip of adding a hint of nutmeg next time…delicious….thank you for sharing
Smells heavenly. Made a double recipe with 1/2 Smoked Gouda and 1/2 fresh Parmesan. (Just what I had .) Delicious.
I usually make this on an electric stove, while at my daughter’s she has gas one and it came out very good. I added a pinch or two of nutmeg and 2 eggs whites. Powered garlic. Al once with carrots, broccoli and roasted chicken pieces. 😊
can you reheat or does this separate when doing so?
I like to prep everything for the week, this recipe holds well in the fridge and does not separate when reheating
It did not reheat well for me. I was so disappointed because it was delicious.
So easy and delicious! For those who had trouble melting the cheese, it takes a few minutes, medium- low.
I love these ingredients! This is my go to. Some recipes call for cream cheese and it’s just not for me. I love my Alfredo with nutmeg and also a hint of chili pepper flake,so I add that. I also add a hint of lemon which can cause the cream to curdle a bit, but I love that acid. Thank you! Simple perfection as it’s meant to be
I’m having an issue with the cheese not melting all the way & ,y sauce being super runny. Any recommendations?
I know I'm not the author but I had a similar issue. Make sure the cream and butter is hot enough before you add the cheese. You'll def have to heat it for longer then 2 minutes. If it's still not thick enough after that, add more cheese or mix together a tablespoon of cornstarch with a tablespoon Of cold water and add it to the sauce
I've noticed the higher quality of parmasean the better it will melt, also adding it in smaller amounts or a little higher temperature.
had the same problem, my sauce broke because i added too much cheese too fast while the sauce was too hot. fresh, finely grated parmesan reggiano is the trick. simmer the sauce, pull it off the heat and shave a little. whisk, shave a little more, repeat.
Use fresh parmesan cheese and grate it yourself. The pre-grated variety uncludes an anti caking ingredient that inhibits the melting process.
This recipe is amazing. Easy and fast to make! Thank you!!!
Love this recipe. I didn’t have the good Parmesan, just the cheap grated in the bag and it was still delicious. I’ve tried a lot of recipes, this was so easy and so so good, the best! Thanks for sharing it Nichole!
such a great meal
This is my first alfredo recipe making it tonight for the 5th time
How many people would this recipe feed?
It's enough sauce for one pound of pasta. So, usually 4-6 depending on how much everyone wants to eat 🙂
Can I use shredded parm cheese in a bag? Or will it turn out bad? Thanks in advance 🙂
Freshly grate is best
Pre shredded parm doesn't melt as nice unfortunately. I just got fresh parm and cut thin slices and it was perfect!
Could I use this sauce for baked alfredo
Had this for dinner tonight and it was amazing. We all loved it. Thank you for sharing it.