The easiest and creamiest homemade alfredo sauce recipe! Ditch the canned stuff, and make homemade alfredo sauce from scratch that’s even better than the restaurant version.
Alfredo sauce reminds me of my childhood when I refused to eat anything else! My Mom made it with pasta all the time, and I still make it as often to this day. It’s so comforting, and I honestly don’t know anyone who doesn’t adore it!
Fettuccine alfredo is Olive Garden’s most popular dish for a reason! On their website, they say that they make their alfredo sauce with simple ingredients like butter, garlic, parmesan cheese, cream, milk, salt, and pepper. And that’s exactly what I do!
So, today I’m sharing with you this restaurant copycat recipe that you will 100% love and add to your “make again” list! And before I forget, if you love creamy pastas then try my creamy lemon pasta sauce, and if you’re a fan of tomato-based sauces, you MUST try this penne arrabbiata pasta sauce.
Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Now let’s talk about what a good alfredo should be like: Creamy, like super creamy!, rich, a bit garlicky, salty, silky smooth, buttery, flavorful, and comforting. And my recipe here ticks all of these boxes!
All you need to make this homemade alfredo sauce is just a few ingredients, and 10 minutes of your time. Make it to dip breadsticks, for pasta, sandwiches, you name it!
The Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this super creamy alfredo sauce:
- Butter – because all good things start with butter!
- Heavy whipping cream and milk – Olive Garden use a combination of the 2, and that’s what makes their alfredo so creamy and rich!
- Cheese – I normally use grated parmesan, but you can also use romano or any type of cheese that you have available.
- All-purpose flour – This will help thicken the sauce, but you can totally skip it especially if you’re on a keto diet.
- Garlic, nutmeg (optional), salt, and pepper.
The Directions
- On medium heat, melt butter in a pan, then saute the garlic until fragrant (about 1 minute). Make sure not to let the garlic brown.
- Add the flour, and cook it for 1 minute to get rid of the taste of raw flour.
- Add the milk and cream. Whisk and allow the mixture to simmer for 2 minutes (not boil), then add the parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg if using.
- Whisk until the cheese is melted and the sauce is thickened.
- Either let it cool down and store it in a jar, or if serving with pasta, then toss cooked pasta in the sauce, garnish with chopped parsley and serve.
Recipe Video
While this recipe is easy to make, it always helps to watch a quick video. Give it a watch below!
How to Thicken Alfredo Sauce?
You might be tempted to add more cheese to thicken the sauce more, but please don’t! Rest assured that the sauce will thicken on its own when it cools down a little.
Adding flour helps thicken the sauce, but you have to cook out the raw flour flavor a little. You can add other cheeses to your sauce, but that’s for flavor (like I did in my Instant Pot chicken and mushroom alfredo pasta recipe).
Expert Tips
- To make the sauce extra flavorful you can add other cheese such as romano, mozzarella, provolone, cream cheese, anything that you like! But keep in mind that the sauce will turn out super-rich.
- The amounts given in this recipe will yield around 2 cups of sauce that are enough for ¾ lb/12 oz of pasta.
- Have a taste at the end and adjust seasonings to your liking, you might want to add more salt, pepper, etc.
What to Serve With?
- Cooked pasta! Use any pasta shape.
- Olive Garden Breadsticks.
- Grilled chicken, shrimp, or steak.
- Grilled or steamed vegetables.
- Grilled chicken wraps – add alfredo instead of ranch!
- Air Fryer Salmon.
- Cheesy scalloped potatoes.
If you love creamy pasta, then make sure to check out my delicious garlic butter pasta (no cream!). And this rich garlic shrimp pasta, it’s AMAZING!
Recommended Tools
- Pan – Use a saucepan or a pan to make this sauce. I love my stainless steel set and always recommend it.
- Heat-resistant spatula – You need this spatula for all of the cooking that you do!
- Whisk – Use a rubber or silicone balloon whisk not to ruin your pan, especially if you’re using a non-stick pan!
- Kitchen tongs – a kitchen essential. You’ll use this for sauteing, frying, picking up food, grilling, serving, and more!
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I hope that you love every recipe that you make! – Diana x
Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup butter
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup milk
- ¾ cup parmesan
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg optional
Instructions
- On medium heat, melt butter in a pan, then saute the garlic until fragrant (about 1 minute).
- Add the flour, and cook it for 1 minute.
- Add the milk and cream. Allow the mixture to simmer for 2 minutes, then add the parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg if using.
- Whisk until the cheese is melted and the sauce is thickened.
- Toss cooked pasta in the sauce, garnish with chopped parsley and serve.
Video
Notes
- Don’t be tempted to add more parmesan to thicken the sauce, as the sauce will thicken more when it cools down.
- The amounts above will make around 2 cups of sauce that are enough for ¾ lb/12 oz of pasta.
- To reheat the sauce, add a splash of water and whisk over low-medium heat until it’s warmed through and no longer too thick.
Natalya
This is a wonderful recipe! I only had elbow macaroni on hand but nobody had a problem with that. I omitted the nutmeg but followed everything else. Thank you!!!
Diana
That’s so awesome, Natalya! Thank you for the great review!
Katrina DiLorenzo
I’ve been looking for a good alfredo sauce recipe and finally found it! Love this recipe. I made it with cheese tortellini and grilled chicken. I never have to order this from a restaurant again!
Diana
Love it! Thank you for your kind words and great feedback, Katrina!