This Alfredo sauce recipe is so easy and quick to make–just 25 minutes total! It’s incredibly creamy and packed with flavor. Use it for pasta, pizza, and more!
Why You’ll Love This Alfredo Sauce Recipe
- Incredible flavor thanks to a few not-so-authentic but truly tasty additions.
- Uses heavy cream for the perfect creamy consistency. While authentic Italian Alfredo recipes use high quality parmesan to achieve this, it’s quite hard to find in the US. A splash of cream does the trick instead, and it also helps prevent the sauce from breaking.
- Doubles easily. This recipe makes enough to coat 8 oz of pasta, but it can certainly be doubled without issue. I include notes for cooking and including the pasta in the recipe notes below.
- Includes the option to add cream cheese, if you want to make it even richer.
I shared this Alfredo sauce in my fettuccine Alfredo post last year, and it was a smash hit. Here’s one five-star review:
“OMG so, so yummy and easy too! I’m no cook, and believe it or not, it tastes better than an Italian restaurant!” — Brigitte C.
And another…
“Another home run from Sam! Creamy, parmesany, rich (but easy to eat a lot), and, best of all, SO QUICK AND EASY TO MAKE.” — Bruce
Today I’m sharing that same sauce but in a standalone recipe, just in case you don’t feel like serving it over pasta. We’ve used it as a white sauce on a pizza, in a white lasagna, and served over it baked chicken (with a side of steamed broccoli — one of my favorite weeknight dinners!), just to name a few ideas.
It’s easy, creamy, velvety smooth, and even though it’s not truly authentic, this Alfredo is nothing short of amazing. I can’t wait to hear what YOU think about it!
Ingredients
Some of the ingredients in my recipe may surprise you–be sure to read through this next section before beginning.
- Heavy cream. This is a non-negotiable for me, and if you want to make an alfredo sauce without cream, you’ll have to find a different recipe. I know cream is not a traditional Italian alfredo ingredient, but since this is an Americanized recipe, it’s a completely acceptable and tasty addition.
- Parmesan cheese. Ideally you should freshly grate your parmesan cheese, since pre-shredded or pre-grated cheese won’t always melt nicely. We want the cheese to melt smoothly into the sauce!
- Shallot. Rather than use garlic or onion I prefer to use a shallot (which has flavor notes from both). Alternatively you could use a teaspoon or two of minced garlic or half of a finely chopped yellow onion (or both) instead. Either will be delicious, but I just personally like to use a shallot (and there’s something about shallots that just feels fancy).
- Nutmeg. You might think this spice only belongs in spice cake or gingerbread, but just a pinch keeps the sauce from being too rich and really rounds out the flavor (I also use it in my meatballs).
- Cream cheese. This is optional and I don’t use it every time (which is why it isn’t pictured above!) but if you want to make your sauce even richer, you can stir in 2 oz of full-fat, brick-style cream cheese when you add the parmesan cheese.
SAM’S TIP: Minced fresh parsley and freshly cracked black pepper are excellent toppings for Alfredo sauce. An extra sprinkle of parmesan cheese is always a good idea too!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Alfredo Sauce
- Cook the shallot in olive oil and melted butter over medium heat until softened.
- Whisk in the heavy cream until incorporated. Keep cooking until the mixture thickens; I like to check to see if it coats the back of a spoon to know that it’s thickened enough.
- Add the grated parmesan, salt, and spices. Stir until the cheese melts and the sauce is smooth.
- Taste test (you may need more salt and pepper!) and use as desired.
SAM’S TIP: If you plan to serve your Alfredo sauce over pasta, make sure to save some of the pasta water (about ½ cup). This will help the sauce and noodles combine beautifully when you stir them together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Definitely not, nor does it pretend to be. Instead, this it is an incredibly flavored Alfredo sauce recipe that I think improves on the original (or else I wouldn’t have shared it). Authentic Alfredo wouldn’t dare use cream or shallots (or cream cheese, if you decide to go that route!), but I use them here and have no regrets.
This sauce has already received rave reviews over on my fettuccine Alfredo post, so I’m not the only who agrees with these additions 😉. Try it and let me know what you think!
This recipe makes enough sauce to cover 8 oz of pasta. Depending on how much pasta you typically eat, this is roughly 4 servings. If you need to, feel free to double the recipe to feed more people.
Cream cheese thickens the sauce and makes it richer. It’s not traditional, and I don’t always use it when I make Alfredo sauce, but it’s fun to add sometimes and I’ve included notes in the recipe card in case you would like to use it in your recipe.
Remember to always use brick-style, full-fat cream cheese. The spreadable kind sold in tubs will not work the same (something important to remember anytime you’re cooking with cream cheese–like when making cheesecake).
Enjoy!
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Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 shallot finely minced (slightly less than ¼ cup)
- 1 ¼ cup (296 ml) heavy cream
- 1 cup (60 g) parmesan cheese fresh-grated
- ½ teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch ground nutmeg about 1/16 teaspoon
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Combine butter and olive oil in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until butter is melted.4 Tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- Add shallot and cook, stirring frequently, until softened.1 shallot
- Reduce heat to low and gradually whisk in heavy cream until combined. Stir frequently until thickened (mixture will coat the back of a spoon.1 ¼ cup (296 ml) heavy cream
- Add parmesan, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and stir well until cheese is melted.1 cup (60 g) parmesan cheese, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, Pinch ground nutmeg
- Taste-test and add additional spices if needed. Serve over pasta or as desired, or allow to cool and store for later use.
Notes
Pasta
If you’d like to serve with pasta, cook 8 oz of your favorite pasta and allow it to boil according to package instructions as you prepare the sauce. Reserve at least half a cup of pasta water before draining pasta. Once sauce has finished cooking, add pasta and a splash of pasta water to the sauce after melting the cheese. Stir and cook over low heat until sauce clings to the pasta. Serve immediately.Shallot alternatives
Alternatively use half a medium-sized yellow onion, finely chopped and cook this until softened, then add a teaspoon or two of minced garlic and cook until fragrant in lieu of the shallot.Cream cheese
If you’d like to add cream cheese, cut 2 oz of full-fat (regular) brick-style cream cheese into pieces and add to the sauce along with the parmesan cheese. Stir until melted through.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Madeline
How would you recommend storing this? Could you can it? If you can it, would you still store it in the fridge?
I’m assuming you can’t freeze it because of the heavy cream separating?
Thank you so much!
Love your website and recipes!!
Sam
Hi Madeline! It will store in the refrigerator for several days. I am not familiar with the process of canning so unfortunately I cannot comment on how to do it or how it would work.
monarch
hey, can i use evaporated milk instead of heavy cream?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Evaporated milk would make the alfredo sauce much thinner, so we’re not sure how well it would turn out 🙁
Sandra
How do I keep the sauce from separating? I like to have baked pasta sometimes and the butter separates and it ends up being greasy.
Sam
Hi Sandra! Do you find it separating on the stove top or when baking with it?
Sandra
I find it separates when I bake the alfredo.
Sam
Alfredo tends to separate if it gets too hot/if the heat isn’t controlled well. Do you typically bake with traditional alfredo (where it’s just butter and cheese?) The traditional variety is especially susceptible to separating. The cream (and cream cheese, if you opt to use it) in this recipe should stabilize the sauce so that it should not separate much unless you’re exposing it to quite high heat/baking for an extended amount of time.
Laura C Messick
I have made this for Fettuccine Alfredo and it was the easiest and best sauce. My question is can this be used in a White Lasagna being assembled a day ahead and it will bake fine?
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Laura! I haven’t tried it. I would be a little worried about the sauce breaking, but if you do try it I would love to know how it goes! 🙂
Clarence
Can you substitute half and half for the cream?
Sam
Hi Clarence! The half and half would make the alfredo sauce much thinner, so I’m not sure how well it would turn out.
Danielle Schrader
Hi Clarence If all you have is half and half or just milk, you can make a roux by using equal parts of butter and flour. So for this recipe I would cook the onions/garlic /shallots in the butter as directed. Since she already has the butter just add 1 to 2 teaspoon flour depending on how thick you want your sauce (the onions/garlic/shallots will absorb a lot of the butter leaving you with roughly 1 to 2 teaspoons of non absorbed butter) Cook this for one minute to remove the flour taste then proceed with the rest of the recipe. Please note that when pouring in your half and half/milk, pour slowly and whisk vigorously as a roux will thicken very quickly. Add more half and half if it becomes to thick whisking constantly until you achieve your desired thickness. Finish with the rest of the recipe. This is what I do when I have no heavy cream on hand. Heavy cream will be much smoother but sometimes we just don’t always have it in the fridge 🙂 Hope this helps
Clarence Smith
Thank you for this great tip, Danielle!