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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
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb Fettuccine Pasta
- 6 Tablespoons Butter
- 1 Garlic Clove (minced)
- 1 1/2 cups Heavy Cream
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1 1/4 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
- 1/4 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.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I hope you love this fettuccine pasta with homemade alfredo sauce. Happy Cooking, my friends!
Thank you!
I love the recipe and it was delicious!
Love
Made this for my gf and it was a hit. I pan seared some chicken thighs so I made the cream sauce in the chicken drippings and cooked super fine grated garlic in the butter and chicken drippings before starting the sauce.
I just tried this, and Omg!! This was so good and ridiculously easy! I have to apologize to my grown kids for not making this for them growing up lol! I think next time I might double the sauce, but other than that this recipe is perfect!!
This recipe is incredibly easy to follow, prep and cook time are a plus. I get to make my family an amazing meal and in under 30 minutes. The best part… it is delicious! My picky kids ate it up!
I made this with a friend and we kind of cooked the butter for the sauce a bit too long, but it tasted amazing and we couldn’t stop eating it!
I only had 3 tablespoons of butter in my fridge, so I adjusted the recipe. It was a perfect Fettuccine Alfredo for one. It’s so easy to prepare! I’ll be making this regularly. I also had some leftover breaded chicken tenders for nestling into the pasta.
This was the first time making this recipe and my family LOVED it.
This recipe is amazing! There are some additions I add to enhance it but this recipe still works beautifully. I add oregano instead of Italian parsley and onion with the garlic clove and I sometimes also add cut up chicken breast for some protein. Thank you for this wonderful recipe Melissa!
I made this many times and love it!! My sauce seems to separate shortly after plating. What am I doing wrong?
I made a pound of pasta for 5 people. Of course they wanted more LOL.
Hi, mine does that if the noodles aren’t drained enough although I feel like I drain them forever!
maybe change the time and experiment!
Are you adding any pasta water to the sauce? Haven’t made this recipe yet… I’m going to tonight. But, I do know that in addition to thinning the sauce.. pasta water acts as a binding agent for the sauce and noodles.
How many people does this recipe serve?