So rich, thick, and creamy, this homemade Alfredo Sauce recipe is ready in just 10 minutes. Made with real cream, garlic, and lots of parmesan cheese, you’ll never buy store-bought again!
I have truly never found a better homemade Alfredo Sauce recipe than my Dad’s. It’s so rich and velvety, with a great garlicky flavor, and always coats your fettuccine perfectly.
His trick? He gently simmers the cream, butter, and fresh garlic together. Then he stirs in handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan until the sauce becomes irresistibly thick and creamy.
He seasons it with salt, freshly cracked pepper, and ::gasp:: an optional pinch of nutmeg. While you don’t taste the nutmeg, it makes all the other flavors pop!
“We make this Alfredo sauce weekly for my husband’s favorite dinner – fettuccine Alfredo. We’ve tried so many versions, but we always come back to this one because it has the best flavor. Be sure to try it with nutmeg, it really makes the flavors pop!” — Victoria, home cook with a love for comfort food.
Ingredient Notes
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Parmesan Cheese: Use freshly grated parmesan cheese, the kind you grate yourself or buy fresh in the refrigerated section, not the shaker can kind!
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream will create the creamiest sauce possible. However you can use half and half for a lighter sauce.
- Garlic: Always go with fresh finely minced garlic (not jarred!) for the best flavor and texture. I double it because my family loves garlic, but 4 cloves is perfect for most. You can use 1 teaspoon garlic powder in a pinch, but the flavor will be much more dull.
- Salt & Pepper: Salt and freshly cracked black pepper, added to taste, are the two spices you can’t skip. If you want, you can also add a pinch of Italian seasoning for a more herby flavor.
- Nutmeg (optional): A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg balances the richness.
Want to save this recipe?
Email this recipe to yourself for easy access later!
How to Make Alfredo Sauce
Many homemade Alfredo sauces can break or have a slightly curdled appearance. Not so with this recipe, as long as you follow my simple steps! Visit the printable recipe card below for the full directions.
Heat the butter and heavy cream low and slow. Then whisk constantly as you slowly add the cheese in batches so the sauce turns out smooth and velvety.
Make sure to keep your heat at a steady low-medium. Too much heat can quickly burn the butter/garlic and also make the cheese clump.
If your sauce becomes too thick, add a little pasta water or more cream to thin it out. Just slowly whisk it in a tablespoon or two at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
Once the sauce is ready, toss it to coat your favorite hot pasta, or use it as a dip or topping, and dinner is served. It really is that simple!
Alfredo Sauce Recipe Variations
- Extra Thick Sauce: Whisk 1 tablespoon of flour into the melted butter, before adding the cream, to make a roux.
- Lemon Cream Sauce: Add fresh lemon juice (start with half a lemon) when you add the cream.
- Cream Cheese: Alfredo sauce with cream cheese is another common version, the cream cheese gives your Alfredo a slightly tangy flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can, but the sauce will be thinner and less rich. If you prefer a lighter sauce, use half and half or a 50/50 mix of whole milk and heavy cream.
This could happen for two reasons. 1. Using shelf-stable shaker kind of parmesan cheese instead of freshly grated parmesan. 2. Adding the cheese too quickly or with the heat set too high. Always add parmesan cheese gradually over low heat while whisking constantly.
No, the original Alfredo sauce had no cream, just butter, cheese, and pasta water. This recipe is for the American-style version, which is richer and creamier.
Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup heavy cream, or half and half for a lighter sauce
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese, the refrigerated kind!
- Salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
- fresh grated nutmeg, optional, to taste
Want to save this recipe?
Email this recipe to yourself for easy access later!
Instructions
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low to medium heat. Add cream and bring to a simmer (lightly bubbling, not a full boil). Cook, whisking often, for 5 minutes until it starts to thicken slightly.
- Then add garlic, cook for 1 minute more. Add the cheese slowly (I recommend doing it in two to three batches) and whisk constantly until melted. Add salt and pepper, and optional freshly grated nutmeg, to taste. If adding nutmeg, I recommend starting with 1/4 teaspoon.
- If your sauce becomes too thick, you can thin it out with a little extra cream or pasta water. Toss in your favorite pasta and dinner is served!
⭐️ Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and rating! It only takes a minute and helps support our family-run blog. ❤️
Notes
Video
Nutrition
Categories:
Ways To Serve This Alfredo Sauce
Alfredo sauce can be enjoyed in so many delicious ways. You can’t go wrong with the classics like fettuccine Alfredo or chicken Alfredo, but it’s just as tasty with penne, spaghetti, ravioli, or any pasta you have on hand. It also makes a sauce for white pizza, white lasagna or stuffed shells.
Try it with my Cajun chicken Alfredo for a little spice or with sautéed shrimp for a restaurant-style shrimp Alfredo dinner at home. My kids also love dipping everything from breadsticks to roasted veggies – or even chicken tenders – in it. You truly can’t go wrong!
More Creamy Pasta Dinner Ideas To Try
- This homemade Hamburger Helper is so creamy and cheesy, it puts the boxed version to shame.
- Dump, pressure cook, and stir, this instant pot chicken alfredo is done in 30 minutes!
- We made this Cajun chicken pasta recipe once and now it’s a weekly staple in our house.
- My picky eaters clean their plates when I make this chicken broccoli alfredo bake!
- You can’t never go wrong with a bowl of spaghetti carbonara.
Post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Tastes just like Olive Garden. Don’t be shy with your parmesan! This is my new “goto” sauce, my family loves it!
Great in steamed fresh broccoli!
The best I have ever had!
This is so incredibly delicious! The family raved about it! Very easy and quick sauce. We added shrimp and broccoli!
Very delicious and easy. Just the right amount of garlic. I love garlic but not if it overpowers. It did get super thick once the cheese was added a little pasta water worked well but I might try half|half next time. Definitely a keeper. One of the picky grandkids even loved it. I’d post a pic but I didn’t get one before it was all gone.
Tried it tonight because my 7 year old demanded chicken Alfredo homemade… it’s amazing! May make a bigger batch and can it for winter!
I made this sauce for the first time and chose this recipe. The sauce turned out delicious, nothing extra, I did everything according to the recipe, and the result was 1 cup of ready sauce.
Delicious- the wife says “I want this to be my last meal before I go to heaven”.
Now that is *quite* the compliment!!
This is my go-to alfredo sauce! It’s quick, easy, and delicious. I do use the garlic in a jar that you just keep in the fridge because I’m way too lazy to mince my own, but I just double the amount ( because it’s less potent). But seriously amazing!!
I love the flavor of this sauce but I must be doing something wrong after seeing everyone’s pictures. The consistency goes from normal after it’s done, to almost cottage cheese textured once I mix in the pasta. Any ideas why the consistency changes? Thanks!
Mine did the same thing! Did you use half and half or did you use heavy cream? I used half and half, I don’t think it mixed well together, it was that or maybe I tried heating it up too quickly.
Hmm! That is definitely a new one – you have me stumped! What kind of pasta are you adding it too? It’s just a normal cooked pasta that you are tossing in the sauce and then it turns into a cottage cheese texture?
Sounds like the pasta is absorbing your liquid. If it’s cooked only to al dente, it could be the culprit. To me that’s the most likely reason, but there are
I followed the recipe as written and it was easy and so delicious! A keeper for sure. I used penne pasta, and added some shredded rotisserie chicken and broccoli.
Easy delicious meal!
Perfect Alfredo sauce! Thank you for this recipe!
Delicious and easy, it turned out perfect.
This recipe is wrong, you don’t simmer cream for 5 min unless you want cheese. Cook the garlic first until aromatic, then add cream and cheese until melted and thick. Learn how to cook
Hi Jesse, have you even tried it before saying it’s wrong?
I love this recipe! I had no parm so I used some camembere instead. It turned out absolutely delicious. Such an easy recipe too. My husband loved it.
Servings? How many people does this serve. Wanting to make for 6-7 adults and 2 kids. Would I double or triple this recipe?
Hi Sam! This Alfredo recipe makes enough sauce to coat 8 oz of fettuccine pasta. Which usually serves 2 or 3 people, depending on how hungry they are. Hope this helps! 🙂
Awesome! We loved it! Will definitely make again! Thank you for sharing!
This is by far our favorite recipe for alfredo! Tonight, we added some rosemary and crushed red pepper and backed a bit off on the garlic. YUM!
I will be making this tonight with shrimp. Excited to try it out.
Delicious! My teenager loves alfredo, but I don’t love the things in the jar stuff at the store. This was super easy, and he LOVED it!!
Easy and delicious thank you
Loved this recipe. I added bacon and spring onion as my husband is a big meat eater. He loved it. I will never buy store bought again
This came out great! I doubled the recipe and used half and half. It came out really creamy and there was no cheese lumps. My husband said this was the best alfredo he has ever tried.
Holy cow. Made this for the first time tonight and I’ll never make another recipe. This is perfect and brilliant!!! And so easy!!
Was really easy to prep and tasted phenomenal
Excited to try this! If storing the sauce separate in the fridge, do I avoid tossing in the noodles at the end?
Hi Kassidy! Yes, if you want to store the sauce to try to use again later, it’s best stored by itself. Then reheat it slowly on the stovetop to try to prevent it from splitting as directed! 🙂