Make the perfect Olive Garden copycat Alfredo Sauce at home any time you want with this easy recipe. Butter, minced garlic, cream, milk, and freshly grated Parmesan and Romano cheeses simmer together to create the rich, creamy sauce you crave; toss it with fettuccine for the best fettuccine alfredo you’ve ever tasted!
Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Turn a basic spaghetti night into something extra special! We love this Homemade Alfredo Sauce recipe because it’s surprisingly quick and easy to make and my entire family loves it. I also love how versatile this recipe is. Perfect for vegetarians as is or great with some grilled chicken!
Check out these other amazing alfredo sauce recipes: Shrimp Alfredo | Chicken Alfredo Bake | Crab Fettuccini Alfredo | Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Roll-Ups
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s what you’ll need to make Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce (the exact measurements and full recipe instructions are below in the easy to print recipe card):
- Fettuccine – you’ll boil the fettuccine according to the package directions while you make the alfredo sauce.
- Butter – use good-quality salted butter.
- Garlic – fresh garlic is an important key to the flavor of this sauce.
- All-purpose flour – the flour will cook together with the butter to create a roux which is the thickener for the alfredo sauce.
- Heavy cream – this is a very important ingredient as the cream makes alfredo sauce what we expect, rich and super creamy.
- Milk – we used whole milk, but you could also use 2%, 1%, or skim milk.
- Parmesan cheese – there is no way around it, to make perfect alfredo sauce you have to use fresh Parmesan that you grate yourself. Buy a wedge of Parmesan cheese in the cheese section of your grocery store, often near the deli and produce area. Let it come to room temperature and grate it before you begin making the sauce.
- Romano cheese – same rules apply as to the Parmesan; use freshly grated, not pre-grated cheese.
- Salt – you’ll add salt to taste before serving the sauce.
- Black pepper – add the pepper according to your taste before serving.
- Fresh chopped parsley – the parsley adds a lovely bit of color and a little extra flavor.
How to Make Alfredo Sauce
More than just making the sauce, this recipe will show you how to make your own fettuccine alfredo. But if you prefer, you can skip the pasta and just make the sauce for whatever purpose you need.
- Cook the fettuccine according to the package instructions, until al dente. While the pasta is cooking, move on to the next steps to make the sauce.
- In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook in the butter just until fragrant, about 45-60 seconds, but do not let the garlic brown.
- Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the heavy cream slowly, stirring constantly, then add the milk the same way.
- Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 3-4 minutes. The sauce will continue to thicken as it simmers. Keep stirring often to prevent the sauce from burning.
- Stir in the Parmesan and Romano cheeses. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper.
Tip: grate your cheeses and set out all of the ingredients for the sauce, measured and ready to go before you begin cooking. The sauce-making process can go quickly and if you’re not prepared with the next ingredient the recipe can fail easily because overcooking at certain points can be disastrous.
- Drain the cooked pasta then add it to the sauce in the pot and stir to combine.
- Garnish with chopped fresh parsley before serving.
How to Make Chicken Alfredo
If you love homemade chicken alfredo, simply follow the recipe as instructed, but also add grilled or baked Italian chicken. It’s so simple!
- Place boneless skinless chicken breasts in a zip-top bag or a food storage container with a lid, then cover with Italian salad dressing. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight to marinade.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill or bake at 350F until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
- Allow the chicken to rest for a few minutes after cooking, then use a sharp knife to slice into strips.
- Plate the fettuccine alfredo, then add the chicken on top.
Just like that, you have an incredibly delicious dinner of chicken and fettuccine with alfredo sauce! If you’d prefer to use the slow cooker, try our Crockpot Chicken Alfredo directions.
Variations
Other pasta – Use this sauce recipe with any pasta you like!
Dipping sauce – Homemade alfredo sauce makes a fantastic dipping sauce for garlic bread and more.
Pink sauce – Try mixing some marinara sauce into your alfredo to create a wonderful “pink sauce” that is super flavorful and perfect for topping any pasta.
More seasonings – You can add a little Italian seasoning blend to the sauce to bump up the flavor.
Add-ins – Feel free to add in some sauteed veggies like broccoli or asparagus.
Troubleshooting
The garlic burns – If the garlic browns during cooking, you will want to strain it out as it will give the sauce an odd burned garlic flavor. At this point in the recipe, as long as you have more butter, flour, and garlic, it might be best to start over again and reduce the heat, watching the garlic closely to avoid it browning.
The sauce isn’t thick – Continue to simmer the sauce on low heat, stirring very often, until the sauce thickens.
The sauce is too thick – Slowly add a little more heavy cream or milk, stirring constantly, until the sauce thins down to your desired consistency.
The sauce is separated – It’s not uncommon for a cream sauce to separate, also known as having a sauce “break.” So don’t fret! Slowly add more cream, whisking the sauce vigorously until the sauce comes back together. You’ll likely need to do this when retreating the sauce because that is when alfredo sauce will often separate.
How to Store Leftover Alfredo Sauce
- Storing. Alfredo sauce can keep nicely in the refrigerator. Store it in a jar with a lid or an airtight food storage container. It will keep fresh in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- To reheat the sauce, microwave in 30-second cooking intervals, stirring well between each interval until the sauce is hot. Do be aware that the sauce can separate during reheating but should still taste great.
More Pasta Recipes
- Marry Me Chicken Pasta
- Pasta Carbonara
- 4-ingredient Ravioli Lasagna
- Pasta e Fagioli
- Million Dollar Spaghetti
- Baked Ziti
Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound fettuccine
- 6 Tablespoons butter
- 1 Tablespoon garlic minced
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 ½ cups milk
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese room temperature
- ½ cup grated Romano cheese room temperature
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Fresh chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the fettuccine according to the package instructions, until al dente. While the pasta is cooking, move on to the next steps to make the sauce.
- In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook in the butter just until fragrant, about 45-60 seconds, but do not let the garlic brown.
- Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add the heavy cream slowly, stirring constantly, then add the milk the same way.
- Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 3-4 minutes. The sauce will continue to thicken as it simmers. Keep stirring often to prevent the sauce from burning.
- Stir in the Parmesan and Romano cheeses. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper.
- Drain the cooked pasta then add it to the sauce in the pot and stir to combine.
- Garnish with chopped fresh parsley before serving.
Last Step:
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4 comments on “Alfredo Sauce Recipe”
Wonderful. Didn’t used to like Alfredo sauce, but this fantastic. Thank U for your recipe
Thank you Deborah!
So yummy!! Made this for dinner with my husband, daughter and son in law. My daughters a pretty tough critic but absolutely LOVED this sauce. Everyone else did too but she’s usually a hard sell when it comes to Alfredo sauce. She doesn’t like any store bought (and we’ve tried them all). They asked for the leftovers to take home, hubby said don’t give them all of it. There was plenty share. it’s also super simple and quick to make. Thank you for your contribution to a success Sunday dinner.
So rich & creamy! ♥️