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    Home » Recipes » Italian

    Easy Homemade Alfredo Sauce

    Published: Jul 27, 2023 · Modified: Jun 18, 2025 by Sherri · This post may contain affiliate links · 1 Comment

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    homemade alfredo sauce in a skillet and over fettuccine noodles in a white bowl with a fork twirling the noodles.

    This easy homemade Alfredo sauce is a rich and creamy white sauce made with butter, Parmesan, heavy cream, and simple seasonings and is ready in 25 minutes! It’s a perfect easy recipe to serve over your favorite pasta, chicken, or veggies for a comforting weeknight meal!

    Love classic Italian dinner recipes? This meatless baked ziti is a wonderful family favorite, this easy traditional lasagna recipe is always a crowd pleaser and who doesn’t love classic stuffed shells.

    Alfredo sauce poured over white bowl of pasta.

    Table of contents

    • Creamy Alfredo Sauce from Scratch
    • Ingredients You’ll Need
    • Variations To Try
    • How to Make this Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe
    • Recipe Tips
    • FAQ’s

    Creamy Alfredo Sauce from Scratch

    Knowing how to make Alfredo sauce from scratch is one way to elevate a simple dinner idea!

    It is an easy to make sauce that taste so much better than a store-bought jar of alfredo sauce. Because it’s made with simple ingredients, it can be made in a pinch with things you probably already have!

    When you’re looking for a quick weeknight dinner, pouring creamy rich alfredo sauce over fettuccine noodles as a side to crunchy baked chicken tenders or mayo parmesan chicken or over simple grilled chicken or rotisserie chicken for an easy Chicken Alfredo.  It’s a great recipe to get everyone running to the dinner table.

    Complete the pasta dish with a side of veggies such as roasted broccoli or sautéd spinach and dinner is served!

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    Ingredients You’ll Need

    Ingredients for Alfredo Sauce - butter, garlic, heavy cream, salt, black pepper, nutmeg and parmesan cheese.
    • Unsalted Butter: Melted butter is what we use to start off the sauce. It gives it a rich buttery foundation that gets infused with the garlic as it cooks and is just mouthwatering.
    • Garlic: Fresh minced garlic is best but feel free to use jarred if you’d like. If you want more of a garlic alfredo sauce, feel free to add more
    • Heavy Cream: Ok, so the jig is up. This isn’t exactly authentic (like, not at all) as classic alfredo sauce doesn’t use any cream. However, I like it, so I use it! It adds a creamy richness that makes it extra saucy. Feel free to leave it out if you’d like.
    • Fresh Parmesan Cheese: Freshly grated from a block, if you can. There are so few ingredients in this recipe that it’s nice to be able to use quality ingredients wherever possible. Freshly grated melts better and won’t leave your sauce gritty, however you can use pre-shredded from a shaker if you want. You can also use a combination of cheese for added cheesiness. Pecorino, Fontina, Gruyere or even a little cream cheese are all nice changes from the traditional parmesan flavor. 
    • Black Pepper: Did you know that black pepper is just one of the 3 original ingredients in traditional Alfredo sauce? The other two are butter and cheese. So, let’s not skip this one!
    • Nutmeg: Adds a delightful warm earthy spice that pairs well with heavy cream. Love it or leave it, it’s up to you.
    • Salt: To taste and to bring out the flavors of the rest of the sauce. Make sure to salt the water you use to boil pasta if you’re making it at the same time.

    Variations To Try

    1. 1. Add ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes for a kick.
    2. For a little extra seasoning, sprinkle in a bit of Italian seasoning.
    3. If you don’t have butter you can use olive oil. I suggest using a really good extra virgin olive oil if you have it. 
    4. Add some protein to the sauce! Cooked chicken, shrimp, and even salmon go great with Alfredo sauce.
    5. Toss in some leafy greens like baby spinach at the end. It will melt easily in the heat and won’t take any extra time to cook.
    6. Garnish of fresh parsley if you’d like

    How to Make this Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe

    This delicious homemade sauce will come together in so few steps you’ll wonder why you haven’t always made it from scratch! 

    Melted butter in medium saucepan.

    Step 1: Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat and saute the garlic until fragrant. This should only be about a minute so keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.

    Heavy cream and minced garlic and parmesan cheese added to butter mixture in saucepan.

    Step 2: Pour in the heavy whipping cream and bring it to a slow boil. You don’t want it to burn and scorch the bottom of the pan.

    Pepper, nutmeg, and salt added to sauce mixture in saucepan.

    Step 3: Reduce the heat to low and gradually add the grated Parmesan cheese as you whisk continuously until creamy and smooth. Remove from the heat and sprinkle in the black pepper, nutmeg, and salt. Stir to combine.

    This creamy sauce is best served right away over many kinds of pasta, chicken or use it to smother your veggies or as a dipping sauce too!

    Alfredo sauce poured over white bowl of pasta with fork inserted.

    Recipe Tips

    • When serving Alfredo sauce with your pasta, reserve ¼ cup of your pasta water, and once the pasta is mixed with the sauce, add 1 Tablespoon at a time, as needed, to the sauce to thin it out. 
    • Freshly cracked pepper makes a difference! I bet once you try it, you’ll never go back to the ground black pepper again 😉
    • Avoid using any lower-fat milk or cream. It won’t thicken the sauce as well or give it that rich consistency.
    • Adjust the level of garlic. If you’re not a fan, you can completely omit it. If you love the garlicky flavor, add more!

    FAQ’s

    How to store leftover sauce?

    Once completely cooled, store leftover alfredo sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

    Best way to reheat it?

    Add the sauce to a saucepan and reheat on the stove over low heat. The microwave works in a pinch but you’ll notice the high heat may give it an oily consistency.

    Is this homemade Alfredo sauce gluten-free?

    It is! This sauce isn’t thickened with a flour-based roux, it’s thickened with heavy cream.

    Can I make it with milk instead of heavy cream?

    Technically yes, if you’re looking for a lighter thinner sauce, you can use whole milk or even half and half. I do love the thick richness and creamy texture the heavy cream gives it.

    If you like this recipe, please leave us a comment and rate the recipe below. You can also find us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram!

    Alfredo sauce poured over white bowl of pasta.

    Easy Homemade Alfredo Sauce

    This easy homemade Alfredo sauce is a rich and creamy white sauce made with butter, Parmesan, heavy cream, and simple seasonings and is ready in 25 minutes! It's a perfect easy recipe to serve over your favorite pasta, chicken, or veggies for a comforting weeknight meal!
    5 from 3 votes
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    Course: Dinner
    Cuisine: American, Italian
    Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Servings: 2 servings
    Calories: 607kcal
    Author: Sherri Hagymas

    Ingredients

    • 2 tablespoons butter
    • 2 cloves garlic minced
    • ¾ cup heavy cream
    • 1 cup parmesan cheese grated
    • ½ teaspoon black pepper
    • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg freshly grated
    • ¼ teaspoon salt

    Instructions

    • In a large saucepan, add the butter and melt over medium heat.
      2 tablespoons butter
    • Add the minced garlic to the butter and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant. Be sure not to burn the garlic.
      2 cloves garlic
    • Then pour the heavy cream in and and bring to a slow boil.
      ¾ cup heavy cream
    • Reduce the heat to low and gradually add the grated Parmesan cheese, whisking continuously until it is creamy and smooth.
      1 cup parmesan cheese
    • Remove from the heat and stir in the pepper, nutmeg, and salt.
      ½ teaspoon black pepper, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon salt
    • Serve over pasta, chicken, or vegetables.

    Notes

    Add ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes for a little kick.
    Add more minced garlic if you’d like.
    Feel free to use a combination of cheeses like grated pecorino, fontina, gruyere, pecorino or even a little added cream cheese are all yummy for a change from classic alfredo sauce.
    Freshly grated cheese is best for melting in to a creamy sauce but store-bought grated will work too.
    When serving with pasta, remove ¼ cup of the starchy pasta water. Add 8 ounces of cooked, drained pasta to the sauce and add a tablespoon of reserved water as needed.
    Substitute lower fat milks like whole milk or half and half but they won’t thicken the sauce quite as nicely.
     
     

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 607kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 57g | Saturated Fat: 36g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 165mg | Sodium: 1206mg | Potassium: 154mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 2056IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 663mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutritional Disclosure

    Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an approximation.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. CHRISTINE XANDER

      January 18, 2024 at 10:45 am

      5 stars
      easy and delish

      Reply
    5 from 3 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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