This is the creamiest and BEST Homemade Alfredo Sauce that I have come across! It even wins over the Olive Garden’s recipe that I have been using and is my favorite Alfredo sauce recipe!
Alfredo Sauce
I’ve been using Olive Garden’s Alfredo sauce recipe until I came across a cream cheese version and WOEWW-ZA! Cream cheese makes things much creamier resulting in a rich creamy sauce and you wouldn’t even tell! There is also NO flour here making it gluten-free and that’s not even intentional! You’re still getting the classic authentic taste but flour-less! This can also make the perfect meal-plan staple as you can use this sauce for a week of yummy dinners like over fettuccine pasta, pizza, veggies and so much more!
What is alfredo sauce?
Alfredo sauce was originally invented from butter and parmesan cheese to toss over fettuccine pasta. The two ingredients made a rich sauce. Nowadays Alfredo sauce is known as the garlicky “white sauce” served over pasta dishes, pizzas, and much more.
How to thicken Alfredo sauce without flour
There is no flour in this recipe, yet it turns out super thick! The secret is in the cheese! The more parmesan cheese the creamier! It also works as a thickening agent! So yay for gluten-free!
Substitutes for Parmesan Cheese?
Parmesan cheese is the most common grated cheese used for Alfredo sauce. However, cheeses like Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Pecorino Romano Cheese, Grana Padano, Pecorino, and other hard cheeses can be used. Here is a list of cheese substitutes for parmesan cheese if you’re curious.
How to re-heat alfredo sauce
Alfredo sauce can be tricky to re-heat since it’s prone to separate from all that butter. This sauce reheats well and should smooth out perfectly after reheating. It does separate for a moment in the beginning stage of reheating but then smooths out the more you whisk so don’t think it’s ruined. Keep in mind the more you re-heat the more it tends to lose its creamy state and get greasy looking so keep that limited.
How to store alfredo sauce?
Alfredo sauce should keep for up to a week unless your cream is soon to expire.
How to make Alfredo Sauce for a crowd
This recipe makes a big batch yielding about 6-1/2 cups. You only need 2 cups of prepared alfredo sauce for every pound of pasta and up-to a cup for a large pizza. It can easily serve around 3 lbs of pasta and is ideal for having leftovers or serving big crowds.
Freezing alfredo sauce
Freezing alfredo sauce is possible and is handy to have when you want to make alfredo pizza!
Pasta dishes to try
- Olive Garden Five-Cheese Ziti al Forno (Copycat Recipe)
- One-Pot Creamy Angel Hair Pasta Recipe
- One-Pot Alfredo Recipe
- Olive Garden Ravioli di Portobello Copycat Recipe
CREAMIEST Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe!
Ingredients
Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe
- 4 oz unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 1 quart heavy cream (4 cups)
- 2 Tbsp crushed garlic (10 cloves, crushed)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 4 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese (or Pecorino Romano)
Instructions
How to make Alfredo Sauce
- In a medium-sized saucepan, melt the cream cheese over medium heat. Whisk in the butter and melt until smooth.
- Add the cream and bring to a boil.
- Then add the garlic, salt and pepper. Whisk and simmer until thickened.
- Whisk in the grated cheese and heat thoroughly.
- Serve over pasta or store in the fridge for up-to 1 week.
Notes
- I love to buy a block of Pecorino Romano from Costco and freshly grate it then freeze. This way I always have freshly grated cheese on hand for recipes like this.
- The butter and cream cheese can be cold when making, you do not need to bring to room temp.
- Freeze in 1 or 2 cup portions for easy re-heating.
- 2 cups of alfredo sauce yield enough for 1 lb of pasta.
