Homemade Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients:
Butter ¼ cup – use high quality salted butter.
Garlic – fresh garlic is an important key to the flavor of this sauce. You may use minced as well though.
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 ½ cup – this is a very important ingredient as the cream makes Alfredo sauce rich and super creamy.
Milk – we used whole milk, but you could also use 2%, 1%, or skim milk.
Parmesan cheese ¾ cup– there is no way around it, to make perfect alfredo sauce you have to use fresh Parmesan that you grate yourself.*
Romano cheese ¾ cup (or eliminate and use 1 ½ cups Parmesan 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.
BUY A WEDGE OF PARMESAN, OFTEN NEAR THE DELI AND PRODUCE AREA.
ALLOW IT TO COME TO ROOM TEMPERATURE AND GRATE IT BEFORE YOU MAKE THE SAUCE.
Tip: Grate your cheeses and set out all the ingredients for the sauce, measured and ready to go before you cook. 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. |
To make fettuccine alfredo, 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. If it appears to be too dark, just toss and start over.
- 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. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley before serving.
How to Store Leftover Alfredo Sauce
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.
Time to reheat?
If your sauce is “broken”, do not worry, all you need to do is to stir the sauce well and slowly add extra cream to bring it all together.
