Alfredo sauce is a traditional white sauce made up of butter and Parmesan cheese, usually served with pasta; it is popular accompaniment for fettuccine pasta where the broad noodles are coated in the Alfredo sauce; the actual dish originated in Rome by an Italian restaurateur Alfredo Di Lelio in 1914. Alfredo sauce can be made separate from the pasta where it is sold in jars or it can be made where the ingredients are combined with the pasta dish.
Once Fettuccine Alfredo crossed over to America the dish was mixed with other ingredients such as broccoli, parsley, cream, garlic, shrimp and chicken. The Alfredo sauce itself is slightly different with variations of U.S. Parmesan cheese, roux, egg, nutmeg, caramelized onions and/or garlic, and lemon zest.
Alfredo sauce is fairly simple to make and can be perfected once the right proportions are used for its ingredients. The consistency of the sauce should allow easy but sufficient coating of the noodles; it should not be too thick or too thin.
Nothing tastes better on your pasta then a home made Alfredo sauce. Here you will find a list containing many variations on this wonderful Italian recipe.
Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Directions:
- Add all ingredients in a medium size sauce pan, mix and let simmer for 12 minutes or until the desired consistency is reached.
- Can be served on your choice of pasta or as a beautiful dipping sauce for bread sticks etc.
Trans Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 cup cold salted butter
- 1/4 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese
- Salt and white pepper to taste
- Freshly chopped parsley
Directions:
- Add cold water to a saucepan, just enough to cover the bottom.
- Heat the saucepan over high heat and until water begins to evaporate.
- Remove the pan from the heat when a few drops of water are left in it.
- Add the cream and return saucepan to heat. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to medium. Continue to boil the cream until it is reduced to half.
- Cook pasta in salted water and drain well when done.
- Remove the cream from heat and gradually add the butter blending well with the cream.
- Once the cream is thick and smooth add the cheese in small portions and pasta. Stir continuously with wooden spoon until completely blended and ensure you scrape the bottom and sides of the saucepan.
- Add salt and pepper to taste and top with parsley.
- Sautéed onion and garlic can be added to pump up the flavors in this dish. The use of Asiago cheese or Romano cheese instead of Parmesan will definitely produce different flavors. Typical Alfredo sauce is high in saturated fat and sodium. For a lighter Alfredo sauce use 1 cup skim milk and 1 cup regular or light sour cream and reduce the butter. Add some dried herbs and you are ready to go. For a thicker Alfredo sauce add a small amount of roux. Roux is actually flour combined with liquid butter or olive oil.
Here’s our favorite version of How to Make Alfredo sauce:
Fettuccine Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Alfredo Sauce Ingredients:
- A pound of dried fettuccine
- A stick of sweet butter
- A cup of heavy cream
- A cup of Parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper
Directions:
- Boil the fettuccine until it’s al dente.
- Melt the stick of butter in another skillet.
- After draining the fettuccine, add it to the melted butter in the skillet, along with the cream and cheese.
- Turn the heat under the skillet, and toss the pasta with the sauce ingredients until the pasta is coated.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
This recipe will serve 4 as a main dish, and it has 630 calories and 51 grams of fat per serving. This makes it a dish very high in fat, so be sure to eat light the rest of the day if you’re going to indulge in this meal.
This Fettuccine Alfredo recipe is one of my favorite recipes, and I enjoy it because it’s not only luxurious, rich, and delicious, but also because it has so few ingredients and steps that I have the recipe memorized.
The Best Chicken Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Some people like shrimp with their fettuccine Alfredo, but for me, the best Alfredo sauce includes chicken. Some people prefer to saute a chicken breast and then slice it, topping the dish with the chicken. I prefer this version, where the chicken is deboned and skinned, and then tossed with the pasta and sauce.
Best Alfredo Sauce with Chicken
Ingredients:
- 1 and 2/3 cup of heavy cream
- 5 tablespoons of sweet butter
- 1 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 pound of of fettuccine
- 1 chicken, skinned and deboned
- salt and pepper
Directions:
- Melt the cream and simmer the butter together in the same pan. You can add the chicken now, or you can wait until the pasta is ready.
- Cook and drain the Fettuccine. (I sometimes like to cook the pasta in chicken stock to add a little more chicken flavor.) Mix the pasta, the chicken, the grated cheese, the cream, and the butter with the pasta in the pan over low heat.
- Serve in heated bowls with plenty of salt and pepper.
Easy Lemon Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Sometimes the regular old Alfredo sauce just isn’t special enough. Here’s an easy way to jazz up this standard Alfredo sauce recipe: add some lemon and lemon zest!
Ingredients:
- 1 and 2/3 cup of heavy cream
- 1/4 cup of lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon of lemon zest
- 5 tablespoons of sweet butter
- 1 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 pound of of fettuccine
- salt, pepper and nutmeg
Directions:
- Combine the cream, lemon juice, and butter in a pan and cook over just enough heat to melt the butter and make the cream simmer.
- Boil the fettuccine, then drain it. Toss the fettuccine with the pan of cream and butter, along with the lemon zest and Parmesan.
It is such a versatile dish that works very well with pasta. Only when its prepared at its truest form and variation can it truly make a wonderful no substitutes sauce. The quality of the ingredients matter very highly for this recipe especially the Parmesan cheese. The textures of this sauce go well with many forms of pasta.
On top of pasta, this sauce also works well with vegetables and meats. The richness of the creamy sauce compliments the tastes and textures of most vegetables. It is used in many vegetarian main dishes or as a side dish. As a side dish you can add it on the side of a main meal. The sauce is flexible enough to be used on many cuts of meat.
Enjoy your taste of Italian cuisine with your next meal!
