The Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce Ever! - The Recipe Critic (2024)

FAQs

How to make Alfredo sauce more flavorful? ›

Extra seasonings and spices will go a long way in adding flavor to a boring jar of sauce. Some of my personal favorites include salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, dried basil, oregano, onion powder or seasoned salt. Start with small amounts (1/2 teaspoon at a time) and add as needed, in order to avoid over-spicing.

Traditional Italian way uses just butter, pasta, water and cheese, which you stir until it sounds like good, uh, you know, and emulsifies. The American way just includes a dash that has Sweet. Democracy juice. Our regular Italian method is pretty creamy.

Don't overheat any cheese sauce or it will “break” meaning that the cheese will separate into a thin sauce and bits of cheese which describes the “grainy” nature of your Alfredo sauce. Ideally Alfredo sauce should not be “cooked” at all but combined using the heat from the pasta only.

Heartier herbs like thyme or oregano can be added in to simmer with the sauce. Add delicate herbs like parsley, basil, or chervil at the end to maintain their delicate, aromatic flavor. Quick tip: Swirl in a bit of leftover pesto to add another herbaceous twist to your Alfredo sauce.

Use Cornstarch

This advice will leave you with the creamiest Alfredo sauce you've ever tasted. Here's how to make it: In a bowl, whisk together equal parts of cornstarch and water—about 2 tablespoons of each for four servings of pasta and sauce. Add 2 teaspoons of the slurry to the Alfredo sauce.

Italian Seasoning: The garlic, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper are the best seasoning for Fettuccine Alfredo! It is the perfect flavor combination. Parmesan Cheese: Wouldn't be alfredo pasta without parmesan cheese! You can also substitute some asiago, Romano, or parmigiano reggiano for a sharper taste.

Garlic – The main flavor of alfredo. I use fresh minced garlic here, but minced jarred garlic works fine. In a pinch substitute with a tablespoon of garlic powder. Parmesan – I highly recommend grating your own parmesan for this.

Did you know that the term “Alfredo” is not used often in Italy? There are many different combinations of butter and parmesan similar to what we define using the name we recognize, but Italians call all of these combinations “al burro”.

Fettuccine Alfredo, minus the spectacle, has now become ubiquitous in Italian-style restaurants outside Italy, although despite its worldwide renown, in Italy this dish is usually still called simply fettuccine al burro.

Cheese – When you're making homemade Alfredo sauce you need lots of good quality Parmesan! You'll want shredded Parmesan cheese, not the dry powdery stuff.

How to get smooth Alfredo sauce? ›

Add more cheese.

This is often the easiest way to make a creamy sauce. Any grated, shredded, or cream cheese will do. Toss in 1 or 2 tbsp of pasta water for best results. The starch from the pasta will bond with the dairy content, creating a nice cream that will improve the texture of the sauce.

This happens when there's too much fat or liquid in the mixture. This can happen when there are not enough emulsifiers (which help keep your ingredients together). Sauces are usually made from multiple ingredients that include both oil and water. Oils and water will naturally separate.

You can add a little store-bought cream cheese (or Neufchatel or Ricotta) and a sprinkle of Herbes du Provence spice (or any combination of thyme, savory, oregano, rosemary, marjoram, parsley, lavender) and fresh ground black peppercorns to jarred Alfredo sauce.

Tossing in strips of basil, a sprig of thyme or some oregano can take your sauce to the next level. Although fresh herbs might pop a bit more, dried herbs and spices can work just as well. Sprinkling in some red pepper flakes, a pinch of parsley and a dash of salt and pepper can liven up your jarred pasta sauce.

Flours can be used to make a bit of a slurry and add to the sauce to make it thicker. 1 part flour to 2 parts liquid and then adding it to your sauce should thicken it nicely. Just make sure that when you make the slurry, there are no lumps in your mixture.

Cover the bowl or container with a damp paper towel or plastic wrap. Heat the sauce in the microwave for 30 seconds on high heat. Stir it and continue to heat in 15-second intervals until it's heated through. If it seems too thick, add a tablespoon of milk or water to thin it out.

Parmesan is the signature flavor in Alfredo sauce but you can also combine it with other cheeses for additional flavor. You can also make a a completely different sauce/different flavor profile by swapping the Parmesan for another melting cheese such as mozzarella, Asiago, Gouda, smoked cheddar, Monterrey, etc.