Easy Pasta Alfredo – Creamy, comforting, absolutely delicious, and super easy. This is the best and most simple recipe for Alfredo sauce that you will find!
This is one of my absolute favorite sauces to make. Why? Well its incredibly easy, it’s so versatile, and the three main ingredients are butter, cream, and cheese. How can you go wrong with that?! While I used this sauce over pasta, you can make pizzas and flatbreads with it, or even use it as a dip. Thank you, Italy, for blessing the culinary world once again.
What Is Alfredo Sauce
Now, some may argue that Alfredo sauce isn’t really Italian- it’s American. I’ll give you a quick history lesson. This sauce was born in Rome from a man named Alfredo. His sauce was a simple emulsification of butter, Parmesan cheese, and pasta. The version we know and love today includes garlic and cream for a saucier consistency. So I guess we can call this modernized sauce an Italian-American lovechild.
Tips for Making the Perfect Alfredo Sauce
- The sauce will seem thin when you start to mix in the pasta. Don’t worry, just keep tossing. The starches from the pasta will mix into the sauce to give the the perfect consistency. If you use flour or cornstarch to thicken the sauce, it may come out with a gluey consistency once it’s cooled down a bit.
- You can add a few tsp of Italian seasoning, a pinch of nutmeg or red pepper flakes to add some flare to this sauce. Feel free to get creative with seasoning.
- You can adjust the ratio of cream to milk in this recipe to suit how rich you’d like it to be.
If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #cravinghomecooked on Instagram so we can see it. I always love to see what you guys come up with!
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Easy Pasta Alfredo
Ingredients
- 8 oz pasta I used linguini
- 4 tbsp butter unsalted
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
- Pour in the milk and cream. Stir consistently to avoid burning on the bottom of the pan until the mixture comes to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium, and mix in the parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Adjust the seasoning to your own taste.
- Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the cooked pasta until the sauce begins to thicken. Garnish with parsley, and serve.
erica says
honestly really disappointed with the sauce. it was extremely runny and we had to add cream cheese, more parmesan cheese and turn the heat back on. definitely won’t be using this recipe again but it was fun to try out
CHC Team Member AMJ says
Hi Erica,
Thanks for sharing that. Sometimes it depends on what type of pasta you use that can help or hinder the consistency of the sauce. Also, if you decide to give this recipe another try, keep in mind you can adjust the milk to cream ratio at the beginning to work on gaining a thicker and creamier sauce.
KJ says
Very easy and will make again! I won’t rinse the pasta next time as I think the starch would have thickened the sauce more. From a person who does not cook a lot, this Alfredo made me look like a chef. 😀 Thank you!
Joanna Cismaru says
So happy to hear this!
Kiran says
Amazing! Will definitely make it again.
Nicole barreto says
AMAZING. Super quick and really easy 🙂 Strongly recommend.
Talei says
AMAZING!! I made this tonight for dinner for my boyfriend and I and this is definitely a new go-to pasta recipe. I’m not super great at cooking but this was so easy to follow and make! Thank you ❤️
Toni-Ann says
AMAZING! I added chicken and shrimp and also used parmesan (grated) instead of the shredded; but otherwise I did everything else as suggested. Perfect! Love it!
Mika says
Made it today. It was so delicious! My daughter is picky and she loved it. Tastes better than restaurant. Only thing it was kinda gritty from the cheese. I add more cheese to milk/cream because it taste so good with extra cheese. I used a bag of kraft shredded parm and half a bag of mozz/parm mix. It help to kinda thickened and I loved it! Any tips to keep it smooth without adding more milk/cream?
Nicole says
The pre-shredded cheese will do that! If you feel the cheese, it has a powdery coating to prevent the cheese from sticking in the bag. Freshly shredded cheese will solve that issue!
Oanh Lai says
Just tried this today. It’s delicious! I did add more garlic since we love garlic in our house. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Joanna Cismaru says
My pleasure, so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
nbgyvbnmh says
this is the best ricepe i tryed
Clare says
First time making this and it turned out really great! Didn’t have Parmesan so I did some cheddar and mozzarella; didn’t have fresh parsley so I used dried and still turned out great! Thank you for sharing!
Roxann says
Jo, I love your recipes and have hooked up many of my friends to your newsletter. Thank you for your many insights.
I just wanted to add some insights I’ve learned when we were in Rome at Alredo’s Originale” the way they make it is with butter, and pasta water and parmigiana cheese. I’ve since adapted my recipe to a dash of half & half. I think it cuts down the calories and fat somewhat? But the technique is the same.
Joanna Cismaru says
Great tips, I’ll have to try it next time. 🙂