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.
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!
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.
Great tips, I’ll have to try it next time. 🙂
Awesome. This looks great can’t wait to try it 🙂
thank you so much my family love it
I love your sliding serving/ingredient amount calculator! So clever and I think your recipes are expertly done. Thanks for sharing.
My pleasure!!
Absolutely delicious! We double the recipe and added air fry chicken thighs cut in small pieces. The best Alfredo recipe ever. We side aside a small part with sausage. Let me tell you better than the famous restaurant. Love it! We planned an Italian thanksgiving lunch with the faculty and I know this pasta will be a star! Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad to hear this! 🙂
It was so tasty I made it and love it
So happy to hear this!
I tried out your recipe how ever I made a few alterations and added diced (seasoned with thymes chicken spice curry and salt onions ginger and garlic) chicken breast to the Alfredo and it was soo good. However I didn’t add cheese as that would make it too creamy
Excellence Alfredo sauce. Home made is the best.
Absolutely! Glad you liked it
the creamier the better my grand kids choose this over any fast food amazing meal make it at least once a week
sometimes twice!!!!
How many servings does this make ?
4 servings, it’s listed in the top of the recipe card. 🙂 You can also change the number of servings by hovering over the servings number and sliding it left or right, this will change the ingredient amounts.
Made this a few days ago. Loved it. So creamy with tons of flavor. I made extra Alfredo sauce since my hubby prefers saucy pastas. Per your suggestions, I added thinly sliced mushrooms and chicken. Cooked the chicken ahead of time, but the mushrooms cooked right in the Alfredo. This will be my go to Alfredo! Comes together quickly. So easy.
So glad you like it!
look delecious. defenitely gonna tell my wyf to have a look at this recipe. Thank you for sharing.
My pleasure, hope you guys like it!
That is the most perfect alfredo pasta I have ever seen.
What a delicious look it has! I can’t resist myself to try it.
oh wow… this recipe looks so tasty. I think I may try it out this coming weekend. Good Work!
Try this recipe please. You will never be satisfied with jarred Alfredo Sauce ever again and please, feel free to top this baby with some Pecorino Romano for an extra kick.
II really enjoy your recipes, have tried a number of them and all great. I think you had one for a cheesy chicken casserole using chicken breasts and ranch dressing with macaroni noodles but I cannot find it on your web site. I am getting old and forgetful, so perhaps I saw it somewhere else. It sounded good and I want to try it so if you can help me that would be great. Cooking keeps me sane!
Maybe you saw it on my other blog, Jo Cooks. I think it’s this one you’re talking about: https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/crack-chicken-penne/