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This is the most creamy and delicious homemade alfredo sauce that you will ever make! It’s a tried and true recipe that will take all of your favorite pasta dishes to the next level.
This is my most popular recipe for a good reason! If you love alfredo as much as I do try this Creamy Garlic Shrimp Alfredo Pasta, Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo Pasta or Asiago Garlic Alfredo Pasta.
Best-Ever Alfredo Sauce
This is probably one of my favorite recipes here on the blog. (It’s a reader-favorite, too!) If there is one thing I can always count on my family to eat it is my homemade alfredo sauce over pasta. With alfredo sauce this creamy, cheesy, and flavorful, it’s so hard to resist!
We recently had some company over for dinner and I made these Chicken Bacon Garlic Alfredo Roll Ups. They are always are a huge hit! This homemade alfredo sauce really makes any dish shine. It’s thick and creamy, coats pasta perfectly, and the flavor is out of the world. It is restaurant quality that you can make right at home!
Ingredients You Need to Make It
You only need a few simple ingredients to make the BEST alfredo sauce. This sauce just has a smooth, creamy texture that melts in your mouth. For the best possible flavor, using the freshest ingredients is key! Fresh parmesan cheese grated off the block is one of those key ingredients. This will create a smooth textured sauce rather than a grainy one.
- Butter: Both unsalted or salted work for this alfredo sauce recipe. If using salted butter, then just adjust the extra salt you use or omit it entirely.
- Heavy Cream: A must-add so your sauce is rich and creamy.
- Cream Cheese: My secret ingredient! This adds a nice, thick consistency to your alfredo sauce.
- Minced Garlic: For the best flavor, use fresh garlic.
- Garlic Powder: Because you can never go wrong with too much garlic! Add some of this in so your sauce has a little extra savory flavor.
- Italian Seasoning: My favorite blend of herbs! They make the sauce smell and taste amazing.
- Salt and Pepper: Add both to taste.
- Grated Parmesan Cheese: Using freshly grated parmesan cheese is best. Powdered cheese will create a grainy texture and does not melt through when heated. This is because of all the preservatives that are added.
How to Make Alfredo Sauce From Scratch
Not only does this alfredo sauce recipe use super simple ingredients, but it’s so quick and easy to make! Simply combine all of your ingredients in a skillet and achieve creamy, cheesy goodness. It’s so good!
- Whisk Dairy Ingredients Together: In a medium saucepan add butter, heavy whipping cream, and cream cheese. Then cook over medium heat and whisk until melted.
- Add In Seasonings: Add the minced garlic, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper. Then continue to whisk until smooth.
- Stir in Cheese: Add the grated parmesan cheese.
- Thicken Your Sauce: Bring to a simmer and continue to cook for about 3-5 minutes until it starts to thicken.
- Toss With Pasta: Toss alfredo sauce with your favorite pasta! I always go for fettuccine noodles to make the best fettuccine alfredo ever!
How Many Cups Does It Yield?
When you are done making your alfredo sauce you will be able to fill a tall canning jar. This is about 14 to 16 ounces (1 pound) of pasta or 2 cups of sauce. I like to reserve a little sauce on the side for dipping breadsticks in.
Alfredo Sauce FAQ
This thick, cheesy, and flavorful sauce is a reader favorite for good reason! These are a few common questions I get asked, I hope they help you create the homemade alfredo sauce of your dreams!
- Can I Make Alfredo Sauce With Milk Instead of Cream? Adding milk is always an option. You will end up with a lighter and less thick consistency but it will work. Half and half is another option you can use. If you need to thicken your sauce up a little more, then add 1 to 2 teaspoons of flour until you reach your desired consistency.
- How Do I Make My Sauce Thicker? When adding cream cheese, slowly cut chunks of cream cheese as you are stirring. This helps create a thicker and creamier sauce. You can also use a roux by using an equal amount of butter to flour, about 1 teaspoon.
- Is This Alfredo Sauce Gluten-Free? This recipe is considered gluten-free! It has an amazing flavor without substitutions.
- Is Alfredo Sauce Made With Cheese? This is a cheese-based pasta sauce that is rich in flavor. It does not harden like cheese though.
- Can I Make it Dairy-Free? There are substitutions to make this dairy-free but I do not recommend it if you are looking for an authentic alfredo sauce. Having dairy in the recipe makes it rich, creamy, and smooth. If you absolutely must, then swap out the heavy cream for a dairy-free creamer or nut milk and use dairy-free or vegan cheese crumbles. Keep in mind that the texture may end up slightly different.
- What Protein Can I Add? Alfredo sauce goes so well with chicken or fish. Try this crispy parmesan chicken or garlic brown sugar salmon!
Tips and Variations
I think this sauce is even better than any restaurant that I have been to and the best part is- you can make it yourself! It’s thick, creamy, and rich. The perfect sauce for your favorite pasta. I know that you will quickly agree that it is the BEST! This will be a recipe that you make again and again, just like I do!
- Use a Whisk: Avoid separating your alfredo sauce when mixing it by whisking it together rather than stirring with a spatula.
- Cook Low and Slow: The most important rule is to not overheat your alfredo sauce. Slowly add ingredients on a low heat and for a short period of time. Melted cheese will break and separate once it gets too hot leaving your cheese clumpy. Do not boil or overheat. Boiling will separate and ruin the alfredo sauce. If you are worried about overheating, then add your parmesan with the heat off. This will also prevent clumping!
- Protein Choices: Grilled chicken, fish, shredded rotisserie chicken, or shrimp are great with this sauce!
- Extra Seasonings: Add in more spices and seasonings like red pepper flakes or paprika so your alfredo has a kick of heat, similar to this One Pot Cajun Chicken Alfredo Pasta.
- Different Cheese: To switch up the flavor, use half Romano cheese or asiago cheese instead of parmesan cheese.
Storing Leftover Alfredo Sauce
Alfredo sauce is a favorite at our house and I know that it won’t last long, even if I double it! Here’s how to store any leftovers so you can enjoy it again and again.
- Storing in the Refrigerator: I like to store my alfredo sauce in an airtight jar in the refrigerator. It will stay good for about 5 days. The ingredients may separate as it sits, so give it a quick stir before you use it.
- Reheating: Slowly is key! Use low temperatures and stir often. If it starts to separate, slowly whisk it back together over low heat on the stovetop. It is best not to microwave this sauce. It becomes more oily and separates just as easily, if not more.
More Amazing Alfredo Recipes
If you love everything alfredo, here are a few more great dishes to try. They’re easy, cheesy, and picky eater approved! What could be better than that? So go ahead, try them out with that tasty batch of alfredo sauce you just made!
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The Best Homemade Alfredo Sauce Ever!
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream or 2 cups
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan add butter, heavy whipping cream, and cream cheese. Cook over medium heat and whisk until melted.
- Add the minced garlic, garlic powder, italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Continue to whisk until smooth. Add the grated parmesan cheese.
- Bring to a simmer and continue to cook for about 3-5 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Toss it with your favorite pasta!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
We love this recipe, but every time I make it, the butter separates from the alfredo sauce. Today I tried putting the entire thing in a food processor, but the butter still didn’t incorporate. What am I doing wrong, and how can I correct it? We love the chicken broccoli garlic alfredo shells; in fact, I made it today to freeze and take on vacation with us!
Hi Eileen — Two things, Alfredo sauce unfortunately will not freeze and reheat well at all. You can refrigerate for a few days though and then reheat on a lower heat (you don’t want it to curdle).
The other thing is if you are having trouble with whisking the cream and butter together, you could use an immersion blender right in the sauce pan as it cooks. With the blender running, add the cream to the melted better a bit at a time or in a slow stream. I do this sometimes and it works really well and the sauce stays homogenized. I hope this helps.
By far the best alfredo sauce I’ve ever eaten! I made this tonight and added chicken and shrimp and tossed with fettuccine. My whole family loved it!
I made this for my husband and neighbors. I can not tell you how much they loved it. We are making left overs on Sunday! This is definitely a keeper!
Absolutely the BEST. I have usually bought jarred alfredo and then “doctored” it up for more flavor. This recipe is so easy and delicious! I had started shrimp alfredo last night, and then had to throw the garlic, onions etc in the fridge to deal with a family urgency. By then, 2 am and didnt eat now, I just made your sauce, and my shrimp, snap peas, shitake mushrooms, etc and tossed it in your sauce. Omg Amazing! Thank you!
Wow, that really is delicious! Better than restaurants!
My daughter would like to make this for her open house. Do you think making it the day before and under cooking the noodles a bit would be ok? We would like to mix the sauce with the noodles and then warm it up in the oven the next day.
I would recommend making the Alfredo, then making the noodles the next day and reheating the Alfredo slowly so it does not clump together or curdle.
When you say grated Parmesan cheese do you mean fresh grated Parmesan or Parmesan in the can? Thank you!
I prefer fresh for that extra cheesy flavor but powdered is great too!
Absolutely ahhhhhhmayzazing!!!
I love this recipe. Can the leftover sauce be frozen?
No, unfortunately, this sauce is not freezable. It will last in the refrigerator for about 3 to 4 days.
Can this be made ahead and refrigerated?
YES! It can be left in the fridge for about 3 to 4 days. Not frozen though.
Can I use half and half instead of heavy whipping cream? Or would that not be as tasty.
Yes, that will work; however, you will lose the thickness of the sauce as well as the texture and flavor. I would prefer the heavy whipping cream instead.
Seriously. Best alfredo sauce ever. Thank you so much! I was even out of cream and used lactose free 2% milk – it was still amazing.
I added a little more spice than the recipe and a few good dashes of hot sauce yummy
AWESOME!!!!!!✨?❤️……..
This was the best one I’ve seen yet thank you so much.
I’m making this right now I have used your recipe for a while. It’s very good. When I run out of parm I use the pregrated in the tub. I also ran out of fett noodles so I’ll use rigatoni today 🙂 very interchangeable recipe. Thank you
I’ve made this recipe several times. It’s super quick to make and easy to put together. Far better than store bought alfredo from a jar. My two kids (who can be picky) and husband love it. I don’t normally leave reviews, but this recipe I keep coming back to. The only thing I change is the amount of butter. 1/2 cup (1 whole stick) of butter is just way too much. It seperates from the rest of the sauce, especially when cooled/reheated. I’ll use half a stick or less and still same great flavor without so much of a butter flavor.