Easy Alfredo Sauce
A silky, restaurant-quality Alfredo sauce made with just butter, garlic, heavy cream, and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano in about 12 minutes—no flour, no roux, no jar.
Equipment
- Medium stainless steel saucepan - 3 quarts (2.8 L), for the sauce
- Large stockpot - 6 quarts (5.7 L) or larger, for boiling and tossing the pasta
- Microplane grater - for the Parmesan
- Balloon whisk - to keep the cream and cheese moving
- Pasta tongs - for tossing the fettuccine in the sauce
- Colander - for draining the pasta
- Digital kitchen scale - for weighing the butter, cheese, and pasta
- Airtight glass storage containers - for leftovers
- Heatproof liquid measuring cup - for scooping out pasta water
- Chef's knife and cutting board - for the garlic and parsley
- Four warmed pasta bowls - for serving
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter - 115 g
- 3 cloves garlic - minced; about 1 tablespoon or 9 g
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream - 360 ml
- 1 1/2 cups Parmigiano-Reggiano - about 125 g, finely grated, from a 4.5-ounce (125 g) block, plus extra for serving
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt - plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper - freshly ground
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg - freshly grated or ground, optional
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley - 8 g, finely chopped, for garnish
For the pasta
- 1 pound fettuccine - 450 g
- 4 quarts water - 4 L
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt - about 15 g, for the pasta water
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta water - 120 ml, scooped out before draining
Instructions
- Fill a large stockpot with 4 quarts (4 L) of water, stir in 1 tablespoon of kosher salt, cover, and set over high heat. Grate the Parmigiano-Reggiano, mince the garlic, chop the parsley, and measure the cream.
- When the water boils, add the fettuccine and stir for the first 30 seconds. Cook for 1 minute less than the package directions, usually 9 to 11 minutes.
- Set a medium saucepan over medium-low heat and melt the unsalted butter completely, 1 to 2 minutes, swirling the pan once or twice. Keep it from browning.
- Add the minced garlic and stir constantly for 30 to 60 seconds, just until fragrant. Do not let the garlic take on color.
- Pour in the heavy cream slowly while whisking, then raise the heat to medium. When small bubbles appear at the edge, lower the heat to low and simmer gently for 5 minutes, whisking often, until the cream thickens slightly.
- With the heat on low, add the grated cheese a small handful at a time, whisking until each addition melts. Stir in the black pepper and optional nutmeg, then taste and add salt only if needed. Turn off the heat and cover.
- About 1 minute before the pasta is done, scoop 1/2 cup (120 ml) of the starchy pasta water into a heatproof measuring cup. Drain the fettuccine in a colander without rinsing.
- Return the drained fettuccine to the empty stockpot off the heat and pour the sauce over it. Toss with tongs for about 1 minute, adding reserved pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time until the sauce turns glossy and loose.
- Divide the pasta among four warmed bowls. Sprinkle each with chopped parsley, extra grated Parmesan, and a few turns of black pepper, then serve right away.
Notes
- Grate the cheese yourself: pre-shredded Parmesan carries anti-caking agents that keep it from melting cleanly into the cream.
- Choose real Parmigiano-Reggiano when you can; domestic Parmesan is usually milder and wetter, so the sauce tastes flatter.
- Keep the cream below a boil. If it boils hard, the butter can slick across the surface and never blend back in.
- Add the cheese gradually; dumping it all in at once drops the temperature and forms a rubbery clump.
- Salt at the end, since the Parmesan is salty enough that seasoning early almost always overshoots.
- Loosen with pasta water instead of milk—its starch helps the sauce cling to each noodle.
- Pull the pasta 1 minute early; it keeps cooking when tossed with the hot sauce.
- Rescue a greasy sauce by pulling the pan off the heat and whisking in 1 tablespoon of warm cream or pasta water.
- Storage: cool within 2 hours and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 days. Reheat gently over low heat with a splash of milk or cream.
- Freezing is not recommended because the butterfat and cheese separate as the sauce thaws.
- Make-ahead: grate the Parmesan up to 3 days ahead and keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Serving: 1ServingCalories: 650kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 14gFat: 64gSaturated Fat: 40gCholesterol: 210mgSodium: 700mgSugar: 3gCalcium: 44mg
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