Alfredo Sauce Recipe (4 Ingredients!) - Wholesome Yum (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to thick Alfredo sauce? ›

Add Cheese

The key ingredient in Alfredo sauce is cheese—generally Parmigiano Reggiano—and lots of it. To thicken Alfredo sauce, simply add more cheese than the amount called for in a recipe until you achieve the consistency you want.

Flavor Boosters

Nutmeg: A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg can elevate the flavors in your Alfredo sauce. However, use it sparingly; a little goes a long way. White Wine: A splash of a good-quality white wine can add depth and complexity. Make sure to cook off the alcohol by simmering the sauce for a few extra minutes.

Greek yogurt: Mixing Greek yogurt with minced garlic, lemon juice, and salt can make a low-calorie and lower-fat alternative to traditional alfredo sauce. Cauliflower puree: Blend cooked cauliflower with chicken or vegetable broth, garlic, and Parmesan cheese to make a creamy and lower-calorie sauce.

Alfredo should never have anything but pasta water, butter, and cheese in it. Make sure the cooking water has salt in it but remember part is salty.

Another quick fix is to add cheese: freshly grated Parmesan will add umami and thicken the sauce. Cream cheese is one of our favorite secret ingredients and will thicken a tomato sauce quickly. On the downside, it will also change the flavor of the sauce.

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.

Garlic. Adding fresh garlic cloves is such an easy, quick and affordable way to add a huge burst of flavor to jarred sauce. Either saute fresh garlic for 3 minutes in olive oil or butter or add up to 1 teaspoon of garlic powder.

The reason behind this is simple; cream sauces tend to lack flavor and feel a bit heavy due to the fat content. Nutmeg is a simple way to warm up the sauce with a subtle, spice flavor that won't overpower it. Like with béchamel, you only need a pinch of nutmeg in your alfredo to improve its flavor.

Tip from recipe creator Rebecca Swift: “I have found that Parmesan cheese doesn't always melt well, and often substitute Gruyère cheese.”

What is the fancy name for Alfredo pasta? ›

Fettuccine Alfredo (Italian: [fettut'tʃiːne alˈfreːdo]) or fettuccine al burro ( lit. 'fettuccine with butter') is an Italian and Italian-American pasta dish of fresh fettuccine tossed with butter and Parmesan (pasta burro e parmigiano).

Add basil, parsley, oregano, or rosemary to add life to the sauce. The first three herbs are classic for many Italian dishes, and rosemary is a common addition to creamy potato dishes, so adding them to a jarred Alfredo sauce makes sense.

Reduce the heavy cream before adding cheese

Most basic Alfredo sauce recipes today will call for heavy cream or whipping cream to recreate the thick consistency of the original dish. One trick to help create a thick Alfredo sauce is to reduce the cream before adding freshly grated cheese (via Better Homes & Gardens).

Usually a grainy sauce is because it has broken - that happens when the protiens bind into little balls. If you are using milk and it's not whole milk that would be the reason why. Low fat milk breaks exceedingly easily and isn't worth trying to make a sauce from.

Parmesan cheese is a hard, aged cheese that doesn't melt easily like other cheeses such as cheddar or mozzarella. This is because Parmesan cheese has a low moisture content and high protein content, which makes it more resistant to melting.

The most readily available sauce-thickener is flour. For a too-thin sauce, try adding a slurry (equal parts flour and water, whisked together) or beurre manie (equal parts softened butter and flour, kneaded together to form a paste)—both are ideal thickeners for rich and creamy sauces, such as steak sauce recipes.

Bring the butter-cream mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently, uncovered about 3 to 5 minutes. Cook the sauce gently until it begins to thicken, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. You'll know the Alfredo sauce recipe is thick enough when it coats the back of your spoon.

This is very easy to do. Simply do not add any cheese until the sauce is reduced completely and off the heat or, optimally once it has been plated. If you do this, no graininess will occur.