Alfredo sauce is a rich, smooth, and creamy white sauce perfect for serving with cooked pasta. Authentic Italian Alfredo sauce is typically made with Parmesan cheese, butter, some warm pasta cooking water, and salt – no cream. Over the years, it’s been adapted to include heavy cream.
Discover the art of creating the perfect Alfredo sauce. Never buy a store-bought jar again! Add some sliced cooked chicken breasts or grilled shrimp, and you have a satisfying meal in no time!
Helpful Tips For Success
Select high-quality butter and heavy cream for a truly rich buttery sauce. Use European-style butter that has between 82-90% fat. A higher fat content and less water makes a better alfredo sauce.
Use fresh, high-quality parmesan or, even better, Parmigiano-Reggiano, which is imported from Italy. The key difference between parmesan and Parmigiano Reggiano is that Parmigiano Reggiano is a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) cheese, meaning it can only be produced in specific regions of Italy, while “parmesan” is a more general term that can refer to similar cheeses made anywhere, not just Italy. Do not skimp! Romano cheese or a Parmigiano-Reggiano /Romano blend can also work. The pre-shredded parmesan in the bags, shaker-style containers, or tubs won’t melt properly and will make the sauce grainy. Plus, they don’t taste nearly as good as fresh.
To ensure smooth melting, shred cheese yourself instead of using pre-shredded varieties, which often contain anti-caking agents that hinder melting. Shredding exposes more surface area, allowing the cheese to melt quickly and evenly in the sauce.
Fresh garlic is recommended. Maximize the garlic flavor by using a garlic press. Minced garlic exposes more surface area, enhancing the sauce’s taste. However, frozen or jarred minced garlic will work as well. Garlic powder can be used as a substitute but won’t impart the same infused garlic taste.
While Alfredo sauce is perfect on its own, you can add black pepper, salt, onion powder, or Italian seasoning to suit your taste. In addition, fresh parsley always makes a nice garnish on the Alfredo pasta dish.
Whisk, don’t stir the sauce ingredients. Whisking will help prevent the sauce from separating.
Do not allow the sauce to boil! Alfredo sauce is cooked at a gentle simmer over medium-low. If the heat is too high and/or the sauce begins to boil, it will cause the sauce to break/separate. The sauce is ‘broken’ if the butter separates itself from the rest of the sauce and becomes grainy.
To thin Alfredo sauce, add more heavy cream. You can also add small amounts of hot, salted, starchy pasta water. To do this, scoop out a cup of salted pasta water just before draining the pasta, and stir it into the sauce as needed to reach the desired thickness.
Make and serve right away. This sauce is at its best served right after making it, so if you’re serving it with pasta, try to time the cooking so they finish at the same time.
When served on a cold plate, Alfredo sauce will eventually seize up and get clumpy. To prevent this, warm them in an oven on a low setting while you make the pasta.
Alfredo sauce can be reheated. The sauce must be reheated gently in the microwave on 50% or lower power, on the stove over low heat, or by adding super hot, freshly drained pasta.
In authentic Italian cuisine, pasta dishes are not meant to “swim” in sauce; rather, the amount of sauce used is just enough to coat the pasta, not drown it.
Try the following Shrimp Alfredo recipe that tastes like it came from a fancy restaurant! I must warn you this recipe is not for the health-conscious; however, I believe in the principle of “everything in moderation.” Enjoy!
Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo
(Recipe Source: https://selfproclaimedfoodie.com/shrimp-fettuccine-alfredo)
Servings 6
Ingredients:
1 pound fettuccine pasta
Sauce:
4 Tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
1 1/2 cups Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
Shrimp:
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup good dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound extra-large raw shrimp shelled and deveined, tail on
4 teaspoons fresh parsley, minced
1 Tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed juice of half a lemon
Instructions:
Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water as directed. Drain and set aside.
While the pasta is cooking, make the alfredo sauce in one pan and the shrimp in a separate skillet.
For the alfredo sauce, add butter and garlic to a saute pan and heat over low heat, stirring frequently. Allow to cook until the butter is infused with the garlic. Garlic cooks quickly, so closely watch it. Don’t let the garlic burn, or it will become bitter.
Add 1 cup of heavy cream, stir, and allow to come to a simmer. Increase heat to medium if needed. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and immediately add in Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and remaining heavy cream. Whisk to combine. It will take several minutes for the cheese to melt. It will look goopy at first, and then the sauce will be creamy and smooth. If the sauce needs to be thinned, add additional heavy cream.
To make the shrimp, melt butter with olive oil over low heat in a large skillet. Add garlic and sauté until garlic is infused and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add wine, salt, red pepper flakes, and pepper, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Let the wine reduce by half, which will take a few minutes. Add shrimp in a single layer and sauté until they just turn pink, 2 to 4 minutes on each side, depending upon their size. Stir in the parsley and lemon juice.
To serve, toss hot cooked pasta and shrimp in alfredo sauce; serve immediately.
Written by Vicki Hayman, MS, University of Wyoming Extension Community Vitality & Health Educator
Sources:
- Belly Full; bellyfull.net
- Collina Italiana, Italian Language and Cultural Center; collinaitaliana.com
- The Recipe Critit, Tried & True; therecipecritic.com
- Wiki How; www.wikihow.com