I’ve always loved a good Alfredo sauce. It’s creamy, it’s comforting, and it’s a perfect cold weather pasta dinner. I’m going to show you how quick it and easy it is to make this sauce at home with this Easy Alfredo Sauce recipe!
I promise, once you make this sauce you’re never going to want to buy jarred Alfredo sauce again!
So there’s a very special ingredient in here that makes this much more than a cream sauce.
Know what it is?
It’s nutmeg!
If you’ve never added nutmeg to your Alfredo sauce before trust me on this, it’s a game changer! It adds this nice little hint of warm spice that cuts through the heavy creaminess of the sauce. This is what’s going to make this taste like it’s restaurant worthy Alfredo!
Ingredients and Tools
Alright, let’s run through what you need.
For kitchen tools:
- Knife and cutting board (to peel the garlic)
- Box grater and a zester or microplane for the garlic, you can find a microplane here
- A medium sized pan
- A large pot
- Whisk and a large spoon
- Strainer for the pasta
For the ingredients you’ll need:
- Flour
- Butter
- Garlic
- Half & half
- Fettuccine
- Salt & pepper
- Garlic powder
- Nutmeg
- Parmesan cheese
Not too many ingredients! And I love this because I almost always have these on hand at all times so this is a great dinner to whip up when you’re not sure what to make.
The salt, pepper, garlic powder, and nutmeg I’ve always got in my spice cabinet. And my fridge I’ve always got half & half handy for my coffee, butter, and Parmesan cheese.
How about you, how many of these do you have on hand now? Could you whip this up for dinner without having to make a trip to the grocery store?
Alfredo Sauce Tips
One of the most important things to do when you’re making a cream sauce like this is to reserve some of the pasta water was it’s boiling.
Once you’ve got your fettuccine cooking or other pasta, take a ladle and remove about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
Now, as the cream sauce is simmering it’s could going to thicken up a little too much. You might think about reaching for the cream and adding that to thin it out, but you don’t want to do that! Adding more cream is going to add to the heaviness to the sauce, and probably will make it a little to cream tasting.
But, if you add the starchy pasta water you’ll easily think out your sauce without adding any heaviness to the flavor!
The next tip is don’t skip the nutmeg! This seriously is the best secret ingredient that takes this dish from a good cream sauce pasta to an out of this world warm and robust Alfredo sauce. Everyone will want to know what made your sauce so irresistible!
I’ve already mentioned this is a quick dinner! I timed this from start to finish when I made it. I started the timer from the moment I turned on the burner to the moment the sauce and noodles were done and it was 29 minutes!
The trick to getting meals on the table quick is to use your time in the kitchen wisely.
While the pasta water is coming to a boil, which will take between 8 – 10 minutes depending on the size of the pot, work on your other ingredients and getting the sauce started! That way, when it’s time to cook that pasta you’ve already got the sauce started, so now you can sit back and let the sauce simmer and pasta cook.
Homemade Alfredo sauce dinner in 30 minutes!
Like easy pasta dinners? Me too. I’ve got a whole Pasta category here.
My favorites are these recipes below, click the link to go to that recipe!
Creamy Sun-dried Tomato Pasta
Alfredo Tomato Sauce
Sherry Cream Sauce
Vodka Sauce with Meatballs
Easy Alfredo Sauce
Alfredo sauce is an easy cream sauce you can make for delicious fettuccine Alfredo! I only takes 30 minutes to make, and the nutmeg added to the sauce makes this sauce extra warm and special!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Saute
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
3/4 of a 16oz box of fettuccine noodles
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 and 1/2 cups half & half
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Reserve pasta water (used to thin out sauce as it simmers)
Instructions
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Once water has come to a boil add 3/4 of the box of fettuccine and cook. I know this isn’t an exact measurement, but I’ve found the full box is just way to much pasta! Once the pasta is boiling, ladle out 1/2 cup of the pasta water to use in the sauce if needed.
2. In a medium pan over medium heat, melt the butter, then add the grated garlic and cook for 1 minute. Then, add the 2 tablespoons flour and stir, cook for another 30 seconds. Pour in the half & half and whisk so that the flour mixture blends into the cream. Then, add the salt, pepper, garlic powder, Parmesan cheese, and nutmeg. Stir to combine then bring to a bubbling simmer.
3. Continue to simmer the sauce as the noodles cook. If the sauce gets too thick, add small amounts of the reserved pasta water.
4. To serve, top with more Parmesan cheese and pepper.
Notes
The nutmeg is what really makes this dish special. It’s what makes this so much more than just a cream sauce!
Keywords: easy Alfredo sauce
We love using nutmeg in this sauce!
★★★★★
yeay! I do too!
Original alfredo sauce only has 3 ingredients; butter, parmesan and pasta water. Google Alfredo di Lelio. It’s actually a cute little story on how alfredo came about. 😊
I’m sure it’s delicious 🙂 This is just how I like to make it 🙂
Made it a while back, great recipe. Should try adding a bit of lemon zest when plating works really well
glad you liked! I’ve always loved Alfredo sauce.