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If I had to pick one favorite sauce, homemade Alfredo sauce would be it, without question. It may not be as popular as, say marinara sauce, but I’m firmly a cream sauce girl when given the choice. And this one? It’s so rich and cheesy, it will make anything you put it on 1000 times better, with instant comfort food factor. Make this easy Alfredo sauce recipe with me, and you might never buy a jar again!
Why You Need My Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe
- Super rich and creamy – This is seriously the best Alfredo sauce I’ve ever had, with the perfect creamy texture and cheesy, garlicky flavor. I promise you, the jarred stuff has nothing on making it from scratch.
- Quick and easy – If you’re unsure about making your own sauces, this is a great one to start with. It’s super simple and takes just 10 minutes.
- Simple, clean ingredients – Just 4 of them, plus S&P. And unlike most Alfredo sauce recipes as well as store-bought versions, mine has no flour, starches, or other thickeners. It’s naturally thickened by reducing and melting in the parmesan!
- Versatile – Of course you can toss it with your favorite pasta (or zucchini noodles if you’re like me), but there are so many more ways to enjoy this sauce! I have a whole list of ideas below. I even included it in my second cookbook just so I could add it to other dishes in the book.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here I explain the best Alfredo sauce ingredients, what each one does in my recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.
- Grated Parmesan Cheese – Not only is this the star flavor, it also thickens the Alfredo sauce without a flour roux or cornstarch! I prefer freshly grated parm, as it melts more smoothly than the kind from the green can. Shredded parm should also work, but might take longer to melt. As an alternative, cream cheese can act as a thickener, but the flavor is completely different, so I don’t really recommend it unless you want a tangier cream sauce.
- Garlic – Use fresh garlic cloves for the best flavor. But if you’re in a rush, a tablespoon of jarred minced garlic or 3/4 teaspoon of garlic powder will work.
- Heavy Cream – Makes the sauce creamy, of course. Sometimes this is called heavy whipping cream on the carton. I don’t recommend regular milk or almond milk for my homemade Alfredo sauce recipe, as the final sauce will be too thin.
- Butter – I use this brand. Any kind is fine, but go for unsalted so you can adjust the salt better separately.
- Sea Salt & Black Pepper – Yes, I forgot them in the ingredient picture below, but I bet you know what they look like. 😉 If you don’t like specks of black pepper in your sauce, use white pepper instead.
- Nutmeg – This is a common spice in Alfredo sauce and I like a little bit in mine, but you can leave it out if you’re not a fan.
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How To Make Alfredo Sauce
I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions with amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card.
- Saute the garlic. Melt butter in a large saucepan (or a small pot) over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté until fragrant.
- Reduce the heavy cream. Pour it into the pan, then simmer gently until the amount reduces by about 1/3.
- Thicken with parmesan. Reduce the heat and gradually whisk in the parmesan cheese, until smooth and thick.
- Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. You can adjust the spices in your homemade Alfredo sauce to your taste.
My Recipe Tips
- Grab your largest saucepan. The larger your pan, the faster the cream will reduce. You can even use a skillet with tall sides!
- Be careful not to scorch the cream. You want a very gentle simmer, not a boil. Stir often, too, to avoid a film from forming on top.
- Make sure the cheese melts completely. This Alfredo sauce recipe is supposed to be smooth, but it can be lumpy if the cheese doesn’t melt fully.
- How to thicken Alfredo sauce if it’s too thin? Just add more parmesan! The amount in my recipe has the perfect thickness for me, but this will also depend on exactly how much you reduced the cream. It’s easy to add more parm if needed.
- What if it turned out too thick? Just stir in a little more cream until it reaches your desired consistency. Easy.
- Homemade Alfredo sauce thickens as it cools from hot to warm. Keep this in mind when deciding how thick you want it! If you store it in the fridge for later, it can even solidify completely, but will get thinner again when you warm it up.
- Add a little more salt and pepper than you think you need. The flavor will mellow out after mixing the sauce with pasta or vegetables.
- Want to double the recipe? My Alfredo sauce recipe makes 1 1/2 cups (6 servings), but you can easily scale it up by adjusting the number of servings on the recipe card below. Just keep in mind it’ll take longer to reduce the cream and melt in the cheese.
Ways To Use It
To say I love this Alfredo sauce on everything is an understatement! Here are my favorite savory dishes to put it on (or in):
- Pasta – Fettuccine Alfredo is the most classic option, but I actually love it on spaghetti squash noodles, cauliflower gnocchi, and zoodles (in my picture above). If you like a chicken Alfredo meal, I usually add my quick pan seared chicken breast.
- Proteins – Slather it over my healthy baked chicken, grilled shrimp skewers, or even pan seared salmon for a cozy vibe.
- Roasted Veggies – This Alfredo sauce recipe is amazing tossed with roasted broccoli or brussels sprouts, or drizzled over roasted asparagus.
- Casseroles – Swap the sauce in my chicken broccoli casserole with this one.
- Pizza – I love a white pizza! Spread this creamy sauce on your favorite crust with grilled chicken, sauteed spinach, red onions, and fresh or sauteed mushrooms. One of my favorite ways to use it is on a chicken crust pizza!
Homemade Alfredo Sauce (4 Ingredients)
By
Make my easy homemade Alfredo sauce recipe with 4 simple ingredients, in just 10 minutes! It's rich, creamy, and perfect on pasta or veggies.
Instructions
[ See step photos See my tips ]Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
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Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and saute for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
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Add the heavy cream. Bring to a gentle simmer. Continue to simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the volume is reduced by about 1/3. (Amount of time will vary depending on the size of your saucepan.)
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Reduce the heat to low. Gradually whisk in the Parmesan cheese. Keep whisking over low heat, until smooth.
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Stir in the nutmeg, sea salt, and black pepper, to your taste. If the Alfredo sauce is thicker than you like at this point, you can thin it out with more cream.
Did you make it? Leave a review or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram!
Maya’s Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1/4 cup
- Tips: Check out my recipe tips above to help you get the right consistency in your sauce, and how to adjust the thickness if needed.
- Store: Keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. It usually turns solid, but will be normal again wheny ou heat it.
- Reheat: Warm up on the stove over very low heat, stirring often to smooth out lumps and prevent separation. I usually find the sauce is thicker the next day, so you can thin it out with more cream as needed.
- Freeze: You can absolutely freeze my homemade Alfredo sauce, for up to 3 months. Since it doesn’t have starches (or other mystery ingredients), it doesn’t freeze quite as well as the store-bought kind. I recommend thawing it in the fridge overnight, and then whisk when heating. If it still isn’t smooth, blitz it in a blender briefly.
📖 Want more recipes like this? Find this one and many more in my Easy Keto Carboholics’ Cookbook here.
I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy.
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Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe
338 Comments
Marie
0Perfect Alfredo sauce for pizza!
Irena
0Wow. Absolutely wonderful. Thank you Maya.
James
0This was a simple sauce that was simply killer. I’ll need to use about 1/2 as much garlic next time or my wife will kill me! Thank you!
Kathy
0Very tasty! Thank you for the recipe.
I will definitely make it again.
Marlene
0I use lactose free 35% heavy cream as my husband is lactose sensitive!
Mary Edwards
0So delish! Very easy to make. I love your recipes! I made a shrimp with broccoli alfredo pasta using konjak noodles. My husband and I really enjoyed the meal. We added crushed red pepper for some spice!
Ofelia
0Can I use almond milk instead of heavy cream?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Ofelia, I don’t recommend almond milk for this recipe, the final sauce will be too thin.
Stefan W.
0Hello Maya,
All of your recipes are great, but this recipe is EXCEPTIONAL !
Simple ingredients and straightforward directions make this one a “”keeper”!
Jason
0Made this Alfredo sauce for the first time and I love it. Really easy to make and even my super-picky daughter who found some of my leftovers is loving it!
Kathy F
0Hi Maya, I have been looking a your recipes recently & have found quite a few very nice ones! I have a problem with dairy so really need to know how to subsitute non dairy products, can you help me?
Marlene
0I use either lactose free dairy products or make my cream from raw cashews, so easy and good!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Kathy, Unfortunately this recipe isn’t great for dairy-free substitutes. You could probably use coconut oil instead of butter and coconut cream instead of heavy cream, but there’s still the parmesan that has dairy.
Jason
0I actually made this very recipe last night, and used Extra creamy Oatmilk instead of dairy, and it was wonderfully rich and creamy.
Gilly
0Tried using cream cheese as a thickener, and while it worked, I agree it does change the flavor. Sticking with parmesan next time for sure!
Faith
0Decided to make this alfredo sauce and tried it with some grilled shrimp skewers. The flavors were fantastic together. It was so simple to make but definitely better than store-bought brands. Homemade is always best!
Amelia
0This alfredo sauce recipe is my new holy grail sauce! It’s creamy, flavorful, and very versatile! I swapped out the heavy cream for half-and-half, and it still had a rich texture. The sauce coated the pasta beautifully, and the flavor was rich without being overpowering.
Charlotte
0This homemade alfredo sauce is so rich and creamy. I poured it over in fettuccine noodles and it’s better than any restaurant version I’ve had. I’m impressed!
Rosie
0Absolute delish! Decided to make chicken alfredo using this alfredo sauce recipe and it came out creamy and amazing! Definitely using this same recipe the next time I make some pasta alfredo!
Andrea
0You said 4 ingredients. I see 7 in the list. I am seeing that more & more in different recipes, not just yours. Please explain.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Andrea, The 4 main ingredients are butter, cream, garlic, and parmesan. Salt and pepper are typically not included in ingredient counts by convention. I also don’t include optional ingredients (nutmeg in this case), as you don’t have to add them if you don’t want to. It’s a very simple recipe either way.
Jen M.
0So delicious and so easy! And to make a super quick meal of it, I thawed some frozen shrimp and tossed those in the sauce. I did opt out of the nutmeg. I’ll definitely be using this sauce on other proteins, too. For my meal, I added about 90 grams of shrimp. In order to have even portions for keto meals, I poured the finished sauce into a large glass measuring cup then split it evenly between 4 containers. (For me, it made a total of 1-1/3 c., and I filled each container with 1/3 cup.) I will say that it doesn’t maintain its original, creamy consistency once reheated in the microwave, but with a lot of stirring, it comes close. Still amazingly delish, though! Thanks for another great recipe, Maya!
Donna L
0It seems to me the green can grated parm would clump up and not melt. But the recipe doesn’t specify fresh or if the canned stuff is ok to use. Thoughts?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Donna, I do cover this in the post above – I recommend grating it fresh for the best texture in your sauce.
Brenda
0Delicious and super easy to make! My family loved it 🙂
Elizabeth K.
0Where can I find the recipe? Please
Wholesome Yum A
0Hi Elizabeth, There is a pink circle at the top of the page that says, “Jump To Recipe.” You could also scroll all the way to the bottom to find the recipe card.