Easy Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo

Fettuccine Alfredo originated in Italy, although authentic Alfredo sauce differs from our Americanized version. Authentic Italian Alfredo sauce is typically made with Parmesan cheese, butter, some starchy pasta water, and salt.  The starchy water emulsifies with the cheese and butter to create the extra creamy, rich sauce – much like the technique used for cacio e pepe but with Parmigiano Reggiano instead of Pecorino Romano.
By 1922, fettuccine Alfredo had made its way to America but it wasn’t until the mid-1960s that creamy fettuccine became an American phenomenon.  In 1966, the Pennsylvania Dutch Noodle Company began marketing their dried “Fettuccine Egg Noodles” with an Alfredo sauce recipe on the box including heavy cream, Parmesan, Swiss cheese and butter.  
Over the years, restaurants followed suit, including heavy cream in their recipes.  Today, American fettuccine Alfredo is typically always made with butter, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese. 

Fettuccine Alfredo is named after Alfredo di Lelio, who invented the dish in Rome in 1907.  According to accounts, Alfredo added extra butter along with Parmesan to pasta in efforts to entice his wife to eat after giving birth.  The dish was aptly named “fettuccine al triplo burro,” and later “fettuccine all’Alfredo” or “fettuccine Alfredo.” A few years later, in 1914, Alfredo opened his own restaurant, Alfredo alla Scrofa, then called “Alfredo”, which featured- you guessed it – fettuccine Alfredo!

No, you have to look to Italian versions made without any heavy cream for that!  My recipe elevates Americanized versions with the addition of garlic, salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings.  It also uses both heavy cream and milk whisked with cornstarch as well as a little cream cheese to create a rich, indulgent sauce that is slightly less naughty, but every bit as creamy.  This homemade fettuccine Alfredo gets rave reviews whenever I make it!

A common problem with Alfredo Sauce is it separating, but it is easy to fix!  Here’s how:
Whisk, don’t stir.  Instead of stirring the sauce with a spoon/spatula, whisk it together.  Whisking helps emulsify the butter and cream.   
Don’t overheat the sauce.  A gentle simmer over medium-low or low is just fine, but you don’t want to bring the sauce to a boil or the high heat can break the emulsion and the sauce will separate and/or become grainy.

Heavy cream is a quintessential ingredient to the best homemade fettuccine Alfredo.  But if you would like to cut some calories so you can enjoy Alfredo more often, I get it!  To use all milk instead of part heavy cream, add 1/3 cup all-purpose flour to the butter and cook for 2 minutes before whisking in 3 ½ cups milk and the rest of the ingredients.  You can also use 3 tablespoons cornstarch whisked into the 3 cups milk but this doesn’t create as rich of a sauce as flour. Keep in mind, that fat = flavor, so all milk won’t create quite as a flavorful, decadent, or creamy, melt in your mouth consistency.

Swap the 3 ½ cups liquid with 3 ½ cups half and half.   Whisk 2 tablespoons cornstarch into the half and half before adding to the saucepan.

You can absolutely make this recipe without cream cheese; you’ll just want to simmer the sauce a little longer to thicken it up more.  

  You can control the thickness of your Alfredo sauce by how long you simmer the sauce.  The less time you simmer the sauce, the thinner it will be.   The longer you simmer the sauce, the thicker it will be.  If you would still like it thicker after simmering, then make a slurry by whisking 2 tablespoon milk with ½ tablespoon cornstarch, then slowly whisking the slurry into the sauce then simmering until thickened to your desired consistency.  If your sauce still isn’t as thick as you’d like, then repeat the slurry.

If at any time the Alfredo sauce gets too thick, just add a little splash of the reserved pasta water to loosen it up.

 The Alfredo sauce makes about 3 ½ cups, so it’s perfect to coat 16 ounces of cooked pasta. It is also easy to double.  If not using the sauce right away, store it in an airtight container and reheat over medium heat, stirring in additional milk as needed to adjust consistency.

While Alfredo is rich and creamy, sometimes it can be a little bland.  In addition to nutty Parmesan cheese, the recipe is seasoned with pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasonings, a pinch of red pepper flakes and a smidge each of nutmeg.  The nutmeg adds a beautiful nutty warmth.

 The only way to know when your pasta is done is to taste it!  I remove a strand of pasta with a slotted spoon, rinse it in cool water and then taste.  Don’t be tempted to bite into pasta straight from the boiling pot-you will burn your tongue! 

I recommend testing your pasta about 2 or 3 minutes before the box recommends – pasta should be al dente– meaning it should still be a little firm in the center/ have a “bite” to it. Once the pasta is cooked, strain and rinse it in cold water if not immediately adding to your pasta to prevent it from continuing to cook.

Yes!  If you would like to use fresh instead of dried herbs, use three times the amount and toss them in at the very end so they don’t lose potency.

The Alfredo sauce is gluten free because it is not made with a roux as written.  Traditionally pasta, however, does include gluten.  To make this recipe gluten free, use your favorite gluten free pasta.

This is a cheese-based sauce that is rich in flavor. It does not harden like a cheese though.