Fettuccine Alfredo

Fettuccine Alfredo is an easy pasta recipe made with simple ingredients. Those simple ingredients – butter, Parmesan, cream, and cheese – combine to make a rich, decadent, and creamy sauce that coats the pasta like velvet. You’ll want to savor every bite.

I first shared this fettuccine Alfredo recipe in 2016, and since then, I’ve made it so many times that I’ve lost count. There are so many reasons to love it: It’s easy to make, delivers big, cozy comfort, and makes just enough to serve two people. If you’ve got a serious pasta craving, this Alfredo pasta is the cure.

But before we get too far down the track, I’d like to point out that this is not a traditional Alfredo sauce. Classic Alfredo is made with hot pasta tossed with butter, cheese, and some starchy pasta water. There isn’t any cream. Done right, you get a creamy, cheesy sauce, but it can be a little tricky to pull off.

So, I add cream to make it easier. It’s also the type of Alfredo sauce you’ll find at many Italian-American restaurants in the US. So, consider this an American-style Alfredo.

How to Make It

As soon as the pasta water is boiling, I add the fettuccine and start making the sauce. It’s ready in the time it takes for the pasta to cook. You only need a few simple ingredients, and the whole dish is ready in about 20 minutes.

I love it with some garlic toast and a lightly dressed green salad on the side, but I’ve also been known to twirl the creamy, cheesy pasta onto my fork straight from the pan.

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Fettuccine Alfredo

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Fettucine Alfredo is an easy pasta recipe made with simple ingredients. Combine butter, Parmesan, cream, and cheese and you get a rich, decadent, and creamy sauce that coats the pasta like velvet. You’ll want to savor every bite. 

• Author: April Anderson
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 2 servings 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Stove
• Cuisine: Italian-American

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 6 ounces fettuccine
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Garnishes: chopped parsley and ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of boiling water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook it according to package directions.
2. While the pasta is boiling, melt the butter in a large pan over medium-low heat. Add the cream and increase the heat to medium. Whisk the butter and cream until well combined.
3. Once the cream is steaming hot, add the cheese and whisk until it’s melted and the sauce is smooth and creamy.
4. Using tongs, transfer the pasta from the pot to the Alfredo sauce. Toss it around in the sauce for a minute or until it’s well coated. Add the garnishes, if using, and it’s ready to serve.

Notes

Cheese: The sauce is best with freshly grated or shredded Parmesan cheese. I’ve used pre-grated cheese before, and it works, but the sauce is not as smooth and creamy. 

Salt: I don’t add salt to the sauce because Parmesan is pretty salty on its own. You can always taste the sauce before you add the pasta and add a few pinches of salt if you think it needs it. You can also use the same amount of salted butter or boil the pasta in salted water.

Nutrition

• Calories: 670
• Sugar: 3.1g
• Sodium: 352.8mg
• Fat: 37g
• Saturated Fat: 22.7g
• Unsaturated Fat: 12.2g
• Trans Fat: 0.2g
• Carbohydrates: 64.8g
• Fiber: 2.7g
• Protein: 19.5g
• Cholesterol: 98mg

The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.

Variations

Pasta: Fettuccine pasta is my go-to, but linguine would work well, too. I’ve never tried it with a short pasta shape, but penne pasta and rotini would work, too.

Protein: If you want to add a protein, cook it first and then add it to the sauce when you add the pasta. Cooked chicken, Italian sausage, and shrimp all work great with the sauce.

Cheese: Parmesan or Parmigiano-Reggiano is traditional, but I’ve also made it with other hard Italian cheeses, like Romano and Asiago. They’re delicious, too.

Fresh herbs: I love some parsley, but thinly sliced fresh basil would be delicious, too.

Recipe Tips

• You can double this recipe to serve four people.
• The leftovers are never as good as when the dish is first made, but they will keep for a few days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
• When I reheat it, I like to warm a few tablespoons of cream or milk in a pan and then add the pasta. The extra cream helps loosen the sauce, so it’s creamier once it’s warmed up.

I hope you treat yourself to this homemade fettuccine Alfredo! It never disappoints.

Happy cooking,

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This fettuccine Alfredo recipe was first published in March 2016. The recipe, post, and photos have been updated.