Alfredo Sauce Recipe (4 Ingredients!) - Wholesome Yum (2024)

Alfredo Sauce Recipe (4 Ingredients!) - Wholesome Yum (1)

Free: Healthy 5-Ingredient Meals Ebook

Get It Now

Table Of Contents hide

  • Why You’ll Love This Alfredo Sauce Recipe
  • What Is Alfredo Sauce?
  • How To Make Alfredo Sauce
  • Tips For Best Results
  • Ways To Use Homemade Alfredo Sauce
  • More Homemade Sauce Recipes
  • Alfredo Sauce Recipe (4 Ingredients!)

This easy homemade alfredo sauce recipe is the best way to satisfy comfort food cravings in minutes! Unlike some store-bought sauces, this one is made with clean ingredients, without starch or thickeners. Serve it over your favorite noodles or vegetables for a quick dinner. This recipe for alfredo sauce is so versatile that I included it in my second cookbook to combine with other dishes the book has. And it tastes way better than the jarred kind!

Why You’ll Love This Alfredo Sauce Recipe

  • Rich and creamy
  • Just 4 simple ingredients
  • Ready in 10 minutes
  • Better than store-bought brands
  • Perfect on ANY pasta!
Alfredo Sauce Recipe (4 Ingredients!) - Wholesome Yum (2)

What Is Alfredo Sauce?

Alfredo is a creamy white sauce traditionally made with butter, parmesan cheese, milk or cream, and spices. Store-bought sauces may also contain thickeners (such as flour or cornstarch), vegetable oils, or other added ingredients to keep them shelf stable.

Ingredients & Substitutions

This section explains how to choose the best alfredo sauce ingredients, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.

  • Butter – I use grass-fed butter here, but any unsalted variety will work.
  • Garlic– I prefer to use fresh garlic cloves, but 1 tablespoon of jarred minced garlic or 3/4 teaspoon of garlic powder can be used for convenience.
  • Heavy Cream – Sometimes this is called heavy whipping cream on the carton. I don’t recommend regular milk or almond milk for this alfredo sauce recipe, as using these requires thickeners and the final sauce will be too thin.
  • Grated Parmesan Cheese – Adds flavor and thickens the alfredo sauce without a flour roux or cornstarch. 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.
  • Sea Salt & Black Pepper– You’ll want to add a little more than you think you’ll need, since the sauce will mellow out after mixing with ingredients like pasta or vegetables. If you don’t like the appearance of black pepper in your sauce, use white pepper instead.
  • Nutmeg– It’s a classic ingredient for any easy alfredo sauce recipe, but you can omit it if you like.
Alfredo Sauce Recipe (4 Ingredients!) - Wholesome Yum (3)

How To Make Alfredo Sauce

This section shows how to make homemade alfredo sauce, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.

  1. Saute the garlic. Melt the butter in amedium to large saucepanover medium heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté until fragrant.
  2. Add the heavy cream. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer, and continue simmering until sauce thickens and reduces by roughly one third.
Alfredo Sauce Recipe (4 Ingredients!) - Wholesome Yum (4)
Alfredo Sauce Recipe (4 Ingredients!) - Wholesome Yum (5)
  1. Thicken with parmesan. Reduce the heat and gradually whisk in the parmesan cheese, until smooth.
  2. Add the spices. You can adjust the spices in this alfredo sauce recipe to your taste. Garnish with fresh parsley if you like.
Alfredo Sauce Recipe (4 Ingredients!) - Wholesome Yum (6)

Alfredo Sauce Recipe (4 Ingredients!) - Wholesome Yum (7)

Tips For Best Results

  • Freshly grated parmesan cheese works best. It melts more smoothly into the sauce than the canned stuff. Pre-grated works okay in a pinch, but may not be as smooth.
  • A large saucepan works best. The larger your pan, the faster the cream will reduce. You can even use a skillet with tall sides!
  • It’s easy to adjust the consistency. For sauce that’s too thick, thin it with more cream. But if you’re wondering how to thicken alfredo sauce, just add extra parmesan to get the right consistency.

Storage & Reheating

  • Store: Pour the alfredo sauce into a covered container and store it in the fridge for up to a week.
  • Reheat: Warm up on the stove over low heat, or in the microwave at low power, stirring occasionally to smooth out lumps. If it’s still not smooth, you can give it a quick blend. This sauce thickens during storage and reheating may cause more moisture to evaporate, so if it’s too thick, add cream to thin out as needed.
  • Freeze: Cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. You can thaw in the fridge overnight or reheat from frozen. It may separate when thawed, but reheating will smooth it out.
Alfredo Sauce Recipe (4 Ingredients!) - Wholesome Yum (8)

Ways To Use Homemade Alfredo Sauce

Now that you know how to make alfredo sauce, you need ways to use it! Here are some recipes you can pair with this sauce for a comforting meal:

  • Pasta – For a classic fettuccine alfredo, cook up some fettuccine noodles or your favorite pasta. If you want a lighter option, use spaghetti squash noodles or zucchini noodles (pictured above). Add some quick pan seared chicken breast for a chicken alfredo meal.
  • Proteins – This alfredo sauce recipe actually tastes delicious on meats! Try it on top of healthy baked chicken, grilled shrimp skewers, or even pan seared salmon.
  • Roasted Veggies – Toss roasted broccoli or brussels sprouts in this creamy sauce, or drizzle it on roasted asparagus.
  • Pizza – Alfredo sauce makes a delicious white pizza! Spread it on your favorite crust with toppings like 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!

More Homemade Sauce Recipes

Making your own sauce from scratch is not only healthier, but also super fun and lets you experiment with flavors. Explore some more simple options:

RECIPE SAVED! The recipe was sent to your email. I also sent you your free login info. You can use that to access your saved recipes at My Favorites.

Recipe Card

Alfredo Sauce Recipe (4 Ingredients!) - Wholesome Yum (14)

4.91 from 175 votes☝️ Click stars to rate or click here to leave a review!

Alfredo Sauce Recipe (4 Ingredients!)

This easy homemade alfredo sauce recipe needs just 4 simple ingredients and 10 minutes! It's rich, creamy, and perfect for pasta or veggies.

Cook: 10 minutes

Total: 10 minutes

Author: Maya Krampf from WholesomeYum.com

Servings: 6 (adjust to scale recipe)

Un-save RecipeSave Recipe Remove Ads

ReviewPrint

US CustomaryMetric

Ingredients

Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them.

Instructions

Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.

  1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add minced garlic and saute for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.

  2. Add the heavy cream. Bring to a gentle simmer, then continue to simmer for about 5 minutes, until it begins to thicken and volume is reduced by about 1/3. (Amount of time will vary depending on the size of your saucepan.)

  3. Reduce heat to low. Gradually whisk in the Parmesan cheese. Keep whisking over low heat, until smooth.

  4. Stir in nutmeg, sea salt, and black pepper, to taste. If sauce is thicker than you like, you can thin it out with more cream.

Did You Like It?

Leave a rating to help other readers (this also helps me continue to provide free recipes on my site), or get the recipe sent to your inbox.

Rate recipe

Save Recipe

Related Easy Recipes

  • Shirataki Noodles

  • Zucchini Noodles Recipe (Zoodles)

  • Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole

  • Chimichurri Sauce Recipe

Recipe Notes

Serving size: 1/4 cup

Recipe from The Easy Keto Carboholics’ Cookbook.

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.

Calories261

Fat25.9g

Protein5g

Total Carbs2.9g

Net Carbs2.8g

Fiber0.1g

Sugar1.9g

Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.

Course:Main Course

Cuisine:Italian

Keywords:alfredo sauce, alfredo sauce recipe, easy alfredo sauce, homemade alfredo sauce

Calories: 261 kcal

© Copyright Maya Krampf for Wholesome Yum. Please DO NOT SCREENSHOT OR COPY/PASTE recipes to social media or websites. We’d LOVE for you to share a link with photo instead. 🙂

Alfredo Sauce Recipe

Pin It For Later!

Alfredo Sauce Recipe (4 Ingredients!) - Wholesome Yum (22)
Alfredo Sauce Recipe (4 Ingredients!) - Wholesome Yum (2024)

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Maia Crooks Jr

Last Updated:

Views: 6095

Rating: 4.2 / 5 (43 voted)

Reviews: 82% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Maia Crooks Jr

Birthday: 1997-09-21

Address: 93119 Joseph Street, Peggyfurt, NC 11582

Phone: +2983088926881

Job: Principal Design Liaison

Hobby: Web surfing, Skiing, role-playing games, Sketching, Polo, Sewing, Genealogy

Introduction: My name is Maia Crooks Jr, I am a homely, joyous, shiny, successful, hilarious, thoughtful, joyous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.