HOMEMADE ALFREDO SAUCE

To most of us, the thought of a homemade alfredo sauce can be intimidating. With the right tips and tools, you will find that making your own amazing alfredo sauce is pretty quick and easy.

ALL THE TOOLS

6 qt stockpot

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Wire Whisk

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Rotary Grater

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TIPS ON HOW TO MAKE A GOOD HOMEMADE ALFREDO SAUCE

use freshly greated parmesan cheese.

This is very important for a smooth texture. If you buy pre-shredded cheese it will have a wax coating to preserve the cheese and prevent it from caking and sticking together. Pre-shredded cheese won’t melt as well and your sauce won’t have a good consistency.

You can use a regular cheese grater to grate the cheese fresh. I like to use a rotary grater, it shortens the grating time and makes it fun. When you make it fun, the kids (or anyone) will want to help 🙂

Whisk the sauce until it is completely melted. Use a whisk to incorporate all of the ingredients until they are melted. This will blend all of the ingredients well for a good consistency.

It is very important to use the best quality of cheese that you have available. Most grocery stores carry good brands, just use your favorite.

ABOUT THE GARLIC.

I love a lot of garlic in alfredo sauce, but no clumps, please. Smash the garlic clove, place it in the sauce with the butter while it is cooking, and remove it from the sauce before serving.

This is what I have been doing for a while now. It gives the sauce the garlic flavor it needs without leaving chunks of garlic. Not many people enjoy biting into garlic.

How to Smash Garlic: This is how I smash garlic: One at a time, I take a garlic clove with the skin on and lay it on a cutting board. Lay a large knife over the garlic clove and give a quick tap with your fist. Now it should be busted and you can easily remove the skin and use the garlic. You may have to hit the garlic another time or two if needed.

USE REAL UNSALTED BUTTER.

Just like the pre-shredded cheese, butter substitutions will not blend as well and hold their consistency as well as real butter.

I use unsalted butter to have better control over how much salt is in the sauce. If you use salted butter, simply don’t add any additional salt.

ALFREDO SAUCE INGREDIENTS

A basic homemade alfredo sauce is really just made up of just a few simple ingredients. Real butter, heavy cream, garlic, salt, and parmesan cheese are all I use. You can easily tweak this recipe to your liking. Add less butter and more heavy cream, or more or less cheese if you like.

Some people add pepper or Italian seasonings to their alfredo sauce, and some thicken with flour. If you use heavy cream the sauce will be thick enough. I also leave out flour to keep it gluten-free for all my celiac friends. 🙂 Of course, in that case, I use gluten-free pasta. I love a cheesy alfredo that is kept simple.

To Lighten the Sauce: Substitute whole milk for a portion or all of the heavy cream for a lighter sauce.

CAN YOU STORE ALFREDO SAUCE FOR LATER?

Yes, you can store airtight in the refrigerator for a few days. I am a big fan of storing leftover pasta and extra sauce separately. Alfredo tends to congeal pretty quickly and may need a splash of heavy cream while reheating. Keeping the pasta and sauce separate helps keep the noodles from getting soggy and is better for reheating.

Reheating Alfredo Sauce on the stove: You can reheat the sauce on the stovetop by simply placing the chilled sauce in a saucepan, add a little bit of heavy cream and whisk until it is heated through and back to a good consistency. Sometimes I add a little more shredded parmesan as well.

Reheating the sauce in the microwave: If you reheat in the microwave, add a little heavy cream and reheat in small increments, take it out of the microwave and stir in-between.

HOW TO REHEAT IF STORED TOGETHER

Reheating Pasta and Sauce on the stove: If you saved the pasta in the sauce I recommend placing the sauce with the noodles in a saucepan and add a little bit of heavy cream. Turn the burner on medium/low heat until it starts to melt again. Since the pasta will be stuck together, warm it up a little in the pot before stirring. This helps prevent the noodles from breaking. You may need to add a little more heavy cream or more shredded parmesan cheese.

Reheating Pasta and Sauce in the Microwave: Place the pasta and sauce in a microwavable bowl, add a little heavy cream, and microwave in small intervals. Check and stir the sauce between intervals and stir until it is heated all the way through.

This is the simple and easy alfredo sauce recipe that my friends and family always enjoy. Serve it with your favorite pasta, put it on pizza, or even use it as a dip. Usually, it’s paired with fettuccini noodles, I used linguini in the image. If you LOVE alfredo I recommend trying small pasta shells, it creates pockets of cheesy alfredo goodness.