The Cozy Cookbook is here! Make Olive Garden’s Alfredo Sauce Recipe at home in just 20 minutes! Pair it with Fettuccine for an easy dinner idea the whole family will love!
Love Olive Garden Copycat Recipes?! Try these Chicken Gnocchi or Zuppa Toscana Soup recipes next!
I know it’s a restaurant chain, but honestly, Olive Garden’s Alfredo Sauce recipe is just perfect in my book. Hands-down. Chain or no chain, I love it.
(And you won’t believe how easy it is to make at home!)
PRO Tips For Making Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce:
- Olive Garden’s Alfredo Sauce recipe is made with Parmesan and Romano Cheeses, however you can also incorporate Mozzarella, Gruyere, Gouda, or Asiago. You can also just use Parmesan.
- You can use half and half instead of half heavy cream/half milk.
- If you only have evaporated milk, just use half the amount of milk and replace the other half with water. You won’t compromise flavor or consistency by doing this in creamy sauces like this one.
- You can even experiment with different pastas. I like fettuccine because the noodles soak up that thick sauce well, and Tortellini Alfredo with Broccoli is delicious as well!
How to Make Alfredo Sauce
Melt the butter. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Whisk in the flour. Add heavy cream and milk. Gradually whisk in the cheese.
Add cooked Fettuccine. Sauce will continue to thicken upon standing.
Tip: I like to use 3/4 lb. of fettuccine for saucier pasta, but this recipe will satisfy a full pound as well.
Tips for Extra-Creamy Sauce
- Use blocks of (high-quality) cheese and shred it yourself for extra creamy results. Bagged shredded cheese has cellulose added to it to prevent the cheese from sticking together in the bag. Cellulose repels moisture, which makes it melt poorly in comparison to shredding the cheese yourself.
- Let the cheese come down to room temperature before adding it to the sauce.
- Sprinkle in the cheese gradually, the sauce should be warm but not too hot. Otherwise the dairy will separate and the consistency will be grainy.
- High-quality butter is important. I like Land O’ Lakes brand.
⭐Pro Tip: Alfredo sauce continues to thicken upon standing, and thickens even more when it’s added to pasta. Refrain from adding additional cheese to thicken it up.
⭐This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 132!
Making Alfredo Sauce Ahead of Time
- Alfredo sauce is a convenient make-ahead and freezable sauce. Unlike some other cheese sauces, the flour in this recipe helps it to maintain it’s consistency when cooled and reheated.
- It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- It can also be frozen and is best if used within 1-2 months.
How to Reheat Alfredo Sauce
- Alfredo sauce will thicken up and harden as it cools, but can be easily microwaved or slowly reheated on the stove top. Reheating in a makeshift double boiler is the best reheating method to restore it back to it’s original form. (Either by itself or when combined with pasta.)
- Frozen Alfredo sauce should be thawed overnight in the fridge before heating.
- If the sauce is too thick when reheated, add a splash of milk or chicken broth to thin it out.
Try These Next!
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- Chicken and Broccoli Pasta
-
- Mushroom Chicken
-
- Bacon Mac and Cheese
-
- Creamy Garlic Chicken
-
- Tuscan Chicken Pasta
-
- Copycat Longhorn Parmesan Crusted Chicken
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Did You Make This Recipe?
I would love for you to leave a rating and a comment below! How’d you do?! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons salted butter, high quality
- 1 Tablespoon garlic, minced
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 ½ cups whole milk, 1% or 2% can be used if needed
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated and at room temperature
- ½ cup Romano cheese, grated and at room temperature
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 lb. Fettuccine
- Parsley, to garnish
Instructions
- Boil the fettuccine according to package instructions. As the water preheats, begin the sauce.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for one minute.
- Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring continuously.
- Add the heavy cream in splashes, stirring continuously. Add the milk in the same manner.
- Bring to a gentle bubble, then reduce heat to low to bubble. It will continue to thicken as it simmers.
- Slowly stir in the cheese. Taste and season with salt/pepper if desired.
- Drain the pasta and carefully mix it into the sauce until well incorporated. The pasta will absorb the sauce and it will continue to thicken.
- Garnish with chopped parsley and serve!
Notes
For Saucier Pasta: Use 3/4 lb. pasta instead of a full pound.
Pro Tips for Reheating:
- Alfredo sauce will thicken up and harden as it cools, but can be easily microwaved or slowly reheated on the stove top. Reheating in a makeshift double boiler is the best reheating method to restore it back to it's original form.
- Frozen Alfredo sauce should be thawed overnight in the fridge before heating.
- If the sauce is too thick when reheated, add a splash of milk or chicken broth to thin it out.
⭐This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 132!
Do you happen to know how much a serving size is?
Hi Halie! A serving size is 1/6 of the batch, but I don’t have a unit of measurement unfortunately.
If I doubled the recipe would you double the butter also or ?
Yes, you would want to double everything, you’ll want a very wide skillet so that the liquid can evaporate similarly, allowing it to thicken 🙂
Never made Alfredo sauce before my kids have bought jar sauce before and it was not good we only like Olive Gardens so I thought why not try and make it … this was pretty spot on!!! The only thing I didn’t like was how thick it was so next time Im going to try it with out flour
Hi Rebecca! I’m so happy that you loved it!! 🙂 The wider the surface area is of the skillet that you use, the quicker the liquid will evaporate and the thicker it will be. (Also, the longer it simmers, the thicker it gets!)- Just a few tips! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, I really appreciate it! -Stephanie
This recipe is a really good base, but I strongly felt it needed more than the salt and pepper. I use parmesan cheese and mozzarella, but what made it better was the extra garlic powder that I added along with oregano and basil. That really did the trick and pushed this to what, for me, made it a 5-star recipe. Thank you for the base recipe, it is great.
You got it Annmarie! It’s definitely a great base to play around with, but this is advertised as Olive Garden’s Alfredo Sauce, which is why it doesn’t have some of the additions have you mentioned. I think if I strayed from that tradition I’d get kicked off the internet. 😂 I too love to add herbs and different cheeses (and several examples of those are also on my site!) but this is just meant to be what you’d find at Olive Garden. ❤️
Thank you for sharing. I missed seeing the posting of it during the Pandemic. [So, I am subbing and going to look at other recipes you have, TCC …]
I’m so happy you found it David! Can’t wait for you to check out others, thanks so much!💖
Delicious!!! Was just thick & cheesy enough without being too much. By far, the best alfredo recipe I’ve tried … and there have been MANY!
That’s the ultimate compliment Amy, thanks so much💖! I make this one all the time, my daughter is a bit obsessed!