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Olive Garden’s Alfredo Sauce

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!

Overhead view of a skillet full of Fettuccine Alfredo with kitchen tongs in the middle.

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.

A skillet with melted butter and minced garlic in it.

Whisk in the flour. Add heavy cream and milk. Gradually whisk in the cheese.

Final steps in making Alfredo sauce by adding cheese to a pot and stirring it into the sauce

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.

A skillet with Fettuccine Alfredo being added to it and mixed into the sauce.

Creamy Fettuccine Alfredo in a skillet with rolls in the background.

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.

A skillet filled with Fettuccine Alfredo with kitchen tongs pulling noodles up.

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Fettuccine Alfredo sprinkled with parsley in a white bowl with rolls in the background.

Did You Make This Recipe?

I would love for you to leave a rating and a comment below! How’d you do?! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overhead view of a pan filled with Creamy Fettuccine Alfredo with kitchen tongs.

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce

4.97 from 402 ratings
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!

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

Note: You may be tempted to add more cheese to thicken to sauce, but it continues to thicken upon standing and even when added to the pasta.

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.
  • Be sure to serve this with my Olive Garden Salad!

This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 132!

The nutritional information is an estimate and is per serving. There are 6 servings in this recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 624kcal, Carbohydrates: 62g, Protein: 20g, Fat: 33g, Saturated Fat: 20g, Cholesterol: 153mg, Sodium: 399mg, Potassium: 357mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 925IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 347mg, Iron: 2mg
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This Olive Garden Alfredo sauce recipe comes straight from the restaurant itself! It takes just 15 minutes to make, and pairs perfectly with fettuccine. | The Cozy Cook | #pasta #italianfood #olivegarden #alfredosauce #comfortfood #fettuccine #copycatrecipe #meatless

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1,029 comments on “Olive Garden’s Alfredo Sauce”

  1. Literally sooo delicious and easy to make! I honestly believe it tastes even better than Olive Garden! Wow 😋 I memorized this recipe, it’s beyond amazing *chefs kiss* thank you girlie !

  2. Your alfredo sause is the joint! Your could put it on a car bumper and its delicious. Simple sause to go with so many things. Having shrimp fedichinny

  3. Olive Garden uses cream cheese as its primary thickening agent, so this recipe is just for alfredo, not Olive Garden’s.

    • I actually got the recipe from Olive Gardens website, they used to have a lot of their recipes on their site. Unfortunately they took it down so I can’t link out to it anymore. I’ve spoken to several OG employees and none have ever mentioned the use of cream cheese in their Alfredo sauce but have validated the ingredients in this recipe.

    • As a former Olive Garden manager, I can assure you that there is no cream cheese in the OG Alfredo recipe. Butter, flour, cream, Parmesan/Romano blend, garlic, salt and pepper. 

  4. Love this!!! 5 stars. Though I’m still working on the right balance of salt and pepper. I’ve been through a couple different fettuccine pastas to find one close to the noodle of olive garden. Do you have any suggestions? The ones I have tried, I’m not very fond of.

    Thanks for posting this and any suggestions you think.

    • Hey Amanda! I am so happy to hear that you enjoy this recipe! 🙂 I wish I had a good suggestion for a similar fettucine to Olive Garden but I’m not quite sure, I am going to hope that others may be able to recommend a good brand!

  5. My most favorite alfredo sauce recipe. Most easy and quick recipe I have ever seen!
    Thanks for share!

  6. I only have milk and evaporated milk – no heavy cream. IS that okay? Should I replace the heavy cream with milk?

  7. great recipe, easy to make, tastes great. love the freezing availability

  8. my family and I just love this recipe. Its so easy n quick. Always double the batch to freeze some of the sauce for the next time.

    • I’m so happy you and the family are enjoying this one! I do the same thing and freeze plenty! I’ll even treat myself to a good lunch every once in awhile😋 Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!

  9. Made this tonight and O. M. G.!!!! So very good, but really would like the nutrition facts for JUST the sauce. 

    • Hey Kristen! I am so happy that you enjoyed this recipe! I just tried to go back and adjust the nutritional facts to be just for the sauce, and it isn’t working correctly, I haven’t ever encountered this issue before but I hope to try again soon! My apologies!

  10. I made this tonight and I’m reflecting how delicious it was and then to read that you can actually freeze this. Absolutely mind blown. I’ve tried a lot, and I mean a lot and never came out good. This is definitely a keeper. 🙌🏻  Thank you. 

    • I’m so happy to hear that Janice!😃 I was on a mission for awhile to perfect their Alfredo Sauce and I think is it! I agree, being able to freeze it is so helpful! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!❤️

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