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.
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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.
- 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.
This recipe is a staple in our family too! Never disappoints! 😉
Bonus-it’s super easy to make, even my 13 year old made it. 🤗
That’s SO great Jamie! I wish I could have mastered this kind of recipe at 13 years old!! 🙂 Thank you so much for the review! -Stephanie
CAN I ASK HOW MUCH IS 1.5 CUP OF MILK I KNOW 1 WOULD BE A CUP BUT DON’T KNOW .5 IS IT A HALF
Hi Linda, yes, you’re right! So it’s one and a half cups total.
Oh my goshua. This sauce is *chef’s kiss*. You are a wonderful human for sharing this with us all!!
Followed this exactly and it is divine. I used store brand rigatoni (judge me not as we ran out of fettuccine and I don’t know how to make pasta from scratch ANYWAYS). For whoever is out there fiending for the OG sauce, this is as good, nay, perfect as it gets. For the first time in a while, the men and boys I feed every night were quiet while they gobbled down everything—no leftovers! Thank you for sharing this amazingly simple and perfect sauce.
Thanks so much Gina you’re the best!❤️ I’ll be honest, I’m pretty obsessed with this sauce too! Olive Garden Alfredo has always been my guilty pleasure. I was so happy to learn I could make it at home!
So good!! I ended up topping ours with broccoli, crispy bacon, and shredded Parmesan. So pleased. Definitely found my new Alfredo!!!
Yummm! Those additions sound great. I’m so happy you’re pleased with this one Tiffany. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!❤️
Very nice
Thank you! My family and I love this sauce!😋
Delicious!!!
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review Cristy!❤️ Happy to hear you enjoyed this.
Yummmmmmm, I haven’t made Alfredo sauce in forever! Used to be my go to for company. Thanx for sharing this recipe, it’s delish. It’s Going back into my rotation. I love to top with shrimp 🍤 scampi. Now if I just had Olive gardens bread stick recipe 🤔 lol
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it April!! 🙂 I love adding shrimp to this too, or grilled chicken! 🙂 I’ve also tried to master their breadstick recipe but I’m not there yet, haha!
Was very creamy, cheesy, and just very delicious. Would make it again!
I’m so happy to hear that! Olive Garden has always been my guilty pleasure. I was so happy to learn I could make this at home. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!😍
Make it exactly as said and shredded my cheese myself. SO SO GOOD. Thrilled about finding this recipes.
I’m so happy to hear that Sierra!😍 My family loves this one. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
Hi Stephanie! I am excited to make this for my family 🙂 I need to make it gluten free so what gf flour would you recommend using?
Thank you!
Carly
Hi Carly! I am so sorry to say that I haven’t tested this out with any gluten free flours so I don’t have one that I can recommend. I tried doing a little research but it seems a lot of the gluten-free alfredo sauce recipes use cream cheese as a thickener instead of a roux. My apologies for not being able to give you a solid recommendation.
I’m gf also. When I make Alfredo sauce I use corn starch. I’d start with two teaspoons then add more if needed. Hope this helps.