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.
Yummy! Doubled cheese!
Yayyy! Thanks so much for the great review!❤️
So easy and so YUMMY!!!
definitely will be making this again and again!
Yayyy! I love hearing from people who are Olive Garden fans like I am, thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!❤️
Absolutely love this recipe!!!
Husband swears way better than OG
Rich, creamy & amazing!
I’m so happy you guys are loving this one! My husband says its better than OG too😊 Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and review!
How do you know the measurements? Because it isn’t saying so idk how much better or garlic too put I just want to get it right
It’s in the recipe card at the bottom of the blog post, you scrolled past it to leave this comment so you’re close to it! There’s also a “jump to recipe” button at the top of the page.
Can’t wait to make this. Just making sure first that recipe uses salted butter and that it’s not a typing error.
Hi Lydia… no it’s not a typing error, the recipe calls for salted butter. ☺️
Wow! This Fettuccini Alfredo is fantastic! On the spur of the moment I decided to try homemade, and looked up the recipe online before going into the grocery store. My husband really enjoyed it too. Definitely make again!!
Yayyy! I’m so happy this was such a hit! Thanks so much for the great comments and review Pat!❤️
Oh my wow!!!!!! I made this for my family and they could not believe that it was home made! They thought I ordered from DoorDash and set it out on the table to make it “look like I cooked”. I will take their reactions as satisfactory. I would give this recipe 10 stars if I could!
Sounds like this was a huge hit Angelica, that makes me so happy! I’ve had friends and family not believe me when I told them this wasn’t take out. Thanks so much for the great comments and review!😃
OH MY GOSH!!! During our cooking lesson last week my granddaughter wanted to make Alfredo. Being she is celiac, she has never tasted it before. We adjusted the recipe to use GF flour and used lactose free milk to help cut down on the lactose for dad. It turned out absolutely perfect! The look on her face and in her eyes at her first taste test was amazing. I made a second batch myself for freezing to test that out. Thank you so much for the yummy recipe!
I’m so happy you got to see that look on your granddaughters face Nancy, that really is the best! Extra happy to hear you were able to make it gluten free. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and leave a review!😃
This taste just like Olive Garden’s Alfredo . I make it all the time and my family loves it. This was really easy to make. Definitely recommend!!
I’m so happy the family is enjoying this one Kamryn! Thanks so much for the great comments and for taking the time to leave a review!😃
I am the older sister of 2 (me being 16, and my sisters 15 and 11) and my mom works u till late at night, this sauce helped me make my sisters favorite dish. I love it! I will definitely be using this recipe from now on!
Wow that makes me so happy to hear Kiki! Great job making this for your younger sisters🙌 Thanks so much for the great review!