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 Pot Pie
-
- Olive Garden Salad
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- Copycat Longhorn Parmesan Crusted Chicken
-
- Creamy Garlic Chicken
-
- Bacon Mac and Cheese
-
- Mushroom 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.
- 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.
I make this at least once a week. My kids and hubby love Alfredo sauce. In fact, our server at Olive Garden called us the “Alfredo people” last time we were there! This is easy and delicious!
“The Alfredo People” I love that! I’m such an Alfredo lover too and Olive Garden’s alfredo is my guilty pleasure. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review Traci!💗
I have used this recipe over and over. It is spot on the original. I always get New York frozen breadsticks from the freezer section of the store. Sometimes on special occasions I will make the Olive Garden salad and use their dressing and their croutons.
I usually have everything else. So Yummy, So Easy and Quick!
I love how you enjoy OG as much as I do Denise! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!💗
Made this tonight and the cheesy garlic bread recipe. Both were easy and delicious! Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Yummm, sounds like a great meal Mary, nice work! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!💕
Hi there! I haven’t made this yet, but I’m excited to make this with a group of students! I notice people in the comments are saying condensed milk, and in the write up I think I read evaporated milk, but I don’t see it mentioned in the recipe anywhere just “any kind” of milk. Can you help me out? I want to make sure we make it right! 🙂
Hi Ryan! I say “any kind” of milk because I have made this with 1% milk before and it’s been great. You can use 2% or whole milk as well. I don’t make this with condensed or evaporated milk though! What a fun recipe to make with students!
I’ve been using this recipe for probably by a year now? Definitely a while. And it is the BEST one. It’s so easy, pretty forgiving, and I find it tastes better than the OG (see what I did there:) Since Olive Garden wants to be funny with their prices now, I’ve determined I’m done with them and this far cheaper, far superior recipe is the only way to go. Plus, it reheats from frozen like a champ.
I’m so happy you’ve been enjoying this Erin! This is one of my favorite family dinners since you can make with just pasta, or add chicken or seafood. So many options. Thanks so much for the great review!💗
Could you use all heavy cream on this instead of half cream half milk? I’m wanting to make this tomorrow, but I have loads of heavy cream and no milk in the house.
You can, it will be thicker, so a splash of water can fix it if it’s too thick!
It’s about time I leave a review since I’ve made it 10x by now…I’ll add that my review is indeed a fair one since I won’t say “I did this” or “I added that” Condensed milk? Hua?? I wonder if they meant evaporated—yikes. Nope. Followed as written, exactly- down to the room temp cheese! Girl your recipe is AMAZING!!!!! Cooks! You need this recipe in your life! I like to double it and freeze half of the sauce- it makes for an amazingly delicious, effortless bonus meal (thaw out overnight in the fridge, of course) Now- if I’m low on heavy cream or if I have half & half I need to get rid of (thanks, Costco) I will adjust the liquid depending on what I have on hand but still use the exact same measurements. This recipe needs to tweaking- the Cozy Cook did it for us! Thank you! My family loves it and my son brags about another stellar meal from Mom’s kitchen. Bon Appetite!
This makes me so happy Lisa, you’re the best! Nothing better than hearing from someone who had the whole family love the recipe! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!❤️❤️❤️
Anyone…Help! I’m using this recipe for a team of 10 Varsity volleyball players who LOVE chicken Alfredo!! (Plus maybe a few moms.) How many batches would you suggest for his recipe? Trying to make sure I have enough pasta 😬
Hi Kandi! This alfredo sauce satisfies a pound of pasta (or a little less if you like it extra saucy). A pound of pasta feeds 4-6 people. So I’d probably make a double batch of this. (Or 2.5) I also have a Chicken Alfredo Pasta recipe that you can check out! Similar to this, but includes instructions for chicken as well!
1st time I’ve made it. Delicious! I’ll make it again and add shrimp .
I love this one with shrimp! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review Ginger, I’m so happy you liked it!💗
Very easy to make Very creamy and delicious. Loved all of the options to improve the recipe and flavors. I used condensed milk. Used 1/2 the amount with 1/2 water. I did use heavy whipping cream, also. It was delilcious. Gives it a bit of an earthy taste. This is “my go to” recipe.
Thanks so much for the great comments Susan, I’m so happy you liked this one💗
Hello, this recipe looks wonderful and I’m curious, is the cheese shredded or is it powdered Parmesan cheese? Thank you.
Hi Karen! In this recipe, it’s grated from a wedge into a powder 🙂
Hi. I’ve been making her recipe for a while now and I use powdered Parmesan and it is still delicious! It works!
Great to hear Laticia, thank you!💗