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!
- Chicken Pot Pie
- Olive Garden Salad
- Copycat Longhorn Parmesan Crusted Chicken
- Creamy Garlic Chicken
- Bacon Mac and Cheese
- Mushroom Chicken
More Restaurant Copycats
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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 a simmer. 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 combine it with the sauce until well incorporated. The pasta will absorb the sauce and it will continue to thicken.
- Garnish with 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 add a bit of onion, extra garlic, sub a 1/4 cup of chicken broth with the milk and sometimes add a touch of white wine if we have any sitting around. Always comes out excellent with your base! Thank you!
Great additions! I’m so happy this one is a winner for you, nice work! Thanks so much for the great review💗
Can I use garlic powder instead?
I really recommend the fresh garlic for this recipe, if at all possible. ❤️ Since there are so few ingredients, the quality of each one makes a big difference in the outcome.
This is the most delicious sauce! So smooth and creamy. Restaurant quality. I can’t wait to make it again! So much better than store bought. I used to try making Alfredo sauce but I could never get the parmesan cheese to melt completely, always little tiny pieces. Someone told me you have to use fresh grated. Now it turns out perfect and this is the best recipe I’ve tried. I chop up some parsley for garnish . Beautiful meal!
Hi Barbara! I’m so glad that you loved this sauce!! YES- this blog post also indicates that freshly grated cheese is a must. Packaged cheese contains cellulose which prevents it from clumping together in the packaging, but it also hinders its ability to melt well. (And freshly grated/shredded tastes better too!)- Thank you so much for the review! 🙂 -Stephanie
Love this recipe. So easy to make. Tastes great, super creamy. Will definitely make this again. I’ve been looking for a good alfredo sauce recipe and I’ve finally found it, thank you!
You’re very welcome, thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!💖
Made this tonight!!! Will be making it again! It was amazing!
I’m so happy to hear that Jessica! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and leave a review!💗
Thank you for this recipe. It was delicious. I enjoyed the creaminess. The only thing that wasn’t perfect was the slightly sweet taste. I think this must have been due to the heavy cream. I think I will add less cream and more whole milk next time.
Hi Elisabeth! I’m glad that you loved the recipe and the creamy consistency! Is it possible that your butter browned at all? That could contribute to a sweet taste. Heavy cream doesn’t contain any sugar. If you use more milk next time, just note that you’ll lose some of that creaminess. ❤️
Thank you Stephanie, appreciate the feed back,
Cook in training,b😀😀
Elizabeth
Can you give me an idea of the weight of the cheeses? I find I get very different result in measuring 1/2 cup depending on the size of the grater I use. Thank you!
Hi Kathryn! When I grate Parmesan/Romano cheese and place it in a 1/2 cup, it weighs 1.2 ounces.
Thank you! 🙂
Great results, I made this for my wife’s birthday and she loved it.
I am soo happy to hear that Eric!! Thank you so much for the review, this is such a fantastic birthday meal! 🙂
My husband and I liked it even better than Olive Garden’s! No joke! This was my first time making my own Alfredo sauce too. I couldn’t thank you more for sharing this it made my day and days to come for sure
You’re very welcome Gabi! I’m so happy you and your husband liked it. Thanks so much for the great comments and review!🩷
So excited to try this tonight!! I noticed it serves 6, but I’m just wondering approximately how many oz this recipe yields?
Thanks so much!!
Hi Charity! Unfortunately I don’t have an ounce measurement for this. ❤️