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.
So yummy! My first try and I made a couple of ooops but it turned out so delicious. Very proud of myself. Thanks for the great recipe.
I’m proud of you too Mary Beth!! Nicely done!! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review as well!! 🙂 -Stephanie
I love this recipe! Super easy, and all I used was parmesan cheese and sprinkled in some additional garlic powder towards the end (besides the minced garlic- I LOVE GARLIC!) and BAM!
Super quick and delicious! Thank you!
Wonderful, Jennifer!!! Thanks so much for trying it and I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Love your recipes
That makes me so happy, thanks so much Lilian!🩷
Awesome recipe love my Alfredo sauce
I’m so happy to hear that Shirley, thanks so much for the review!❤️
I really love this recipe!!! I have made some of the other copycat Alfredo sauces, but this one is the very best!! The others were way too rich , I absolutely love the Romano cheese in this recipe. 👍🏼👍🏼 Thanks for sharing.
I’m so happy you found this one to be the best Melinda! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!❤️
My favorite Alfredo recipe! I have to double it because this is one of the few dishes that leftovers are a must!
Thanks Sheryl!🩷 I’m so happy you’re enjoying it!
LOVE all your recipes that I have tried. I thank you so much!!! I am usually able to make them all gluten free with no issues I notice. I was wondering if you, or anyone else have tried this with rice flour? It can be a little more grainy…so I am worried about messing it up with all the expensive ingredients. Any recommendations? Thanks in advance!
Hi Becky!! I am so happy that you are loving the recipes!! 🙂 Wahooo!! I have had readers successfully make this gluten free. One reader used “Cup4Cup” brand gluten free flour. Another reader did this: “substituted the flour with arrowroot powder and an extra 2T of milk (made a slurry) to thicken” Finally, a general tip that I received from a reader about making roux with gluten free flour: “Add the butter and flour together – the flour won’t blend well if it’s added to a hot liquid like regular flour. Make sure to keep whisking until it’s starting to thicken and smooth.”
I hope those tips help!! ❤️
I am a novice in the kitchen so I thought this would be too complicated for me, but it was surprisingly quick and easy! Who would have thought that something that delicious could be quick and easy? Thanks for a terrific recipe that surely is a keeper!
You’re very welcome Paula, I’m so happy it was such a success! I make this all the time. Thanks so much for the great review!💗
I’ve tried a few of these recipes but this one has been the best. My family likes this one so much. You can use it to make white sauce pizza, chicken alfredo, I use it to dip crunchy homemade garlic bread pieces in…YUM!!!
My family loves this one too! I’m so happy yours is too Angelina! Like you said, it has so many uses. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!😀
Oh my this is amazing! Not going to lose this one! Thank you so much for the share.
You’re very welcome Donna, I can’t wait for you to make it!💖