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.
LOOKS DELICIOUS ,going to add chicken.if any keto related recipes,would be appreciated.
Great! Very excited for you to try it! Unfortunately Keto recipes aren’t my specialty at the moment, but I am excited for you to try this recipe!
sorry that was suppose to be 5 stars.
Awesome Linda!! I’m so happy to hear that! 🙌🏻
This is my second time making it, but putting chicken in to it this time. Very good Thank you.
Yummers! Kids love it, just like restaurants. I added grilled chicken.
Hey Heather, that’s so great that you enjoyed it!! Grilled chicken makes it even better. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review!! -Stephanie
So good and easy to make! We haven’t been happy with the restaurant version the last few times so we are excited that we can now make this at home!
Hey Tamara! I’m so glad that you enjoyed this recipe! You will know it by heart before you know it. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this nice review, I really appreciate it! -Stephanie
Hi, are you talking about Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese, or the one in the can? I want to make this for a surprise B- Day dinner for my daughter.
Freshly grated from a high quality block, do the grating yourself at home! ❤️🙌🏻
The absolute best Alfredo sauce that I’ve ever had 👌
Thanks so much for the recipe 😘
Hey Judy! I am sooo happy that you loved the Alfredo sauce, this one is a keeper for sure. Thanks so much for the review, I really appreciate it! -Stephanie
This is my second recipe I tried for Alfredo sauce and I won’t go back to the other one. This is so delicious! My 6 year old niece who doesn’t even it chicken Alfredo for her mom ate two plates! Thank you for sharing this recipe ☺️ I didn’t have Romano cheese so I did all Parmesan and I added some salt and garlic powder.
Hey Alyssa!! I’m so happy that you enjoyed this recipe, and I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a review! You are the best!
Made it today , the family loved it , the sauce is deliciously tasty
Hi Nellie! I’m so happy to hear that, thank you so much for letting me know how it came out and for leaving this review!! -Stephanie
I’ve never made (Alfredo Sauce) but one time in all my years of cooking. It wasn’t something I thought to try again until my daughter-in-law said it was one of her favorite foods. Boy did I get lucky and find this recipe!😋 It was absolutely easy and the best sauce ever! 😋
Hey Tammy! I am so happy that you enjoyed this recipe- you made my day! 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave this wonderful review!! -Stephanie