Creamy Alfredo Sauce Recipe- The Best Way to Gussy Up Your Pasta

What is Alfredo Sauce?

Alfredo sauce is a simple, creamy white sauce made with butter, parmesan cheese and heavy cream that can turn your weeknight dinner into a special meal. You can add it to any type of pasta, be it fettuccine or conchiglie, for an instant makeover. You can even pour your homemade Alfredo sauce over chicken breasts or steamed vegetables to give it a creamy, rich flavor. While other pasta sauces use tomato as their primary ingredient, Alfredo sauce has cheese and butter as its key ingredients and these are what give the pasta its rich, creamy taste.

What's the Story Behind Alfredo Sauce?

Alfredo sauce has an interesting origin story and it's closely linked with the classic Fettuccine Alfredo we know and love. This sauce came into being in 1914 when Chef Alfredo Di Lelio ran his restaurant in Rome. Alfredo's wife had just given birth to their son. Unfortunately, childbirth had robbed her of her appetite and she hardly ate anything at all. The chef tried all his tricks to make his wife eat, whipping up one delicious dish after another. But nothing worked. Finally, Alfredo experimented with fettuccine, Parmesan and butter. That did the trick! His wife wiped the plate clean and Alfredo knew he had created something special.

Alfredo sauce, named obviously after its chef, did not initially gain popularity beyond Rome, for World War I had just started. Once the war ended, though, Americans started arriving in Italy in droves. Among them were Hollywood stars Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford who dined at Alfredo's restaurant. They fell in love with the fettuccine Alfredo they were served and the news made the headlines. In no time, the Alfredo sauce recipe made its way to the United States and into the pages of history.

Ingredients For Your Classic Alfredo Sauce

Whether you make Alfredo sauce pasta as a Side Dish or enjoy it with chicken breasts for a weeknight dinner, you can be sure of whipping up a delicious meal with very little Food Prep time and effort. Here's a list of ingredients you'll need-

• 12 oz Parmesan cheese
  
• 3 oz butter
  
• 6 oz heavy cream
  
• 1 garlic clove (crushed)
  
• 2 oz fresh parsley (chopped)
  

Steps to Making Alfredo Sauce

Putting your meal together should take no more than 20 minutes, including food prep and cooking time. This is one of the simplest, yet tastiest sauce recipes there is. No wonder Alfredo's wife got back her appetite with one bite. Here are the steps to follow when making Alfredo sauce-

• Take a saucepan and melt the butter on medium heat. Add the heavy cream and let it simmer. Make sure you don't overheat the pan.
  
• Add crushed garlic and grated Parmesan and keep stirring. Do not let the sauce stick. Let it simmer for five more minutes.
  
• Remove from the heat, add chopped parsley and stir.
  
• Serve with your choice of base. You can go with everyone'e favorite, fettuccine, or enjoy chicken Alfredo by pouring the sauce on cooked chicken breasts.
  

How to Store Your Alfredo Sauce So It Won't Spoil

If it is store-bought, you must follow the instructions on the label when storing your Alfredo sauce. It is advisable to store the unopened sauce in a cool, dry place, but remember to refrigerate it once opened.

However, in the case of homemade Alfredo sauce, you should let it cool after it is cooked. But don't leave it at room temperature for more than two hours. This is a standard food safety rule. If you delay refrigeration beyond this point, the sauce may spoil and become a breeding ground for harmful bacteria. So make sure you refrigerate your homemade Alfredo sauce in an airtight container, two hours after cooking.

Also, always use clean spoons to scoop out the sauce from the container, seal it tight once done and make sure the sauce is not left at room temperature for long spells of time.

Store-bought Vs. Homemade Alfredo Sauce- Is There a Difference?

Like most store-bought and homemade food products, there are some key determining factors that differentiate factory-produced Alfredo sauce and homemade Alfredo. Let us break these down-

• Store-bought Alfredo sauce will be easy to store for longer periods as it contains preservatives. On the other hand, homemade Alfredo must be consumed within a few days or it will spoil.
  
• When preparing your own version of this famous sauce, you can add your own ingredients like whipping cream, cream cheese or gluten free-butter. Whipping up this sauce at home allows you to be flexible, using what you have and want to use.
  

Make Your Alfredo Sauce Stand Out With These Cooking Tips

This Alfredo sauce recipe is so simple, you can make it with your eyes shut. Yet, here are some handy cooking tips that can help you get the most out of this sauce-

• Use the pasta water. When you cook your pasta and drain the water, use this water to thin out the sauce if you need to. Pasta water is rich in flavor and a better choice than regular tap water.
  
• Use fresh Parmesan cheese. Always use Parmesan cheese that is freshly grated and refrigerated. Parmesan cheese works best for Alfredo sauce as it brings out its flavor. Any other cheese will alter its taste. (This, incidentally, is one of our favorite Cheese Recipes).
• Change the pasta quantity. If you like your pasta on the creamier side, reduce the quantity of pasta and add more sauce. And if you like your pasta dry, use less sauce and more pasta.