Creamy, Simple Alfredo Sauce Recipe
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Looking for a delicious comfort meal for fall? Here’s a very simple Alfredo Sauce recipe that is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner!
Simple Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Now that we are back to doing school again, quick weeknight meals are my favorite things. I am happy that the days and nights are getting cooler though because I feel like that gives me more flexibility with my recipes since we are into the comforting and hearty meals again!
Now, I’ll be honest, my family is mostly dairy free because of an allergy and intolerances but I wanted to share this dish anyway since it was something we used to love. I used to make this recipe all the time when I was growing up and in the early years of our marriage (before we knew about the allergies!). And just because I can’t have it doesn’t mean you need to suffer too. 😉
Why Homemade Alfredo Sauce?
This is the best easy Alfredo Sauce because it’s made from scratch If you’ve been buying it from a jar, it’s more than time to try this recipe! I’ve seen many recipes online that use heavy cream in them but my recipe uses cream cheese instead. Something about that tangy cheese gives it the perfect taste that I’ve been looking for and the flavors that can’t be beat! Plus when you use the cream cheese you don’t need any cornstarch, flour, or gluten products to thicken it up.
This is such a simple recipe and only uses basic ingredients that you probably already have on hand. Serve it with a side of Old Fashioned Green Beans and some Garlic Bread for a full meal! Grab the full recipe, nutrition, and instructions below.
Simple Alfredo Sauce Recipe
A quick weeknight meal that the whole family will enjoy.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoon Salted butter
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1 block Cream cheese
- 1 1/2 cups Milk
- 1 cup Parmesan, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- Parsley
Instructions
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Put together all of your ingredients on the counter. This sauce comes together pretty quickly so you will want to have everything ready.
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In a saucepan, melt the butter with garlic and garlic powder. Cook just until the garlic becomes fragrant.
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Pour in milk and whisk together with the garlic. Bring to a low simmer and add in the cream cheese and parmesan cheese. Stir well until no lumps remain and the mixture begins to bubble again.
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Add chopped parsley (optional) and the salt. Stir until combined and then serve over warm pasta.
This recipe is so thick and so indulgent! If you don’t care for it to be so thick, you can always add a little more milk to thin it down. You can also add in a bit of pepper when you add in the salt if you prefer that as well.
You could also add cooked chicken or shrimp on top of your pasta to make this a more rounded meal.
Serve this sauce over your favorite spaghetti pasta or you can use gluten free pasta for a gluten free version. Or you could even use even zucchini noodles for a low carb meal.
This makes a fairly large batch (good for a family of 4 or 5) but if you have leftovers you can store it in the fridge for later.
What is a classic Alfredo Sauce made from?
A classic Alfredo sauce recipe is made with heavy cream and milk and sometimes a flour roux. This recipe skips some of those ingredients and takes a shortcut with adding in the cream cheese for that thick, creamy texture instead.
How do you fix a bland Alfredo Sauce?
A little salt and pepper will go a long ways with a bland Alfredo sauce. Although if you make this recipe, bland taste shouldn’t be a problem! The parmesan cheese adds a great depth of flavor. You could try an asiago or a romano cheese in place of the parmesan for different flavor profiles.
What can you add to Alfredo?
I like to add in a little fresh or dried parsley for a bit of extra flavor. As I mentioned above, you could also add in a protein such as cooked, diced chicken to beef up the meal a bit.
Looking for some more delicious weeknight meal recipes besides this homemade alfredo sauce? Here are some of our favorites!
- Quick 5 Ingredient or Less Recipes
- Stretching a Buck Lasagna
- Cheesy Chicken Breasts
- Creamy Chicken and Noodles Soup
- Simple Vegetable Pasta
- 30 Minute Pizza
What do you like to make for supper on busy weeknights?
I will (for sure) make this easy Alfredo Sauce recipe. Thanks so much for sharing ALL of your easy recipes. It is so nice to share these recipes with the daughter-in-laws in our life. They just might try them if they are easy.
Darlene….
We love alfredo sauce and I’ve been buying the one that comes in a jar kind. This recipe is easy enough with less processed additive so will definitely try it. Thanks for always posting easy but very tasty recipes.
Your ‘block’ of cream cheese…would that be 3 oz. or 8 oz.?
8 ounce
Thank you vary much for this super easy recipe. I always keep my eyes out for your recipes.
Please don’t throw tomatoes, but… can you use Parmesan cheese with the green top instead of fresh?
I’m trying to make some homemade jarred sauces from scratch instead of buying them, but I need things that are shelf stable so I can keep them on hand.
Would Parmesan cheese in the plastic container totally ruin this?
Thank you!
Lauren
It might not quite melt the same as the fresh parm but flavor-wise it will work. Use what you have! 🙂
The green can parm does work flavor wise, but it leaves the sauce with a grainy texture… not smooth and luxurious.. still tastes good though. Just make sure you taste before adding any salt or salt-based seasonings.
Hi Merissa, thank you for this recipe.
I was wondering if any left overs can go in the freezer & if yes how long for ?
Leonie.
You could try and freeze it but I’m not sure how the texture would be after thawing since it’s not something I’ve done.
When you say grated, referring to the Parmesan, do mean shredded fresh from a block or grated like you shake on spaghetti or pizza?
Fresh parmesan will melt the best but you can use the shaker kind if that’s what you have. The texture just won’t be quite the same.
How many ounces is the block of cream cheese? Can neuftachel be used?
8 ounces, and yes