This Alfredo Sauce is so easy to make! It is great for a family Sunday dinner, or for a fast weeknight. We love this because it can be as easy or as fancy as you want it to be. This can literally be just pasta and sauce on a Monday night OR pasta and sauce and proteins and veggies!
The sauce and pasta are so fast and easy to make that I like to get any “toppings” or “add ins” ready to go before hand. Today I am prepping chicken, some garlicky butter shrimp and broccoli.
Prep toppings, make the sauce, boil the pasta and then I like to combine the pasta and sauce, then set up the add ins in different bowls to set up like a buffet. Then, everyone can come through and dish up what they like. It’s an Alfredo buffet! My kids LOVE this meal. It’s great for a large gathering with friends and family, especially if there are picky eaters or kids.
Start by melting the butter and make a roux (pronounced rue) by adding the flour. Whisk over low heat to toast and cook lightly. Add in the cream. Whisk over medium heat till steamy and slightly thickened.
Remove the pot from the heat and add in the cheese. Stir it in. Set aside for about 5 minutes and the sauce will thicken as it rests.
My favorite add ons are grilled chicken or shrimp. If I am adding the chicken, I marinate a few chicken breasts in my favorite Italian salad dressing, then grill, or put under the broiler if it’s winter. Slice it up and put over the pasta. You can also use rotisserie chicken. I often pull a bag of my “meal prep” chicken out of the freezer.
Meal prep chicken is seasoned, baked chicken that is cut up and then frozen into portions in quart sized freezer bags.
For the shrimp make sure you have 1-2 pounds of raw, tail off shrimp. Before I make the sauce, I put 2 Tablespoons of butter, and 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, 1 heaping Tablespoon of minced garlic into a hot skillet. Then carefully spoon the thawed, raw shrimp over the garlicy butter. Sprinkle a little kosher salt over the shrimp. Occasionally stir and flip the shrimp over. Watch for pieces that are done and remove them to a plate. They cook very fast, and you don’t want them over cooked.
Prep any veggies you want to add. I prefer to roast or sautΓ© them. For the broccoli, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry the broccoli. Trim into bite sized pieces. Toss with olive oil, garlic powder, kosher salt and pepper. Roast in the oven till done, about 10 minutes.
We also love a Ceasar Salad and garlic bread on the side. Ciabatta makes the BEST garlic bread in our opinion. I like to cut ciabatta rolls into triangles, spread with butter and sprinkle with your favorite garlic seasoning. Right now I am obsessed with Kinder’s Butcher’s Burger Blend. I’ve been putting it on way more than just burgers. Toast in the oven at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes, then broil for 1-2 minutes.
Our favorite Alfredo add ons –
- Grilled or broiled chicken
- Chicken Apple Sausages, sliced and seared in a skillet
- Garlicky Butter Shrimp
- Roasted broccoli, cauliflower
- Sauteed mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini
- Extra fresh Parmesan to sprinkle on top
If you want to check out some other quick and easy weeknight meals, check out these –
- Pizza Rolls
- Black Bean and Turkey Tostadas
- Sausage and Zucchini Skillet
- Buffalo Chicken Tostadas
- Chicken Pasta
- Stromboli
- Oven Baked Chimichangas
Classic Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons butter
- 1-2 Tablespoons minced garlic
- 3 Tablespoons all-purpose white flour
- 3 cups half & half
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1 pound pasta – fettuccine, spaghetti, penne etc.
Instructions
- Boil a pot of water and cook pasta according to the package. While the pasta is cooking, get the sauce started.
- In a small pot, melt the butter. Add in the garlic, and let it cook on medium heat till the garlic looks golden, and the butter becomes aromatic. About 1 minute.
- Turn the heat down to a medium low heat. Whisk in the flour till all the butter is incorporated into the dry. Slowly pour in the half & half while whisking.
- Turn the heat back up to a little about medium heat, and whisk often, until it thickens, and is on a low simmer. **Watch closely! Dairy reaches its boiling point faster than water and can easily scorch on the bottom of the pot.
- Once it is thickened, turn off the heat! Add in the cheese, salt and pepper. Stir with a wooden spoon, NOT a whisk. Fold the cheese into the sauce till it is melted, and all is smooth. If the sauce is too thick add ΒΌ cup of milk at a time, stirring till you reach the best consistency.
- Drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the pot of sauce. Fold and stir till the sauce coats all the pasta.
- Add ons – Grilled chicken, shrimp, roasted broccoli, bacon, ham etc.
Made this for my family tonight and it was a hit! So easy and so yummy!