This Alfredo Sauce is so easy to make! It is great for a family Sunday dinner, or for a fast weeknight. This recipe is just for the sauce and pasta.
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.
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 the pot. 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.
Begin cooking the pasta, get a pot of water boiling, and follow instructions on the package. Cook 1 pound of pasta.
If you’ve cooked shrimp in the pot, do not clean it out. Just remove the shrimp. Then add the butter and garlic for the sauce. Turn the heat down, then add the flour.
Slowly add in the half & half. Whisk till it is bubbly and thick. Then turn the heat off and add the cheese, salt and pepper. If the sauce is a too thick, pour and stir in 1/4 cup of milk at a time till it is your desired consistency. Pour the sauce over the cooked pasta in a pasta bowl or toss the pasta into the pot with the sauce. Fold and stir till the sauce coats all the pasta. Garnish with more parmesan and add any proteins or veggies you like.
Our favorite Alfredo add ons –
- Grilled or broiled chicken
- Shrimp
- Roasted broccoli
- Thinly sliced and sauteed bell pepper slices
- Zucchini, sauteed
Classic Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons butter
- 1-2 Tablespoons minced garlic
- 3 Tablespoons 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 ¼ 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!