Recipe updated: November 27th, 2024
This is a super easy and delicious Alfredo sauce recipe you can make using heavy cream. Alfredo sauce is a classic Italian favorite that’s rich in flavor, and perfect for pasta lovers!
Whether you’re planning a cozy dinner for two or a family meal, this homemade Alfredo sauce recipe is quick, easy, and sure to impress. Made with simple ingredients like butter, garlic, cream, and Parmesan, it’s a go-to recipe that brings restaurant-quality flavor right to your table.
Alfredo sauce is used in many dishes, especially pasta dishes, including our recipes such as Chicken Alfredo Linguine with Cream Cheese, and Chicken and Broccoli Lasagna Recipe.
🥄 Basic Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter = 1/2 stick of butter or 1/4 of a cup
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
👩🍳 How to Make Alfredo Sauce with Heavy Cream
These step-by-step instructions are accompanied by detailed photos for enhanced clarity and guidance.
Step 1. Put Butter and Minced Garlic in Skillet
Put 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a large skillet, then add 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of minced garlic to the skillet with the butter. Turn the burner on medium-high heat.
Tip: Four tablespoons of unsalted butter equals 1/2 stick of butter, or 1/4 of a cup of butter. If you don’t have unsalted butter, salted butter will work just fine.
Step 2. Melt Butter and Sauté the Minced Garlic
Sauté the minced garlic while the butter melts, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula or silicone spatula turner. Keep an eye on it, since this should only take a couple of minutes for the butter to melt.
Step 3. Add Heavy Cream and Black Pepper
We will now put 2 and 1/2 cups of heavy cream and 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper together with the melted butter and garlic that are already in the skillet. Bring the melted butter, garlic, and heavy cream mixture to a boil, stirring all the while.
After the heavy cream mixture starts to boil, we want to reduce the heat to a slow simmer, so turn the burner down to medium-low heat or low heat. Keep stirring the mixture so it won’t stick to the bottom of the skillet.
Step 4. Pour in the Parmesan Cheese
While simmering the Alfredo sauce mixture and continuing to stir, add 3/4 cup of grated fresh Parmesan cheese to the skillet. Thoroughly combine the Alfredo sauce mixture together with the Parmesan cheese.
Step 5. Simmer until Alfredo Sauce Thickens
Keep stirring the simmering sauce until it thickens and has a rich, creamy texture to it. Turn off the burner on your stove top, and then add this classic Alfredo sauce to a variety of dishes, such as classic fettuccine Alfredo.
Note: Do not leave the Alfredo sauce simmering on the burner unattended. Stay with it, keep stirring. It will only take about five minutes or so until it thickens.
🛒 Recipe Variations
- Sprinkle a little bit of chopped fresh parsley, chopped fresh garlic cloves, or Italian seasoning on the Alfredo sauce before you add it to your favorite pasta dishes.
- This creamy sauce with its perfect texture can also be spread on top of baked pizza dough, homemade pasta, baked potatoes, or used as dips for chips and vegetables, or in soups.
☝️ FAQs for Creamy Alfredo Sauce Recipe with Heavy Cream
You probably won’t have any leftover Alfredo sauce, with this recipe, anyway. But just in case you do, just put the leftovers in a container in the refrigerator to use later. It should be good for about three days in the refrigerator, so use it up by that time, or before then.
Yes, you can put your freshly made Alfredo sauce in the freezer in an airtight container for about four or five months until you are ready to use it in any of your recipes that call for it.
🕵️ Final Thoughts
This is the easiest and best Alfredo sauce you can add to your favorite pasta recipes. No artificial ingredients or dyes, or the words you can’t pronounce on the ingredients list on a store-bought jar.
The flavor is outstanding, and with its perfect consistency and taste, it is so much better than any store-bought Alfredo sauce that is sold in the grocery stores. Make this easy Alfredo sauce your go-to recipe for all your favorite pasta dishes—and so much more. With just a handful of simple ingredients, it’s perfect for creating creamy, comforting meals in no time!
🗂️ Recipe Card
Easy Alfredo Sauce Recipe with Heavy Cream
🫕 Equipment
🧂 Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter (same as 1/2 stick of butter or 1/4 of a cup)
- 1 ½ tbsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
👩🍳 Instructions
- Add the butter and minced garlic to a large skillet.
- On medium-high heat, sauté the minced garlic while the butter melts, stirring constantly. The butter will melt within a few minutes.
- Add the heavy cream and the ground black pepper to the skillet.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, or low heat. Keep stirring.
- Add the Parmesan cheese to the skillet.
- While stirring, simmer the mixture until it thickens.
- Turn the burner off and add this Alfredo sauce to your favorite dishes.
*️⃣ Recipe Notes
- Do not leave this Alfredo sauce unattended on the stove, it can stick to the bottom of the frying pan if you don’t keep stirring it. It doesn’t take very long for this sauce to thicken.
- Alfredo sauce can be used in many dishes, especially pasta dishes, or used as a dip for vegetables, added to soups, or poured over baked potatoes.
💑 More Favorite Recipes You Will Love
- Homemade Ricotta Cheese Lasagna – A homemade lasagna pasta recipe layered together with lean ground beef, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, onions, Parmesan cheese, dried oregano leaves, dried basil, minced garlic, fresh chopped parsley, whole tomatoes, and tomato sauce. So good!
- Old Fashioned Tuna Noodle Casserole – The best tasting tuna noodle casserole with solid white Albacore tuna, mixed together with egg noodles, peas and carrots, cream of mushroom soup, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, chopped onion, chopped red bell peppers, and crushed potato chips.
A wife, a mother to a son and a daughter, and a grandmother to three granddaughters. Flo loves sharing recipes passed down from her own mother, her mother-in-law, and her grandmother as well as new recipes created with her daughter, Tamara Ray.
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