Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce
An easy, no-fuss dish you can make right at home with ingredients that you already have on hand. It’s also cheaper, healthier and quicker than ordering out!
I woke up one morning with a huge craving for alfredo sauce. I don’t know what it was but I just had to have it right then and there. But delivery was going to take over an hour and Olive Garden was about 45 minutes away. And I just couldn’t wait that long.
At that point, I was almost even tempted to buy those jarred alfredo sauces. Yes, I just wanted it that badly. I know. Shameful.
But after perusing through my pantry, I realized that I had all the ingredients to make the Olive Garden alfredo sauce right at home. And surprisingly enough, it came together in just 15 minutes from start to finish. It couldn’t be easier!
And as always, the homemade version really knocked it out of the park. I was thoroughly satisfied, as I devoured about 3 servings of these. Then I ran 4 miles. It’s all about that balance, right?
Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fettuccine
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup whole milk, or more, to taste
- ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 1 large egg yolk, beaten
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
- Combine butter, garlic, heavy cream and milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer; remove from heat and stir in Parmesan and egg yolk, whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from scrambling. If the mixture is too thick, add more milk as needed.
- Stir in pasta and gently toss to combine; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately, garnished with Parmesan and parsley, if desired.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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I followed the directions exactly but this was watery. Not sure what went wrong. I added more cheese to thicken it and then the sauce broke – but that’s on me. I did like the method of cooking the shrimp in the oven.
Danyel, the sauce thickens as it cools, and the addition of cheese should have helped it thicken up a bit.
This was a great recipe. I added some shrimp, bell peppers, onions, celery, thyme, cayenne, and Tony’s to give it a cajun kick that my family loved.
Wow!!! This was damn good!!! Next time I have to increase the sauce because my boyfriend was obsessed with it.
I wanted to verify if you just use the egg yolk? Or the entire egg?
Julie
Yes, that is correct. The recipe calls for 1 egg yolk.
Okay now I want the bread sticks to dip in it. 🙂 Thank you for this.
I love so many of your recipes!! one of my favorites is the Garlic Parmesan Shrimp (I think its one of your appetizer dishes). Do you think mixing that recipe and this one would be too cheesy? Maybe if I don’t add so much Parm to the shrimp? I think the lemon might also ruin the Alfredo sauce, but I’m not too sure.
What do you think?
Julie, it may be best to simply roast the shrimp in salt and pepper only as the garlic parmesan shrimp may bring in unwanted (or overpowering) flavors into this dish.
Wow. This was Damn Delicious! I’ve tried a few of your recipes and am always amazed! Thank you so much! You have fans in Ohio!
Wow. You answered so quickly. Thanks so much. Now I’ll be able to make it tonight. I just bought shrimp and fresh broccoli when I did the food shopping yesterday. I told my kids that we should make some fettuccine alfredo. But then I thought I should get a recipe and make it homade. Saw your recipe and thought it sounded perfect. Olive garden has been me and my husband’s favorite restaurant for almost 20 years and we used to go every Friday when we were young and dating. My kids now love it too. So this dinner will mean so much to my family and bring back the memories of dating when my husband and I were young. And it will even be Friday night. Thank you so much.
The pressed garlic. How exactly do you add them at the end? Do you just press them and add it then remove them? Do you press it, slice it long ways, then remove them at the end? Or do you press them and chop them up and leave them in there? Thanks
Beth, “pressed garlic” refers to a method of chopping garlic utilizing a garlic press like this one here.
Flour? Mine was extremely runny even after sitting for 45 minutes. Smells heavenly but I needed a straw for the “sauce”.
Evelyn, what kind of Parmesan cheese did you use?
Is it possible to add greek yogurt instead of heavy cream?
You can certainly try substituting Greek yogurt but without further recipe testing, I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish. Using a substitution may also result in a mediocre outcome.
I made this tonight, but unfortunately I didn’t have fresh parmesan cheese, only the green shaker bottle. I used extra amounts of that and evened out thickness with milk/flour. It still came out good, but I’m sure it doesn’t compare to fresh cheese 😛
Thank you!!! it looks delicious! Your web looks so pretty by the way 🙂
Just made it for dinner tonight and it was delicious(even my picky roommate liked it) though I accidentally got Romano cheese instead, whoops. I thought it was going to be too runny but it thickened after sitting for a bit. Will definitely make again.
So question, I made this and like previous times I made alfredo sauce the whole sauce just get chunky. Like basically all turn to kinda really mushy cheese. I know alfredo in store and stuff all have smooth texture so I’m wondering why its happening. I think might be what I’m using does pre graded cheese make that happen? I also use heavy whipping cream as thats the only heavy cream I could find is that correct? Thanks for any help.
Rex
Yes, pre-shredded cheese will make a difference. As mentioned in the recipe, freshly grated is always best!
Made this tonight, added shrimp to it, and it was fantastic! My husband and kids loved it. Thank you for sharing this! This sauce was so easy to make. Look forward to making more of your recipes!
PS- I’ve also made your cheddar bay biscuits before and they are excellent!
Heather
I am making this tonight with asparagas and shrimp 🙂
Made this last night and it came out perfect! Not too thick or thin. I spooned the sauce over each portion instead of adding to the bowl of Tortellini – so if you’re adding to noodles that are not drained well I can see how it may get runny or thinned out.
Thank you!
Hi! Quick question- how do you not go crazy from people asking you stupid questions? Questions that can easily be answered by simply *reading*. Reading the comments or even, gasp!, the original post itself!
Great pictures. I am planning on making alfredo sauce next week. My recipe is the same as yours, same directions and I use fresh grated Parmesan cheese but it either clumps or is grainy. Have any idea what may cause this? Sometimes I add diced Proscuitto ham and fresh peas or small pieces of broccoli to the sauce but I am going to try the mushrooms too.
It could be the Parmesan cheese – perhaps it’s too finely grated?
Would Gruyere be an ok substitution for the recipe? I only have a pecorino/Romano blend and it doesn’t melt as nicely. Please advise!!!
Leo, it may be best to actually use the Pecorino/Romano blend rather than the Gruyere.