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?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Just cooked for our dinner tonight, it was awesome, I utilized chicken breasts, my husband told me it was so scrumptiously delicious, that I am not cooking tomorrow night because we have left over. Yummy to our tummies, thanks a lot.
I will try to cook this for my aunt’s upcoming birthday on the 8th.. I hope i make it all right!! 🙂
I had to make a couple minor alterations to the recipe in order to make it work for my family. I had to double everything and then had to add an extra egg yolk and cook over low heat to get it to thicken properly. I have made this twice and had to do it each time. I don’t know what I am doing wrong?? But everyone LOVES this sauce!! Thank you
I actually don’t think you’re doing anything wrong. If the extra egg yolk gives you a consistency that your family loves, that’s great!
This was exactly what I was craving for lunch today – it tasted just right, and was quick & easy. Thanks!
How do you suggest I cook the chicken breasts for the alfredo dish?
You can grill it, bake it, poach it, etc. – it’s really up to you!
Hi my name is daniella. I was gonna make linguine pasta with Alfredo sauce but don’t have cream. Can I substitute the cream with something else perhaps half & half? That’s all I have besides regular milk and evaporated milk in a can. Please let Me know.
The half and half would be a more suitable substitute than either the milk or the evaporated milk.
This receipe looks delicious! I have a few questions about it.. how much does 4 servings make? can this be made ahead of time and put in the fridge? We are looking to do a pasta bar for my sons birthday and want to be able to put an alfredo sauce in a crock pot to keep it warm
Tia, this is best when served immediately. I have never tried warming this in a slow cooker so please use your best judgement if you decided to utilize a slow cooker. Additionally, this recipe is enough for 4 standard servings.
Sadly mine didn’t turn out this evening. I had to double it…maybe I should not have. U am not sure what I did wring but u can tell it would’ve been good…it just didn’t turn out right. If you have any suggestions let me know 🙂 thank you!
Unfortunately, it is really difficult for me to answer what went wrong as I was not in the kitchen with you. That being said, I must ask – did you follow the recipe exactly as is without any substitutions?
I didn’t use substitutions but I doubled everything. Next time I will not double. Thank you. My daughter said it just needs more salt and pepper 🙂 Thank you so much!
Yes! You would be amazed as to how a little bit of salt and pepper can go a long way.
This is basically how I make my Alfredo at home minus the heavy cream and whole milk. 2% all the way. I am going to make this tonight with chicken and shrimp. Might throw in some cayenne pepper on the chicken.
I am going to try roasting the shrimp for the first time. It sounds like a good idea.
Also, I love the 4 mile run at the end. I am adding that to mine except it will be at the beginning.
Thanks
I just made this…and I couldn’t even wait until my husband came home to have dinner. I had a pre-meal and it tasted great! I didn’t use any precise measurements…just averaged and I doubled your recipe. I think I put a wee bit too much parmesan because the sauce came out a little grainy. But hey it tastes delicious! Cant wait to have dinner when my husband comes home!
So I made this tonight, tasted just like the olive garden sauce. However the garlic(had to mince myself) and parmesan was lumpy, idk how to get it to not do that except to really grate it better. Never attempted to melt parmesan before. That was mainly my fault however the recipe barely covered two dishes. I will probably quadruple the recipe! Other then that very yummy. I highly rec making way more then the original recipe.
This is my first time attempting to make Alfredo and it was absolutely delicious! Tastes better than olive gardens Alfredo. I added some chicken to this and it tasted wonderful. I can’t stop eating it! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Love you personality in your recipe. I am a follower now! Can’t wait to try your recipes!
Could you use minced garlic? Of so how much?
Thanks
LeeAnn, you can use however much you see fit, although I recommend starting at 2 tsp and adding more, to taste.
Hey, just wanted to say that if you use all heavy whipping cream you can definitely omit the egg. Heavy cream will thicken without any additional help as it cooks. If you need to make it a bit ahead of time, you can add a little more cream at the end to thin it if need be.
How much kolser salt
Please add kosher salt, to taste.
This recipe looks amazing. I’m having a birthday party next week and plan to have shrimp Alfredo. I would prefer to make it rather than buy jarred. Could this recipe be doubled or even more? I need to make enough for at least 20 people or more.
Yes, absolutely, this can definitely be doubled!
I tried out this recipe today and found that my sauce was pretty watery and I had to cook it down some more, but it tasted pretty good especially with the shrimp. I cooked them like you recommended and was not disappointed, and I do not usually like shrimp. Thanks for the fantastic recipe!
Made the this tonight for dinner with chicken and shrimp and it was delicious! However we thought that the sauce was really thin. Is there a way to make it thicker? Does that mean we messed something up or is it supposed to be thin?
I am not too sure if something went wrong as this sauce does tend to get thicker as it cools. You can certainly add certain ingredients to make it thicker but without further recipe testing, I cannot give you the appropriate recommendations.
I had wanted it thickened as I usually find the sauce always thin. I added 1 tbsp. of corn starch and it was perfect… .
I also love veggies in mine. I added some sautéed onions/mushrooms/broccoli with either chicken or shrimp….. It is amazing a filling with the added veggies….
I also substituted 1 tbsp. Of roasted granulated garlic for the 3 cloves of fresh garlic!!!!!!!
Add more cheese to thicken the sauce and let it rest on a hot burner with the heat off.
I guess it’s safe to say that I should not have come here while I’m soooooooo hungry and in the middle of a research paper that’s due no later than midnight tonight (yes, I know I shouldn’t be online at such a time as this) LOL. This looks delish! Will retain it for a less busy evening, thanks!