Classic Fettuccine Alfredo

Written by
Danilo Alfaro
Danilo Alfaro has published more than 800 recipes and tutorials focused on making complicated culinary techniques approachable to home cooks.
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Danilo Alfaro
Updated 04/30/21
Fettuccine Alfredo in a bowl

The Spruce
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Total: 20 mins
Servings: 4 to 6 servings
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
916 Calories
67g Fat
61g Carbs
20g Protein
See Full Nutritional Guidelines Hide Full Nutritional Guidelines
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 916
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 67g 85%
Saturated Fat 41g 206%
Cholesterol 189mg 63%
Sodium 474mg 21%
Total Carbohydrate 61g 22%
Dietary Fiber 3g 9%
Protein 20g
Calcium 312mg 24%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

This classic fettuccine Alfredo is made with cream, butter, Parmesan cheese, and parsley. It's a pasta comfort food at its finest, and an Italian dish made with just a few basic ingredients that most home cooks are likely to have on hand.

As with any recipe that has few ingredients, it is important that each one is fresh and of the best quality you can get. Make sure you use freshly grated Parmesan cheese—the kind you buy in a block and grate yourself, not the kind from a can.

You also want to use fresh parsley and not dried, if possible. For a special treat, buy fresh fettuccine instead of using dried pasta from a box—or make your own homemade pasta. Fettuccine is a fresh pasta that's not hard to make.

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Click Play to See This Classic Fettuccine Alfredo Recipe Come Together

Ingredients

  • Kosher salt
  • 1 pound dried fettuccine
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter 
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, plus more for garnish
  • 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped, plus more for garnish
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for fettuccine Alfredo
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  2. Fill a large stock pot with cold water and add a handful or so of kosher salt. Stir and taste; it should taste like seawater. Cover the pot and heat the water until it boils.

    Boil water
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  3. Drop the fettuccine into the boiling salted water and cook according to package instructions, about 6 to 9 minutes, or until al dente or tender, but still firm to the bite.

    Cook fettuccine in boiled water
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  4. While the fettuccine cooks, heat the butter and cream in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat until it starts to bubble.

    Butter and cream melting in a sauté pan
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  5. Lower the heat and simmer gently for about 15 minutes or until the sauce has reduced somewhat. Remove from heat.

    Lower the heat on the cream and butter and simmer gently
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  6. Add the cheese and toss until fully mixed. Adjust consistency with additional cream if necessary.

    Add the cheese and toss
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  7. Stir in the chopped parsley. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

    Stir in the chopped parsley
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  8. Drain the fettuccine and toss with the Alfredo sauce.

    Drain the pasta in a colander
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  9. If desired, sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese and garnish with additional chopped parsley.

    Fettuccine alfredo sprinkled with cheese and chopped parsley
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  10. Serve right away and enjoy!

Tip

When making cream-based sauces, you might be tempted to substitute milk or half and half for the heavy cream, but these ingredients do no behave the same way in the pan. Milk and half-and-half will curdle when simmered, but heavy cream is more stable, which is why it's the choice for cream sauces.

How to Store and Freeze Fettuccine Alfredo

Fettuccine Alfredo will keep covered in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. If you would like to freeze this dish, it's advised to undercook the pasta slightly. This way, when you freeze and reheat it, the pasta will be tender and not mushy.

Recipe Variations

  • You can make fettuccine Alfredo even more special by adding protein or vegetables. Some grilled chicken, sliced into strips, is great, and so is cooked shrimp.
  • For a vegetarian Alfredo, toss in some sautéed mushrooms or steamed asparagus. Peas, broccoli, and/or sliced green onion tops are also a nice addition to any versions of fettuccine Alfredo.
  • If you are eating vegan, there are a few ways to alter this recipe to accommodate your needs, whether you use a dairy-free roux in place of the cheese or tofu and vegan cream cheese.
  • Saute 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, minced, in half of the butter for about 2 minutes. Add to the cream along with the remaining butter pieces and continue with the recipe.
  • Make it a spicy chicken Alfredo. Slice 4 chicken tenderloins into small pieces. Brown the chicken in a small amount of vegetable oil or butter in a skillet. Sprinkle with seasoned salt or Cajun or Creole seasoning. Toss the cooked chicken with the fettuccine and sauce.