Home » Dips and Sauces » Creamy Alfredo Sauce
by Stephanie Manley, Last Updated 19 Comments
Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe
Creamy Alfredo Sauce is a slight variation on your traditional Alfredo sauce. How is this creamy Alfredo Sauce different? I add a variety of hard Italian cheeses and an egg yolk. The result is a creamy Alfredo sauce that tastes wonderful.
Alfredo Sauce is so easy to make, so you don’t need to wonder how to make Alfredo sauce. Whenever people ask me for an easy recipe, I always suggest Alfredo Sauce.
While it may not be the healthiest meal to have, it is great for low carb people, and it is good in moderation.
Table of Contents
Pasta for Alfredo Sauce
Do you ever wonder what pasta to use for Alfredo sauce? I know a lot of people like to make Alfredo sauce with fettuccine.
There are many other types of pasta shapes you can use for Alfredo sauce. Some favorites of mine are tortellini, rigatoni, and even pasta shells.
Pasta that has a lot of shapes and turns is great for Alfredo sauce because it picks up the extra sauce. Truth be told, I have even made this with spaghetti in a pinch.
Alfredo Sauce with Egg Yolk
You might wonder why we add the egg yolk into the sauce. It makes the sauce very rich and it helps to thicken the sauce. I thought this was an amazing addition to the classic sauce.
The egg yolk also helps give the sauce just a little bit of color. The sauce becomes a little more yellow with the addition. I think this a wonderful addition to this sauce.
Creamy Alfredo Sauce Cheese Tips
I have one more big tip when it comes to making homemade Alfredo sauce: GRATE YOUR CHEESE. Really, grate your cheese. Cheese that comes pre-grated has anti-caking agents in it.
Ever wonder why that cheese that you buy pre-shredded isn’t in a glob? It is due to anti-caking agents, usually cellulose or potato starch.
Those anti-caking agents will will give the sauce a different texture. It will not be as creamy as it is with using freshly grated cheese.
Please, don’t use the stuff in the can, I have a can in my pantry. I use it to thicken spaghetti sauce or to flavor meatloaf.
My preference is always cheese that you grate yourself. My grocery store sells in-store grated cheese and that’s ok to use. But please no packaged pre-grated cheese for this recipe.
Ingredients
Here’s a list of what you need:
- Heavy cream
- Unsalted butter
- White pepper
- Nutmeg
- Grated Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago cheese mix
- Egg yolk
How to Make Creamy Alfredo Sauce
How you make this creamy Alfredo sauce, is pretty close to the standard way of making Alfredo sauce.
I like to make Alfredo sauce in a skillet. I think this helps to distribute the heat evenly through the sauce.
- Heat a medium sized skillet over medium heat.
- Add butter and cream into the skillet.
- Stir to blend together the melted butter and heavy cream.
- Add white pepper and nutmeg to the cream mixture.
- When the sauce just begins to bubble, add cheese and stir.
- Add an egg yolk and mix quickly.
- When the cheese has melted turn off the heat and serve immediately.
Please note this sauce does not reheat well.
Recipes with Alfredo Sauce
- Grilled Chicken Alfredo
- Shrimp Alfredo Pasta
- Steak Alfredo
- Crab Fettuccine Alfredo
More Homemade Sauce Recipes
- Olive Garden Meat Sauce
- Pesto Sauce
- Spaghetti Sauce
- Spaghetti Meat Sauce
- Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipe for Canning
Popular Italian Recipes
- Cavatini
- Italian Sausage Recipe
- Olive Garden Breadsticks
- Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Recipe
Be sure to check out more of my easy sauce recipes and the best Italian food recipes here on CopyKat.com!
Creamy Alfredo Sauce
Make creamy alfredo sauce with egg yolk and freshly grated cheese.
5 from 3 votes
Print Pin Rate Add to Collection
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Creamy Alfredo Sauce
Prep Time: 3 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
Total Time: 13 minutes minutes
Servings: 2
Calories: 1125kcal
Author: Stephanie Manley
Ingredients
- 1/2 pint heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 6 tablespoons freshly grated cheese (I used a blend of Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 pound pasta cooked according to package directions
Instructions
Heat a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add butter and cream into the skillet. Stir to blend together the melted butter and heavy cream.
Add white pepper and nutmeg to the cream mixture. Stir to combine.
When the sauce just begins to bubble, add cheese and stir in.
Add 1 egg yolk and mix quickly.
When the cheese has melted, turn off the heat and serve immediately with pasta.
Video
Notes
This sauce does not reheat well.
Nutrition
Calories: 1125kcal | Carbohydrates: 89g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 74g | Saturated Fat: 45g | Cholesterol: 333mg | Sodium: 288mg | Potassium: 360mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 2700IU | Vitamin C: 0.7mg | Calcium: 285mg | Iron: 1.9mg
About Stephanie Manley
I recreate your favorite restaurant recipes, so you can prepare these dishes at home. I help you cook dinner, and serve up dishes you know your family will love. You can find most of the ingredients for all of the recipes in your local grocery store.
Stephanie is the author of CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home, and CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home 2.
REVEALED: Copycat Secrets for 2023
free email bonus
Yes, you CAN make it at home!I'll show you how.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Previous Post: « Olive Garden Sicilian Scampi
Next Post: Ground Beef Tacos »
Reader Interactions
Comments
Diane Gruppuso
Very nice sauce. My only change is that I always reserve a little heavy cream, add the yolk to that and then add some of the warm cream/butter to the egg/cream to temper it A nervous nelly about ending up with some scrambled eggs in my sauce.Reply
Lisa
I put in too much dairy but the flavor was great and ill use this again but measure next time!
Reply
Tina
Was very disappointed tonight! Made it for Valentine’s Day dinner for my husband but did not come out anything like alfredo. Read the recipe over and over. Not sure what happened.
Reply
Stephanie
I am so sorry, can you tell me how it turned out, maybe I can help you.
Reply
Bea
Adding a yolk sounds interesting and adding more than Parm is sounding yummy. I may try it someday.But, I do have to say that some/one pre-grated Parm is not including the anti-caking additive (cellulose?). ((Not in my house, so not remembering the exact added ingredient 100%… unless I read it on a label.)) 🙂
I buy grated cheeses by reading the ingredients and all work lovely; that melt great and blend smoothly. Good wishes in reading labels and finding the cheeses that work for you and your recipes.
Reply
Stephanie
Thank you for the tip on some Parmesan cheese, not including anti-caking ingredients. I guess we should read the package, for me it is remembering to simply buy it in chunks and grate is myself. I hope you enjoy the recipe.Reply
Brooke
HI!
I made this sauce for dinner tonight and it was very good. Thanks for sharing! I didn’t have any white pepper or nutmeg, but it was still very good. While good, the sauce isn’t as “saucy” as I would like once added to my pasta. Is there a way to get a creamier sauce? Also, I saw the note about the sauce not reheating well. Why is that? Thanks!
Reply
Stephanie @CopyKat.com
I meant to say the sauce doesn’t reheat well. The emulsification breaks down, so the butter and the cream separate. If you want it more “saucy” maybe you want to add a little more cream.
Reply
christine
Also, instead of using the egg yolk for “extra creaminess”, try a dollop of cream cheese.
Same affect ,and you “don’t have to worry abut egg turning to scramble…Also, this will keep better on a very low simmer, while your pasta finishes cooking.
If I’m having a busy holiday dinner, I actually can make my Alfredo sauce “the night before”, then heat up on low just before I need it.
I also cook my pasta(use a bow tie, for a large crowd”. Its easier to handle…I cook that up the “morning of a dinner party, I LEAVE in the collander, then I “let it “sit in the sink while HOT water runs thru it, to reheat it.
The “hot Alfredo sauce will help heat it thru once mixed:)Reply
Katie
Yikes, sour cream in Alfredo? I don’t know. To avoid scrambling the egg yolk, everyone should temper eggs when dealing with warm ingredients. Always. (That just means slowly add small amounts of the warm ingredients to a separate bowl with the egg, rather than add an egg to a giant hot space.) The only tip that should have been added to this already great recipe.
Reply
Sara
Katie, WHERE do you see “sour cream”??? She said CREAM CHEESE.
Lorraine Kovacs
I’m looking for something that taste like olive garden Alfredo sauce…
Reply
christine
Yes, Olive Garden Alfredo sauce is , well “ok”, if you happen to get it “served HOT. As soon as it “begins to cool slightly, it becomes sticky”, and the butter separates from the cheeses. It’s “really awaful taken home “as a leftover”.
So, if you are set on making it…Go ahead, but “there are “better recipes out there.”Reply
Ray
I haven’t had some good alfredo pasta in a long time, can’t wait to try this tomorrow. I recently moved into my own apartment after having roommates who all made cooking pretty hellish. Went and bought everything I need along with some chicken and garlic bread.
Reply
Lisa
Alfredo is definitely my favorite
Reply
Stephanie Manley
It is one of my favorites too.
Reply
Stephanie Manley
I hope you enjoyed the recipe.
stephaniemanley
What is your favorite type of pasta sauce?
Reply
christine
I love making an Alfredo sauce with added “sauteed portabella mushroom” stirred in.Talk about a “YUM”. I usually make this sauce when I purchase frozen or fresh “Ravilos” stuffed with mushroom! Over the top!Sams Club has great Premade Ravilo’s in their deli case.They come in “double packages”. One is more than enough as a dinner for 2 people.Its “all you need” if you are feeling the urge for “creamy comfort food, with over the top flavor!”
Sautee your “thinly sliced baby Bella’ in real butter, then add to your sauce.I have even used Bertello’s “JARRED Mushroom Alfredo sauce” in a PINCH!…I just “docto it up with a “bit more “half and half”, and I DO grate a mixture of fresh Romano/asiago and parmesian”. I also kept a chunk of EACH in my frig.
You are so Correct Stephanie…Once you start “grating your own cheese by hand, “you CAN”T GO BACK, “…I don’t even buy the “freshly grated” at Krogers anymore”. The “air ” in the container “changes the cheeses flavor”. Just my opinion:)Reply
