Rich, creamy and delicious! This Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo is the perfect weeknight meal and is quick & easy. Makes a great date night meal!

If you’re looking for a real authentic Alfredo Sauce, made the traditional way, you’re coming to the wrong place.

However, if you want a quick and easy, absolutely delicious Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo that actually tastes pretty authentic and that you can use for lots of different things, you’ve found it. Right here. This one.

The sauce is what makes the meal and it can go so far, and be used for so many things.

Why You’ll Love Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo

Way Better Taste: Alfredo sauce, when made from scratch, is richer and creamier. The whole dish comes together with a much fresher, more intense flavor.
Simple Ingredients: You don’t need a ton of fancy stuff. It’s surprising how something so good can come from such simple ingredients.
Impress Your Friends and Family: When you serve this to friend and family, they’ll think you’re a gourmet chef (even if it’s not that hard!). Totally impressive dish!
Control What Goes In It: When you make it yourself, you know exactly what’s in your food. No weird additives or preservatives. You can also adjust the flavors to exactly how you like them – more garlic, more cheese, whatever you’re in the mood for.

This Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo is one of our favorites. It’s an easy go to meal, and I almost always have the ingredients on hand to make it.

I especially love serving this on date nights or special occasions with a glass of wine and some grilled balsamic drizzled veggies on the side. Yum!

I do have a few tips to make it go smoothly, which you will find down below.

Ingredients for Homemade Fettucine Alfredo

butter – we use unsalted butter so we can adjust the salt content, however if you use salted butter, just taste as you go when you add more salt.
minced garlic – add more or less depending on taste.
cream cheese – This is what gives this sauce the incredible, rich flavor – you can use a low fat variation for this recipe.
milk – I would stick to using milk because of the already rich cream cheese addition, however, you can easily substitute a lower fat milk or use a whole milk if desired.
grated Parmesan cheese – you could technically substitute Romano, asiago or a finely shredded fresh mozzarella.
ground black pepper – not necessary but oh so incredible. Used for added flavor.
nutmeg – don’t skip this, you can’t taste it but it brings out the flavor in the sauce.
fresh parsley or basil (for garnish or added flavor) – we use this for garnish but to be fair, adding chopped herbs to the fettucine adds even more incredible flavor.
fettuccine noodles – you can swap the type of pasta out if you wanted to use bow tie or angel hair or anything else you might desire.
salt and pepper – to taste

It also doesn’t matter if you want to use fat free or low fat ingredients because let’s face it, Fettucine Alfredo is incredibly rich and heavy.

Your meal will still come together beautifully making this a truly versatile recipe, or the jumping off point for your own!

I remember my grandma making something very similar to this when I was little.

It took me years to find a recipe that was similar enough to hers that I could tweak to fit our taste and be like hers.

We use this Alfredo sauce for pasta, pizza, grilled veggies and even to dip bread sticks in.

I can think of so many amazing ways this would totally perk up even a simple grilled chicken breast or a side dish of grilled asparagus.

And don’t be afraid to add in sausage, grilled shrimp, grilled chicken or even veggies like broccoli and asparagus.

Chopped tomatoes are amazing.

Tips and Tricks for Easy Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo:

Tip 1 for Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo:

You can use low fat cream cheese or even fat free. You can use skim milk, though I prefer it with either 1% or 2%.

Tip 2 for Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo:

Readers in the past have suggested that it tastes too much like cream cheese, but then they admit to changing how much Parmesan they used or omitting the garlic.

The ingredients are what makes the sauce. If you make too many changes you will need to account for those by changing other aspects. If you make it as is, you will taste Alfredo sauce. It’s amazing.

Tip 3 for Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo:

When you put the cream cheese in, you will notice it starting to curdle. Do NOT freak out. You didn’t do anything wrong. It will happen. Keep whisking.

Once you add the milk it will all come together and smooth out into a rich, creamy sauce. Trust that it will work.

Tip 4 for Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo:

ONLY IF YOU FEEL LIKE IT: If after melting the butter and melting the cream cheese as much as possible, you want to take another step, if you have an electric mixer or stand mixer, try using it to blend the garlic, melted butter and cream cheese together.

While that’s mixing, add the milk in a little at a time. It will thicken up very nicely. Mix in the Parmesan, herbs and seasonings.

Simply pour the thickening mixture back into the hot pan and continue heating for a few minutes. This step is not part of the original directions because I don’t do it every time.

I’ve only done it a few times when I am short on time but it makes the ingredients blend very well together.

Tip 5 for Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo:

Sauce thickens upon standing. If you keep turning up the temperature you will ruin the sauce. It will be much runnier while hot.

When you remove it from the heat and pour it over your pasta or let it stand for a minute or two, you will have a rich, thick, creamy sauce.

Tip 6 for Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo:

Use fresh Parmesan Cheese. Not the stuff in the green can or any other can. For some reason it makes it “gritty” in this recipe.

Our cheese department has freshly grated Parmesan Cheese available so yours probably does too, and if not, you can buy a block and simply grate it yourself. You will thank me for using fresh.

Storage Tips

Leftover pasta can be just as good (or almost as good!) as the first time if you store it right. Here’s the lowdown:

Short-Term Storage (Fridge)

Cool Down: Let the pasta cool down a bit after you’re done eating. Don’t leave it sitting out for hours, though.
Container: The best way to store it is in a airtight container that seals tightly. This keeps it from drying out. If you don’t have a good container, a zip-top bag will work too.
Sauce On or Off? It’s usually better to store pasta with the sauce already on it. This helps keep the pasta from drying out. If you’re worried about it getting mushy, you can store the sauce separately and then mix it in when you reheat it.
How Long: Pasta stored in the fridge should be good for about 3-5 days.

Long-Term Storage (Freezer)

Cool Down: Same as before, let the pasta cool down a bit.
Portion It Out: Put the pasta in individual serving sizes. This makes it easier to thaw later.
Container: Freezer bags or freezer-safe containers that seal well are your best bet.
How Long: Frozen pasta will be good for about 2-3 months.
Thawing: You can thaw it in the fridge overnight or microwave it. You can also reheat it straight from frozen in a pan with a little bit of water or sauce.

Reheating Tips

Microwave: The quickest way, but can sometimes make the pasta a little mushy. Add a splash of water or sauce to help keep it moist. Don’t overheat and mix frequently.
Stovetop: Heat it in a pan with a little bit of water or sauce. This is a good way to get it nice and warm without making it mushy. We prefer this method.
Oven: You can reheat pasta in the oven, but it takes longer. Put it in an oven-safe dish with some sauce and cover it with foil.

No matter how you store it, leftover pasta might not be exactly the same as when it was freshly made, but these tips will help you keep it as tasty as possible.

Let’s make some Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo!

Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo

Nicole Cook

Rich, creamy and delicious! This Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo is the perfect weeknight meal and is both quick & easy. Makes a great date night meal!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Total Time 20

Course Main Dish

Cuisine American

Servings

Calories 837 kcal

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter
2 teaspoons minced garlic use less if you don’t like a lot of garlic
8 oz. cream cheese
1 ¼ cup milk
6 ounces fresh grated Parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoons ground black pepper
¼ teaspoons nutmeg
chopped fresh parsley or basil for garnish
8 ounces fettuccine noodles cooked

Instructions

In a saucepan on the stove, melt the butter over medium heat.
Once the butter is melted, add the garlic and saute for around 1 minute.
Add the cream cheese and whisk until it begins to melt. It will curdle somewhat, read my tips above on working with this.
Begin adding the milk a little a time and whisk in between each addition until smooth and no lumps.
Once milk is fully incorporated, stir in the Parmesan cheese, black pepper and nutmeg.
Remove from heat. Sauce will begin to thicken as it cools.
Toss with fettuccine noodles. Serve