• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Julia's Album

I make lots of dinner recipes

  • Pasta
  • Chicken
  • Seafood
  • PRESS
  • About
  • Facebook
  • bloglovin
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
Pasta Chicken

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo

Published: Apr 18, 2013 | 34 Comments

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo – classic Italian pasta dinner, made in 30 minutes!

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo, Italian pasta, Italian recipes, parmesan sauce, JuliasAlbum.com

A good basic Alfredo sauce has long been a staple in my kitchen. Not only is it delicious, creamy and cheesy, the sauce is simple to prepare, and it uses the ingredients that can be easily found in any pantry. This ridiculously easy Fettuccine Alfredo dish can be served plain as-is, or alongside some add-ins, such as leftover roasted chicken, grilled vegetables, bacon. It’s one of those great weeknight dinners that will take you at most 30 minutes to make, and what you get in return is a restaurant quality dish.

So, if you’re looking for a simple, straight-forward, not overly complicated recipe, without too many steps, a recipe that is practical for a weeknight after a long busy day, this easy fettuccine alfredo recipe from Emeril fits the bill.

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo

In addition to grilled chicken and roasted vegetables, this Fettuccine Alfredo also goes great with seafood: grilled or sauteed shrimp, scallops, or lobster. Definitely a keeper!

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo, Italian pasta, Italian recipes, classic Italian dishes, Italian comfort food

I found that this Alfredo sauce has a great creamy consistency immediately after you make it. However, if refrigerated, the butter and cheese will separate as the sauce cools down, and when reheated the next day, the consistency might be choppy even though the dish will still taste great. The sauce does lose its excellent creamy texture after being refrigerated. Therefore, it is best when served immediately: don’t let the sauce cool down too much before serving.

And, make just enough not to have leftovers. The recipe here actually makes a huge amount – enough to serve 6 people. Don’t hesitate to half the recipe if you only have 1 or 2 people in your household.

If you do have leftovers, when reheating this pasta dish, I would do it in the pan (not microwave) and add some liquid (preferably milk) to thin up the sauce.

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo

By the way, as the recipe dictates, definitely use shallots: they add a REALLY nice flavor to the sauce. However, if you don’t have shallots, you can use very finely minced red onion or regular onion or garlic.

Remember, the dish is best when served immediately.
And, enjoy this Fettuccine Alfredo with a glass of white wine and a slice of garlic toast!

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo

How to make easy fettuccine alfredo:

Below are helpful step-by-step photos and instructions. For full recipe, scroll down.

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the fettuccine in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking liquid. You can actually reserve more than 1/4 cup of the pasta water in case you need to thin up the sauce later.

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add minced shallot (or 2 tablespoons of minced regular onion) and minced garlic and saute until tender.

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo

Add 1 cup heavy cream and bring to a boil. Cook for a minute. Remove from the heat.

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo

Add the pasta + 1/4 cup reserved pasta cooking liquid to the saucepan with the butter-cream sauce. Add half of the Parmesan cheese (1/2 cup) and toss to combine thoroughly – over medium heat. Stir the sauce constantly so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and garnish with parsley, if desired. Serve immediately.

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo

 

easy fettuccine alfredo recipe
Print
Easy Fettuccine Alfredo Recipe
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
30 mins
 

In addition to grilled chicken and roasted vegetables, this Fettuccine Alfredo also goes great with seafood: grilled or sauteed shrimp, scallops, or lobster. Definitely a keeper!

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 590 kcal
Ingredients
  • 1 pound fettuccine pasta dried
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 shallots , minced, or 2 tablespoons of minced onion
  • 2 garlic cloves , minced
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese finely shredded
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
  • fresh parsley for garnish, optional
Instructions
  1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the fettuccine in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking liquid. You can actually reserve more than 1/4 cup of the pasta water in case you need to thin up the sauce later.

  2. While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add minced shallot (or 2 tablespoons of minced regular onion) and minced garlic and saute until tender. Add 1 cup heavy cream and bring to a boil. Cook for a minute. Remove from the heat.

  3. Add the pasta + 1/4 cup reserved pasta cooking liquid to the saucepan with the butter-cream sauce. Add half of the Parmesan cheese (1/2 cup) and toss to combine thoroughly – over medium heat. Stir the sauce constantly so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and garnish with parsley, if desired. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

Adapted from Food Network. 

Recipe can be reduced in half, and it SHOULD be reduced in half if you’re serving FEWER than 6 people – because Alfredo sauce is best served fresh, without reheating.

Nutrition Facts
Easy Fettuccine Alfredo Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 590 Calories from Fat 279
% Daily Value*
Fat 31g48%
Saturated Fat 19g119%
Cholesterol 95mg32%
Sodium 483mg21%
Potassium 241mg7%
Carbohydrates 59g20%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 17g34%
Vitamin A 1065IU21%
Vitamin C 1.2mg1%
Calcium 247mg25%
Iron 1.2mg7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Filed Under: Cheese, Dinner, Parmesan, Pasta, Recipe, Shallots, Vegetarian Published: Apr 18, 2013 34 Comments

Follow Julia on Pinterest and Facebook to get more recipes and dinner ideas!

Please leave your comment and STAR RATING in the comments section below

Previous Post: « Easy homemade baked macaroni and cheese
Next Post: Chocolate chip and white chocolate chip cookies »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Peg

    Mar 30, 2017 at 9:33 pm

    My husband cooked this tonight for dinner and it was perfect. We both have colds and we needed something quick and easy. We turned to this recipe and hello. We added some rotisserie chicken, spinach and mushrooms. Came out perfect. We changed the Parsley in the recipe to spinach and would not left out anything if I thought I could digest Parsley. It would have been good. The sauce came together easily.

    Reply
  2. Diane

    Jan 29, 2017 at 8:31 am

    could not figure out how to get the fetticine recipe

    Reply
  3. Alexis

    Jul 28, 2015 at 3:50 pm

    I just finished making this recipe. It was very simple and delicious. But next I will make a few changes to the recipe like adding the pasta after I add in half of the Parmesan cheese to the butter-cream sauce. Also next time, I will cut down on how much butter I use.

    Reply
« Older Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Food blog, dinner recipes, weeknight dinners, chicken dinners, pasta recipesWelcome to my blog where I share easy-to-make weeknight dinner recipes!

Join me here:

Follow Us On PinterestFollow Us On FacebookFollow Us On InstagramFollow Us On Twitter

Footer

Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions | Disclaimer | About | Featured On

Copyright © 2019 · All Rights Reserved · JuliasAlbum.com

FOODIE PRO THEME BY FEAST DESIGN CO. * POWERED BY THE GENESIS FRAMEWORK