Have you ever come across an old recipe, splattered, dog eared and worn? You know it was a recipe that was made over an over and over. When I came across this easy Alfredo sauce recipe I just knew I had to give it a try!
My guys love the white sauce. They never seem to remember what it’s called only that it’s not the red sauce, but the other one, the white one. LOL. Alfredo sauce is a simple to make sauce and is perfect for when you want to get a tasty meal on the table in a flash.
I’m including this recipe in my Cooking Basics 101 series of recipes, because knowing how to whip up a delicious Alfredo sauce is a recipe staple that every cook should have in their repertoire. It’s fabulous on pasta but can also be served drizzled over your favorite grilled veggies, a flaky white fish, chicken or even beef. A versatile creamy sauce that should be in every chef’s repertoire.
First order of business is to get a big pot of water on the stove and get the water boiling. Cook your pasta of choice according to package directions. I used Herbed Chicken Tortellini for this recipe.
Once you have the pasta going, it’s time to make the sauce.
In a saucepan, melt 1/3 cup of butter, 4 ounces cream cheese, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon lemon pepper, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, plus a minced clove of garlic.
It will come together, I promise!
Don’t panic at this stage. It is going to look like the cream cheese is curdling and not melting. You will think that you have ruined the sauce at this point. Just keep stirring until the cheese is mostly melted. See those big blobs of cream cheese in the picture above? You want those to melt down before you add the milk to this mixture.
Slowly add the milk, whisking as you add it to the butter/cream cheese mixture in the saucepan.
It’s looking good and creamy now!
Once you start to add the milk, the mixture will start to get smooth and creamy. Keep whisking and add the grated Parmesan cheese. Keep whisking the sauce until it comes to a low simmer and starts to thicken slightly. Remove from heat.
Pour the sauce over cooked pasta and serve with a big green leafy salad and a crusty loaf of freshly baked French bread.
If you want to learn an easy method for baking your own bread from scratch, you can learn how to do it here. Don’t think you can bake bread? Think it’s too hard to do? Go check out how easy it is to do. I used to think I couldn’t possibly do it, the whole yeast thing was so intimidating. If I can learn how to do it, anyone can learn how to do it. I promise you it’s a lot easier to do than you think it is. Your family and friends will be so impressed when you show up with a freshly baked loaf of bread. Bread is the staff of life!
ABSOLUTELY AMAZING ALFREDO SAUCE
- 1/3 cup of butter
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon lemon pepper, optional
- 1 minced clove of garlic
- 1 cup milk
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
In a saucepan, melt butter, cream cheese, pepper, lemon pepper, garlic powder, plus a minced clove of garlic.
Once the cream cheese is melted, slowly add the milk, whisking as you add it to the butter/cream cheese mixture in the saucepan.
Add the grated Parmesan cheese. Keep whisking the sauce until it comes to a low simmer and starts to thicken slightly. Remove from heat.
Pour the sauce over cooked pasta.
I don’t know how you can possibly make this sauce any better but here are a few ideas for some variations you can add to this sauce to make it even better.
- Frozen peas, thawed
- Diced cooked chicken breast
- Sautéed sliced mushrooms
- Cooked Asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
- Diced ham
- Diced cooked turkey breast
- Cooked broccoli
- Slices of Italian sausage
- Cooked, diced bacon
I hope you give this recipe a try, I guarantee you are going to LOVE IT!