Easy Fettuccine Alfredo – A simple pasta dish made with cream, butter, garlic, and Parmesan cheese. Ready in under 30 minutes and virtually fuss-free!
I’ve heard from a few of you that you want some more quick dinner recipes that can come together in a pinch. Well, ask and you shall receive!
This recipe for Easy Fettuccine Alfredo is a staple in my house that I make for my daughter when we just don’t have much else going on. I usually use an elbow pasta, throw in some peas, and use half and half instead of cream. But for today’s recipe, I wanted to be as classic as possible so I’m keeping it simple and just using the basic ingredients:
- Butter
- Garlic
- Heavy Cream
- Parmesan Cheese
- Fettuccine Pasta
Without further ado, let’s talk about this easy recipe so you can get cooking!
Classic Fettuccine Alfredo
My goal for this fettuccine alfredo, aside from being easy to make, was to ensure it included as few ingredients as possible. That meant going back to the classic recipe. No cream cheese or flour in this recipe. Just the basics I listed above.
How to make fettuccine alfredo
Fettuccine alfredo is one of the easiest pasta dishes you can make. The sauce is made in a large skillet and then the cooked pasta is added to finish it off. It’s a super streamlined process the yields an amazing pasta dish in under 30 minutes.
To start, you first melt the butter with olive oil. The olive oil helps stabilize the butter and keep it from browning too much. Then, we add in the garlic to cook a little bit. Make sure not to go above medium heat so the garlic doesn’t burn.
Once the garlic is cooked, the cream is added. The cream is heated through until its simmering. This ensures it’s hot enough before we add the Parmesan cheese. Once the cream is hot, the cheese is added and stirred until melted.
Finally, the cooked pasta is added to the sauce and tossed together until coated completely. And that’s all there is to it, folks!
Tips & Tricks
- Do not add the cheese to the sauce until the cream has gotten hot. Otherwise, the cheese won’t melt evenly and it will cause a gritty texture.
- Don’t throw out the water used to cook the pasta. It has tons of flavor and we can use it later in the recipe, if needed. If the sauce ever gets too thick, add extra reserved pasta water to thin it out.
- Do not let the garlic burn. It can happen pretty quickly so make sure to keep an eye on it and add the cream as soon as it begins to get slightly golden.
- Wait to season the sauce at the end. The Parmesan cheese is pretty salty so you may not need much salt after you add the cheese.
Easy Fettuccine Alfredo
Ingredients
- 1 pound fettuccine pasta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 tablespoons butter salted
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat a large pot of water with a tablespoon of salt. Once boiling, add pasta and cook until al dente, about 10-12 minutes. Drain but keep about 1 cup of the pasta water for later.
- Heat a large skillet or braising dish over medium heat. Add olive oil and butter. Once butter has melted, add minced garlic and cook until garlic begins to turn slightly golden, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add cream to skillet and cook until thickened and when the butter has mixed into the cream, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and sprinkle in the Parmesan cheese. Stir together and let the sauce come back to a simmer. Reduce heat to low. Taste sauce and add salt and pepper, if needed. Add pasta and toss together until combined. Remove from heat once pasta is coasted and heated through.
- If the sauce gets too thick, add a little of the reserved pasta water to thin it out. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately.
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A delightful blend of flavors. This is definitely going into my recipe book.
These bars are the best thing ever. They’re too tempting to pass up. I guess I’ll add them to my list of Christmas treats to make!
Yum! I could eat this everyday. You really can’t go wrong with fettuccine alfredo on the menu. That sauce looks so creamy!!
Fettuccine Alfredo is easy dinner perfect for busy families. I love your recipe. Looks so creamy and delicious. I will put it on my list to give it a try.
This fettuccine alfredo was legitimately so delicious and super easy to make for my family! Everybody loved it so much that I’m going to have to add it to my regular rotation!
Oh this fettucini alfredo looks delicious! I love simple sauce recipes with just a few ingredients. I had no idea that olive oil helps stabilize the butter…what a great tip!
This looks quick and full of flavor! I forget about pasta recipes like this, and this is one I’m going to make soon!
Your fettuccine Alfredo is quick, easy and really delicious. We enjoyed it last night and it was a breeze to make! I will be making it again and again. Thanks so much for the great recipe!
I love this recipe and it never fails to hit the right spots! We sometimes add chicken too. Simple and delicious.
This is a perfect busy day quick cooking recipe. The simple but yummy flavors are so inviting. Will try this soon.
Wow! I may say this this dish looks really delicious and very tasty. Loved your Alfredo dish, looks really enticing and I may say, we can never go wrong with pasta. Everybody definitely loved pasta dish as I do. Thanks for sharing such wonderful pasta dish.
This fettuccine alfredo pasta looks so quick and easy, but yet so delicious! this would be perfect for me to make as a nice dinner for my family one day. I cant wait to try this, it looks soo creamy! thank you for sharing this recipe.
Simple ingredients that work together so well! A classic recipe. Alfredo is my favorite
Such a quick recipe for busy nights. Perfect!
wow this does look super easy and my husband love italian so adding it to my list
Love this creamy and buttery pasta recipe. Can’t wait to try this out for dinner. So delicious
What a quick, easy, family friendly meal! Looks fantastic too!
So creamy, delicious and made the best dinner!! I especially love how easy the alfredo sauce is to make..and quick too!
Such a classic recipe and this version looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it…YUM!!!
I”m always looking for EASY to throw together dishes due to a busy schedule. Adding this recipe to my grocery list right now! Thanks for sharing.
This looks so amazing! We love having pasta for dinner so I’ll be trying this out.
I’m making this for dinner tonight! So glad we have everything in the house already.