The Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce is creamy and delicious. It is the best Alfredo sauce you will ever try, and it has the exact flavor and taste of the original dish.
Did you know this easy Alfredo sauce recipe inspired me to start CopyKat.com? Best of all, it is perfect for the whole family. Make this, and everyone will declare that you have the best recipe! My copycat olive Garden Alfredo sauce is bound to be a family favorite.
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What makes Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce so good?
There are many reasons why this sauce is so good. This pasta sauce is known for its richness. It is made with heavy cream, butter, and lots of cheese. The sauce has a luxuriously thick and creamy texture. While made with rich and flavorful ingredients, the ingredients are straightforward.
Why you will love this copycat recipe
This copycat version is tried and true. You can make this iconic sauce from the comfort of your kitchen, with ingredients commonly found in your grocery store. I love that this recipe tastes just like a restaurant version, but the best part is you can make this pasta recipe in less than 20 minutes. Add a copycat Olive Garden salad, and you can recreate the restaurant taste with this accessible homemade version.
This recipe launched CopyKat.com
This Alfredo Sauce recipe was my sole reason, or at least my first huge inspiration, for creating copycat recipes. It was the first recipe I made for CopyKat; you won’t want to miss out on this pasta dish.
I lived in a rural area of East Texas; the nearest Olive Garden was 90 minutes away. It was an extraordinary treat to have this Alfredo sauce. I knew the only way I could have fettuccine alfredo was to learn how to make homemade alfredo sauce.
Looking back, it was a magical moment that would change my life and cause me to create many more copycat recipes. I still order Olive Garden’s Alfredo sauce occasionally, and honestly, it tastes just as good to me as it did the first time I had this dish. Olive Garden makes many delicious creamy sauces, but this is their best sauce.
Olive Garden’s alfredo sauce recipe is an easy dinner idea for your next pasta night. This delicious sauce is an easy meal for any night of the week. This is perfect for a main or a side dish.
Homemade Alfredo ingredients
What You’ll Need to Make this Recipe:
Garlic puree or garlic powder – you can make your puree out of fresh garlic
Butter – I have used both salted and unsalted butter
Heavy whipping cream – please use only heavy cream, milk, half and half, and fat-free half and half aren’t thick enough to develop the rich texture of the Olive Garden’s sauce
Grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper
Fettuccine pasta – I recommend Barilla pasta, or De Cecco pasta
Parsley for garnishing, if desired
You don’t need an egg yolk or flour to thicken the sauce for this recipe. The creamy sauce will thicken nicely and thicken with heat, so it is gluten-free.
How to make easy alfredo sauce like Olive Garden
In a medium saucepan, melt butter and brown the garlic puree.
Whisk the heavy whipping cream to the browned garlic.
Once the butter and cream bubble, add the freshly grated Parmesan cheese and salt & pepper.
Stir on medium heat until the cream mixture starts to thicken. If it does not thicken after a couple of minutes, turn the heat up to high until it does, then turn off the heat and continue to stir.
In a separate pot, follow the instructions to make your fettuccine noodles, be sure to drain off the pasta water.
Combine the pasta with the alfredo sauce and garnish with chopped parsley.
Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce recipe video
Recipe tips and variations
Use a block of fresh Parmesan cheese and grate it yourself. Pre-grated cheese has an anti-caking agent that may prevent the cheese from melting well.
Heat the butter and cream until they bubble before adding the cheese. This helps the sauce thicken and sets the cheese at a temperature that will melt.
If you plan on having some extra sauce, do not store the sauce with the pasta. The pasta can soak up the sauce.
This is perfect for a large family or a party. If you want to serve a fancy pasta bar, you can easily put this sauce in a slow cooker once it is finished. Placing the slow cooker on low allows you to keep this sauce for a long time.
With this sauce, you can add some grilled chicken for chicken alfredo or even grilled shrimp for shrimp alfredo.
If you like creamy alfredo sauce, add cream cheese to this recipe.
Olive Garden Alfredo dipping sauce for breadsticks
Did you know this is the same sauce used as an appetizer? I am sure you have seen on the menu where you can order the Alfredo dipping sauce; this is the same sauce used in the Alfredo Dipping Sauce. So you don’t need to place the dipping sauce order anymore! You now know how to make the special sauce!
Frequently asked questions about Alfredo sauce
Can you make Alfredo sauce with half and half? Yes, you can. It may not thicken as well, but when combined with the pasta, the starch in the pasta will help thicken the sauce.
Is this sauce better than Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce? Many people who have tried this pasta sauce think so; check the comments.
What type of pasta should I use for alfredo? Use your favorite pasta. Fettuccine is most often used, but you can use anything you have on hand.
How to store and reheat Alfredo Sauce
I recommend storing the sauce in its airtight container if you have some leftovers. Do not combine the pasta and the sauce in the same container. The pasta will soak up the sauce, and reheating it like this means you will end up with a plate of very thick pasta and no sauce.
I recommend reheating the sauce in a small saucepan over low heat. When the sauce melts due to the heat, you may need to add a tablespoon or two of heavy cream to thin it out. I typically make fresh pasta the second time I serve the sauce.
Love Olive Garden? Try these copycat recipes
Olive Garden Spicy Alfredo Chicken
Popular sauce recipes
Check out more of my easy homemade sauces and Olive Garden recipes.
Did you make and love this recipe? Please review it below and share your creations by tagging me on Instagram!
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Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
Instructions
Video
Notes
You may omit the garlic if desired.
Ground white pepper adds a nice touch to Alfredo sauce.
While the Olive Garden does not use nutmeg in their sauce, many people like a touch of nutmeg in the sauce.
