This Copycat Olive Garden Fettuccine Alfredo Recipe is the perfect dinner idea for the whole family that tastes just like Olive Garden’s! Craving that creamy pasta goodness from your favorite Italian restaurant chain, but don’t feel like making the trip to go get it? Well this fantastic Olive Garden Alfredo sauce recipe is made in under 30 minutes, so you won’t have to wait. Make this now!
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
Copycat Recipe – This is pretty dang close if not an exact replica of the delicious, creamy Alfredo sauce from Olive Garden.
Easy Dinner Idea – The sauce comes together in 20 minutes, so you’ll have dinner on the table before you have the chance to fill up on breadsticks.
Cheesy, Creamy Sauce – Who doesn’t love Olive Garden’s famous Alfredo sauce? It’s hard to resist the famous cream sauce that perfectly coats those cooked fettuccine noodles.
Family Favorite – Having trouble keeping dinner ideas fresh, and something everyone will love? Look no further than this recipe.
Garnish Away – Because of the simple ingredients in this Copycat Olive Garden Alfredo, you can add in a ton of different things like shrimp, grilled chicken, Italian sausage, spinach, steamed broccoli, or sun-dried tomatoes.
Whether you’re a fan of Olive Garden’s Fettuccine Alfredo, or love recreating your favorite restaurant recipes, this easy Alfredo sauce recipe is a good one. Impress a date or some dinner guests with this recipe, even make a whole 3 course meal with a side of breadsticks and a copycat Olive Garden side salad.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Recipe Discussion
Let’s discuss how to make this Copycat Olive Garden Alfredo recipe, as well as the ingredients that are needed. Please take note that below you will find discussion, expert tips, and answers to frequently asked questions about this recipe to help you recreate it in your kitchen. If you *just* want the recipe itself, scroll down. The full printable recipe itself, with exact measurements and instructions, is found at the bottom of this page.
- Butter – You’ll want to use real butter. I find it works better with creamy sauces than margarine or an olive oil. It creates the ideal taste and texture. You can use salted or unsalted butter.
- Flour – This will be used as a thickening agent in the cream sauce so it’s not runny.
- Minced Garlic – Fresh garlic gives off a stronger flavor and breaks down better compared to the jars of minced garlic. Garlic powder would work too if that’s all you have.
- Heavy Cream – Heavy cream is defined as a cream with 36% milk fat. If you can’t find heavy cream, heavy whipping cream is the exact same thing.
- Milk – Any kind of milk works, for this recipe I used whole milk.
- Cheese – Olive Garden’s recipe calls for fresh parmesan cheese and romano cheese. If you’re not trying to make it taste like Olive Garden’s and just want a good creamy white cheese. You could use gruyere, gouda, mozzarella or any other kind of white cheese (except maybe white cheddar). For the authentic Olive Garden taste however, stick with parmesan and romano.
- Fettuccine – A box of 16 oz Fettuccine is enough pasta to use up all the sauce you are making. Of course you can use 16 oz of any shaped pasta you prefer.
- Fresh Parsley – This is optional, but it makes a great garnish.
How To Make Olive Garden Fettuccine Alfredo
- Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil and begin cooking the fettuccine pasta noodles until they are al dente. It should tell you how long to cook the noodles in the package directions on the pasta box.
- While the noodles cook, start on making the sauce. Start to melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add minced garlic and let the garlic cook until it’s sizzling and turns a light golden brown color.
- To the melted butter, sprinkle the flour into the pan and use a whisk to combine the butter and flour together. Make sure you combine thoroughly.
- Once you’ve combined the flour and butter completely and a roux is formed, slowly add the heavy cream and milk to the saucepan and whisk it together while you pour.
- Let the sauce simmer on a low heat and let it thicken. Stir occasionally. Once thick, add ½ a cup of the cheeses at a time and continue to whisk it together until it melts down.
- When all the cheese is combined, add salt and black pepper to taste and whisk the sauce together one last time. Drain your fettuccine noodles and add the noodles to the saucepan. Toss the noodles in the sauce until they’re completely coated. Serve the fettuccine Alfredo warm and top each serving with some parsley and freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Recipe Tips and Advice
Storage – Store the leftover Alfredo in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. If you’d prefer, you can make the sauce and not combine it with the noodles. You can save the leftover Alfredo sauce for 3-4 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
Equipment – For this recipe you will need a large pot, a large skillet or saucepan, and a whisk.
Extra Creamy – Adding a little bit of cream cheese to the Alfredo sauce will make an extra thick sauce as well as make it extra creamy! Of course, it won’t taste exactly like Olive Garden’s, but it will still be incredibly delicious.
Recipe FAQs
Adding a protein to the Alfredo sauce will give the pasta an extra level of flavor! Throwing in some extra seasonings never hurt anyone either. Cooked shrimp and cajun seasoning are a great addition to the sauce, especially if you like spice. Grilled chicken and Italian seasoning make for an elevated Alfredo dinner, or even mixing in Italian sausage which will have enough flavor on its own.
Why wasn’t my Alfredo sauce thick?
This could be for many reasons, the first being you didn’t use a heavy cream with a large enough fat content. It could also be because you weren’t letting the sauce simmer long enough over a low heat. The low heat is what will help the sauce thicken up without burning or separating. Lastly, the roux you made with the flour and butter, may not have been combined properly and ended up leaving you with chunks of flour that never got incorporated into the sauce. Again, do your best to work over a low heat to avoid all these things from happening.
What To Serve With Olive Garden Fettuccine Alfredo
Serve this delicious Fettuccine Alfredo Olive Garden style! Pair the pasta with some wine if that’s your thing, delicious breadsticks, garlic bread or knots, as well as a salad like this Olive Garden Salad Recipe.
More Pasta Recipes To Try
Copycat Olive Garden Alfredo
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons butter salted or unsalted
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 cups heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup milk whole milk is preferred
- 1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese freshly grated
- 1/2 cup romano cheese freshly grated
- 16 ounces fettuccine noodles other pasta shapes can be used
- freshly chopped parsley optional as a garnish
Instructions
- First, boil a pot of water and cook the fettuccine to al-dente, based on the package instructions. As the noodles cook, begin making the sauce.
- In a large saucepan on the stovetop, melt 1 stick of butter over medium heat. Add the minced garlic to the melted butter and cook for about one minute or until the garlic begins to sizzle and turns light golden brown.
- Next you will create a thickening base for the sauce by sprinkling in the flour and whisking it together with the butter and garlic to make a roux.
- Once the roux is formed, slowly add the heavy cream and milk, continuously whisking and combining as you pour.
- Bring the alfredo sauce to a lower simmer to allow it to thicken, then add the cheese ½ a cup at a time, slowly whisking and melting it down until you have added it all.
- Salt and pepper the alfredo sauce to your taste then add the drained fettuccine noodles to the sauce and toss together. Top with freshly grated parmesan and parsley and serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Kim says
Going to have this this week!!