Holiday Fettuccine Alfredo Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What can I add to fettuccine Alfredo to make it taste better? ›

You could just add garlic powder, sure, but quickly sautéeing fresh garlic while your pasta cooks is a great way to layer flavor. Resnick likes to add spinach as a way to cut the richness of the sauce. Add a tablespoon or so of olive oil and a few cloves of minced garlic in a sautée pan over medium heat.

I'm not exactly sure how Fettuccine Alfredo became popular as a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day dish, but I'd guess it has to do with how quick it is to make and how lavish it tastes. Today I'm sharing my version of classic Fettuccine Alfredo, made with just a few quality ingredients.

Heartier herbs like thyme or oregano can be added in to simmer with the sauce. Add delicate herbs like parsley, basil, or chervil at the end to maintain their delicate, aromatic flavor. Quick tip: Swirl in a bit of leftover pesto to add another herbaceous twist to your Alfredo sauce.

Flavor Boosters

Nutmeg: A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg can elevate the flavors in your Alfredo sauce. However, use it sparingly; a little goes a long way. White Wine: A splash of a good-quality white wine can add depth and complexity. Make sure to cook off the alcohol by simmering the sauce for a few extra minutes.

Add basil, parsley, oregano, or rosemary to add life to the sauce. The first three herbs are classic for many Italian dishes, and rosemary is a common addition to creamy potato dishes, so adding them to a jarred Alfredo sauce makes sense.

Add a few dashes of garlic powder to your simmering sauce, or a clove or two of fresh sauteed garlic, to brighten up the Alfredo and make its flavor pop. You can also sprinkle in some fresh or dried herbs, like oregano, thyme, or basil, to add complexity to the sauce.

In Italy, Christmas Eve dinner is traditionally lighter with no meat and a lot of seafood, while the Italian-American meal has evolved into much more of a feast. Bring on the sword fish, tuna, salmon, octopus salad, smelts, calamari, spaghetti with clam sauce and the famous Italian classic—salted cod, known as baccalà.

An Italian Christmas Eve—only fish, please!

According to tradition, the meal for Christmas Eve, La Vigilia, doesn't have any meat. It's all fish and vegetables.

Dutch Christmas dinners usually consist of venison, goose, hare, or turkey with plenty of vegetables and Kerstbrood (Christmas bread). The Dutch also celebrate by eating gourmetten, a hot plate on which diners place a set of mini pans containing their choice of meat or vegetables.

Extra seasonings and spices will go a long way in adding flavor to a boring jar of sauce. Some of my personal favorites include salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, dried basil, oregano, onion powder or seasoned salt. Start with small amounts (1/2 teaspoon at a time) and add as needed, in order to avoid over-spicing.

What is the secret to thick Alfredo sauce? ›

Add Cheese

The key ingredient in Alfredo sauce is cheese—generally Parmigiano Reggiano—and lots of it. To thicken Alfredo sauce, simply add more cheese than the amount called for in a recipe until you achieve the consistency you want.

The reason behind this is simple; cream sauces tend to lack flavor and feel a bit heavy due to the fat content. Nutmeg is a simple way to warm up the sauce with a subtle, spice flavor that won't overpower it. Like with béchamel, you only need a pinch of nutmeg in your alfredo to improve its flavor.

This recipe for homemade alfredo sauce uses $4.33 worth of ingredients and makes 9.5 ounces, which is also roughly 46 cents per ounce. This means homemade alfredo sauce costs about the same as high quality jarred sauces, but tastes even better.

Flours can be used to make a bit of a slurry and add to the sauce to make it thicker. 1 part flour to 2 parts liquid and then adding it to your sauce should thicken it nicely. Just make sure that when you make the slurry, there are no lumps in your mixture.

The original fettuccine Alfredo

The real Alfredo sauce is delicious because of its simplicity. The only ingredients are butter, Parmesan cheese and pepper. That's it! You'll find neither heavy cream nor parsley in the original recipe.

The way you'll do it is by putting all your leftovers in a small saucepan, then heat it on medium-low heat. Then, add in a splash of milk or cream when it starts to heat up. Give it a good stir with a wooden spoon and increase to medium heat. It will start to simmer, but don't let it bubble any more than that.

Cornstarch

The easiest way to accomplish this is to mix about a spoonful of cornstarch to 2 spoonfuls of liquid – it could be water or chicken stock or even milk. You will add this mixture, also called a slurry to the sauce and as it starts to cook, the sauce will thicken.

Whisk the lemon juice into the sauce. The acid helps to balance the heavy sauce. Remove the pasta from the water and add into the sauce with ½ cup parmesan, stirring with tongs to combine.