Easy Creamy Alfredo with Bacon and Peas - Recipe Diaries (2024)

FAQs

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.

Try a simple mix of chopped chicken, carrots, and sliced Cayenne pepper, or add ground beef browned with onions. Some people also add fresh broccoli, but that's not among my personal favorites. Seasonings, spices, and fresh herbs: this is definitely a great way to give your Alfredo sauce a more personal flavor.

Slowly let the cheese disolve on low heat into the cream mixture. And remove it before it is completely melted but keep stirring this allows the finishing blending to happen without over heatting the cheese which causes that grainy texture. Try this and you'll never go out to a resturant for alfredo again.

Alfredo sauce has only 2 ingredients: butter and Parmigiano Reggiano. if you need to thicken the sauce because maybe you added some pasta water or too much butter, just add some more Parmigiano Reggiano.

Dress up a dull jar of Alfredo with a drizzle of infused oil. Infused oils are olive oils that have been mixed with fresh ingredients and allowed to marinate together to create an aromatic oil. Fresh herbs are commonly infused in olive oil, and garlic and spicy chilies also work well.

Stir in big handfuls of spinach, Kale mushrooms, zucchini, onions, broccoli, spinach, squash, or grape tomatoes after the pasta is cooked. You can also substitute zucchini (zoodles) for the pasta.

The Alfredo sauce will harden into a thick paste once it cools in the fridge, but give it a few minutes of gentle heat on the stovetop or in the microwave, and it will once again become silky and creamy. If you see a few little beads of fat starting to form, just whisk vigorously to blend them back in.

There might be several reasons. Using the wrong kind of cheese. Not applying a correct amount of heat. Using the right kind of cheese, but not grading it small enough.

Can I use grated Parmesan cheese instead of shredded for Alfredo sauce? ›

Our Test Kitchen pros swear that the best recipes for how to make Alfredo sauce include freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Here's how to add it: Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese. Continue stirring until the cheese is incorporated into the sauce.

Add more cheese

If you're trying to keep your Alfredo sauce simple but want to obtain an extra-creamy consistency, you can add more cheese than the recipe dictates. Typically, you'll want to find quality Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to get the thickness you want while adding complex flavors to your sauce.

Alfredo should never have anything but pasta water, butter, and cheese in it. Make sure the cooking water has salt in it but remember part is salty.

Step 4: Create An Emulsion

Pour 1 cup of the reserved pasta water onto a pan over low-medium heat. Slowly whisk in cold butter, one tablespoon at a time, to create an emulsion.

(In my quest to eat healthier, I now make it with light butter, light cream and reduced fat Parmesan cheese. It still tastes wonderful, but there isn't any guilt!)

The most readily available sauce-thickener is flour. For a too-thin sauce, try adding a slurry (equal parts flour and water, whisked together) or beurre manie (equal parts softened butter and flour, kneaded together to form a paste)—both are ideal thickeners for rich and creamy sauces, such as steak sauce recipes.

Cornstarch: Make a slurry of half water, half cornstarch and whisk until smooth. Cornstarch is a powerful thickener, so start by whisking in no more than 1 tablespoon of the mixture per 2 cups of simmering sauce; stir and simmer for 2 minutes, check the thickness, and repeat with more slurry as needed.

After 12 ounces of fettuccine pasta noodles are finished cooking, reserve 2 cups of the pasta water to include in your sauce. The starchy water is essential to creating a thick, creamy sauce consistency.

Bring the butter-cream mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently, uncovered about 3 to 5 minutes. Cook the sauce gently until it begins to thicken, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. You'll know the Alfredo sauce recipe is thick enough when it coats the back of your spoon.