An Authentic Fettuccine Alfredo with no cream and ALL the flavor! This dish is made with only 5 simple ingredients in under 20 minutes for the perfect silky, creamy pasta dish that your family will always love.
Looking for more authentic Italian dishes? Try our Authentic Italian Braciole or Spaghetti Carbonara!
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What Makes Alfredo Sauce Authentic
The simplicity of ingredients is the key to classic and authentic Italian meals. If you see heavy cream in it, it's probably not an authentic Italian dish. This authentic fettuccine alfredo is made with just a few simple ingredients: butter, parmigiano, salt, and pepper.
This dish, similar to classic Roman dishes like Pasta Alla Gricia or Bucatini Amatriciana, is all about the technique. You want the cheese, butter, and pasta water to slowly combine into a silky and creamy cheese sauce. The easy way to make this dish is to just add a bunch of cream. It makes it almost impossible to screw up but it has the ultimate potential of ruining your day with a lot of time spent in the restroom.
For me, I much prefer a simple dish with simple ingredients. I can serve this with Italian Chicken Cutlets and some Sauteed Rapini with Garlic, which is one of my all-time favorite meals!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Fettuccine. A bronze cut fettuccine is great for authentic fettuccine alfredo because the sauce will easily stick to the pasta. Bronze-dyed cut is easy to tell because the pasta always looks a bit starchier.
- Butter. Unsalted butter is best because then you'll have control over how much salt goes into the dish.
- Parmigiano. It's always best to use freshly grated parmigiano because anything pre-grated will have an anti-caking agent that will make it really difficult to easily melt into the sauce.
- Salt and Pepper. Pepper, not pictured above, is my favorite flavor in this authentic dish. It adds the perfect amount of flavor to this simple dish!
*Please see the recipe card below for more information on the ingredients.
How to Make Traditional Fettuccine Alfredo
Step 1: Boil a large pot of water. Boil the fettuccine to al dente.
Step 2: Bring a large saucepan to medium heat. Add the butter to the pan and melt completely.
Step 3: Add 1 cup of pasta water to the pan with the butter and combine.
Step 4: Add the al dente pasta to the pan and toss well. The sauce should start to thicken as you toss the pasta with it. Keep some pasta water ready to add more if necessary.
Step 5: Remove the pan from the heat and slowly stir in the cheese a little bit at a time until thoroughly combined.
Step 6: Add more pasta as needed to make the sauce more creamy. If you notice the sauce getting too thick or dry, add more pasta water. Remove from the pan and serve immediately.
Serve along with some Cast Iron Chicken Breast or Cast Iron Boneless Pork Chops with a vegetable like Garlic Parmesan Green Beans to make this a full meal!
Pro-Tips
- Starchy pasta water is the key to authentic alfredo. Make sure to save extra pasta water to use.
- Remove the pan from the heat when adding parmigiano cheese. If the pan is too hot, the cheese will stick to the pan.
- Toss and stir the pasta quickly when adding the cheese. Add more pasta water if the sauce starts to thicken or stick to the pan.
Recipe FAQs
Authentic alfredo sauce or butter sauce is made with butter, parmigiano, salt, pepper, and pasta water. Very simple ingredients carefully crafted into a creamy pasta sauce.
This is called pilling. It could be because the pan was too hot when you added the cheese, you added too much at once, or you used a pre-grated cheese, which has the potential to do that because of anti-caking agents and preservatives.
Yes, but it's called fettuccine al burro.
While it's not traditional, you can add whatever protein you like. I would just cook them separately because there's no reason to put them all together in the same pan.
More Traditional Italian Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Authentic Fettuccine Alfredo
Equipment
- 1 large saucepan
- 1 large pot
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- 1 lb fettuccine
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1 cup parmigiano
Instructions
- Boil a large pot of water. Boil the fettuccine to al dente.
- Bring a large saucepan to medium heat. Add the butter to the pan and melt completely.
- Add 1 cup of pasta water to the pan with the butter and combine.
- Add the al dente pasta to the pan and toss well. The sauce should start to thicken as you toss the pasta with it. Keep some pasta water ready to add more if necessary.
- Remove the pan from the heat and slowly stir in the cheese until thoroughly combined. Add more pasta water when necessary to make the sauce more creamy. If you notice the sauce getting too thick, add more pasta water.
Notes
- Starchy pasta water is the key to authentic alfredo. Make sure to save extra pasta water to use.
- Remove the pan from the heat when adding parmigiano cheese. If the pan is too hot, the cheese will stick to the pan.
- Toss and stir the pasta quickly when adding the cheese. Add more pasta water if the sauce starts to thicken or stick to the pan.
Vinny
A classic traditional pasta dish with butter. This is one is always one of our family favorites and the kids always love it!