Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce Copycat Recipe (2024)

Cheesy, rich, and classic, enjoy a divine copycat version of Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce. Actually, it's better than theirs!

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce Copycat Recipe (1)

Cheesy, rich, and classic – this copycat forOlive Garden Alfredo Sauce Recipeis the easiest sauce you will ever make!

I love how easy and delicious this homemade Olive Garden Alfredo sauce is to make! I’ve received countless comments from our readers saying that this is the best alfredo sauce they have ever made.

Even if you don’t call yourself a cook, you can make this divine sauce in under 30 minutes with just a handful of simple ingredients. Yes, you heard me right…. it’s quick, easy and DELISH!

There are so many ways to enjoy this Alfredo sauce! It tastes wonderful on homemade pizza crustor dipped in fresh, warmbreadsticks too. Yum!

Any type of noodles will work with this homemade Alfredo sauce, even the zucchininoodles or spaghetti squash variety. Top it with chicken or shrimp to get some more protein in there!

Scroll down for all the directions and print this yummy Alfredo Sauce recipe!

Here are our favorite bread stick recipes:

  • Olive Garden Breadsticks Copycat Recipe
  • Crazy Bread Copycat Breadstick Recipe
  • Homemade Breadsticks

How to make Olive Garden’s Alfredo Sauce Recipe

You’ll only need SIX ingredients in order to make this AMAZING Alfredo sauce! Your family will be asking for more and more! It’s rich and creamy and doesn’t take a ton to coat the pasta either.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pint heavy cream
  • ½ cup butter
  • 2 tablespoons cream cheese
  • 1 to 1-1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: You’ll start by combining butter, heavy whipping cream, and cream cheese!

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce Copycat Recipe (2)

Step 2: Bring that to a light boil over medium high heat and stir frequently to incorporate. Next you’ll whisk in the Parmesan cheese and garlic powder.

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce Copycat Recipe (3)

Step 3: Whisk until incorporated and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the Alfredo sauce is thick enough to coat a metal spoon. Just like you see pictured below…

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce Copycat Recipe (4)

We also love making this one on spaghetti night! It’s yummy combined with our favorite homemade spaghetti sauce.

Parmesan Cheese Tips:

Here’s an extra tip to make your sauce taste as good as when you order it fresh from Olive Garden.

The secret to a good Alfredo sauce is using fresh Parmesan cheese. The dried, grated variety that you buy in the pasta aisle can be too strong and salty. You can buy a small wedge of Parmesan and grate it, but I’ve also had no problem using the fresh grated parm cheese found in the cheese aisle.

Alfredo Sauce Tips:

  • If you find your sauce isn’t thick enough, be sure to let the sauce boil for a moment before you add the cheese!
  • If it starts to separate, rapidly whisk the sauce to incorporate all the ingredients.

Can You Reheat this Homemade Alfredo Sauce?

Unlike the Alfredo Sauce from Olive Garden, this EASY alfredo sauce recipe reheats beautifully! You can pop it in the microwave (time will vary, depending on the amount you are reheating) and then just whisk it up again to incorporate all the ingredients. It will taste fantastic and be nice and smooth!

My Favorite Pasta Pot:

My go-to pasta/steamer pot is much like this Excelsteel 8 Quart 18/10 Stainless Steel 4 Piece Pot. It’s perfect for cooking and draining large amounts of pasta, steaming fresh veggies, seafood and boiling eggs. Large or small, the strainer baskets do the job and having a clear lid with an 8 quart stainless pot is nice for soups and stews.

Here’s a meal idea to go along with the homemade Alfredo sauce:

Want some more inspiration? Here’s an amazing meal idea that goes perfect with our Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce recipe.

Cook a 48-ounce package of fresh cheese tortellini for 6 minutes in a pot of boiling water. Immediately drain it and add it to the Alfredo sauce. Add 2 cups of chopped, cooked chicken breast, if desired, to the sauce and pasta. Serve immediately with a sprinkle of fresh Parmesan cheese and enjoy.

You might also like these copycat recipes:

  • Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup Copycat Recipe
  • Pasta e fa*gioli Olive Garden Copycat Recipe
  • Olive Garden Breadsticks Copycat Recipe
  • View all copycat recipes

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce Copycat Recipe (5)

Conclusion

Whenever I visit Olive Garden, I order one of their pastas with Alfredo Sauce over 80% of the time. I absolutely love it.

Now that I know the recipe, I can enjoy it at home whenever I want.

What did you think of Olive Garden’s Alfredo Sauce Copycat Recipe? Was it the same as your experience at the restaurant, better, worse?

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce Copycat Recipe (6)

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce Copycat Recipe

Cheesy, rich, and classic, enjoy a divine copycat version of Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce. Actually, it's better than theirs!

4.67 / 5 ( 913 Reviews )

Print Rate

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes minutes

Serves: 10

Adjust Servings: 10

Equipment

  • Saucepan

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a saucepan combine heavy cream, butter and cream cheese. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat, then keep it simmering until all is melted and mixed well. Stir often!

  • Right after the mixture comes to a light boil, whisk in the Parmesan cheese and garlic powder.

  • Simmer this for 5-10 minutes on medium-low heat, just until it thickens enough to coat a spoon.

  • Salt and pepper to taste.

  • Serve over hot pasta, in place of red pizza sauce, or for dipping. It's great with grilled chicken or shrimp too.

Recipe Notes

TIP: If the sauce seems to seperate, whisk rapidly on low heat to incorporate the fat back into the cream.

If you find your sauce isn't thick enough, be sure to let the sauce boil for a moment before you add the cheese!

Nutrition

Calories: 275kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 29g | Sodium: 189mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce Copycat Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is Olive Garden alfredo made of? ›

Olive Garden's Alfredo Sauce recipe is made with Parmesan and Romano Cheeses, however you can also incorporate Mozzarella, Gruyere, Gouda, or Asiago. You can also just use Parmesan. You can use half and half instead of half heavy cream/half milk.

Has Olive Garden changed their alfredo sauce? ›

Olive Garden's Alfredo sauce is made daily

That's why Olive Garden hasn't changed its Alfredo sauce recipe since the restaurant first opened up shop more than 40 years ago in 1982.

What sauce does Olive Garden use? ›

Marinara is the robust signature red tomato sauce served at Olive Garden. It's the pulpy pasta sauce recognized in their chicken and eggplant parmigiana, lasagna, spaghetti with meatballs, meat sauce, and their popular 5-cheese ziti.

What is the secret to smooth alfredo sauce? ›

don't use low fat milk -- the higher the fat content the smoother your cheese will melt/incorporate. once the base is made (the flour, butter, milk "sauce" -- bechamel?) take the pot OFF the heat. The more your heat your cheese sauce, the more it will get gritty.

Can you use half and half instead of heavy cream for Alfredo? ›

Yes, as a matter of fact, using half and half instead of heavy cream results in a sauce that is equally as thick and creamy. How do you thicken half and half for Alfredo? We've added a couple tablespoons of flour to this sauce recipe to make sure the sauce turns out equivalently thick and creamy using half and half.

How to make Rao's alfredo sauce better? ›

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.

Does Olive Garden make their sauce from scratch daily? ›

Our soup and sauce masters create dishes by hand and from scratch, every day. With fresh, whole ingredients like kale, peppers and squash. Because they know cooking that way – the Italian way- everything tastes better.

Do real Italians use alfredo sauce? ›

Fettuccine Alfredo, it turns out, is 100% Italian. To be fair, the original recipe is quite different from whatever you may find in the States. Italians have been eating Fettuccine Alfredo for over a century…

Does Olive Garden salt their pasta water? ›

Olive Garden, an Italian-inspired restaurant, doesn't salt their pasta water. The restaurant overlooks this fundamental pasta-cooking rule because of salts impact on pots. According to the Wall Street Journal, putting salt in boiling water could compromise the warranties on the pots.

Is the alfredo sauce at Olive Garden never ending? ›

Never Ending Dipping Sauces for Breadsticks (V) Homemade marinara, alfredo or five cheese marinara. *CONTAIN (OR MAY CONTAIN) RAW OR UNDERCOOKED INGREDIENTS.

Does Olive Garden fettuccine Alfredo have garlic in it? ›

Our signature alfredo sauce made fresh in-house every morning with ingredients like parmesan, cream, garlic and butter, served over fettuccine.

How much is a side of alfredo sauce at Olive Garden? ›

10.99. A large side of our freshly prepared Alfredo Sauce, great for adding extra sauce to your pasta or for dipping you breadsticks.

How do I keep my Alfredo sauce creamy? ›

Mix the cornstarch with some cold water to create a smooth slurry, then whisk it into the sauce while cooking over medium-high heat for a few minutes. Add all-purpose flour. Another very common thickening agent that will give your Alfredo sauce a creamy texture.

What thickens Alfredo sauce? ›

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.

What to add to jar Alfredo sauce to make it better? ›

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 alfredo sauce made of? ›

Alfredo sauce is made by melting butter, heavy cream, and parmesan cheese together. Unlike other pasta sauces that use tomatoes as a base, alfredo omits vegetables altogether and uses dairy products to achieve its mouth-watering flavor.

Is Olive Garden meat sauce beef or pork? ›

**Our meat sauce is made with pan-seared beef and Italian sausage.

Is Olive Garden Chicken alfredo good for you? ›

Anything with cheesy alfredo sauce made from butter and cream is loaded with fat and calories. Olive Garden's Chicken Alfredo is no exception. It far exceeds your entire daily recommended intake of fat, much of it saturated fat.

What is jarred alfredo sauce made of? ›

WATER, CREAM, BUTTER (SWEET CREAM, SALT), GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE (PASTEURIZED PART-SKIM MILK, CHEESE CULTURES, SALT, ENZYMES), SOYBEAN OIL, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, ENZYME MODIFIED EGG YOLK (EGG YOLK, SALT, ENZYME), NONFAT DRY MILK, SALT, AMERICAN SHERRY COOKING WINE (WINE, GRAPE ALCOHOL, SALT, POTASSIUM METABISULFITE [ ...

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