Authentic Fettuccine Alfredo
Three ingredients are all you need for authentic Fettuccine Alfredo. It's a dish that just goes to show that you can't beat simplicity!
Fettuccine All' Alfredo
Fettuccine Alfredo is a dish that Americans think of in their list of "classic Italian dishes" right along with Spaghetti and Meatballs and Ravioli. But, the dish that is known to Americans is not quite the authentic Italian version.
Fettuccine Alfredo started off as the desperate attempt of Roman restaurant owner, Alfredo di Lelio, to find something that his pregnant wife, who had lost most of her appetite due to pregnancy, would be able to eat. So, he added some Parmesan cheese to an everyday Italian dish, fettuccine al burro (Fettuccine with Butter), and she couldn't stop eating it!
(But, seriously. To put things into perspective, it's like he made her buttered toast with a bit of cheese sprinkled on top... And then the world went CRAZY over it!)
He introduced the dish onto his restaurant's menu in 1914. In 1920, he served the dish to some famous American movie stars, who brought the idea back to Italian restaurants in the States.
Ingredients for authentic fettuccine Alfredo (real Alfredo sauce without cream)
Seriously, all you need is three ingredients.
No, not a jar of "Alfredo" sauce.
- grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
- butter
- fettuccine
THAT'S IT!
There's not a drop of cream in Alfredo's original recipe. Just cheese, mixed with pasta, pasta water, and butter, to create a creamy sauce without the cream!!
What is the origin of American Alfredo sauce?
While you could chalk it up to the fact that making things unnecessarily rich and bad for you is just what the American food market does, there might be a legitimate reason that we Americans added cream in this case.
You see, at the time that fettuccine Alfredo was introduced in the States, the butter and Parmesan cheese that they had access to were nowhere near the quality of the cheese and butter in Italy. So, it is possible that cream was introduced to the dish in order to make up for the lack of richness in the other ingredients.
But, whatever the reason, now YOU know the REAL story.
And, now you can make authentic fettuccine Alfredo to impress your family and friends!
How to make authentic fettuccine Alfredo (pasta al burro e parmigiano)
With so few ingredients, this is a very simple recipe.
- Add cooked pasta to melted butter in a wide skillet.
- Alternate adding grated cheese and hot (but not boiling) pasta water to the pasta, while tossing with tongs.
- Continue until your cheese has all been incorporated and your pasta is creamy.
- Taste and add salt if desired.
Tips for making the best authentic fettuccine Alfredo sauce
While simple, this recipe does require a bit of attention for one reason - melted cheese can be finicky.
To make your best sauce:
- Use good quality parmigiano-reggiano cheese and good quality (high fat) butter
- Add your cheese slowly, a little at a time
- Make sure your pasta water is hot, but not boiling
- Toss continually while adding each element
If you follow these guidelines, your sauce should melt into a smooth creamy coating for your fettuccine.
What to do if my traditional Alfredo sauce gets lumpy
First, slow down. Cheese clumps or lumps in your Alfredo sauce mean you're either working too quickly or too hot. Check that your heat is medium low to low. Check that your pasta water is not too hot. Make sure you're using high quality ingredients and not adding that cheese too quickly.
If your cheese has clumped, add a bit more pasta water and continue tossing to see if you can get some of the cheese proteins to release. Often a little extra pasta water and attention will smooth out your sauce.
In the case that you can't get your cheese proteins to un-bind (it does happen occasionally, particularly if using lower quality cheese or butter) we recommend adding some ingredients to your Alfredo - like grilled chicken, broccoli, or peas. It's not authentic, but it will help with the clumpy cheese texture and it will still be incredibly tasty.
Adaptations to the authentic fetuccine Alfredo recipe
The really authentic fettuccine Alfredo recipe from Alfredo di Lelio calls for ½ lb of butter and ½ lb of grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese cheese per 1 lb of fettuccine.
That may sound like a lot of butter and cheese, but when we got ready to make the recipe we realized just how MUCH butter and cheese it really is for that amount of pasta.
For our recipe below, we have reduced the amount of butter and cheese. Even though we cut them back from what is called for in the original recipe, we still found our fettuccine Alfredo to be PLENTY rich and flavorful.
But, if you really want to go for it, feel free to use the full ½ lb of butter and ½ lb of cheese with your pound of pasta.
You only live once, you know. And, the dairy industry will thank you.
How to serve fettuccine Alfredo (pasta al burro e parmigiano)
First, if possible, serve fettuccine Alfredo on a warm plate to help the sauce stay creamy.
Fettuccine Alfredo makes a wonderful meal on its own. It can also be served as a primo (first course) or side dish with a meat dish, like chicken or steak.
While not the traditional Italian way, we like to serve it with a salad to balance out some of the fat in the dish.
How to store and reheat
Fettuccine Alfredo is best if eaten immediately after making. However, if you do have leftovers, once cooled, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Reheat the Alfredo in a saucepan or skillet with a little warm water and a sprinkling of extra cheese. Heat on medium-low heat until heated through.
(We do not recommend freezing this dish. It really is best made in small batches to eat immediately.)
Authentic Fettuccine Alfredo
You haven't tasted Fettuccine Alfredo until you've tried the authentic version!
Ingredients
- 1 lb fettuccine noodles, dry
- 12 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 6 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated *
- ½ - 1 teaspoon salt, (to taste)
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water and heat it over high heat until boiling. Once the water boils, add a good dash of salt and the noodles. Cook only until al dente, 9-10 minutes.
- While the pasta heats, gently melt the butter over medium heat in a large, non-stick skillet with high sides.
- Drain the pasta (reserving the water) and transfer the pasta to the skillet with the melted butter.
- Add a ½ teaspoon salt and toss the pasta with a tongs to combine (nonstick, silicone tongs work best).
- Reduce the heat to medium low. Add a handful of grated cheese and a ladle of hot pasta water, tossing the pasta continuously with your tongs to incorporate the cheese.
- Add more cheese, a little at a time, tossing between each addition, until all the cheese has been used.
- Add more hot pasta water as needed to melt the cheese so that it coats the noodles. (But, be careful not to add too much. You don’t want a watery sauce.)
- Taste the pasta and adjust the salt as necessary.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
*Since there are so few ingredients in this dish it is IMPERATIVE that you get good quality Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. So, go ahead and find your grocery store's specialty food section and buy a wedge that you can grate yourself. Expect to pay around $8-10 per pound for the cheese. (You only need 6 oz!) Your pasta will thank you!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
¼ of recipeAmount Per Serving: Calories: 655
Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
My grandmother made it this way, with a little garlic and a touch of olive oil. I have made it this way since she taught me as a child.
What great memories!
The lack of cream is a benefit, in my opinion. I do a variation, and for one serving sauté 2 T olive oil, 2 T butter, and 1 t garlic for about a minute to very lightly brown the garlic. Remove from heat and add 2 oz. white wine, 1/2 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley, 1/2 t salt and 1/2 t cracked black pepper. Mix with 3 oz. linguini or spaghetti and then add 2 oz. good, freshly-shredded Italian Parmesan or Romano. The addition of the cheese at the end avoids clumping and creates a creaminess.
Very nice! Thanks for sharing Bill!
You are the bomb! Please excuse my outdated expression 🙂
Hello, I am an Italian-American that lived in the Veneto (Venice) region of Italy for three years. NE Italian cuisine has many dishes with cream. The Alfredo ingredients that were popular where I lived were cream, eggs, butter, and parmagiana. A touch of parsley, salt (parmagiana is already salty), black pepper, and/or garlic could be added to taste if desired.
Thanks for sharing! That's so interesting that the original Roman dish gained cream and eggs as it traveled north.
I'm going to try this now, with homemade Fettuccine. I have heard the egg from the noodles is why you don't need cream. Cheers 🙂
Enjoy! Good noodles do make all the difference!
No garlic? I love cooking the garlic in the butter in my American version. Do you really not need garlic in this one?
Hi Craig. You don't need garlic for the traditional version, although it is a wonderful addition, so add it in if you feel the desire!
Hi again! I made this recipe yesterday after I left my previous reply! QUESTION, is my alfredo sauce suppose to be stringy? Because that's what i'm seeing...
Thank you
Dannydan
Hi Danny. This sauce is definitely not 'saucy' in the traditional sense. Your noodles should, however, be coated with the cheese. If it is very stringy, that could be an indication that you added too much cheese at a time. It is essential to add the cheese slowly so that it properly incorporates.
Thank you Sarah!
I just whipped up a single serving just a few minutes ago and the way I did it would probably have foodies going a little crazy. But wallah, it came together beautifully!
Since it was a single serving I let the heat from the pasta water and the cooked pasta do the melting (a little at a time) of the the freshly grated parm'regg! OH MY GOSH!! I was satisfied FULLY inside of 21 minutes ????
Glad you enjoyed it! It sounds like you did it just right!
The original Alfredo sauces uses pecorino romano not parmesan. I ate it once in Rome with the gold fork and spoon. It was a wonderful experience. I will never forget. It is very rich by the way.
Sounds like a wonderful experience to eat it at the original restaurant!
Actually, the original recipe at Alfredo alla Scrofa in Rome uses Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, not Romano cheese. I have eaten there, it was a wonderful experience especially if you are used to the cream laden recipes popular in the states. They also have a video talking about their famous recipe on the Italia Squisita YouTube channel.
I absolutely love the original recipe for Fettuccine Alfredo. However, I have been making this dish for years in my home and did not know it was the recipe for alfredo sauce... go figure.
However, over the years I learned to add one additional ingredient which is RICOTTA, and finished it off with either dry basil or dry parsley on top If you can't get the fresh. My God... With the addition of Ricotta, you'll think you've died and gone to heaven because of the rich and creamy sauce it turned out to be. So now I add RICOTTA to my original fettuccine alfredo sauce and it is to die for. You might try it and see if you like it. Let me know.
Best wishes.
Mike S.
Albuquerque, New Mexico USA
Originally from NYC.
That sounds like a delicious addition Mike! We'll have to give it a try!
Italians are so prideful about their food and cannot admit when some other cook in another country does it better than their original. I would bet everything in my bank account right now that my Alfredo sauce is better than the basic recipe
Any time you look for recipes, everyone thinks their version (or their mother's version) is by far the best. That's one thing we all have in common for sure. I'm sure your Alfredo sauce is quite lovely!
Sarah , I love your response to rude people who lacks class. <3 As much as this recipe which is superb.
<3 Thank you A. Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I tried this out. Good call on reducing the butter and cheese, however I still feel like the butter content could safely be cut in half. I cut the recipe in half and made mine with 13 oz homemade fresh pasta, 6 oz. Parmesianno reggiano, and the full 6 Tbsp butter. It was about enough for 3-4 people. Next time I'll try 3 tbsp. Butter so it's less greasy. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Thanks for sharing what you did Rachel! There is definitely room for adapting to different tastes!
What is the green herb I see in the Alfredo sauce?
Hi Doretha, We garnished the pasta dish with a little chopped basil. It's not necessary. Just for presentation.
When you say 6oz of cheese, do you mean by weight or volume? I only ask because later there is mention of only needing 1/4lb of cheese. Thanks!
Thanks for your comment Melani. 6 oz of cheese, by weight, is what we use for this recipe. You found a typo that was left from when we updated the recipe, but we've gone back and corrected it. Enjoy!
I have never liked alfredo sauce - because of the cream. I avoid cream/milk when I can help it. But after trying this recipe, I loooove alfredo sauce now. Thank you!!
It's incredibly what getting back to the basics will do! We're so glad you enjoyed this recipe! (It definitely gave us a new love for Alfredo too!)
HISTORY OF ALFREDO DI LELIO CREATOR IN 1908 OF “FETTUCCINE ALL’ALFREDO” (“FETTUCCINE ALFREDO”), NOW SERVED BY HIS NEPHEW INES DI LELIO, AT THE RESTAURANT “IL VERO ALFREDO” – “ALFREDO DI ROMA” IN ROME, PIAZZA AUGUSTO IMPERATORE 30
With reference to your article I have the pleasure to tell you the history of my grandfather Alfredo Di Lelio, who is the creator of “Fettuccine all’Alfredo” (“Fettuccine Alfredo”) in 1908 in the “trattoria” run by his mother Angelina in Rome, Piazza Rosa (Piazza disappeared in 1910 following the construction of the Galleria Colonna / Sordi). This “trattoria” of Piazza Rosa has become the “birthplace of fettuccine all’Alfredo”.
More specifically, as is well known to many people who love the “fettuccine all’Alfredo", this famous dish in the world was invented by Alfredo Di Lelio concerned about the lack of appetite of his wife Ines, who was pregnant with my father Armando (born February 26, 1908).
Alfredo di Lelio opened his restaurant “Alfredo” in 1914 in Rome and in 1943, during the war, he sold the restaurant to others outside his family.
In 1950 Alfredo Di Lelio decided to reopen with his son Armando his restaurant in Piazza Augusto Imperatore n.30 "Il Vero Alfredo" (“Alfredo di Roma”), whose fame in the world has been strengthened by his nephew Alfredo and that now managed by me, with the famous “gold cutlery” (fork and spoon gold) donated in 1927 by two well-known American actors Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks (in gratitude for the hospitality).
See also the website of “Il Vero Alfredo” .
I must clarify that other restaurants "Alfredo" in Rome do not belong and are out of my brand "Il Vero Alfredo – Alfredo di Roma".
I inform you that the restaurant “Il Vero Alfredo –Alfredo di Roma” is in the registry of “Historic Shops of Excellence” of the City of Rome Capitale.
Best regards Ines Di Lelio
Thanks so much for your note Ines! What a fascinating history!
But... but... Junior didn't leave us THE RECIPE!!! ?
Thank you so much for leaving this beautiful comment to share the creation of your family’s beautiful dish!! I am so grateful and incredibly privileged to have had this chance to read from you. Thank you for keeping the incredible food of Di Lelio alive and well! And thank you for taking time and personally sharing its origins! I wish you and your family healthy generations and good fortune forever! Sarah Ozimek, thank you forever for sharing this wonderful story and delicious recipe, and for this incredible encounter within your thread. I wish you and all your loved ones every happiness!
Our pleasure. Glad you found us!
Not surprising that we Americans made the fettuccini so rich. It's typical in other countries I've visited that the cuisine is served simply with the natural flavors instead of loaded with extra rich additions that we add.
So true. With quality ingredients, you really get to taste the great flavor of everything involved.