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Easy alfredo from scratch?

linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)

12 years ago

My grad student daughter is always ordering chicken alfredo in restaurants. She cooks a lot, at least fast things, but doesn't like the sauces that come in a jar.

I told her I would find out how to make it from scratch, as I figured it must start out with a white sauce base. That I could teach her easily enough.

The only problems I foresee are: she is a student, so complicated recipes are out. Plus, it would be best if it did not use heavy cream. There is no grocery store nearby other than a convenience store, whose stock caters to students, and she does not have a car. When we take her shopping every now and then, what she buys has to last. Ingredients like milk, sour cream, cream cheese, and cheese would be no problem to find at the convenience store.

Thanks for your help!

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Comments (8)

KatieC
12 years ago
This is easy...a friend made it often for dinners and wrote down her recipe. I suppose you could make it with milk, but cream has a pretty long shelf life. It just wouldn't be as decadent.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Fettucine Alfredo

Recipe By :Marilyn Z - 1993
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:15
Categories : Pasta Side Dishes

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 pound fettuccine -- cooked and drained (or flat noodles, or bite size pasta)
1 cup butter
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup cream
black pepper

Heat butter until creamy. Add hot fettuccine and toss. Stir in Parmesan cheese, then cream.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
iris_gal
12 years ago
I haven't tried this yet.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Quick-and-Easy-Alfredo-Sauce/Detail.aspx

Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce
By: DAWN CARTER
"I experimented with this until I found a quick, cheap, and easy Alfredo sauce combination -- the secret is cream cheese!"
Rate/Review : 29,808 people have saved this

Original Recipe Yield 4 servings

1/2 cup butter
8 oz. cream cheese, room temp.
2 tsp garlic powder
2 cups milk
6 oz. grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp pepper

Melt butter in saucepan over med. heat. Stir in cream cheese and garlic.
Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps.
Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency.
Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long.
Toss with hot pasta to serve.
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This is my husband's favorite Alfredo sauce. Hope you try it! Alfredo Sauce Ingredients: 1 stick butter (not margarine) 2 cups heavy cream 1/2 - 1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese (fresh works best) 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped 2-3 Tbs chopped fresh parsley 1 egg yolk, beaten Salt and pepper, to taste Directions: Melt butter in a skillet. Add chopped garlic and cook for about 1 minute--do not brown the garlic, if it is brown, start over with fresh ingredients. Add Heavy cream and whisk together. Add cheese and continue whisking until well blended and mixture starts to bubble. In a separate bowl, add a little of the hot butter/cream liquid to the egg yolk and whisk together. Then add the egg mixture to the hot butter/cream mixture in the pan. Continue to whisk until hot, bubbly and thick. You can add more cheese if it is not thick enough. Toss with hot cooked pasta and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve Immediately. Number Of Servings:4-6
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Islay_Corbel
12 years ago
This is a one-pot recipe - ideal for a youngster;

Here is a link that might be useful: One pan chicken Alfredo
sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
12 years ago
This one is pretty easy and includes vegetables. I would cut down the butter to one tbsp and add a cup of chicken broth. Could easily be re-heated as left-overs for another meal and/or go ahead and chop extra veggies and bag and fridge them for another meal like a stir-fry.

Here is a link that might be useful: chicken alfredo
barryv_gw
12 years ago
My version is melt 1 TB butter in pan, add 1 TB flour, mix over medium heat for 1 - 2 minutes, gradually add 1 cup 1% milk, stirring regularly, let simmer 8 minutes to reduce, then add garlic salt to taste ( start at 1 tsp ) 1/4 tsp pepper and then turn heat to low or off and add 1/2 cup shredded parmesan. Once she makes it 3 or 4 times, she should be fine, none of the quantities are critical. The main problem encountered is having the mixture boil over the top of the pan, and once that happens a few times, you learn to watch it carefully.
alex9179
12 years ago
Yes, the bÃÂ©chamel sauce (butter, flour, milk) is an easy creamy base. She then adds garlic, grated parmesan, pepper for the alfredo. Changing up seasonings for the cuisine will be fun experiment for her. Roasting the garlic and adding caramelized onions is something I'll do when I have time to be a little fancier :)

Below is a link talking about some of the ways to vary the flavor.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sauces made from Bechamel base
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you! These are all really easy, and I'm sure she will have no problem making any of them. I hadn't thought of using cream cheese, but that would make a good option for her.
jimster
12 years ago
I've been using evaporated milk with good results in creamy dishes.

Jim

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