I generally don’t go in for copy-cat recipes because, really, I would prefer to just go to the restaurant and order whatever it is that I want. I know it will taste like it’s supposed to, and– bonus– I don’t have to cook.
But someone pointed this out on Pinterest to the significant other in my life the other day, and he begged and pleaded and cajoled and otherwise convinced me to make it.
Image from Budget Savvy Diva
You can, of course, just buy a can of Alfredo sauce in the grocery store, but it’s pretty easy to make.
The one reason you don’t want to make it? Then you know what’s in it. And what’s in it will make you feel like dying, right before you actually do die.
This is a pan. This is a pan with a stick of butter in it.
Yes. An entire stick.
This is a pan with a stick of butter, a pint of heavy cream, two tablespoons of cream cheese, and a shitload of Parmesan cheese in it.
It’s like a children’s story about clogged arteries.
I put the strainer in the dishwasher right before we made this, so the noodles had to be creatively removed from the water.
As far as the taste? Well, it’s got a stick of butter and a pint of heavy cream in it. It ain’t gonna taste like shit.
It was pretty darn good, actually.
So, you might die if you eat it, but at least you’ll die happy.
37 Comments
Did it taste like olive garden though? What’s ironic about this is olive garden actually posts the recipe to their Alfredo recipe on their website.
Just made this, with alterations of course and it was delicious add expected! Thanks for the heads up to the amazing recipe!
Back before I was more concious of calories we used to make this – and it DOES taste like Olive Garden. We did not, however, use near that much better, added garlic powder, and skipped the cream cheese.
I love that your photo is more appetizing looking than the original! And I’ve made this before … it tastes great but I wouldn’t compare it to Olive Garden. My own work, sweat and tears (due to having to make it myself) must give it a funny taste because when someone else prepares my food it tastes 100 times better!
Amigwyn Interestingly enough there are scientific studies which show that food cooked by someone else tastes better to you than something that you make yourself, even if you use the exact same recipe and/or methods/tools.This is why grandmas cookies never tastes as good as when grandma makes them (or whoever makes the cookies where you are :P)
@Yay That’s so interesting. I must be a statistical outlier, because every time I go to a restaurant, even if the food is excellent, I feel like I could have done better at home. Maybe I’m just a culinary narcissist. 😉
“It’s like a children’s story about clogged arteries.” 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 You crack me up!
Why is it that the easiest recipes to make are the most fattening? “Sigh”
Your picture looks about 100 times more appetizing than the original!
Yours looks yummier…
I’m gonna tell you a secret. Alfredo was a guy that had a restaurant in Rome (his family still owns that same restaurant nowadays, I believe) that added some typical heavy cream (panna) we have in our supermarkets in Italy and some parmesan on pasta and called it Alfredo. Nobody and I mean NOBODY in Italy knows who this Alfredo is and if in a restaurant you ask for something like fettuccine alfredo, both the waiter and the chef are gonna look at you with doubtful faces that perfecly express the concept of – I have no idea what the heck you’re talking about -. So pasta alfredo, or whatever you wanna call it, is not a traditional italian receipe. What we normally do (but you won”t find it in restaurants, because nobody would be so crazy to charge you for it) is pasta with some heavy cream (or butter and parmesan) and maybe some proscioutto cotto (cooked ham, which is another quality of ham we have in Italy) that our moms cook whenever everybody is hungry and she doesn’t have much time on her hands. I’m also pretty sure everytime someone says Alfredo related to his infamous pasta, an Italian chef commits suicide. A typical homemade white italian sauce is called besciamella and it’s very similar to what you guys call gravy, but with the addition of butter along with flour. That said, your pasta con panna looks very good 🙂
Orly? And here we were all thinking olive garden was muy authentico 😉
but my explanation was about alfredo, not olive garden, wasn’t it? just wanted to share the explanation of a common myth (that can be indeed found all over North America and not only at Olive Garden, where I have never eaten)
@Ombretta I think Krystina’s point was that no one goes to the Olive Garden expecting traditional Italian food (oh gosh I hope not) and there’s nothing in this post suggesting that Alfredo is traditional Italian food, so this myth isn’t being perpetuated here :)I was told that story by a chef in Rome when I took a cooking class there. He also told us there isn’t supposed to be alcohol in Tiramisu.
imLissy … but what’s the point in Tiramisu if not to enjoy light, fluffy, whipped, alcoholic goodness?
Orly? And here we were all thinking olive garden was muy authentico 😉
Even though I am not a huge fan of, “Alfredo Sauce,” yours looks amazingly yummy!
What I don’t get is, if you’re going to copy a dish from a restaurant … why Olive Garden?
“It’s like a children’s story about clogged arteries.”I almost spewed sweet tea everywhere. I love your writing so much and can’t wait to see what’s next!!
Seriously, yours looks WAY deliciouser.
Congrats on an un-fucked-up pin! Enjoy it’s deliciousness for me as I am lactose intolerant and carefully dieting. More food pr0n!!
Christine G you can sub Toffuti Better than Cream Cheese for the heavy cream and cream cheese, Smart Balance Light vegan spread for the butter, and Rice Milk Parmesian for the parmesian, and it still tastes 90% as awesome.
Christine G CupcakesOMG! posted a recipe for an Alfredo sauce made of cauliflower and coconut milk, maybe give that a try? http://cupcakesomg.blogspot.com.br/2012/08/caulif-redo-sauce-aka-paleo-alfredo.html
I didn’t want to try this because theirs looked a bit like catsick, but seeing yours…I am now very hungry and arteries be damned!
Wow. It looks wonderful. I will enjoy it vicariously.
dis shizz was good, but then again i’ve never had an alfredo pasta i didn’t like. If only I could replicate Carrabbas’s alfredo sauce…
Hard to go wrong with butter, cream & cheese 🙂
Mmmmm! But you are right…I’d almost rather live in ignorance.
That’s hilarious. “It’s got a stick of butter and a pint of heavy cream. It ain’t gonna taste like shit.” Brilliant.
@ThePintester I tried that recipe too, and it was a total flop at my house despite the cream and butter! Blech!
@ThePintester u know what’s funny? I’ve lived in Italy for 8 yrs and never seen Alfredo on any menu. #american invention.
[…] some Olive Garden pasta Alfredo? Are you sure about […]
Hmmm, I was reading through this and thinking– add the very best parmesan and Philly cream cheese (no store brands, please, and, yeah, it would be pretty tasty. Artery-clogging tasty.Keep writing.
Haha, I love that this is a copy cat Olive Garden recipe and I have a feeling it tastes better than Olive Garden’s version, which to an Italian, is very bland. Alfredo is SUPER easy to make, but yes, VERY fattening, which is kinda what makes it delicious. I skip the cream cheese and add a little flour to thicken it up.
I have the same oven, pyrex cup thingy, our counters are the same, and I have that cocktail shaker (and your love of whiskey). Twins! Oh wait, you already have one. I love your posts, thanks for making me feel like I’m not a worthless piece of crap when I can’t make a stupid pancake to save my life.
my alfredo recipe is similar but i never have heavy cream on hand – i just melt 1/2 c butter with a brick of cream cheese, add 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of parmesan with chopped parsley for color – delish with cubed chicken or shrimp!
Olive Garden has the actual recipe right on its website. There is no cream cheese in it.