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This chicken fettuccine alfredo recipe is easy to make with the coziest creamy garlic sauce.

Everyone needs a good fettuccine alfredo recipe. ♡

This classic creamy pasta will forever be one of our family’s favorite comfort foods. But while we had the privilege of trying authentic alfredo a few years ago at the restaurant where it was “born” in Rome (absolutely delicious, tossed simply with butter and Parmesan), I have to admit that the American in me will always crave the nostalgic Olive Garden-style alfredo of my childhood. By contrast to the Roman version, Italian-American alfredo sauce is extra creamy and velvety, made with additional cream, garlic, flour (to thicken) and a pinch of nutmeg for seasoning. And when served up nice and warm, my goodness, I don’t know if there’s anything more comforting.

Here in our family, we usually serve ours topped with pan-seared chicken or shrimp, but feel free to add whatever other protein or veggies you might prefer or just enjoy the pasta plain. I’ve also included some ideas below for fun variations on the classic (such as adding lemon, truffle oil or Cajun seasoning) if you’d like to play around with the recipe. However you make it, fettuccine alfredo is pretty much guaranteed to be a hit. So the next time you’re craving some comfort food, let’s make pasta together for dinner!

Fettuccine Alfredo Ingredients

Here are a few quick notes about the ingredients you will need to make this homemade fettuccine alfredo recipe:

• Fettuccine: Clearly fettuccine is the most popular choice for this recipe, but you can really use any pasta shape that you prefer. I just recommend opting for bronze-cut pasta, whose slightly rough texture will help the creamy alfredo sauce cling to the pasta.
• Half and half: This blend of cream and milk makes the alfredo sauce perfectly rich and creamy without being too heavy.
• Parmesan: Freshly-grated Parmesan cheese melts into the creamy sauce and infuses it with nutty, salty, umami flavor.
• Butter and flour: This classic roux helps to thicken the alfredo sauce while giving it extra layers of rich buttery flavor.
• Garlic: I recommend either grating or pressing fresh garlic for this recipe so that it cooks smoothly into the sauce without any lumps.
• Seasonings: We’ll use a touch of fine sea salt, white pepper and ground nutmeg to lightly season the sauce.
• Parsley (optional): Feel free to top the dish with a sprinkling of finely chopped fresh parsley for a pop of color and fresh flavor.
• Pan-seared chicken (optional): Feel free to make a quick batch of pan-seared chicken to serve with the alfredo, using boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, fine sea salt, black pepper and olive oil.

Fettuccine Alfredo Tips

Step-by-step instructions are included in the recipe below, but here are a few additional tips to keep in mind:

• Grate or press the garlic. As mentioned above, I recommend either grating or pressing the garlic for this recipe if you would like to avoid lumps. Or if you don’t recommend a grater or garlic press, just mince the garlic finely.
• Grate the Parmesan by hand. Purchasing a wedge of Parmesan and grating it by hand will ensure that the cheese melts seamlessly into the sauce and has the richest flavor.
• Cook the pasta al dente. Cook the fettuccine until it’s *just* barely al dente. (It should be slightly firm to the bite.) The pasta will continue cooking slightly while it’s tossed with the sauce, so you want to be sure that it’s not overcooked.
• Serve immediately. Fettuccine alfredo always tastes best served immediately while the sauce is still warm and velvety!

Recipe Variations

Here are a few fun variations that you’re welcome to try with this fettuccine alfredo recipe:

• Add a different protein: Skip the chicken and make bacon, meatballs, salmon or shrimp alfredo!
• Add veggies: Toss in any other cooked veggies that you love best, such as asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green beans, mushrooms, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes or zucchini.
• Add cajun seasoning: Add a few teaspoons of Cajun seasoning to the sauce to make Cajun fettuccine alfredo.
• Add lemon: Add fresh lemon zest and juice to the sauce to make lemon fettuccine alfredo.
• Add pesto: Add a few swirls of fresh basil pesto to the sauce.
• Add truffle oil: Add a drizzle of good-quality truffle oil to the sauce.

More Creamy Pasta Recipes To Try!

Looking for more creamy, cheesy pasta recipes to try? Here are a few of our favorites:

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