It Only Takes 3 Ingredients To Make A Luscious Alfredo Sauce

There are a lot of variations on the Italian favorite, fettuccine Alfredo. The sauce is creamy and cheesy and it's often flavored with garlic and other herbs and spices. Popular toppings include chicken, seafood, and vegetables like mushrooms, broccoli, and tomatoes. But, at its core, Alfredo sauce (whether you're making it the traditional Italian way or American style) is made with just three ingredients. In Italy, the creamy fettuccine dish is made with parmesan cheese, butter, and pasta water (you should always save pasta water for sauces), while the familiar American Alfredo can be whipped up with parmesan, butter, and cream.

The Italian dish doesn't resemble the American-style sauce that we tend to see in most restaurants. It isn't super thick or bright white, because it lacks the cream that gives American Alfredo its look. Instead, freshly cooked pasta (usually fettuccine) is quickly tossed with reserved pasta water, chunks of butter, and parmesan cheese until the pasta is coated in a silky sauce. 

With American Alfredo, the sauce is typically made separately; the cream and butter are heated and the parmesan is gradually added in until a smooth sauce is formed. At that point, the pasta is tossed with the sauce. Both versions are rather simple, but the Italian way can take some practice to keep the cheese from clumping together or separating. However you make it, aim to have your butter sliced and at room temperature so that it melts more easily, and be sure your cheese is finely grated so it can smoothly incorporate into the sauce.

I used to think that Alfredo sauce as Americans know it was one of those Italian-American dishes that don't exist in Italy, void of anything authentic or traditional. But, it turns out, Alfredo is based on fettuccine al burro, which was indeed created by an Italian chef named Alfredo di Lelio. His original version is what "fettuccine al burro" is based on, although it might also be tagged as "fettuccine al burro e parmigiano" or "pasta al burro e parmigiano" in Italy. 

The story goes that Alfredo di Lelio first served fettuccine with butter and parmesan to his wife, in hopes that she would regain her strength after childbirth, which she did. He then began to offer the dish to guests at his mother's restaurant, to rave reviews. In 1914, he opened his own namesake restaurant in Rome where he served fettuccine al burro in a very theatrical way: that is, he tossed the butter, cheese, and hot pasta together tableside for patrons, and his reputation (not to mention the reputation of the dish) soon spread to well-to-do American tourists. Not surprisingly, fettuccine with Alfredo's sauce eventually came across the pond and began to appear in American eateries where it, at some point, picked up the addition of heavy cream. In a twist, Americans today are even using cottage cheese to make Alfredo sauce. We're not sure what Alfredo, or other Italians, would think about that.