A rich and creamy small batch of Alfredo Sauce made with cream and filled with flavor. Low carb, easy to make, and perfect for one big bowl of pasta!
Alfredo sauce is my favorite sauce to add to a bowl of pasta. It is a white cream sauce made from butter, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese. The sauce is rich and creamy and a simple small batch alfredo sauce recipe is one that all home cooks should have.
Why This Recipe Works
- This is a low-carb alfredo sauce recipe: If you're following a low-carb diet, this homemade alfredo sauce recipe is perfect to use.
- Versatile: I love tossing Alfredo sauce with fettuccine or another type of pasta, but I also love adding it to cooked chicken or shrimp.
- The perfect amount for one person: This easy recipe yields a single serving of Alfredo sauce but the ingredient amounts can easily be doubled if you'd like to make more.
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Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
The ingredients in Alfredo sauce are:
- Heavy cream: I recommend using heavy cream (double cream) or heavy whipping cream. The high amount of fat in the cream reduces the chance of the sauce curdling. I do not recommend using whole milk or half & half. If you do not use heavy cream, the sauce will be much thinner and will have a less velvety consistency.
- Lemon juice: Use freshly squeezed lemon juice for the best flavor but bottled can be used if necessary.
- Butter: I use salted butter.
- Parmesan cheese: Parmesan cheese provides a nutty and savory taste. I prefer freshly grated Parmesan cheese because it will melt beautifully into the sauce. You can use pre-packaged or jarred Parmesan instead but it may not melt as well.
- Ground nutmeg: Nutmeg adds a lovely sweet aroma to the sauce and rounds out the flavor.
- Salt (optional): Taste the sauce after it is made and add additional salt if you feel it's necessary. Parmesan cheese is salty and I feel it provides enough salt for a very flavorful sauce.
See below for ways to use leftover ingredients.
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How To Make Alfredo Sauce
See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Stir the cream and the lemon juice in a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat to blend. Add the butter and stir gently until the butter melts. After the butter has melted, lower the heat to medium-low and whisk constantly until the mixture begins to thicken, about 8 minutes.
- Stir in the grated Parmesan cheese and nutmeg, and continue to stir until the cheese has melted and the sauce has thickened even more, about 3 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and toss with cooked pasta or add to cooked chicken or shrimp.
Pro Tip: The sauce will continue to thicken as it sits. Taste and add ⅛ teaspoon of salt if necessary.
Expert Tips
- To reduce the calories in Alfredo sauce, you can use half and half for the heavy cream. Although the sauce will be much thinner, the calories will be reduced.
- Make sure to continuously stir the sauce, and scrape the bottom and side of the pan.
- For this single serving recipe, I use a 1-quart saucepan. For best results, please use a pan of similar size.
- Use this Alfredo sauce in a variety of different ways. In addition to eating it tossed with pasta, consider also adding the sauce to cooked chicken, shrimp, or on an alfredo pizza.
- Don't limit yourself to just using Parmesan cheese for this Alfredo sauce recipe. You can use just about any cheese you like; cheddar, gruyere, Swiss, or gouda are all great additions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Alfredo sauce thickens by simmering it over medium-low heat until reduced to about ⅓ of its volume. After about 8-10 minutes, some of the water in the heavy cream evaporates, causing the solids in the dairy to concentrate which thickens the sauce. Stirring in the grated Parmesan cheese also thickens the sauce.
Both are white sauces made with dairy. Bechamel is a French sauce that is made using a roux made with butter and flour. This type of sauce can be found in our Chicken Spaghetti recipe.
Alfredo sauce uses heavy cream that is thickened by reduction on the stovetop, then thickened further by Parmesan cheese.
Yes! This Alfredo sauce recipe is keto and is perfect if you're following a low carb diet.
To make a single serving of Fettuccine Alfredo, fill a medium-sized pot with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add 2-ounces of dry fettuccine to the boiling water and reduce the heat slightly to maintain a simmer. Cook until the pasta is tender, 5-7 minutes. Drain in a colander and transfer pasta to a bowl. Toss with the Alfredo sauce.
Pro Tip: Two ounces of dried fettuccine is about the diameter of a quarter
Yes! If you'd like to make Alfredo sauce for two or to just have a little extra sauce, just double the ingredient amounts in this recipe.
Variations of Alfredo Sauce
- Make Chicken Alfredo by adding grilled chicken or shredded rotisserie chicken to the fettuccine and sauce.
- Make Shrimp Alfredo by adding cooked shrimp to the pasta and Alfredo sauce.
- Consider using Alfredo sauce as a dip for breadsticks.
Storage
- Homemade Alfredo sauce should be covered and stored in the refrigerator. It will keep well for up to 4 days.
- To reheat Alfredo sauce, pour it into a small saucepan and heat the sauce over low heat, stirring frequently until the sauce has heated.
Other Small Batch Sauce Recipes
What To Serve With Fettuccine Alfredo
You might like to serve a bowl of homemade fettuccine alfredo with any of these single serving and small batch recipes
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this easy Alfredo sauce recipe, you might consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
- Cream: Vanilla Ice Cream, Icebox Cake, Crustless Quiche Lorraine, Chicken with Mustard Sauce
- Lemon juice: Lemon Blueberry Muffin, Lemon and Garlic Chicken, Lemon Meringue Pie, Baba Ganoush
- Parmesan cheese: Parmesan Crisps, Eggplant Parmesan, Baked Chicken Tenders, Cheesy Baked Eggs
- Nutmeg: Fried Apples, Spinach Manicotti, Spice Cake, Dutch Apple Pie
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If you’ve tried this Alfredo sauce recipe or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
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Alfredo Sauce For One
See the post above for expert tips,
FAQs and ways to use leftover ingredients.
Video
Equipment
- Whisk or spoon
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Optional: salt, to taste
- Optional: cooked pasta
Instructions
- Stir the cream and the lemon juice in a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat to blend. Add the butter and stir gently until the butter melts. After the butter has melted, lower the heat to medium-low and whisk constantly until the mixture begins to thicken, about 8 minutes.
- Stir in the grated Parmesan cheese and nutmeg, and continue to stir or whisk until the cheese has melted and the sauce has thickened even more, about 3 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and toss with cooked pasta or add to cooked chicken or shrimp.Pro Tip: The sauce will continue to thicken as it sits. Taste and add ⅛ teaspoon of salt if necessary.
Notes
- To reduce the calories in alfredo sauce, you can use half and half for the heavy cream. Although the sauce will be much thinner, the calories will be reduced.
- Make sure to continuously stir the sauce, and scrape the bottom and side of the pan.
- For this single serving recipe, I use a 1-quart saucepan. For best results, please use a pan of similar size.
- Use this alfredo sauce in a variety of different ways. In addition to eating it tossed with pasta, consider also adding the sauce to cooked chicken, shrimp, or on an alfredo pizza.
- Don't limit yourself to just using Parmesan cheese for this Alfredo sauce recipe. You can use just about any cheese you like; cheddar, gruyere, Swiss, or gouda are all great additions.
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Patricia Potts says
I was tossing between a 4 and 5 star rating as the sauce split on me though cooked to the recipe but as I was adding pasta, I thought the starch from the pasta would bring it together and it worked beautifully and with the edition of the prawns it was one of the most delicious meals I have had it quite some time. Thank you lazyme for the recommendation, made for Best of '22 at FF&F and a contender for Best of '23.
J. Hegyi says
Great recipe.
Mason W says
Sooooo, it calls for 3/4 cup grated cheese, and I found it wayyyy to cheesy, I toned it down by adding more heavy cream but I would recommend slowly adding cheese to your taste, overall besides that it was very good!!