Alfredo Sauce For One
This one serving Alfredo sauce is made with butter, heavy cream, and freshly grated Parmesan. Rich, creamy, and ready in 15 minutes entirely from scratch.
Servings: 1 serving
Equipment
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- salt , to taste
Instructions
- Combine the heavy cream and lemon juice in a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter and stir until melted. Reduce the heat to medium-low and whisk constantly for about 8 minutes, until the mixture thickens slightly.
- Add the Parmesan gradually, stirring constantly as you go. Stir in the nutmeg. Continue stirring for about 3 minutes until the cheese is fully melted and the sauce is thick and smooth.
- Remove from heat and serve immediately over pasta, chicken, or shrimp. The sauce thickens as it cools. Taste and add salt if needed.
Video
Notes
Use a 1-quart saucepan. The smaller surface area keeps the sauce from spreading thin and helps it reduce at an even pace. A wider pan evaporates the cream too fast for a single serving.
Warm your cream before cooking. Let the heavy cream sit at room temperature for a few minutes before it goes into the pan. Cold cream takes longer to come to temperature and can slow down the thickening process.
Whisk, don't just stir. Whisking keeps the cream moving fast enough to prevent the Parmesan from clumping as it melts. A spoon or spatula won't break up small lumps the way a whisk does.
Add the cheese gradually. Adding all the Parmesan at once is the most common reason homemade Alfredo sauce turns grainy. Add it a little at a time and stir as you go.
Don't skip the lemon juice. It keeps the cream and Parmesan from separating. Without it the sauce is more likely to break or turn grainy.
Have everything ready before you add the Parmesan. This Alfredo sauce thickens fast as it cools. Whatever you're spooning it over, whether it's pasta, chicken, or roasted vegetables, should be ready before the Parmesan goes in.
If doubling the recipe, double the ingredients and use a 2-quart saucepan.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 966kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 103g | Saturated Fat: 64g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 29g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 344mg | Sodium: 1407mg | Potassium: 219mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 3681IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 942mg | Iron: 1mg
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